Gutsy Girls - Brighton

Join Gutsy Girls for a six night Island-Hopping SUP Adventure in Croatia's Zadar Archipelago, a coastal escape where turquoise waters, hidden beaches and secluded islands set the stage for your ultimate paddling experience.

This trip is for women of all levels, whether you're stepping on a board for the first time or you're a seasoned paddler ready to refine your skills. You'll explore remote islands, paddle between secret bays, kayak to cold war submarine tunnels, and discover coastlines only accessible from the water. Off the water you'll share traditional Croatian meals, laughs over local wine, and sunset hikes with an active group of likeminded women, making this adventure as rewarding socially as it is physically.

Why Croatia for a SUP adventure?

• Island-hopping paradise - Paddle between some of the archipelago’s 300 islands in the Adriatic, exploring hidden coves and beaches far from tourist hotspots.
• All levels welcome - There’s expert coaching for beginners to build confidence, and technique refinement for experienced paddlers to master new skills.
• Multi-activity adventure - Swap boards for kayaks, cycle the length of the island and hike to viewpoints with panoramas that will make you glad you’ve got your camera
• Authentic local experience -Stay in family-owned apartments on Molat island (population 240) and enjoy home-cooked traditional meals, supporting responsible tourism.

Highlights:

• Six days of guided water adventures: three and a half days of paddleboarding and two days of sea kayaking with professional instruction throughout.
• Island exploration: Paddle to secluded beaches, explore Cold War submarine tunnels, and discover islands where fishing boats outnumber cars.
• "Triathlon" day: Cycle 9km across Molat, paddle to Ist island, hike up to Snow Lady Chapel for archipelago views, then reverse the journey.
• Sunset hike: Trek up Straža Peak for local history and panoramic views, then toast the sunset with Croatian wine.
• Traditional cuisine: Home-cooked Croatian dinners featuring fresh fish, incredible salads, and local specialties like 'peka' (food cooked under a bell).
• Skills coaching: Learn efficient paddling, smooth turns, and water confidence—or master advanced moves like cross-bow and step-back turns.

🔥 Difficulty Level
This trip is rated moderate and perfect for active women keen to spend full days on the water. You'll be paddling or kayaking 5-6 hours daily, with multi-sport days combining cycling (9km with hills), paddling, and hiking (6km with 200m ascent). Five consecutive days of back-to-back activities make this action-packed and demanding, especially in the summer heat. Good fitness is essential; regular cardio and weekend activity will set you up well.

No prior paddleboarding or kayaking experience needed, but come ready to get stuck in. You'll be outdoors all day with substantial sun exposure and sleeping in simple apartments with fans (not all bedrooms have air conditioning) during warm summer nights.

If you're fit, active, and want to learn something new while exploring the Adriatic from a whole new perspective, this is the adventure for you.

📍 Location
The Zadar Archipelago is made up of 300 small islands in the Adriatic. We'll stay on Molat, a charming island with just 240 residents. Traffic-free, chilled-out, and the perfect base for island-hopping adventures.

🛏️ Accommodation
Stay in comfortable, family-owned apartments across the village. Simple, clean, and authentically Croatian. All meals provided, with breakfast and dinner in a local family-run dining room and picnic lunches on whatever island beach we discover that day.

Price
Twin Room
£1699 (approx. €1945 / $2265)
Private Room
£1799 - £1979 (approx. €2060 / $2265)
Private Apartment
£1859 - £1949 (approx. €2125 / $2480)

What's Included

• 6 nights' accommodation in family-owned apartments
• All meals: 6 breakfasts, 5 packed lunches, 6 dinners (including wine or non-alcoholic drinks)
• 6 days guided activities: 3.5 days paddleboarding, 2 days kayaking
• Professional SUP and kayaking instruction and guiding
• Guided hikes and cycling excursions
• Full equipment hire: SUP boards, kayaks, paddles, bikes, helmets, snorkeling gear, safety equipment, 20l dry bags
• Gutsy Girls host

Join Gutsy Girls for a seven-day multi-activity adventure in the Dolomites, where dramatic Alpine ridgelines, ancient mountain spires, and the thundering Noce River set the stage for your ultimate Italian mountain escape.

