Active things to do in Cambridge

Here’s my list…

Go Bouldering at Rainbow Rocket

Having never climbed anything other than a tree before, I booked onto an induction session at Rainbow Rocket. I loved it so much that climbing has since become a big part of my life!

Rainbow Rocket is a bouldering centre. That means the walls are 4.5 metres high and you don’t need ropes and harnesses – just climbing shoes (available to rent) and enthusiasm.

The staff and customers are friendly and it’s a guaranteed good time. I recommend booking onto an induction session if it’s your first time climbing.

New to climbing? Read the post I wrote about what to expect your first time bouldering.

Kayak from the Mill Pond to Grantchester

When looking for active things to do in Cambrige, people usually think of punting on the Cam. But there are other options for messing about on the river.

Scudamores offer kayaks and Canadian canoes available for rent by the hour from the Mill Pond.

It’s a pleasant paddle towards Grantchester and if you get up early (they open at 9am) you can find that you’re the only one on the river. Perfect for some peaceful morning exercise.

Go Ice Skating at Better

Finally, after 20 years in the making, Cambridge has it’s own ice rink. The funding, approval and build was fraught with drama, but it’s finally here and open for business!

You can visit the ice rink as a one off trip, or sign up for the Learn To Skate program. You’ll be dancing on ice in no time!

Sign up for a session and test your balance on the ice. 

Try Rowing on the River Cam

Rowing is a big part of life for many Cambridge residents.

City of Cambridge Rowing Club offer regular four-hour taster sessions for people who have never rowed before.

This covers the basics of rowing, includes time on a rowing machine, and takes you to the Cambridge Rowing tank to give you a sense of what it is like to be in a boat.

After the taster session, if you liked it, you can sign up for their Learn to Row course.

Paddle Boarding at Milton Country Park

Milton Country Park is a short drive or cycle from the city centre in the village of Milton. It’s a peaceful park with relaxing trails around a large lake.

Here, you can sign up for Stand Up Paddle Boarding sessions in the summer months. Choose between a 45 minute basics session on a Saturday morning, or get fully up to speed with ‘Ready to ride’ training.

Adults can even test their core strength with a SUP yoga session!

Cycle Everywhere in Cambridge

Whenever I show friends of mine around Cambridge, they always comment on the number of bikes. There are thousands. For us, it’s simply the easiest way to get around.

Cars must follow the one-way system and deal with the traffic, but there’s no such hassle on two wheels. Plus, Cambridge is pretty flat. Most of the hills turn out to be, in fact, bridges.

If you don’t have your own bicycle, you can find bikes for hire at Rutland Cycling both at the Station and the Grand Arcade in the city centre.

Go Punting on the River Cam

I’ve saved the most obvious until last. Punting is a Cambridge classic and one of the most popular active things to do in Cambridge! Loved by locals and tourists alike, it’s one of the most fun active activities in the city.

Hire a punt from Scudamores at the Mill Pond or Bridge Street and make your way along the backs.

Yes, you might end up caught in a willow tree or sailing away from your pole when it gets stuck in the river bed, but that’s what makes it entertaining.

You can’t visit Cambridge without giving this a go.

More active things to do in Cambridge

There are so many active things to do in Cambridge that I haven’t listed them all here. What have I missed? Let me know!

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On the Peru Multisport trip I visited several Peruvian cities, towns and villages, spent two days mountain biking, five days hiking, and two days kayaking.

This post is a review of what to expect from the trip, which I hope you find helpful! The short version is that I LOVED it, and you should probably go!

If you’ve booked it already, make sure you check out my posts What to pack for the Inca Trail.

G Adventures Peru Multisport Review
Arriving in Lima

This trip starts and ends in Lima, which is great as it’s easy to get flights to and from this city. As with all G Adventures trips, you meet your group around 6pm on the first day for introductions and your first meal together.

My group this time was made up of Brits, Canadians, Kiwis, Americans, and our Peruvian guide, who was aptly named Guido.

Most of the flights from the UK to Lima arrive late at night, so I arrived the night before and booked the G Adventures transfer.

The Transfer

This was the first time, in all my travels, that my transfer hasn’t been there to greet me. The good news, though, was that it was easy to sort. There is a sectioned off customer information area right next to arrivals, and the staff saw me looking lost and called G Adventures for me. I was in a car within 15 minutes.

