Hot hotels



1 The Kas peninsula, in Turkey, boasts such a spectacular coastline — turquoise seas, pine-clad hills and cafe-lined harbours — that it’s amazing it’s taken until now for a top-notch hotel to appear. The Deniz Feneri Lighthouse opens in early May, with 27 rooms — all with sea views — and a private waterfront with beach bar. Prices start at £450/£700 with Exclusive Escapes (020 8605 3500, www.exclusiveescapes.co.uk).

2 Ryanair’s new service from Stansted to Perugia (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) puts you within a 45-minute drive of Villa di Monte Solare, an 18th-century hilltop mansion with two pools, a spa and a clay tennis court, all set in palatial grounds. The price is £399/£476, excluding flights, with Real Holidays (020 7359 3938, www.realholidays.co.uk).

3 In up-and-coming Montenegro, the Hotel Splendid (00 381 86 774774, www.montenegrostars.com) provided the setting for Daniel Craig’s poker antics in Casino Royale. With a private beach and an Elemis spa to be unveiled this year, it looks set to be one of the finest hotels on the Adriatic. Doubles start at £125/£150, B&B. Fly from Gatwick to Dubrovnik with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com).

4 Deep in the Madonie mountains, on Sicily, Donalegge looks like any traditional stone farmhouse from the outside — but inside, the architect Claudia Buccellato has created a startling industrial-chic hotel, with exposed metal girders and brushed- steel tables. A week, half-board, costs £441pp, excluding flights, with i-escape (020 7652 4625, www.i-escape.com). Fly to Palermo with Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) or to Catania with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com).

5 Hugged by mountains and orange groves, Soller is among Mallorca’s most attractive towns — and in March it gets a stylish new hotel, the eight-room L’Avenida (00 34 699 235239, www.avenida-hotel.com), with a large pool, a sun deck and private gardens. A week costs £449pp, B&B, throughout the summer, excluding flights. Fly to Palma with EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) or BMI Baby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com).

6 Dodge the overdeveloped resorts of Tenerife and head to the historic mountain village of Vilaflor, wedged between pine forests and nature parks. August is a smart time to go: prices are sensible and locals down tools for a string of colourful fiestas. Stay at the four-star Hotel Spa VillAlba for £569/£699, including car hire, with Prestige Holidays (01425 480400, www.prestigeholidays.co.uk).

7 Get the best of both worlds in Corsica by dividing your time between mountain and beach. Direct Corsica (07771 953225, www.directcorsica.com) suggests three nights at Antonia’s, a charming auberge high in Olmi Cappella, then four nights at Les Arbousiers, a small, friendly hotel near the beach at Calvi. The combined cost is £165pp/£215pp, B&B. Flights and car hire can be arranged by the operator.

8 Looking for stylish hotels in unspoilt corners of Italy? Head for Puglia, where last summer saw the opening of Masseria Torre Maizza, a chic designer hotel surrounded by olive groves and orchards, with a private beach club. Prices start at £909/£1,085, including car hire, with Citalia (0870 909 7554, www.citalia.com).

9 A singles holiday?! Now, don’t get snooty. Friendship Travel (0289 446 2211, www.friendshiptravel.com) has hit on a winning formula by renting out small hotels for exclusive house parties — it’s enough to make all those smug couples gratifyingly jealous. On Turkey’s Bodrum peninsula, the 4 Reasons Hotel has a pool, in-house massage and views across the Aegean. A week, half-board, costs £639pp in May, including flights, with no single supplement.

Child-pleasers

10 Take the kids camping on the Channel island of Herm (01481 722377, www.herm-island.com), which has pristine beaches and no cars. A week in a fully equipped tent costs £558/£658 for a family of four, including ferry transfers from Guernsey. Crossings from Portsmouth to Guernsey cost £63 return (children £45) with Condor Ferries (0870 243 5100, www.condorferries.com).

11 On a budget? The latest find from Wake Up in France (01484 680855, www.wakeupinfrance.co.uk) is the Résidence Les Albères in Argelès, which has free clubs for children aged 4-15, as well as tennis, football, swimming and a spa centre with hydromassage. A week in a two-bedroom villa costs a total of just £156/£610; at Ferrybooker.com, returns from Dover to Dunkirk start at £48 for a car and passengers.

12 Prise the kids from their PlayStations and take them to the Brecon Beacons, where the whole family can learn climbing, abseiling, kayaking, sailing and raft-building. Sleep under canvas in a tented village on the shores of Llangorse Lake: six nights, full-board, cost £339pp in August with Acorn Adventure (0800 074 9791, www.acornadventure.co.uk).