This trip is for women who want to do it all and refuse to pick just one adventure. Over five days you'll hike through ancient larch forests, navigate a WWI via ferrata trail 3,000m above sea level, raft one of Italy's best whitewater rivers, and eBike 35km through lakeside mountain tracks. Tucked into the heart of Val di Sole with three mountain ranges on your doorstep, every day brings a different adventure, a different landscape, and views that make every aching muscle worth it.

Why Italy's Val di Sole for a Multi-Activity Adventure?

• Five activities, five completely different experiences - Two hikes, a via ferrata, a rafting descent, and an eBike ride, each one in a different corner of the mountains. No two days look the same.
• Seriously underrated terrain - Val di Sole sits flanked by three of the Alps' most striking mountain groups: Stelvio National Park, the Brenta Dolomites, and the Adamello-Presanella. Outdoor people know about this place, most tourists don't.
• History baked into the landscape - The via ferrata follows the exact route used by the Italian army during World War 1 to move between ridgelines. You're not just clipping in, you're walking through history.
• The food is genuinely brilliant - Enjoy regional Trentino cooking; hearty and built around local produce, served as a four-course dinner every single evening.

Highlights:

• Stelvio National Park hike: Kick the week off with a trail through dense forest, past the crashing Saent Waterfalls and along an ancient larch tree trail, where trees that have stood for centuries frame open meadows and views across the Ortles-Cevedale peaks.
• Via Ferrata on the Sentiero dei Fiori: Suspended walkways, tunnels blasted through rock, granite staircases, and wooden paths across a route traced by WWI soldiers, all at around 3,000m above sea level. Adrenaline, history, and views in equal measure.
• Rafting the Noce River: One of Italy's most respected whitewater routes. Proper safety briefing first, then you hit the river with the Dolomites as your backdrop and the rapids doing the rest.
• eBiking to an alpine lake: Cycle through the valley, up into the mountains, around a glassy alpine lake, across an open plateau, then finish with a satisfying downhill back with San Michele Castle dominating the skyline ahead of you.
• Brenta Dolomites finale: Save the best for last. Hike past historic mountain rifugios on the way up, descend alongside the Vallesinella Waterfalls, and finish with free time in Madonna di Campiglio before a celebratory last dinner.
• Aquagardens send-off: On departure day, head to a thermal spa for a final soak before the airport. A very decent way to end a week.

🔥 Difficulty Level
Rated moderate. You don't need to be an elite athlete, but you do need to show up in solid shape and ready to get stuck in. Expect four to six hours of activity every day across five consecutive active days, on terrain that changes completely each morning: forest trails, rocky ridgelines, alpine pastures, and river banks.
The via ferrata is the most demanding day and requires a genuine head for heights as it runs at around 3,000m with exposed sections. All activities are beginner friendly, but if you hike, run, cycle, or move your body regularly, you're in the right territory.

📍 Location
Our base is Val di Sole, in the heart of Trentino province in northern Italy, flanked by Stelvio National Park, the Brenta Dolomites, and the Adamello-Presanella range, with the Noce River running through the valley floor. Close enough to civilisation when you need it, but far enough from the tourist trail.

🛏️ Accommodation
A comfortable three-star hotel in a small village with well-appointed rooms, a wellness area for post-activity recovery, a restaurant, bar, terrace, and reliable wifi. No frills, but everything you need. Good beds, friendly staff, great views.

