Big Blue on the road – taking our adventures to Europe!

7th September 2017 | Adventure Travel, Portugal, Wales

From Amsterdam to Lisbon in 4 months. We’ve just come back from our EPIC coast to coast road-trip and we want to share with you how amazing it was! Travelling through Wales, The Netherlands & Portugal; be inspired to go on your own coastal adventure with BBA.

Wales has been -and still is- an incredible destination for our Big Blue Adventures, from coasteering and canyoning to sea-kayaking, surfing and SUP’ing. The country has got mountains, perfectly shaped beaches, waterfalls, coves and caves, and a lush capital city; Cardiff. Even though we are having such a fun time organising adventure days out and active holidays on our own turf, we were searching for something more. What else could we do, to give our guests that ultimate adventure experience? The answer was simple. Big Blue needs more destinations with their own unique setting & culture to explore and adventures to go on. So that’s what we’ve been doing, over the last 4 months we’ve explored new Big Blue destinations and set up even more packages for you to enjoy.

Starting with The Netherlands. You might think Holland, adventurous? It is true that there are no mountains to climb or waterfalls to jump from, but just because it’s flat doesn’t mean there aren’t any adventures to take on! Being a Dutchy myself, I know that travellers often overlook our country, thinking there’s not much more to it than Amsterdam. Don’t get me wrong, Amsterdam is fabulous… in fact, it is one of my favourite cities in Europe! But there is more to our little country than the capital. We’ve got endless sandy beaches stretching all the way from north to south, and this creates opportunities. How about surfing near our political centre The Hague? Situated next to the most popular beach in The Netherlands; Scheveningen, which is known for its good surf, beach bars, fine dining experiences and a massive pier complete with pop-up stalls and bungee-jump tower! Your Surfenture is waiting.

Of course we couldn’t leave Amsterdam out as a Big Blue destination, it’s got so much to offer and being one of the most international melting pots in the world, means you will feel at home straight away. A truly unique way to explore Amsterdam is from the water. Not in one of those famous sightseeing boats, but from a SUP board on our Amsterdam Active Break!

As soon as we got to Portugal we were blown away! This up-coming travel destination is an outdoor-sports paradise made for thrill-seekers like us. There were so many great places to explore that frankly, we did not know where to start or how to choose, the opportunities for Big Blue are endless. So we’ve decided to come up with 2 packages; Lisbon city & beach escape and the ultimate Algarve adventure!

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More and more people are discovering Lisbon as a city trip destination, and we can see why. Portuguese people are extremely friendly, their English is perfect, and they make super tasty pastries! Now back to the adventure side of things, Lisbon is really close to the lovely coastal towns of Cascais & Estoril. It is here where you can learn to surf and set off on a SUP tour around the harbour. On the other side of Lisbon, you’ll find Sesimbra. A tiny harbour town with spectacular rock-formations by the sea, making it an awesome coasteering location and dolphin pods are regularly spotted here too!

But what if you are looking to escape from the bustling city life, ringing phones and wi-fi? Well then we have a real gem for you, the Ultimate Algarve Adventure. Unsure of what to expect from the Algarve, with places like Albufeira being overrun by British and German tourists, we now know that there are still authentic little towns and remote beaches to explore in this part of Portugal. The area around Aljezur & Sagres has got some of the best swell in Europe, so naturally we’ve included surf-lessons in our package. Stay in small local guesthouses to experience the real Portugal, away from high-rise, and add on a SUP tour through caves or a coasteering adventure ending with what is probably the most epic jump we’ve ever done!

BBA