by Island on island, Germany
Gut Üselitz, a 16th-century manor house on a river-like inlet on the island of Rügen off the Baltic coast, which now houses seven minimalist holiday apartments. The house is on a remote island within Rügen, surrounded by water. The apartments, sleeping 2-6, can be rented separately, or the whole house can be hired, including the main kitchen, dining room, lounge and library. The six-hectare (14-acre) grounds include an orchard and are visited by birds of prey, finches, woodpeckers and other birds (binoculars are in each apartment). The nearest beach is Streler Sund, a 10-minute drive away, and guests can go kayaking and sailing nearby.
From €140 per night, sleeping two, welcomebeyond.com
A gorgeous gorge, Le Marche, Italy
Villa Poderina in Le Marche, east-central Italy, is a four-bedroom, four-bathroom farmhouse with terracotta floors and exposed beams set in three hectares of parkland with poplars, olives, holm oaks and cypresses. Guests can drink and eat alfresco on the veranda, which has a dining table and double hammock, and views of the Furlo Pass, one of Italy’s most spectacular gorges. A swim in the L-shaped pool is a great way to cool off, but an even better place to swim is in the slow-moving Candigliano River at the bottom of the garden, where there is a private beach. The farmhouse is about two miles from the truffle capital of Acqualagna.
Oh €300 per nightsleeps eightemmavillas.com
Water world, the Netherlands
Anna Biesbosch off-grid cabin in De Biesbosch national park, a tidal wetland near Dordrecht in the west of the Netherlands. The cabin has sliding glass and wooden walls inside and out. There is a wood burning stove for heating, cooking and hot water, and electricity from solar panels. As well as an open plan living/sleeping area, there is a mezzanine bed, kitchen and bathroom with sunken bath. The park is a network of rivers, lakes and reed beds, and the cabin stands on one of its wooded peninsulas. Guests use a canoe moored at a jetty opposite, and can follow marked paddling routes to spot birds and De Biesbosch’s pride: Beavers. Swimming is prohibited in front of the cabin because of the beavers, but there is a swimming spot a short distance away.
From €257 per night for two adults and two childrenhollenberg.com
Run your boat from Spain to Portugal
Guests arrive by boat comfortably Peel Cabin in Huelva, Andalusia – has its own jetty on the Guadiana River, the border between Spain and Portugal. A Moroccan-style bedroom opens to a covered deck with kitchen area, sofa bed and table. There is a compost loo in a separate hut and a solar powered outdoor shower. The cabin is off the grid but has a wood burner, barbecue, gas camp stove and solar lanterns, and all stays include a welcome hamper with homemade bread, home grown fruit and vegetables and a bottle of wine. Guests can swim in the river or take out the rowboat. It’s a 25-minute walk to the village of Sanlúcar de Guadiana – but it’s more fun to go by boat – and the beaches of Spain’s Costa de la Luz and Portugal’s eastern Algarve are less than an hour’s drive.
Oh £75 for two people, plus £10 each for up to two additional guestscanopyandstars.co.uk
Family funAlgarve, Portugal
This is Portuguese a farm which is in the hills near the Funcho River. There are five double bedrooms, two of which are en suite, and a family bathroom. It is child friendly, with stair gates, baby nest, cots, high chairs and toys. The decks and terraces have views of the Funcho Dam and come with a pizza oven and barbecue; the waterside deck, under carob trees, is an atmospheric spot for dinner; and has an infinity pool and birding areas. The property is on the Via Algarviana walking trail, where you can go windsurfing and kayaking. It is a five-minute taxi ride from Messines-Alte train station.
From €500 per night, sleeps 10, responsibletravel.com
Private river quay, Croatia
The IS Old Oak House It is a renovated farmhouse on the banks of the Korana River, on an estate near the town of Karlovac in central Croatia. The three-storey house has three bedrooms, a bathroom on each floor, a living room and a kitchen diner. The grounds have a balcony with two barbecues, a natural spring, an orchard, a vegetable garden and woodland. The pièce de résistance is the private river quay next to a waterfall, which creates a natural whirlpool bath. There are mountains and the towns of Ogulin and Slunj are a short drive away.
From €1,050 per weekhe sleeps, oneoffplaces.co.uk
Series of adventures, Austria
A 500-year-old farmhouse in Palfau, in the middle of Austria’s Salza valley, has been rafting camp in 1979 and is still run by the same family. The main activity is a half-day whitewater rafting trip on the Salza River, while the camp also offers canyoning trips and whitewater kayaking courses. Accommodation includes tented camps, dorms, double rooms, a shepherd’s hut and two apartments. There is an orchard, campfire pit, archery area and resident goats.
Camping €14 adult/€8 child, rafting package €121pp for two sharing a double room, additional nights €50pp, raftingcamp.ag
Kayak to your cabin, Finland
Vikings Island near Tampere there are five new cabins. Strictly speaking, the island is on a lake, but Scandinavia Finland is a patchwork of lakes, rivers and canals – this one, Lake Pyhäjärvi, is connected to Lake Näsijärvi via the Tammerkoski Rapids. Guests arrive by ferry (including the 20-minute return crossing from Tampere) or can row from the nearest point on the mainland, 500 meters away. Two cabins are close to the beach and have lake views, and three are on a nearby ridge overlooking the forest. They are simple A-frame wooden structures with beds, hob, radiator and fan; guests are the only overnight residents on the island. Viikinsaari has swimming platforms and a sauna, and guests can rent canoes, kayaks and paddleboards. Attractions on the island include a nature trail and the oldest restaurant in the region.
From €167 per night, sleeping two adults and two childrennolacabins.com
Family tree house, Norway
Eye of the River It’s a hand-built, off-the-grid tree house perched over the water in Norway’s southern Telemark forest. Huge windows offer views of the river, trees and mountains. You can go swimming, kayaking and rafting, and bathe in a heated riverside tub. The tree house is suitable for large families or small groups, with one queen bed, two double beds and three mattresses – one bed is under a skylight for stargazing. There is a kitchen, a wood-burning stove, a terrace and a communal campfire. The treehouse is one of three properties at the family-run A Camp, which promises “intimate contact with untouched nature”.
From £170 per night, sleeps nine, hostunusual.com
Water mill in wildlife harbor, Dordogne, France
Cistercian monks built the Moulin de Latreille from the 13th century on the banks of the Ouysse, known as the Emerald River, a tributary of the Dordogne. Today, the water mill is family owned and has three light bedrooms, with sitting rooms and balconies overlooking the water. The property is off the grid – the mill generates its own hydropower – and the grounds are a wildlife sanctuary. Guests can relax in a hammock, rent kayaks and canoes in nearby Souillac to explore the river, and hike the wildflower meadows and cliffs. There are great swimming spots just by the bend or a short walk along the river bank.
Double from €145 B&Bmoulindelatreille.com
