Play hard, rest easy a walk on the wine side: daytime activity plus nighttime luxury equals the stuff dreams are made of

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, May, 2004 by Liz Neporent

I love traveling, but hate the overdetailed itineraries and overbearing travel agents that typically go with it. While I appreciate the youth hostel spirit--affordable accommodations, flexible plans dictated by train schedules--I'm way beyond just winging my vacations, not to mention bunking with 14 strangers in the same room. And I'm way too active to join the blue-haired crowd on a preplanned bus tour.

So when my husband Jay stumbles across Randonnee Tours, a company that plans self-guided tours, I'm thrilled. You pick the location (they go everywhere from Corsica to Canada and plenty of places in between) and the mode of transport (hiking, biking, among others), then they devise a route for you based on your skill and fitness level. In addition, they set up your nightly accommodations at bed and breakfasts and, best of all, transport your luggage from one destination to the next. We choose an eight-day hiking tour of Provence, one of France's wine regions.

After arriving at Vaison-la-Romaine, a village in the heart of Provence--the only part of the trip we had to navigate on our own--our Randonnee representative hands us a set of maps and a detailed description of each day's trail information and accompanying tourist highlights. The next morning we set out, with light backpacks containing just water, cheese sandwiches on crusty bread and the day's itinerary. After a trek through the medieval section of town and some fumbling with the map, we finally reach Randonnees du Pays, a series of interconnected hiking trails through the region. The terrain is rougher than we expected, but the payoff is definitely worth it. We travel through fields full of alfalfa and wildflowers, over rocky hills and through vineyards--we visit in peak harvest season, and local farmers don't begrudge hikers a little sampling of their wares--until we descend upon a ruined castle and disappear into the woods. Thirteen miles later, we arrive at the Hotel les Florets, which features amazing outdoor gardens and gazebos. But instead of lingering outdoors, we head up to our room, where it feels wonderful to kick off our shoes and lie back on the overstuffed feather bed in a room filled with delicate antique furniture.

We repeat a similar pattern daily, ambling along at our own pace and stopping to tour churches, explore 14th-century castles, and of course, sample fresh cheese and local wine in the open-air markets whenever we felt like it. It's heaven to meet up with our luggage (and have clean clothes) each evening, take a long, leisurely shower and sit down to a relaxing gourmet dinner. Everything is so perfect, in fact, that it's almost as if I'd planned it myself.

Randonnee Tours: www.randonneetours.com; 800-465-6488; an eight-day Provence hiking trip costs about $1,420 per person, including some meals but excluding airfare, train and taxi travel.

Western Spirit, the White Linen tour

Gather at least eight of your mountain-biker buddies and head to southern Utah for the ultimate in both fat-tire adventure and decadence. After a long day of riding, you'll arrive at camp, where everything is already assembled for your comfort. After taking a dip in natural hot springs (often near campsites), you'll settle in for a massage and a candlelight dinner prepared by a professional chef--truffled pheasant tortellini, anyone?--and served on tablecloths and china. www.westernspirit.com; 800-845-2453; about $4,000 per person for five days

Beaver Creek Hike and Adventure and Spa Weeks

On daily guided hikes you'll experience the rugged beauty of the Rockies, watching for porcupine, chirping marmots and red-tailed hawks. At night, you'll rest at the Park Hyatt Resort and Spa, The Pines Lodge or The Charter, where spa treatments, like the must-have hot-stone foot massage, are plentiful. On the final day you'll summit one of Colorado's famed Fourteeners, peaks that stand at more than 14,000 feet--an accomplishment definitely worthy of a pampering reward. www.beavercreek.com; 800-404-3535; six-night packages start at $1,925

Backroads, Epic Tuscany Adventure

Pedal 50 to 75 challenging miles a day through vineyards, olive groves and cypress forests, past medieval abbeys and farmhouses, and up the switchbacks of Monte Amiata, Tuscany's highest mountain (5,200 feet). At day's end, hang up your cleats, carbo-load on pasta like you never have before, sample world-class wines and enjoy your cozy accommodations, which include a restored 12th-century fortress. www.backroads.com; 800-462-2848; $3,098 for six days

--Suzanne Schlosberg