Wendy Bach of Minneapolis, Minnesota, wrote (April ’16, pg. 2), “My husband and I are now 63 and in good health, and we want to chart out the active ‘this is the time to do it’ type of trips. We love hiking and biking and have taken bike tours. We haven’t done much of the big-group tours; we tend to plan our own itineraries and make our own arrangements.
6-day, 5-night family adventure trip in two national parks in CANADA, July through August 2016. Easy-to-moderate hiking, biking. Up to 6 guests per guide. Highlights: From Calgary, Alberta, bike ride in Bow Valley Parkway, Banff National Park/Silverton Falls/hike over Sentinel Pass/next to Jasper National Park, hike Athabasca Glacier/hike around Lake Louise/white-water rafting on the Kanana-
The Likeways app, available for free on iTunes, suggests walking routes in major cities worldwide. A user inputs his starting location and where he would like to walk to plus the kinds of sites he would like to see along the way (museums, shops, restaurants, etc.). Likeways then creates two walking routes: the shortest one from the user’s location to his destination and a longer route that includes sites of interest.
With over 28 miles of trails through Cape Pillar, Cape Hauy and Cape Raoul in southeastern Tasmania, the Three Capes Track (for Tasmanian Parks Department, phone +61 1300 827 727, www.threecapestrack.com.au) opened on Dec. 21, 2015.
Only 48 hikers per day are allowed, and they all must follow a set, 4-day, 3-night journey. Treks must be booked ahead and are recommended only for people who can walk at least four hours a day.
If you really want to have Barcelona’s Old City come alive, take one of the tours offered by Runner Bean Walking Tours (Carrer del Carme 44, pral 2ª 08001, Barcelona, Spain; phone +34 636 108 776, www.runnerbeantours.com).
While planning for a post-cruise stay in Barcelona, we saw a recommendation for this company in the “Rick Steves’ Barcelona” guidebook. Runner Bean provides several walking tours of Barcelona, two of which are free.
Beaches, castles, wild ponies…. Near Swansea, Wales’ Gower Peninsula is a designated “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.” Visitors can download the “This is Gower” app, containing maps and directions for 14 walking trails. It also has audio and visual guides (with pictures and videos) on 80 locations, using GPS to notify walkers when they’ve reached an area of interest. The app is free on Android and iOS.
5-day, 4-night tour of TASMANIA. Departures through May 23, 2016. Highlights: Travel from Hobart to Kettering/ferry to Bruny Island/bike the countryside, stopping to sample oysters, cheese, whiskey/boutique chocolate factory, “help yourself” berry farm/walk on Fluted Cape/on Adventure Bay cruise, view sea stacks and caves/lighthouse in South Bruny National Park. Ferry to mainland, bike to Huon Channel. Land, AUD2,495 (near $1,800) ppdo. Tasmanian Expeditions (3/33 Churchill Park Dr., Invermay, Tasmania, 7248, Australia; phone, in No.
Under the Snowdonia Mountains, the world’s longest underground zip-line (and deepest) was opened at Conwy Falls, North Wales, in March 2015 by Go Below Underground Adventures (Snowdonia, Wales, UK; phone +44 1690 710108, www.go-below.co.uk/default.asp).
