Get yourself out into the mountains for a bracing week of fun activities that will be just the fillip you need if you’re feeling sluggish after the festive period. Exodus’s Mont Blanc Activity Week is a group trip featuring eight activities including glacier walking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and dog sledding. Based in a chalet a few minutes’ walk from the Prarion ski lift – which accesses Les Houches world cup downhill ski fields and cross-country ski trails – you’ll be returning to a hot tub, sauna and log fire every evening. The eight-day trip departs 15 January (and 5 February) and costs from £1,149, B&B, including flights. Photograph: PR
If you’re a walker who fancies something different this year, how about challenging yourself to an extreme winter walk? Wilderness Scotland runs an introduction to winter walking in the Cairngorms and Creag Meagaidh. In the safe hands of an expert guide you’ll learn ice axe and crampon skills – and practise glissade descents (sliding down on your backside) while tramping through the white wilderness of the Cairngorms national park, finishing on the fifth and final day with a climb of the rarely visited 824m summit of Geal-charn Mor. The trip costs £575 including most meals, four nights in a small country house hotel, all guiding and transport. Departs 15 February (four places available) plus 14 and 21 March. Photograph: Roger Antrobus/Corbis
Hiking across beaches, along jungle tracks and past pineapple plantations and tobacco farms, this new walking tour of Cuba from Headwater is not just a chance to get away from the touristy hubs and out into the beautiful countryside, but also an opportunity to experience Cuban culture, with evenings spent in local restaurants, art galleries and watching live music. Walks will be broken up by rock pool swims, picnics in ruined coffee plantations, and visits to gardens. The 10-day trip departs 20 March (more dates in April and May) and costs £2,674, including flights, five-star accommodation and most meals. Photograph: Hemis
Adventure company Epic Morocco is based in Marrakech but prides itself on taking visitors away from the touristy city and off the beaten track. Traversing the Tichka and Test Passes in the High Atlas mountains, the route takes in titanic off-road climbs and thrilling descents, but is not technical and is suitable for anyone in good physical condition. Accommodation is a mix of wild camping and small hotels and the trip also includes a tour leader, biking guide, 4x4 support and some meals. Flights, bike hire (£100) and the slap-up meal in Marrakech on the final evening are not included. Departs 16 and 30 April, £695pp. Photograph: PR
Everest base camp is the classic Himalayan trek but there are other less well-trodden routes. Mountain Kingdom’s Mustang & the Kingdom of Lo trek takes walkers into the heart of the remote and culturally distinct kingdom of Mustang, over stunning high plateaus and through a spectacular desert landscape with a backdrop of snow-capped peaks. The May departure coincides with the Tiji festival, which celebrates a local deity with music and masked dances. This is a great summer trek as the region is unaffected by the monsoon rains that put much of the Himalayas out of bounds, and is suitable for "beginners" with good fitness levels. Departing 10 May for 13 nights, the trip costs £2,755pp and includes international flights, full board (apart from Katmandu), porters, guide, internal flights and camping equipment (apart from sleeping bags). Excludes visa. Photograph: PR
Inti Raymi is an Inca sun festival celebrated by Andean communities in South America. Big in Peru as a tourist attraction, it is celebrated on a smaller, more local scale in northern Ecuador, which means fewer foreign visitors. The best place to immerse yourself in the festival is Otavalo, a largely indigenous town famed for its Saturday market and one of the destinations on Rainbow Tours’ new Ecuador itinerary, offered as a private tour. The trip takes in the highlights of the country, from Quito to the Amazon and Cotopaxi national park. Rainbow is renowned for its off-the-beaten-track Africa trips, but has recently extended its reach to Latin America. This trip costs £3,450pp in June, including flights, accommodation on a B&B basis (full board in the Amazon) and private transfers. Photograph: Morton Beebe/Corbis