So I had a free day in Lima (two in fact, as I had one at the end of the trip also) but I’m going to be honest – I didn’t explore. I slept, went out only for coffee and dinner, and on my last day in Peru I sat by a pool.

The hotels were nice though! The G Adventures hotel, Hotel Santa Cruz, is in a nice area called Miraflores. There’s a decent coffee shop literally next door if you’re as lazy as me.

My last night I stayed in the Dazzler by Wyndham and I recommend it for a treat at the end of your trip. It’s a ten-minute walk from Hotel Santa Cruz, has huge comfy beds, and the friendly staff let me check in a few hours early so I could enjoy the swimming pool on the roof. The hotel restaurant is great too.

Getting used to the altitude in Cusco

The trip doesn’t include any time in Lima after the first night, so you’re off to the airport to fly to Cusco early the next morning. Our guide sorted boarding passes and luggage tags for the whole group, so all we had to do was queue up and drop our bags.

Arriving in Cusco, you immediately feel the change in altitude. The air is thinner up there as the city is at an elevation of 3,399m. So expect to feel a bit light-headed and out of breath as soon as you leave the plane.

Once transferred to the hotel in Cusco (we stayed in the Cusco Plaza II, which is centrally located and comfortable, if a little chilly – the central areas are open air.) we had a group lunch in a local restaurant followed by an orientation walk and a free afternoon to explore.

Cusco is a pleasant place to walk around, take photos, have a coffee, or visit markets. If you don’t manage to do everything you want this afternoon, don’t worry, you have another free afternoon here after the trek (if you have the energy!)

Exploring Inca sites in Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo was perhaps my favourite town in Peru. It’s small, cute, and has a mix of Inca and Spanish influence, and a relaxed vibe.

You get entry to Ollantaytambo (the Inca site) included in the Peru Multisport trip and you’re free to explore at your own pace.

We had an extra free day in Ollantaytambo after the Mountain Biking, and our guide offered to take us on a hike up to the Inca store. It takes only about 30-minutes of relatively steep steps to get to the store, then it’s fun to enjoy the views of the town.

Mountain Biking in Maras

I had never tried mountain biking before. I cycle to work and back every day on my hybrid bike, but where I live the only hills are actually bridges!

The first day of mountain biking was really very tame. Just an hour or two on the bikes, all down hill, and most of it on tarmac. This was no problem at all for beginners, but disappointing for those used to mountain biking. For me, it was sort of nice to get used to the bike, which had much more bouncy suspension than I’m used to.

Day two was a bit more challenging. The first section, for about an hour or so, was ‘level 1’. It was mostly downhill, some of which was really quite steep, sandy, and close to the edge of the mountain. There were a couple of uphill sections too, which were quite hard given the elevation. I loved it and everyone had fun.

The option to opt out

After a break for snacks, we had the option to carry on and try ‘level 2’, but the catch was that if you did, you also had to do ‘level 3’. A lot of us opted out and bought some beers instead (mostly worried about getting injured before the Inca Trail), but the more advanced bikers carried on and really enjoyed it.

The cyclists’ route took them right down to the Maras Salt Mine, which I was jealous of. Those of us that opted out were taken by minibus to a high up viewpoint, which was great, but no quite as impressive!

Hiking the 4-Day Inca Trail

The Inca Trail was incredible and worthy of its own post (which I might write later!). There’s so much to say about the experience.

Before I went to Peru, I read a lot of articles about how tough the Inca Trail is. Honestly, I wouldn’t say it was easy, but I really didn’t find it that hard. I expect it depends on your general fitness level, and how affected you are by the altitude.

For reference, I’m 34, I climb three times a week, cycle 30mins to work and back every day, and walk around a lot.

There were one or two members of the group who found it really quite challenging, but none were part of the Multisport trip (for the trek, we had combined with a Classic group).

The trail was beautiful, the weather was changeable, the guides and porters were fantastic and the food was frankly incredible!

Day one was a very easy walk, day two was a challenging steep incline, day three was a challenging steep downhill, and day four was a very early start!

If you want to do the Inca Trail you’ll need to book the G Adventures Peru Multisport trip around 6 months in advance, at least, because they only let so many people on the trail per day and the passes sell out. There are other treks you can do instead, such as the Lares Trek or the Salkantay trek.

Related post: What to pack for the Inca Trail

Learning about Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is the main reason that most of us had travelled to Peru. It’s one of the Seven New Wonders of the World and it is just wonderful!!

