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From The Sunday Times

December 30, 2007

Eight holidays to knock you into shape

Need a holiday to knock you into shape? Here are the best, with a star rating as to how much righteous punishment to expect.

Brian Schofield

R and R, not sweat and tears

Some gain, but little pain

Starting to work it baby

Fell the burn

At least you'll die thin

THE ORIGINAL

Bikini Boot Camp, Mexico It has a raft of celebrity acolytes, but is a million miles from the kind of slick spa resort you might expect the A list to slim in. The Yucatan beach-hut accommodation is almost wilfully scrappy, and the flavour more hippie-commune chaos than serious-minded self-denial. But most of the guests - predominantly New York and LA alpha females – love it here, returning annually for a restorative week of jogs, hikes, yoga, juices and sisterhood. Men are welcome, but here’s a thing – to assist breathing, group yoga classes often employ only half the bikini . . .
Do it: seven days, full-board, including all treatments and classes, cost £968pp, plus £409 if you’re travelling solo and don’t want to share a room; call 00 52 998 185 7428 or visit www.amansala.com. Return car transfers from Cancun are £125. Charter Flights (0845 045 0153, www.charterflights.co.uk) has seven-day returns from the UK to Cancun from about £350 in January.

THE TOUGH NEW KID

Body and Soul Adventures, Brazil Launched this year in Paraty, not far from Rio de Janeiro, this is a health camp that takes reducing your waist size awfully seriously – and, be warned, that dedication has won it so many fans, the place is booked solid until March 16.

If you can get a slot, you’ll do a lot of hiking in the tropical fjordland around Paraty, then sea-kayaking, surfing and hours of yoga. Oh, and your diet will be calorie-counted, caffeine-free and 100% natural. The idea is to provide you with an intense “jump start” to redirect your lifestyle to healthy choices – though expect most of your fellow guests to be trim already.
Do it: seven days (strictly Sunday to Sunday) start at £1,200pp, full-board, including all activities and transfers; call 020 3002 0936 or visit www.bodyandsouladventures.com. Trailfinders (0845 058 5858, www.trailfinders.com) has fares from Heathrow to Rio from £628, with Iberia via Madrid.

THE FIGHTING-FIT IRISH

Body and Soul Experience, Ireland This one makes the most of the stunning Donegal countryside to inspire and exhaust pound-shedding guests on weekend or week-long “rejuvenation courses”. You’re limited to 1,200 calories a day, and will be expected to tear into long hikes, mountain-bike rides and afternoon yoga sessions. At least the bed you collapse into is comfortable – the camp is hosted by Harvey’s Point, a country-house hotel on the shore of Lough Eske that has just been named the Irish AA’s Hotel of the Year.
Do it: camps are held year-round, with prices starting at £679pp for three nights, full-board, including all activities, or £1,394pp for six nights; call 00 353 74 972 2208 or visit www.harveyspoint.com. Fly to Sligo, an hour from Harvey’s Point, from Manchester with Aer Arran (www.aerarran.com), or to Belfast, which is 2½ hours away, with FlyBe (0871 700 2000, www.flybe.com), Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) or Easyjet (www.easyjet.com).

THE WHITE HEAT

Waymark Experience, Norway Nordic skiing uses up the British Nutrition Foundation’s estimate for the typical Christmas dinner – 1,400 calories – in just two hours for an average-sized man, or three for a regular-sized woman, and all that gain comes in beautiful winter scenery. Stretch yourself and book a “confident beginner” trip with Exodus, the UK’s Nordic expert. The base is Kvitavatn, in the Telemark region of Norway – renowned for the quality of its instructors and the wildness of the country.
Do it: seven nights in February start at £729pp, including flights from London, ski hire, full-board bunkhouse accommodation (or £125pp extra for an ensuite twin), guiding and instruction. Call 0845 863 9600 or visit www.exodus.co.uk.

THE RURAL ROUSER

FitFarms, Devon If you want to lose weight so badly that you’re willing to get up at 6.15 every morning and subject yourself to a programme of dawn workouts, power walks, life-coaching sessions and nutrition workshops until past 7pm, every night for a week, this is the place. A women-only course, it isn’t about strenuous effort for the already healthy, but about serious diet and exercise for those who are struggling to reach a shape they’re happy with. After a week here, you should head home informed and inspired for a healthy year.
Do it: seven days, starting on January 18 or February 15, start at £799pp, full-board (£1,099pp for a private room); call 0800 634 3070 or visit www.fitfarms.co.uk.

THE CHILLOUT

Surf Berbere, Morocco There’s a reason surfers wear their shorts so low. They have no waistline. For a week of excellent cardiovascular fitness, muscle-toning and a fat-burning chill from the water, you can’t beat hitting the waves. Choose Morocco and you’ll have the added benefit of spending your evenings sipping virtuous peppermint tea, rather than the carb-loaded devil’s drink, beer. Surf Berbere is a new, British-run camp in the laid-back Atlantic town of Taghazout, with quiet waves and help for beginners.
Do it:seven nights cost £400pp, full-board, including transfers, equipment hire and instruction; visit www.surfberbere.com. Charter Flight Centre (0845 045 0153, www.charterflights.co.uk) has flights to Agadir from £99 in January.

THE STRESS-BUSTER

Holistic Holidays If your Christmas season included not only an excessive calorie count, but a blazing family row, too many trips to the wine box and a spontaneous flood of tears at the Waitrose checkout, this is worth considering. Based in a spacious villa in the quiet interior of Lanzarote, HoHo is an escape hatch for people whose lives, either physically or psychologically, seem to have run off the leash. As well as a personal training regime, aquarobics, healthy food and tons of top-quality yoga instruction, it offers plenty of opportunity for quiet contemplation and conversation.
Do it: prices start at £550 for a week, B&B, plus £355 for a prebooked package of activities and treatments; call 020 8123 9250 or visit www.hoho.co.uk. Cheap Flights (www.cheapflights.co.uk) has charter fares to Lanzarote from many UK airports; from about £100.

THE BEAST

Boulder Outdoor Survival School This might just be the most arduous – and consequently slimming – holiday experience you can pay for. A 14-day field course in the badlands of southern Utah, it teaches the art and philosophy of wilderness survival through genuine puddle-drinking, root-eating hardship, with perhaps 15 miles of hiking a day, no modern gadgets allowed and a period of solo survival to negotiate. Guests have been known to shed two stone in one seriously tough fortnight. To get through this holiday, you will have to kill a sheep. Really.
Do it: prices start at £842pp, including campfire and blanket; call 00 1 303 444 9779 or visit www.boss-inc.com. Fly from Heathrow to Salt Lake City with Delta (www.delta.com) via Atlanta; from £485.