Family activity holiday in French Pyrenees
| country: | France |
| location: | French Pyrenees |
| departures: | 2010: 17 Jul, 24 Jul, 31 Jul, 7 Aug, 14 Aug, 21 Aug |
| price: | From £745 - £1045 (8 days) per adult including flights from the UK. From £715 - £1015 per child (11-14). This trip can also be booked without flights. Price depends on number of activites chosen. Recommended minimum age 11 years |
| more info: | Included: 7 nights accommodation, welcome food pack and 2 dinners, transfers to and from airport and activities, all equipment, tuition and supervision from fully qualified instructors. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Family activity holiday in French Pyrenees
The Pyrenees Orientales is officially the sunniest region in France with over 300 days of sunshine every year. It is also a stunningly beautiful area with a huge diversity of landscapes providing the perfect backdrop for what is probably our most challenging family holiday.
This is one of our most challenging holidays with some truly memorable adventures designed for active families with a taste for adrenaline. The activities take place amidst towering rocky peaks, alpine meadows, dense forests, mountain lakes and fast flowing rivers. This is a hugely varied activity holiday that will allow you to experience the best that this less visited part of France has to offer.
This is one of our most challenging holidays with some truly memorable adventures designed for active families with a taste for adrenaline. The activities take place amidst towering rocky peaks, alpine meadows, dense forests, mountain lakes and fast flowing rivers. This is a hugely varied activity holiday that will allow you to experience the best that this less visited part of France has to offer.
Accommodation
The base for this holiday is the 3-star Hotel Grand Tetras in the small town of Font Romeu, a popular ski resort in winter. In summer it provides a convenient holiday base with easy access to the starting points for a host of adventure sports. The hotel is located in the town centre and has 36 en-suite twin, double, triple and family rooms. Facilities include a small indoor pool with panoramic views over the local countryside as well as a sauna, jacuzzi and bar.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Flights, arrival and transfers. You will be met at Barcelona Airport from where the transfer takes us to our hotel in Font Romeu. In the evening there will be a welcome meal and an introductory meeting hosted by simon, our head guide for the week. |
| Day 2: | Gorge walk and thermal baths. We head to the jaw dropping Gorges de la Caranca for a circular 5km trek. The reward for our endeavours is a series of truly spectacular views. As we follow the path which has been cut directly through the rock face it soon becomes evident that this is anything but an everyday walk. In the afternoon we visit the Thermal Baths of St Thomas for a chance to relax. |
| Day 3: | Rafting & hydrospeeding. In the morning we will experience rapids of up to Grade 4 as we plunge down the River Aude in our white water rafts. In the afternoon those who are 12 years old and over can take to the river for an adrenaline filled hydrospeed descent of the same stretch of river. |
| Day 4: | Mountain biking into Spain. We drive up to 2100m before starting a 17km descent through varied terrain into the pretty Spanish town of Llivia, where cold sangria and beer will await you. There will be a couple of hourse to explore the town or enjoy a leisurely lunch and some sangria before transport is provided back up the hill! |
| Day 5: | Adventure Park. Today we will visit the 'Parcours Adventure' where the whole family can enjoy high ropes course, tyrolean crossings and zip slides of up to 100m! If you've visited 'Go Ape' back home and thought that was good, then you're in for a real treat today. The afternoon is free to relax at Lake Matemale where sailing, windsurfing, archery and horse riding are all available (pay locally). |
| Day 6: | Free day. You can choose from a wide range of additional activities (payable locally) such as paragliing, via ferrata, bouldering or climbing. Alternatively, simle relax or take the 'Train Jaune' to the historic village of Villefranche. |
| Day 7: | Canyoning. We've been building up to this all week! The canyon at Porte Puymorens offers a fantastic mix of slides, abseils and jumps into deep, clear pools and all with a stunning backdrop. Every year this is the most popular activity of the week and the final 11m (optional) jump is a great way to finish the holiday. In the evening we all head into town for our farewell dinner. |
| Day 8: | Depart or extend your stay. Transfers to Barcelona for your return flights or alternatively if you just can't bear to go home yet then why not extend your stay. We can arrange extensions in Barcelona and on the northern Spanish coastline. Please see our website for full details. |
traveller reviews for Family activity holiday in French Pyrenees
The whole experience was very enjoyable. A great mix of people, challenging activities and a great set of instructors. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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Our holidays are based in the newly formed Parc Natural which was made up of thousands of acres of existing conservation area. It is home to a number of rare and endangered fauna species including Lynx, Brown bears and the tiny Desman. To promote responsible tourism we try to keep to small sized groups, as we believe that the growth of adventure tourism can lead to the over commercialism and over crowding of these sensitive areas.
With small groups participating in carefully chosen locations, or walking on established marked out trails, we can introduce our clients to this spectacular area without compromising the environment and the finely balanced eco system. When out on a walk we will always discuss the impact that the increased footpath traffic is having on the environment, and our guides will lead by example in collecting litter left by less well informed parties along the way, and our clients are encouraged to do the same. We also try, wherever possible, to avoid tourist bottlenecks at peak times and a trip with us gets you away from the main GR hordes. During the holiday all clients are briefed fully on the correct procedures for taking their ablutions whilst in the wilderness, and are educated in the devastating implications of the incorrect disposal of waste. Our hotel is privately owned with as much purchasing as possible from local suppliers and where possible local agricultural produce and local market stall holders rather than supermarket chains. The majority of cheese used comes from the excellent local fromagerie. All house hold waste that can be re-cycled, is, through the local commune scheme. In introducing this area to the UK market we can help local economies that normally would not have a chance to benefit from this sector, in what has traditionally been a subsistence level farming community. This has allowed for greater opportunities and increased wages for younger people who now do not need to leave the mountains to search for careers, which means that the population of the villages are now actually increasing for the first time in over 100 years and the future of local schools and medical services are safe guarded. |
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. |
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