If you’re not into hiking, you can get the train to Machu Picchu from Cusco or Ollantaytambo, but I think you’d be missing out. If you hike the Inca Trail, you arrive from the back of the Sun Gate, so there is no glimpse of the city until you walk through the gate. And that moment is pretty emotional!

If you get the train, you arrive in Agua Caliente and then get the bus up to the entrance of Machu Picchu. Nice and easy, but no challenge to make the reward great! Up to you!

The G Adventures Peru Multisport trip includes a guided tour of Machu Picchu with the trek guide, which is really interesting and it’s amazing to explore.

Hiking Rainbow Mountain (optional, but totally worth it!)

On the G Adventures Peru Multisport trip, you can opt to visit Rainbow Mountain, which is a really amazing striped mountain. It makes for some great photos!

I had read blog posts saying it wasn’t worth a visit as the Instagram photos you see have been heavily photoshopped. That probably is true in many cases, but the above photo is pretty true to the actual colours and I personally think it’s rather nice to look at!

I guess the catch is that the only day you can visit Rainbow Mountain is the day after the four-day Inca Trail. It’s an early start and you have to be ready to be picked up at 4am. However, I thought it was totally worthwhile and they do give you blankets on the bus in the morning

I loved the hike too. It takes about 1.5 hours to walk to the top, and most of it is a relatively gentle incline. The elevation is higher than the Inca Trail though, so it doesn’t feel that easy.

There’s a really steep bit at the end to get the best views that takes you to an elevation of 5,000m. The air is really thin up there, so you can’t stay too long. You’ll get great views of Rainbow Mountain and other snow-capped mountains around it.

You can pay to take a horse most of the way up if you want to. But, for me, that’s cheating!

Lake Titicaca Islands and Homestay

Lake Titicaca has over 40 islands, and I visited two islands and two ‘floating islands’ on this trip.

The journey from Puno to the first kayaking spot takes about 2 hrs and you travel on a comfortable boat. The lake is usually quite calm, so it’s a pleasant journey. The lunch spot on Taquile island has a beautiful view of the lake, and I enjoyed a short walk around the island afterwards.

We stayed the night on Amantani island (pictured above) with local families. Before meeting the hosts, we played friendly games of football (soccer) with the locals. Then they dress you up in their traditional outfits (which honestly I could have done without, but interesting all the same!).

What is the homestay like?

For the homestay you split into groups of two or three and spend time in their kitchen helping to chop veggies for dinner. I was lucky in that the couple I was staying with spoke Spanish, where some only speak Quechua.

My Spanish is VERY limited, so I was also lucky that our G Adventures Peru Multisport guide was staying in the same house as me and was happy to translate.

I really enjoyed this part of the trip, aside perhaps from being woken up by the donkey at first light! But others had a more awkward experience and didn’t enjoy it so much. That said, it is just one night and worth it for the experience.

On day two you visit two floating islands. One traditional small island (around 15 metres across) where a few families live, followed by lunch at a larger commercial island.

On the small island we learned about how the islands are made, constructed out of reeds, and the local way of life. It’s unlike anything I had seen before, and was incredibly interesting, though did feel a little intrusive looking into their homes.

Kayaking Lake Titicaca

The kayaks we used were two-person sea kayaks and, whilst a couple had a few niggles, the boats and equipment were pretty good. The G Adventures Peru Multisport tour notes said they would be sit-on-top kayaks, but they were actually proper sea kayaks and we were provided with waterproof jacket, life vest and spray skirt. So better than I was expecting.

On day one you kayak up to two hours from the start point to the lunch spot on Taquile island. We had a really calm day so it wasn’t too much of a challenge. Some people were more experienced, and so faster, than others but it didn’t matter at all.

(Some of) the group were given options for day two: one hour kayaking, or two hours kayaking. I say some of, because we weren’t all there and those that were chose one hour. It was a nice trip around the shoreline, but a few of us were disappointed that it was so short.

Although I would have liked more of a challenge, the kayaking was really great and I loved it. Just be aware that it is quite tame (and so really good for beginners!).

Should you book the Peru Multisport trip?

Well, of course that’s up to you, and I hope that this post has helped you to make a decision! I had a brilliant time and I’d love to do it all over again! The only thing I would say is to make sure you are fairly fit before you go, to make sure you get the most out of the trip.

You can see the full itinerary of the tour and book on the G Adventures website.