Price
Private Room Ensuite £2050 (approx. €2355 / $2770)
Twin Room Ensuite £2250 (approx. €2585 / $3040)

What's Included

• 6 nights accommodation in a 3-star hotel
• All meals: 6 breakfasts, 5 packed lunches on the trails, and 6 dinners
• Expert local guides throughout
• All equipment hire: eBikes, helmets, rafting gear
• Via ferrata equipment rental
• 1 rafting trip
• Ticket to Aquagardens thermal spa on departure day (towel and robe included)
• Daily transfers to and from the hotel
• Return private transfer from Verona Airport
• Gutsy Girls host throughout

Join Gutsy Girls for a seven-day via ferrata adventure in Italy's Brenta Dolomites, where jagged limestone spires, sheer mountain faces, and the legendary Bocchette Way set the stage for one of the most iconic and challenging alpine traverses in Europe.

This trip is for women who want to do more than hike to a summit and back down. Over five days you'll clip into metal cables, climb iron ladders and cross narrow ledges to move through the entire Brenta mountain range from north to south. You'll spend nights in traditional Italian mountain huts, eat hearty alpine food, and wake up each morning knowing the day ahead is going to demand everything you've got. Five days, four routes, one legendary traverse.

Why the Brenta Dolomites for Via Ferrata?

• The Bocchette Way is on every adventurer's list - A linked series of secured routes running right across the Brenta mountains from north to south, using natural ridges and eroded alcoves to take you places a normal hiking route never could. The exposure is real and sustained, but the views are relentless.
• Fewer crowds, same dramatic peaks - Tucked to the west of the main Dolomite range, the Brenta Dolomites give you that iconic jagged skyline without the tourist traffic that comes with it.
• History in every handhold - Via ferrata rose to prominence during World War 1 as a way to move troops across the borders of Austria and Italy. The iron pegs and ladders you'll use are part of that legacy.
• Hut life done right - Four nights in traditional Italian rifugios mean shared dorms, big dinners, and the kind of easy camaraderie that comes from a long day on the mountain together.

Highlights:

• Sosat Route - Your first via ferrata. Long metal ladders and iron pegs carry you up the eastern side of the Brenta Group. The warm-up act, but no pushover.
• Brentari Route - A high-altitude traverse along ledges and scree on the south face of Cima Tosa, before descending toward the Ambiez Glacier to your rifugio for the night.
• Bocchette Centrali - The most famous stretch of the whole route. High exposure, aerial passages, and the moment you pass beneath Campanil Basso, one of the most striking rock towers in the Alps.
• Bocchette Alte - The hardest day. Vertical ladders, long exposed ledges, and the Scala degli Amici, a 30-metre ladder that takes you to Spallone dei Massodi, the highest point of the entire traverse. Finish with a cable car descent and a celebratory dinner, hot shower, and sauna back at the hotel.
• Aquagardens send-off: On departure day, head to Italy's biggest thermal park for a final soak before the airport. The best way to end a week.

🔥 Difficulty Level
This trip is rated challenging. A via ferrata week is hard work from the first day to the last. You'll be using your arms and upper body continuously, navigating exposed terrain with real drops for three to four hours each day, and doing it across five consecutive active days with ascents of between 700m and 1,000m.

For three of the four via ferrata days you'll also be carrying everything you need for the night ahead. If you regularly hike with real ascents, run, or train consistently, you're in the right territory. If you're even remotely scared of heights, this is not the trip for you.

📍 Location
You’ll be based in the Brenta Dolomites, in the Trentino region of northern Italy. Jagged limestone spires, mountain rifugios, and one of the most complete via ferrata systems in the world. You'll fly into Verona, transfer to an upmarket alpine town for night one, and then spend the rest of the week in the mountains.

🛏️ Accommodation
Two nights (arrival and departure) in a comfortable three-star hotel with twin rooms, hot showers, a small wellness centre, and a restaurant. Four nights in traditional Italian mountain rifugios: shared dormitories, hearty prepared meals, and communal spaces shared with other adventurers on the route. Excellent for swapping stories. Not ideal for very light sleepers (or just pack ear plugs!)