Cram a whole host of activities into a weekend and you’ll feel like you’ve been away for a lot longer than two days. Spirit of Adventure is a small, independent company based on Dartmoor which, as well as organising adventures in Peru, Mexico, Mongolia and Nepal, also offers short activity breaks on its own doorstep. The Devon adventure weekend features kayaking, climbing, abseiling and raft building and is aimed at people with little or no experience – a great way to try out lots of different activities or a fun alternative hen or stag do. It costs £99 for two days or £149 for three, excluding accommodation which can be arranged in a hotel, guesthouse, campsite or the company’s own bunkhouse on the moor. 14-16 July and throughout the year. Photograph: Alamy
If you are looking for an alternative to the usual family beach holiday, how about this Huckleberry Finn-style adventure in Sweden? First, you have to build your own raft – don’t worry, it’s not too Ray Mears. Explore’s group trip is led by a guide and raft instructors who will help you construct a six-by-three metre timber raft before you navigate your way along the still waters of the Klarälven river, fishing for your dinner and camping on the forested banks. Departing on 2 June and 4, 11 and 18 August, the tour costs from £1,248 per adult and £1,223 per child and includes return flights, three nights’ hotel stay and four nights’ camping and transport. Suitable for children aged five and over. Photograph: PR
An adventure for those with jetset aspirations: a week cruising the Ligurian coast on board a fully-crewed 50ft yacht. Mooring in the famously glamorous resorts of Portofino (pictured) and the Cinque Terre, you can soak up a buzz and dine out, then retreat to the peace of your yacht to relax with a book, or something a little more intoxicating. No sailing qualifications needed – just swimsuit, shades and sun lotion. Essential Sailing’s Italy week costs £1,556pp (based on six sharing – private charter of the yacht) in September, including private airport transfers, breakfast, lunch, two dinners (served on board), drinks and en suite accommodation on a Beneteau Oceanis yacht. Flights (to Genoa or Pisa) extra. Photograph: Alamy
The 200th anniversary of the “rediscovery” of Petra this year, coupled with new easyJet flights from Gatwick to the capital Amman, make Jordan a great option for 2012. KE Adventures has a number of exciting trips – including a Dead Sea to Red Sea mountain bike ride, a multi-activity itinerary (canyoning, camel riding, mountain biking) and a family tour – but perhaps the most apt, given the anniversary, is the nine-day trek from the Dana nature reserve to Petra. Walk Bedouin trails through spectacular scenery and camp overnight before reaching the ancient city carved into sheer-sided red rock. From £1,345, including all meals, guide, transfers and flights (£895 excluding flights). Photograph: PR
If you’re hankering after a safari, but are worried about the cost, avoid expensive Botswana and Zambia and opt for either South Africa, Kenya or Tanzania. Tribes Travel, an excellent operator specialising in sustainable travel, has a "Down to Earth" programme featuring more affordable trips. One example is the Selous, Spice & Coast itinerary to Tanzania, starting in the Saadani national park, moving on by train to the Selous game reserve (pictured), and ending with a few days on the beach in Zanzibar. The 13-day trip costs £1,870pp, including full board accommodation (half board on Zanzibar), internal flights and first-class train, but excluding flights (around £750). Unless you are prepared to backpack your way around Africa on a shoestring, this is as affordable as it gets for a great, varied holiday with good quality accommodation. Photograph: Alamy
A three- or four-hour speedboat ride from Jakarta, Misool Eco Resort is a scuba diving retreat surrounded by the greatest concentration of marine diversity in the world. Set in Raja Ampat, an archipelago of 1,500 stunning small islands, it offers divers the chance to explore pinnacles, current-raked walls, sea mounds and sandy-bottomed slopes. Staying in one of the resort’s cottages, you are but a few fin-flicks away from the spectacular house reef. When you’re not diving there are bird watching excursions and a tour of 5,000-year-old petroglyphs. From £1,500 for seven nights, including all meals, airport transfers and guide. Dive packages and flights extra. Book through Much Better Adventures. Photograph: PR
