As I m turning 40 next year, I am toying with the idea of treating myself to a good holiday. My usual destination of Whistler is an option but I am also interested in non-bikey alternatives.

I will be travelling on my own so an organised holiday would be cool and it must be activity based (mainly thinking of hiking).

Any recommendations?

http://www.wildernessscotland.com/
^superb

Hmmm, never thought of Scotland, but over £1k for 6 days? Wow!!

I went on a Swimtrek holiday to Turkey this year which I really enjoyed. Have you had a look at the Exodus website? Plenty to wet the appetite there I think.

I was looking at Exodus earlier: Are they any good?

Plus 1 for Wilderness Scotland – had a great week with them in Assynt in September – of our group of 6, 3 of them had been on another WS trip in the previous 12 months.

http://www.beyondadventure.co.uk/#
^ go direct! save a few quid, as these are the people who deliver Wilderness Scotland’s paddling trips. Tell Julie in the office Matt sent you and that you want Biscuit, Craig or Tom n Ana to lead the trip…
[video]http://youtu.be/Uq96VuyDHG0[/video]

Blimey, £700 for 5 days.

For walking.

Admittedly I’m basically a tramp. Even sleeping in the car is a bit bourgeois to me.

High Atlas Summits for £549

Summer just gone me and my partner did the Tour Du Mont Blanc – unbelievable trip. Hike around the Mont Blanc massiv walking through France, Italy & Switzerland. Not too tough (but worth being a confident and healthy hiker), amazing views, food & lovely people generally. Will take you 10 – 14 days depending on rest days etc.

We did it solo and not through a tour group, but there are more tour groups doing it than solo groups. Trip of a lifetime!

Those Scotland trips seem very expensive for what they are.

Any other suggestions? Has anyone done the full hike down the Grand Canyon? I”ve only done a short section of it.

See what Glenmore Lodge have to offer
I’m liking the look of the Spey descent

Thanks for the suggestions but do you all work for the Scottish Tourism board? It’s all a bit Scotland-centric at the moment.

What’s your budget?
Via ferrata in Italy could be good. Switzerland offers a lot too…

I’ve plugged it a few times on here before but my mate has a place in Slovakia that could interest you. There are plenty of activities nearby and at good rates compared to France etc…

Chalet Slovakia

£2-3K.

Inca Trail followed by a few days in the Peruvian Amazon – did this with Explore a few years ago. Highly recommended.

http://www.skedaddle.co.uk/biking

Loads of ideas…

I can recommend Exodus.

I did the Everest Base Camp trip with them a few years ago and the organisation was fantastic (so was the trip if that is your thing).

The Everest Base camp thing has always appealed although I am put off by reports of how over-populated and polluted it is getting.

Not sure when you’re planning but I went Late Feb / Early March and was one of the first groups out of the season (still knee deep in snow in places).

Fantastic time to go, watched avalanches off the Khumbu icefall!

Freezing cold (think it got down to minus 25 one night) but crystal blue skies.

Had all of the lodges and trails to ourselves too.

Depending on what time of year you are thinking, the Sierra nevadas in Southern Spain are ace. You can surf and snowboard just an hours drive from each other. Also hook up with ride Sierra Nevada, they offer really good guided riding around there.

The snow season usually ends there around Easter and you can surf all year round. Mountain bike all year round too. Although, big mountain riding might be hard due to snow…

When abouts is your birthday? The time of year will largely dictate what you do/where you go.

I went hiking in Jotunheimen in Norway a couple of years back and it was lovely. Self organised and camped the whole week, so it worked out very cheap.

If it was me, I’d be looking at Greenland or Iceland too.

I follow https://maptia.com/ on twitter and the stories posted there are great for inspiration.

For that sort of spend, I’d go to Iceland again. If you have the cash, there are a ton of excursions you can book.

My b’day is in August, but I’d rather not be away for it.