If you have any questions about the trip that I haven’t answered here, please drop me an email – I genuinely do reply to them all and I enjoy it!

To keep things above board, I do get a small commission (at no cost to you) if you click on the links in this post and go on to book a trip. I only recommend things here that I really like though!

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Here are some things I did and loved that you might like too…

Fun things to do in Stockholm

Get your adrenaline fix Rooftop Hiking in Stockholm

If possible, I like to begin my time in a new city by getting my bearings from up high. Stockholm isn’t a very tall city, so there are no skyscrapers, but there’s another option here that is way better – rooftop hiking!

Head over to Takvandring and book yourself a rooftop hiking tour.

You’ll be led to the attic of one of the taller buildings in Stockholm where you’ll be kitted out with a full-body harness. Then you’ll clip on and climb out onto the roof for a walk and a tour.

I loved this tour because it gave me a little adrenaline fix walking along the rooftop catwalks. But it’s not just about that. The guides were great too and they stopped at each corner of the roof to tell us the history of Stockholm.

The Stockholm rooftop hiking tour takes just over an hour and costs SEK 695 which, like everything in Sweden (and similar to Norway), isn’t cheap. But it’s absolutely worth it, great fun, and I would do it again.

Mooch around the old town in Gamla Stan

Gamla Stan is Stockholm’s old town. As you’d expect from an old town, it is filled with narrow streets and even narrower alleyways.

Most of the old town is made up of gift shops, cafes and restaurants, so it’s a popular area for tourists. It gets pretty busy on the main streets, so I recommend visiting early morning when it’s a little less crowded.

Give your arms a workout kayaking in the Stockholm Archipelago

If you’re looking for something fun to do in Stockholm, why not rent a kayak from Langholmen Kajak? You can pre-book online or just show up when you’re ready to hire.

There’s no need to have kayaked before, as the staff will give you a thorough briefing if needed. If you’re not ready to paddle off by yourself, you can even book a guided tour.

Langholmen Kajak has maps of suggested routes on their website which are really helpful if you aren’t familiar with the different islands. The routes are graded in terms of difficulty, so you can select one appropriate to your level.

I chose to paddle around the Essinge Islands, which is 3/5 difficulty and took me just under two hours. Up to 2 hours costs SEK 250, which I thought was quite reasonable. It was a really great way to explore Stockholm and see a little more of local life.

Eat delicious Swedish Food

You can get all kinds of great food in Stockholm from all over the world. But don’t forget to try something traditionally Swedish! Meatballs are a good place to start.

I went to Meatballs for the People, which is a casual restaurant with a nice vibe. Here you can order meatballs served with mash, lingonberries and pickled cucumbers. They have a few different meatball options and you can even order Moose!

Main courses range from SEK 179-225 and the food is yum.

Sip a tasty Cocktail at a Stockholm Rooftop Bar

Stockholm has a number of rooftop bars and you can find a good list of some of the best here.

My friend and I went to Tak. Tak has a large rooftop terrace, complete with a few swings (be careful if you’ve had a few…) and panoramic views of the city.

Tak describes itself as “A space where crafted drinks meet lively conversations and laughter with a hint of escapism”. I like that description and it fits well. Tak draws a mixed crowd of different ages and backgrounds and it’s not too pretentious.

Have Fika – coffee, cake and a lovely chat

What’s Fika? Basically coffee, cake and a chat with a friend. This is considered so important for wellbeing in Sweden that they’ve given its own name.

You’ll see signs for Fika outside pretty much every cafe in Stockholm, so finding a good spot is going to be pretty easy! Then just order your coffee and cake and settle in for a good natter. Job done!

Stay somewhere fun in Central Stockholm

I stayed at Skanstulls Hostel in Stockholm and I absolutely loved it. As it’s quite expensive to travel in Scandinavia, I stayed in hostels and AirBnBs to try to keep the costs down.

Most hostels are nothing to write home about (or write on a blog about!), but I particularly liked this one.

Decorated with unusual furniture, quirky pictures and fun ornaments, Skanstulls feels like staying in the home of an eccentric. In a really nice, fun way.

It’s clean, comfortable, the staff are friendly, and it’s well located. I had a private room, which felt more like a hotel room than a hostel room, and it was the perfect balance between budget and style.

Does Stockholm sound like fun?

If you visit Stockholm, I hope you have as much fun as I did! If you’re inspired by my list I’d love to know, or if you have any questions feel free to give me a shout – I genuinely love to help

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