Into a Finnish labyrinth<\/p>\n
One of the most magical places I\u2019ve been is Lake Saimaa in eastern Finland \u2013 a huge labyrinth of islands and tranquil forests where you don\u2019t come across many people. We rented a lakeside cabin (typically they cost from about \u20ac100 a night, sleeping two) and watched the midnight sun shimmer across peaceful waters. Days were spent kayaking between uninhabited islets or hiking pine-scented trails, with only the call of black-throated divers (or loons) for company. We visited the Linnansaari national park<\/a> on an archipelago in the middle of the vast lake (the largest in Finland and fourth largest freshwater lake in Europe), where encounters with rare Saimaa ringed seals await. It\u2019s nature\u2019s embrace at its purest \u2013 remote, quiet and utterly rejuvenating. Canyons and forests in MontenegroCrno Jezero (Black Lake) in Zabljak, Montenegro. Photograph: Ingram Publishing\/Alamy<\/p>\n Last autumn, I visited Durmitor national park<\/a> in northern Montenegro, a quiet and beautiful place in the Dinaric Alps. The road there passed through thick pine forests and opened on to wide valleys surrounded by tall, rocky mountains. I walked to the Black Lake (Crno Jezero), where the water was so still it perfectly reflected the autumn colours of the trees. In the hills, shepherds looked after their sheep, and small villages sold fresh cheese and honey. I also gazed down into Tara River Canyon, which is among Europe\u2019s deepest gorges; right at the bottom, several thousand feet below me, I could see the bright turquoise ribbon of the river. ProfileReaders’ tips: send a tip for a chance to win a \u00a3200 voucher for a Coolstays breakShow<\/p>\n Guardian Travel readers’ tips<\/strong><\/p>\n Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. A selection of tips will be featured online and may appear in print. To enter the latest competition visit the readers’ tips homepage<\/a><\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n Cycling through the Bosnian countrysideA deserted train station en route to Mostar. Photograph: Anna Fenton<\/p>\n My partner and I cycled the \u0106iro trail<\/a> in Bosnia Herzegovina. We picked up the trail<\/a> in Ivanica and followed it for more than 80 miles to Mostar. It follows the route of the Dubrovnik to Mostar railway line, which closed in the 1970s, and has a lot of spooky, bat-filled tunnels. We barely met another person on the route. One night we camped overnight in a pub beer garden because we were worried about mines. Stunning scenery, spooky history, and we saw tortoises on the trail. Pyrenean hideaway, SpainOchagav\u00eda in Navarre. Photograph: Marco Unger\/Alamy<\/p>\n If there was ever a jaw-dropping way to enter Spain it has to be over the peaks of the Pyrenees to the village of Ochagav\u00eda in Navarre. Nestled in the valley of Salazar, its cobbled streets and whitewashed homes are surrounded by rivers, forests and peaks where walkers mingle with birds of prey, chamois, marmots and an occasional hermit. When civilisation and replenishment are needed, Sidrer\u00eda Kixkia<\/a>, a restaurant in Ochagav\u00eda, will fill your very grateful tank with local cider and a very meaty menu. Remote islands off northern GermanyThe horse-drawn trip to Neuwerk, near Cuxhaven. Photograph: Boelter\/Alamy<\/p>\n We stayed at the charming seaside resort of Cuxhaven in Germany and took the horse-drawn carriage over mud flats to visit the tidal island Neuwerk<\/a> with its extraordinary 700-year-old lighthouse. I\u2019d also recommend a ferry trip beyond Neuwerk to incredible Heligoland island to see the 47-metre-high Lange Anna sea stack and the large gannet colony. You can see the craters left by the British in 1947 when the occupying authorities decided to blow up <\/a>the remaining German military installations on the island in one giant explosion, having already bombed the island severely in 1945. Yet the tiny island with its red cliffs and grassy plateau survived somehow, and is now home to more than 1,000 people. skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Kayaking between icebergs, IcelandMini-icebergs in J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n lagoon. Photograph: Karen Guenzl<\/p>\n Starting in Reykjav\u00edk, with my 15-year-old, I took a rental car for a road trip, staying in small hotels and hostels on the way. We went kayaking between icebergs in the J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n lagoon, snowmobiling and ice-climbing on the S\u00f3lheimaj\u00f6kull glacier and whale-watching near H\u00fasav\u00edk. We were amazed to see the molten lava on the Reykjanes peninsula, as well as the interactive volcano museum near Vik. Highlights for my teen included taking a ferry to the island of Gr\u00edmsey to snorkel with puffins while they were diving for fish. Brittany\u2019s quiet sideCamping in Inguiniel. Photograph: Kevin Atkins<\/p>\n Tucked away in western Morbihan, an hour from Vannes and the Breton coast, Inguiniel is a quiet corner of Brittany, where rolling hills and forests invite you to slow down. We stayed at picture-perfect Camping Pont Calleck<\/a>, which was ideal as a walking and cycling base. From there we cycled to Le Faou\u00ebt, a town with a pretty square, a 16th-century market hall, and striking gothic chapels. As evening fell, our ride took us along the River Scorff past weirs and watermills and eventually to a quiet auberge for a traditional Breton meal. Winning tip: bathed in constant daylight, Norway\u2019s SvalbardSled dogs in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Photograph: Hanneke Luijting\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard (which used to be called Spitzbergen) in summer is bathed in constant daylight because it is entirely within the Arctic Circle. Dog sledding on wheels<\/a> is a great way to experience this remote landscape, guiding your teams of eager huskies over the tundra, past mountains necklaced with puffy Arctic cottongrass flowers. Boat trips, passing near the town of Barentsburg, the inhabitants of which are mostly Russian, allow closeup views of slumbering walruses, minke whales and dozens of seals. Nearby, huge cliffs at Alkhornet are the breeding ground for thousands of birds, and below the nests, arctic foxes wait patiently for their next meal. Afterwards, rent a floating sauna cabin<\/a>, leaping into the sea to cool off.
Anthony<\/strong><\/p>\n
Lorna Walkden<\/strong><\/p>\n
Anna Fenton<\/strong><\/p>\n
Liz Owen Hernandez<\/strong><\/p>\n
Sue Kyson<\/strong><\/p>\n
Karen Guenzl<\/strong><\/p>\n
Kevin Atkins<\/strong><\/p>\n
Caroline<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Into a Finnish labyrinth One of the most magical places I\u2019ve been is Lake Saimaa in eastern Finland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,299,5187],"class_list":{"0":"post-381866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-european"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115110586999510435","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}