LAKITIRA, KOS

Another bucketful of cool sea water splashes in my face and my steering once again goes haywire. James did say the rudder on this sail boat was sensitive but come on! Behind me the beach seems miles away. The waves are much bigger the further out you go and I’m still nervous about my first ever ‘tack’ (don’t know why they can’t just call it a U-turn). After counting to three out loud I go for it, scurrying under the boom and onto the other side grazing both knees on the way. To my complete and utter amazement the boat gently turns and now faces back towards dry land.

This might sound utterly boring to most of you. It did to me many years ago. The thought of going ‘sailing’ just made me cringe. If it doesn’t have an engine, then it’s boring. Not anymore. I loved it. This trip was completely out of my comfort zone. When I go away with the wife, or some mates, the holiday goes like this: Beer, food, beer, eat more food, beach, beer, food, eat more food, beer, more beer, sleep. That’s pretty much every holiday I can remember (including when I was a kid, possibly).

This on the other hand was an activity holiday and the guys at Marc Warner have it sorted. With over 40-years’ experience and pleasing 50,000 humans a year, you can take a deep breath and trust them completely. Mark Warner started off in 1974 with ski holidays in Switzerland. Now they do skiing in the French Alps, Austria and Italy. The sunny versions are in Turkey, Corsica, Sardinia and Greece. We were very happy to be sent to the Lakitira Resort on the island of Kos in Greece.

One thing I personally know nothing about is childcare. We were taken on a little tour of Lakitira and shown what can only be described as a small school. There are tons of activities for kids to do there but if you fancy a break, then you can hand the little blighters over to a team of professionals. They even do babysitting in the evenings so you can go out on the town! That must be good, right?

There’s sailing for everyone from complete and utter beginners (like me) to experts who can just go take a boat out when they feel like it. They had a huge number of brand spanking new Cannondale mountain bikes you can take out for spin. There’s paddle boarding, kayaking, water aerobics, yoga, scuba diving and tennis. With the sailing, if the boat you grab isn’t new then it’s only a year old. The ropes and kit are all new. The instructors are even new, every one of them young, tanned, talented and knowledgeable. Our sailing instructor James managing to teach all 5 of us ‘land lovers’ to sail in less than an hour. I’ll be honest, it was terrifying. But later on at the beach bar I was still beaming a huge smile of accomplishment.

The resort itself is massive. It’s nestled on a corner so you get a nice windy beach for sailing or cooling down and a beach out of the wind for the hardcore sunbathers. There’s a great big main pool for all to share with a friendly beach bar then another smaller pool on a different side just for adults. I need to now try and stay calm when explaining the food. The food is very, very good. I’ve been to a few all-inclusive resorts and have never seen a selection like it. The main buffet style restaurant was brilliant. All the food was fresh and so tasty. The choice was outstanding. Some of the food looked so good you felt bad spoiling the perfect presentation. They had salad bars, cake bars, endless cold meats and cheeses, pizzas and pastas, main courses galore and even stations with chefs waiting to carve huge roasted joints straight on to your embarrassingly overcrowded plate. You could die of overconsumption in the tummy department very happily here. ‘’Thank god I booked in to play tennis all day tomorrow’’ you remind yourself leaving the table for round 7.

If you ask me, you can’t get better than a holiday in Greece. It’s only a few hours on a cheap flight and Kos is the Greek island closest to Turkey. This means the sun is hot and temperatures in August can reach a staggering 40.c!! Kos is bigger than most of the Greek islands. Islands like Santorini and Mykonos you can explore entirely on a scooter in about half a day. Kos is loads bigger. So there’s lots to see. If you wanted to go exploring then a car would be much better. We had the pleasure of a coach trip to Kos town with a local chap who runs kosprivatetours.com. Probably about a 30 minute drive away and 100% worth it. With ancient ruins to walk around then little lanes covered in bright blossom and happy locals laughing in tiny bars and cafes. You will love it to bits.

7 nights at Lakitira costs from £675 per adult and £385 per child (departing 07 Sept). This includes return flights, resort transfers, accommodation, windsurfing, sailing with tuition, paddle sports, tennis, cycling and resort fitness programme. Plus childcare from 2 yrs and evening drop in crèche. (4-months-2yrs is chargeable.) http://www.markwarner.co.uk/sun-holidays/greece/Lakitira