The Travel Gurus

We take the hassle out of your holiday planning

Dear Karen,

Thank you for asking the Travel Gurus to organise your holiday.

We have provided our options based on your requirements:

- A 40th

birthday celebration for your husband on Friday 5th

– Sunday 7th

May

- Strongly activity based, especially walking and watersports

- Some opportunity for good food

- Near or easily accessible to home to return if necessary for your children

- Mobile phone reception

- Budget £1000

We have three recommendations for you, along with our special Travel Guru

Twist. This incorporates some of your requirements, but is something just a

little bit different...

If you have any questions about our recommendations please just drop us a line

at mail@wearethetravelgurus.co.uk and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

We’re sure that at least one of these will hit the holiday spot for you. But if

nothing grabs you let us know and we’ll provide one more recommendation.

Please note these are recommendations and we advise you to contact the

owner/provider directly to confirm details and ask any questions you may have.

Happy holiday choosing!

The Travel Gurus’ Holiday Recommendations

For the Maslen Weekend Break, May 2017

Recommendation 1

Austwick, Yorkshire Dales

We know you like hiking and climbing, so the Dales is a great destination for

you. And the accommodation we’ve chosen for you – The Traddock in Austwick

– caters specifically for walkers.

But The Traddock is no bare mountain hut – it’s a chic but cosy country hotel

with an award-winning restaurant. The package we suggest is for dinner, bed

and breakfast, but you could stay more cheaply by eating out. The Game Cock

Inn – just around the corner – is very good, or there’s two Indian restaurants

down the road in Giggleswick.

Activity-wise, there are some great and well-recognised walks right on your

doorstep here. These include the route up to Crummack Dale, which treats you

to some of the best views in the Dales.

We’ve also spoken to The Traddock, who tell us that if you send details of the

type of walk you’d like to do then they can organise a route and maps for you.

They can also organise a host of other activities, including caving, climbing,

canoeing and mountain biking.

Or – if you’d rather go further afield – you could try How Stean Gorge over in

Nidderdale. This is a spectacular limestone ravine that is perfect for activity

junkies, where you can try gorge walking, ghyll scrambling, climbing and many

other activities.

If you have a bit of time on your way up to the Dales or going home, we also

heartily recommend a short diversion through the Forest of Bowland. It’s an

area that – sandwiched as it is between the Lakes and the Dales – is somewhat

overlooked. But it’s a beautiful place and also remarkably quiet. Well worth a

look if you have time.

Vital statistics

Travel – by car, journey time approx. 4.5 hours

Accommodation price – £450 for two nights - dinner, bed and breakfast

(through hotel website)

Pros

In the UK and travel by car so independent

Very activity focussed

Cons

A longish drive

The Dales can be busy, even in May

Testimonials/Reviews

“I did the abseiling and gorge walking and what an experience. I sat in

waterfalls, jumped into pools, scrambled through caves and walked through the

cool water. I would recommend this experience for anybody.”

How Stean Gorge – via TripAdvisor

“We enjoyed a lovely relaxed stay at this very comfortable hotel. Our room in

particular was beautiful, very traditional but oozed charm and character with an

absolute sumptuous bathroom. We stayed on a dinner, bed and breakfast deal

and I personally think it was excellent value for money.”

The Traddock – via TripAdvisor

The Travel Gurus’ Holiday Recommendations

For the Maslen Weekend Break, May 2017

Recommendation 2

San Sebastian, Northern Spain

You mentioned good food, good weather and watersports to us and this, is why

we suggest San Sebastian. It’s heaven for all three! It’s also absolutely beautiful.

Food-wise, you have the Michelin-starred heights of world famous restaurants

such as Arzak and Akelarre, but also hundreds of bars serving the famous

Basque-country ‘pinxtos’ – delicious little snacks held together by toothpicks.

There are few better ways to spend an evening than a pinxtos bar crawl!

But we know you want some activity to go with your food, so we suggest that

you try the very highly-rated San Sebastian hiking tour provided by Urban

Adventures. This takes you up on part of the Camino de Santiago pilgrim route,

where you’ll enjoy a spectacular clifftop walk before stopping for lunch and

wine in a little village up the coast. You then return to San Sebastian on public

transport.

There are plenty of other activities on offer, particularly water-borne ones as

San Sebastian has four beautiful beaches. The surf is great and so windsurfing

and surfing are big favourites here – with lots of companies offering private

lessons.

For your accommodation, we’ve chosen Villa Soro – a majestic 19th

century

townhouse situated just outside the centre. The rooms are spacious and

luxurious and there’s a seriously cosy bar, with log fire, for relaxing. The hotel

also provides bikes, if you want to see the city from your saddle. It’s a 15-

minute walk or short taxi hop into the centre, but we’ve deliberately chosen a

hotel away from things as San Sebastian can be a little frenzied at night!

There are no direct flights to San Sebastian from the UK, so you fly into Bilbao,

which is an hour away by road. Buses run every hour from the airport to San

Sebastian city centre.

There are several flights each day back to the UK, if necessary.

Vital statistics

Accommodation Price – From €464 (£400) for a double room for two nights

(through hotel website)

Flight Price - £234 for two return flights (excluding baggage costs)

Total price - £634

Flight Info (provided by Skyscanner):

- Airline – British Airways (Heathrow to Bilbao)

- Outbound - Depart 15.45. Arrive 18.50. Inbound – Depart 12.20. Arrive 13.15

Pros

Good weather

Great watersports

Foodie paradise

A little bit different from England!

Cons

Need to fly there and not in the same country as the family

Need to take bus/taxi rom Bilbao to San Sebastian

Testimonials/Reviews

“I took a half-day hike of the Camino de Santiago through San Sebastián Urban

Adventures, and am I very glad that I did. Our guide, Tomasz, was fantastic - he

was friendly, knowledgeable, and funny. We hiked about 8 km out of San

Sebastián to Pasaia de San Pedro, and the views along the way were simply

breath-taking.”