Price
Twin Room Ensuite £2300 (approx. €2640 / $3105)
Private Room Ensuite £2400 (approx. €2754 / $3240)

What's Included

• 6 nights accommodation - 2 nights in 3-star hotel, 4 nights in mountain rifugios (shared dormitory)
• All meals: 6 breakfasts, 5 packed lunches on the trails, and 6 dinners
• English-speaking mountain guide throughout
• Via ferrata equipment hire: harness, helmet, and ferrata set
• Ticket to Aquagardens thermal area (towel and robe included)
• Daily transfers to and from the trailhead
• Return private transfer from Verona Airport
• Gutsy Girls host throughout

Join Gutsy Girls for a four night Horse Riding and Yoga Holiday in Norway, where mountain plateaus, national park trails and your own Døla horse create the ultimate beginner riding escape.

This trip is for women who've always dreamed of having their own pony, whether you've never ridden before, are just getting started or haven’t sat in the saddle for a very long time. You'll learn everything from grooming and saddling, to building confidence on forest trails through Rondane National Park landscapes. Out of the saddle you'll unwind with lakeside yoga, sauna sessions, wild swimming with the group (if you're brave enough for mountain water), and hearty Norwegian dinners at your cosy mountain hotel.

Why Norway for beginner horse riding?

• Built for complete beginners - Ground lessons, arena practice, and gradual skill-building before you hit the trails, with no prior experience needed
• National Park location - Ride straight from the hotel doorstep on the edge of the Rondane National Park with lakes, mountains, and forests as your backdrop
• Beyond the saddle - Balance active days with yoga recovery sessions, traditional Norwegian sauna, and optional wild lake swimming
• Small group experience - Learn alongside just four other women, with experienced instructors and your Gutsy Girls host to help.

Highlights:

• Your own Døla horse: Bond with your own horse for the week and learn essential horsemanship, from grooming and saddling to reading body language
• Three days of guided riding: Arena lessons and trail rides through Norwegian mountain landscapes, building confidence as you explore forests and meadows
• Summer farm adventure: Hike 12km through wildflower meadows to an old summer farm for a traditional Norwegian lunch and local folklore tales
• Post-riding yoga: Three sessions designed for saddle-sore muscles, with lakeside practice when the weather allows
• Norwegian recovery rituals: Unwind with sauna sessions and brave the mountain lake for traditional wild swimming
• Mountain hotel base: Stay in a family-run hotel with panoramic views, cosy lounge with open fire, and everything you need between time in the saddle.

🔥 Difficulty Level
This trip is rated moderate. You'll spend two to three hours riding a day, plus another three hours of stable work (grooming, saddling, theory), and a 12km hike on your day out the saddle. Three and a half consecutive days of activity means you'll need good fitness and stamina. If you're not used to riding, even an hour in the saddle can leave your body aching, so expect to push through some muscle soreness. The hike covers rough, uneven terrain with 270m of ascent and descent.

No prior horse experience needed, so if you're ready to learn proper riding, bond with your own horse, and build friendships with like-minded women who share your sense of adventure, this is for you.

📍 Location
Stay on a stunning mountain plateau on the edge of Rondane National Park, north of Lillehammer. Diverse riding trails, spectacular views encompassing lakes, mountains, and forests, with horse riding and hiking right from the hotel's doorstep.

🛏️ Accommodation
Stay in a family-run mountain hotel with spacious rooms, a yoga studio, sauna, lounge with open fire, and panoramic mountain views. Everything you need for post-riding recovery between active days.

Price
Twin Room Ensuite £1599 (approx. €1835 / $2160)
Private Room Ensuite £1849 (approx. €2120 / $2500)

Please note: there are limited private rooms available on each date, so early booking is advised.

What's Included

• 4 nights in a mountain hotel
• All meals: buffet breakfasts, hot lunches, three-course Norwegian dinners
• 3 days horse riding with arena lessons and guided trail rides
• 3 yoga classes
• Summer farm hike with traditional lunch
• Wild swimming and sauna access
• Riding helmets and all stable equipment
• Professional riding instructors
• Group transfers from Ringebu train station
• Gutsy Girls host