Catalan Pyrenees family activity holiday
| country: | Spain |
| location: | Spanish Pyrenees |
| departures: | 2008: 20 Jul, 27 Jul, 3 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug |
| price: | From £695 - £1045 (8 days) per adult and £655 - £1005 per child including flights from UK. Price depends activities chosen. This trip can also be booked without flights. Recommended minimum = 12 years |
| late availability: | Late availability on 20 & 27 July 2008 |
the amazing things you'll be doing
An adrenalin-filled itinerary aimed at more experienced thrill seekers.
Based in the town of Rialp, we are ideally situated to take full advantage of the Noguera Pallaresa River with its fast running rapids, championship standard kayak course and incredible mountain and canyon scenery.
Our instructors are amongst the best in Europe with many having competed in kayak competitions at national level and above. They also host the Catalan White Water Rafting Championships.
Our base is the Hotel Pey in the Catalan town of Sort. This family-run hotel overlooks the river and the owner has been dubbed ‘a holiday highlight in his own right’. You are guaranteed to be welcomed with open arms.
Your accommodation is in en-suite apartments each of which has one double bedroom, a lounge area with two pull-out beds, bathroom and kitchenette. En-suite twin and triple rooms are also available. There is an outdoor swimming pool, a small games room in the basement and a sauna for you to relax in after your activity day, provided you request it in the morning. The hotel has a spacious bar and lounge area and the town itself has a number of bars and restaurants
Based in the town of Rialp, we are ideally situated to take full advantage of the Noguera Pallaresa River with its fast running rapids, championship standard kayak course and incredible mountain and canyon scenery.
Our instructors are amongst the best in Europe with many having competed in kayak competitions at national level and above. They also host the Catalan White Water Rafting Championships.
Our base is the Hotel Pey in the Catalan town of Sort. This family-run hotel overlooks the river and the owner has been dubbed ‘a holiday highlight in his own right’. You are guaranteed to be welcomed with open arms.
Your accommodation is in en-suite apartments each of which has one double bedroom, a lounge area with two pull-out beds, bathroom and kitchenette. En-suite twin and triple rooms are also available. There is an outdoor swimming pool, a small games room in the basement and a sauna for you to relax in after your activity day, provided you request it in the morning. The hotel has a spacious bar and lounge area and the town itself has a number of bars and restaurants
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Flights, arrival and introduction. Transfer from Barcelona Airport to the Hotel Pey in Sort. After checking in we will get together for an introductory meeting which will be followed by a welcome dinner. |
| Day 2: | National Park picnic trek. The Aigues Tortes National Park is a nature lover’s paradise: lakes, waterfalls, rugged peaks and pine, birch, fir and beech forests are but a few of the highlights. Our trek amidst 3000m high mountains includes the Sant Maurici Lake and allows us to experience some of the best scenery in Spain yet alone Catalonia! A picnic lunch is included. |
| Day 3: | Open kayaking. We have a free morning today before heading onto the water. Our introduction to the Noguera Palleresa River is in inflatable open kayaks - the perfect way to get to know the water! It’s just us, a kayak and paddle against the white water as we steer our course downstream. Great fun with an adrenaline rush to match. |
| Day 4: | Guingueta Lake action day. A fabulous setting at Guingueta Lake provides everything we need for a non-stop day which includes: cycling, volleyball, kayaking, football, climbing on an artificial wall and canoeing. A picnic lunch is included. |
| Day 5: | Canyoning - Level II. A 30 minute uphill walk takes us to our start point. From there we descend the canyon using a series of natural slides and water chutes as well as abseiling, swimming and simply jumping and diving into deep pools of water. |
| Day 6: | Hydrospeeding and Kayak Course. Hydrospeeding is an awesome adventure sport which gets you as close to the river as possible. Confidence is vital. Wearing a wetsuit, helmet and flippers we have to steer our beefed up body boards through the rapids of the Noguera Palleresa River. A true adrenaline rush. Our 2 hour kayak session is held on the Campo de Slalom Course in Sort. Under the tuition of some of Spain’s best instructors we will be encouraged to hone our skills and utilise them to negotiate the course. |
| Day 7: | White water rafting. Quite simply an outstanding day of white water rafting taking us through stunning mountain scenery and thrilling white water rapids. The morning session is followed by lunch before the jaw-dropping descent into the stunning Canyonlands. A fitting finalé to an exhilarating week. |
| Day 8: | Depart or extend your stay. All good things must come to an end as we transfer back to Barcelona but you can arrange to extend your stay in Sort. Simply contact us for more details. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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The Pallars Sobera Region is the base for this exciting family activity holiday in the Catalan Pyrenees. Specifically we are based in the small town of Sort on the banks of the Noguera Pallaresa river, where all the water based activities take place. The Hotel Pey is run by the Salvans Family, one of the most important families in the region with a fierce commitment to the protection of the Catalan culture, environment and language, whilst pioneering the development of the local economy through tourism and by only working with companies who share this philosophy.
Accommodation is strictly limited in the area which allows careful management of tourism in terms of numbers. The hotel promotes the responsible use of natural resources and encourages guests to re-use towels rather than submit them for daily cleaning. Our activity partners, Carlos and Lluis Rabeneda, are equally committed to the promotion and protection of the local Catalan culture and this infuses every aspect of their business. Guides and Instructors must not only demonstrate their professionalism and ability, but also have to be seen to endorse and practice the company’s policy. They believe wholeheartedly in impressing upon visitors that it is possible to enjoy a wonderful holiday but still be responsible to the environment. This is particularly highlighted during the Trek in the Aigues Tortes National Park on the first activity day. At the entrance to the National Park clients are shown a collage made up of some 10,000 cigarette ends which were collected in one day of environmental clean up in the National Park. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |