For many, an active trip to Europe means working up a sweat running up and down cathedral steps. Instead, throw some muscle into your exploring. Here are 10 sporty ways to experience Europe, and recommendations for countries best-suited for those activities, according to adventure travel outfitters and other experts. We've included sample package trips — land-only prices are per person, based on double occupancy; airfare from D.C. is additional — to get you rolling (or climbing or paddling).
Trekking/Hiking
Ireland is a natural choice for hikers, with wending, rock-walled trails that pass eye-popping scenery, from the Cliffs of Moher to electric green pastures. Along the way, you can chat up the locals or hit a pub. Inn-to-inn treks are popular in the south, but Northern Ireland is just as stunning. Across the Irish Sea, England's Cotswolds region and Lake District, as well as Wales, stand out for their ancient footpaths, markets and villages with manicured gardens, while Scotland is known for its fields of heather, jagged mountain views, wind-swept coastline and more sheep than trekkers. Or go from sea to shining sea on a coast-to-coast walk in England. In Slovenia, hikers can explore lakes, cities, forests and mountains all by foot, then sack out in bivouacs or huts. One trail of note is the Slovene Alpine Transversal, which dead-ends at the Adriatic Sea.
Sample trip: New England Hiking Holidays has an eight-day trip around Scotland's Highlands and islands, from Glasgow to Oban and back, for $2,695, including lodging, meals and guides. Depart July 5 or Aug. 15. Info: 800-869-0949, www.nehikingholidays.com.
Mountaineering/ Ice Climbing
Basically, if you head for the Alps you're in the right spot. Switzerland has the twin peaks — Eiger and Matterhorn — but also some equally challenging yet less-hyped mountains in the Val d'Anniviers and Val d'Herens regions. France's Chamonix-Mont Blanc is good for beginner to expert climbers, while Italy has the Dolomites, south of the main Alps chain, which are tough but don't require technical skill — unless you so choose. Also notable are the picturesque base towns that make descending a little more bearable. For additional ice climbing, Norway has a number of frozen peaks, white-knuckle pitches and walls, such as Innerdalen, Romsdalen and Hurrungane.
Sample trip: Adventures to the Edge offers a seven-day Matterhorn ascent for $2,880, including training with a professional guide, Swiss hut lodging with breakfast and dinner, and some equipment. Dates throughout summer. Info: 970-209-3980, www.jpmountainguide.com.
Cycling
Nothing can be as intoxicating as a bicycle ride through Italy's Tuscany, with its wild flowers, tree-lined lanes, centuries-old bell towers and vineyards. Or, for Francophiles, Provence offers a whiff of lavender, honey and thyme, views of Roman aqueducts and vineyards, and other scenes straight out of Monet's garden. The terrain is ideal for long-distance riders as well as those who prefer to cycle, stop and stare. For a more understated ride, try Portugal's Minho wine region; just watch for those grape-hauling ox carts. The bike is the prime mode of transport in the Netherlands, and the amazing network of bike trails that crisscross the country is second only to the canals. Go when the tulips bloom.
Sample trip: Backroads' Classic Tuscan Experience offers nine days of cycling through such Italian towns as Chianti and Palaia, with cultural and culinary stops. Various May-October dates; price of $3,998 includes inn lodging and most breakfasts and dinners. Info: 800-462-2848, www.backroads.com.
Horseback Riding
Budapest and Vienna, known for their equine heritage, let you trot like nobility along paths lined with ruins and castles. However, if you care for less dressage and more Wild West, Wales is the spot. On remote trails, you can go from breaking surf to cloud-piercing mountains without ever leaving the saddle. Ditto for Ireland. Spain, meanwhile, offers rides on conquistador horses, with Navarra, near the bull-famous town of Pamplona, and Larioja, part of Spanish wine country, offering prime giddy-up terrain. In Greece, you can have your ancient temples and spanakopita, too.
Sample trip: Cross Country International Equestrian Vacations has a six-night Greek trip that tracks the Ionian Sea Trail, with beach and woodsy rides, cultural and historical sightseeing, and a side trip to see the Summer Olympic venues (by foot). Cost: $2,580 per person double, includes five-star lodging, meals, four days of guided rides, horse and tack, and transfers. May and October dates. Info: 800-828-8768, www.equestrianvacations.com.
Canoeing
On an Icelandic canoe trip, your boat might be a tad smaller than a Viking ship, but you can still conquer the intersecting rivers along the southern coast. See glaciers, hot springs and geysers, and bump along Class I and II rapids. Equally mesmerizing are the Scottish Highlands and Isle of Skye, where paddlers can glide past imposing green mountains that shelter castles and ancient villages. And don't forget Germany, especially the Werra, Unstrut and Saale rivers, lined with vineyards. Portugal also has some wild rivers, such as the Douro, which cuts through high canyons, and the Sabor, Tua and Rabacal, which flow past towns dating to the Middle Ages.
Sample trip: Gorptravel.com has an eight-day Portugal trip on rivers in the Minho and Tras os Montes regions. Cost: $3,150, includes hotels with breakfast, lunches, land transport, and canoe and gear. Depart Oct. 16. Info: 877-500-7731 , www.gorptravel.com.
Scuba Diving
Skomer Island, off Wales's Pembrokeshire coast, is a marine reserve teeming with fish, seals, dolphins, the odd turtle and the 1967 wreck of a Dutch coaster named Lucy. In Scotland, Scapa Flow is a big scuba destination for its World War I wrecks. Around the Maltese Islands, the year-round diving offers a trove of World War II wrecks and underwater caves and reefs. In addition, anyplace in the Mediterranean, especially Turkey, is a diver's dream, as are the islands of Corsica and Majorca. For lake dives, try Iceland's Pingvallavatn, and for a great in- and out-of-water experience, take a dip along the French Riviera. And the sleeper spot goes to . . . Varna, Bulgaria, for its Black Sea shipwrecks and submerged ruins of a Roman port town.
Sample trip: England-based Oonas Divers has a weeklong diving package that covers multiple dives in Gozo and Malta, plus accommodations (apartment) in St. Paul's Bay, Malta, and Gozo (B&B); a ferry and helicopter ride; and tanks and weights. Cost: $522-$638, depending on season. Info: 011-44-1323-648924, www.oonasdivers.com.
Inline Skating
Novices, think flat countries: the Netherlands and Denmark, for example. Experts, pick whatever you want: cities ( Berlin, Paris, Vienna), hills ( Majorca), long distance ( Switzerland, Austria's Donau Radweg). Mainly, though, inline skaters should select countries with a vast biking or walking trail system, preferably smooth and paved. Urban skates are also fun, and many European towns and cities, such as Helsinki, Paris and Amsterdam, organize such social events. Nothing like sharing the road with 12,000 pairs of wheels.
Sample trip: Spend a week inline skating Switzerland's Valais region with Zephyr Adventures. Cost: $1,900, includes hotel lodging, breakfast and dinners, guides, and local transportation, such as boat ride in Lake Geneva. Depart Aug 27. Info: 888-758-8687, www.zephyradventures.com.
Kayaking
Northern Norway's coastline has waterfalls, fiords, orcas, porpoises and islands (many above the Arctic Circle) where you can stretch your legs and maybe spot a reindeer. For the city/slick-water mix, try the archipelago of Stockholm, with easy access from downtown. In Croatia, you can paddle off Dubrovnik's shorelines and around the Elafiti Islands to see cliffs, caves and history from a fish's point of view. To the south are Greece's Dodecanese Islands, stand-outs for their white rock formations, sea caves and villages where you can load up on olives, feta and wine. Paddlers can frolic with the porpoises and minke whales in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, which combines the wild Atlantic with the calm of the protected sound.
Sample trip: Crossing Latitudes celebrates the summer solstice in Sweden with a seven-day journey around the Bohuslan Archipelago, north of Goteborg. Cost: $1,950, includes lodging in a guesthouse, meals and all sea kayak equipment. Depart June 20-26. Info: 800-572-8747, www.crossinglatitudes.com.
Whitewater Rafting
Go where the rivers run, and run for long stretches — which happens in only a small slice of Europe. Croatia's River Cetina is a popular spot for rafting, with its Class II and III rapids, and the multiple tributaries of Portugal's Alvarinho Valley provide a great ride among fetching vineyards. Spain has the Aragonese Pyrenees, or at least when the melted mountain snow churns up the waterways. Italy's Val di Sole attracts hard-core rafters to its Class III-IV rapids on the Noce River, and Austria's Tyrolean Alps offer similarly challenging routes along the Inn and Otztalerache rivers.
Sample trip: Mountain Travel Sobek can organize a 12-day trip for six travelers or more that includes six days of rafting in Italy and Austria, plus some hiking and biking on off days. Cost: $3,500-$4,000, includes lodging, most meals, guides and transport. Best time to go is June and September. Info: 888-687-6235, www.mtsobek.com.
Windsurfing
Hang tight in Germany, which has sail-whipping winds in Walchensee. Italy's Lake Garda is a popular glam resort region with a predictable afternoon thermal wind and a scenic shoreline dotted with olive trees and browning Europeans. In Turkey, it's always sunny and windy along the Adriatic Coast; the Cesme Peninsula, which juts into the Aegean Sea, and the village of Bitez, which has a number of wimdsurfing centers, are big draws. The sport is also popular in France, from the northern waters lined with small fishing villages to the ritzy beaches along the Mediterranean to the inland lakes. Extreme windsurfers head to Scotland, where the water is cold, the weather's rainy and bleak, and the waves and wind are smashing.
Sample package: GuardaQui, an online Italian tourism guide, offers a package on Italy's Lake Garda that includes seven nights at a B&B, three-day windsurfing course, and a week of board and bike rental. Cost: from $435. Info: www.gardaqui.com.