Urban Adventure hiking tour - via TripAdvisor

“Everything was wonderful. The location outside the hubbub of San Sebastian

was perfect for relaxing and still an easy walk into town. The service was

excellent. The property is lovely. The rooms and the entire hotel are beautiful and

comfortable.”

Villa Soro – via TripAdvisor

The Travel Gurus’ Holiday Recommendations

For the Maslen Weekend Break, May 2017

Recommendation 3

Rutland, England

Perhaps not the most exotic destination. But, if you want to be closer to home

and nearer to your children just in case (we know how you feel!) this is great.

It’s just a couple of hours away from you, via the A14 and A1.

And Rutland – England’s smallest county - is a beautiful, quiet and enticing area

featuring some of the most unspoilt countryside in the UK. Being here is almost

like stepping back in time, with picture perfect villages, woods, meadows and

rivers. This is countryside like it used to be and this makes for some lovely

walking routes.

Yet activity junkies are also well catered for thanks to Rutland Water – a huge

lake that dominates the county. Here you’ll find plenty in the way of

watersports - such as sailing, windsurfing and water-skiing – on offer. If you

want someone to organise it all for you, try Adventure Rutland – a local

company who do the whole range of watersports, as well as hiking and

mountain biking.

Where we recommend you stay – the Olive Branch – is just gorgeous. Nestled at

the end of a leafy lane in the pretty village of Clipsham, it offer a choice of

elegantly-themed rooms. The food is equally excellent and the pub has held a

Michelin star. If you don’t like the look of the menu, there are plenty of other

good dining pubs nearby, or a wider choice of restaurants just down the road in

Oakham.

Perk Alert!

As a Travel Gurus client, the Olive Branch are offering you these discounted

rates for your dates:

Superior Room - £350

Standard Room - £300

Small Room (with shower, no bath) - £250

Vital statistics

Travel – by car, journey time approx. 2 hours

Accommodation price – From £320 for two nights bed and breakfast.

Pros

Nearby and travel by car so independent

Beautiful, unspoilt countryside

Cons

Perhaps a bit close to home

Testimonials/Reviews

“The Olive branch and Beech House pay close attention to detail that makes the

difference between somewhere to eat and stay and a pleasurable experience. We

come here regularly and are never disappointed.”

The Olive Branch – via TripAdvisor

The Travel Gurus’ Twist

This is our gift to you – a suggestion that takes in some of your requirements to

offer you something just a little bit different…

Lake Bled, Slovenia

This may be a bit further than you were planning to travel, but Slovenia is still

just two hours from the UK.

And where we suggest – Lake Bled – is well worth the trip. It’s arguably the most

stunning part of a beautiful country. This emerald-green lake is fringed by the

Julian Alps and regularly tops lists of the most scenic destinations in the world.

A Disney-esque church is perched on an island at the centre of the lake, whilst a

huge castle towers majestically from a crag-side at one end.

In short, it’s gorgeous.

It’s also ideal for an active holiday, as you have walking, climbing and

watersports opportunities on your doorstep. You could also try out the locals’

favourite sport of tubing, which is flying down the mountain streams on

inflated inner tubes!

Obviously, you haven’t got much time so you may want to tee up your activities

before you go. We’ve heard good things about the guys at 3 Glav Adventures,

who can organise everything from hiking to canoeing to skydiving for you.

There most popular activity is the Emerald River Adventure – an action-packed

day where you explore all the most beautiful places around Triglav National

Park and Julian Alps and have the opportunity to go hiking, swimming and

rafting. It has sensational reviews on TripAdvisor – in fact, we’ve never seen

better.

Back in Bled, you are also spoilt for places to eat and drink, as it’s a major

tourist hotspot. It should, however, be relatively quiet in early May.

For accommodation, we suggest Villa Preseren, which is on the waterfront just

under the castle. It’s a boutique hotel with a terrace restaurant, so you’ve got

somewhere on your doorstep to eat. It’s not massively luxurious but is a great

location.

You fly in to Ljubljana, then it’s about 40 minutes by car or taxi to the lake.

There are two flights each day back to the UK, if necessary.

Perk Alert!

3 Glav Adventure are offering you, as a Travel Gurus client, a 5% discount on air

activities (Paragliding, Ballooning and Skydiving) and a 10% discount on all

other activities.

Vital statistics

Travel – by plane and taxi/car/bus

Flight Info (provided by Skyscanner):

- Airline – Easyjet (Stansted to Ljubljana)

- Outbound - Depart 13.05. Arrive 16.10. Inbound – Depart 16.45. Arrive 18.00

(We realise the return flight is later than your requested return time of 4pm.

However, if that’s an issue, you could get a return flight to a different airport -

Luton - via a Wizz Air flight that departs at 11.20 and gets in at 12.45.)

£211 for two return flights (excluding baggage costs)

Accommodation – £293 – One-bedroom apartment for two nights bed and

breakfast, via booking.com

Total cost - £504

Pros

Stunning scenery

Wide range of activities

Cons

Food, although in plentiful supply, has a reputation for being a little ‘hearty’ –

not much finesse here!

Testimonials/Reviews

“We did the Emerald River Adventure and it was amazing, the guide Jaka was

really enthusiastic, informative and friendly. The lady in the office was extremely

friendly and helpful too. I wouldn't hesitate to book with them again.”

3 Glav Adventures – via TripAdvisor

“If you are looking for a nice and lovely place to stay for a day or even longer,

then I would totally pick this one again. Awesome location near the lake. 5

minute walk away from the beach. Great rooms and service.”

Vila Preseren – via TripAdvisor