13 A two-mile causeway links the tiny island of Sant’Antioco to the scenic southwest coast of Sardinia. The friendly, family-run Hotel Stella del Sud is ideal for exploring the churches and catacombs and enjoying the superb white-sand beaches. A week, half-board, including car hire, costs £683/£785 with Sardatur (020 8940 8399, www.sardinia-holidays.co.uk).

14 The Seaview Hotel, on the Isle of Wight (01983 612711, www.seaviewhotel.co.uk), has a loyal following of families who will be eager to see the recently revamped rooms and a new wing, opening at Easter after a face-lift by the former Ralph Lauren designers Graham Green and Michael Keech. A week in a double room costs £440/£563, B&B. Take the ferry from Portsmouth or Lymington; from £75 return for a family of four and car with Wightlink (0870 582 7744, www.wightlink.co.uk).

15 Weekending Athenians head for Kea, but Brits hardly know it — so the island remains authentic and unspoilt, but has plenty of decent restaurants. Stay at the Keos Hotel for £203/£389, excluding flights, with Sunisle (0871 855 1556, www.sunisle.co.uk). Fly to Athens with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba. com), Olympic (0870 606 0460, www.olympicairlines.com) or EasyJet (www.easyjet.com).

16 Kids will love staying in Tobermory — the setting for the television series Balamory — where they can spot minke whales, dolphins and basking sharks on an adventure cruise led by a marine biologist. A week at a three-star hotel costs £495, B&B, including ferries and wildlife excursions, with McKinlay Kidd (0870 760 6027, www.seescotlanddifferently.co.uk). Under-17s sharing a family room go for £239 each.

17 For Alpine perfection at bargain prices, head to Slovenia. In the pretty hamlet of Stara Fuzina, well placed for mountain-biking, pony trekking and canoeing, a self-catering week in a traditional chalet costs £480pp/£516pp (under-13s £310/£346), including car hire. Book with Just Slovenia (01373 814230, www.justslovenia.co.uk).

18 The Spanish Basque country boasts picturesque mountain villages, great wine — and world-class surfing. Mundaka claims to have the longest left-hand break in Europe. Spanish Affair (020 7385 8127, www.spanishaffair.com) recommends the 16th-century Villa Andutza, which has four bedrooms and costs £2,128/£2,243 a week. Brittany Ferries (0870 536 0360, www.brittany-ferries.co.uk) sails from Plymouth to Santander; from about £900 for a car and passengers.

19 Stay at a working farm on Dartmoor, where you can pet ponies, rent bikes or ride across spectacular moorland. Holwell Farm has five-star cottages converted from Victorian granite barns: a self-catering week in a cottage sleeping up to 12 costs £950/£1,450 with Premier Cottages (01271 336050, www.premiercottages.com).

20 For serious family adventure, take the kids to Namibia on a 15-day group tour that includes lions in Etosha National Park, sand dunes at Sossussvlei and a chance to handle cheetahs at the Africat sanctuary in Okonjima. The price is £1,399 (under-12s £1,199), including eight nights, camping and most meals, with Families Worldwide (0845 051 4567, www.familiesworldwide.co.uk).

21 It’s like camping . . . in a house. Canvas Holidays (0870 192 1159, www.canvasholidays.co.uk) this year introduces alpine-style wooden lodges, each with a dining room, a kitchen barbecue, a veranda and upstairs bedrooms, at Berny Rivière, an hour from Paris. A week costs a total of £445/£1,377, including car-ferry crossings for two adults and up to four children.

22 Lithuania is the place to go for cheap sun: £20 buys a meal for four with drinks, and ice creams cost just 25p. Head for Palanga, which has sand dunes, a pier and a funfair. A self-catering week in an apartment for four at the three-star Hotel Alanga costs £999/£1,069, excluding flights, with Baltic Holidays (0845 070 5710, www.balticholidays.com). Fly to Kaunas with Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) from Stansted, Liverpool or Dublin.

23 Ever introduced your children to real farm animals? No? Then head to the Tyrolean village of Gerlos, where local guides run “cow familiarisation” classes in which kids are shown how to pet, milk and care for Daisy. A week at the family-friendly Hotel Almhof (00 43 5284 5323, www.almhof-kroeller.at) costs £400 (under-7s £130, under-12s £165) between June and August, including all meals, but not flights. Fly to Innsbruck from Gatwick with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com).

Be a sport

24 Want to surf, but can’t face the tumbles and bruises? Try bodyboarding — less punishment, but plenty of thrills. Rob Barber’s Surfing School (01637 879571, www.englishsurfschool.com) at Fistral Beach, in Newquay, offers a week-long course for £275pp, including equipment. Rob can advise on local accommodation.

25 Don’t just gawp at the Grand Canyon — raft down it. With coyotes howling from the hills and golden eagles circling overhead, you can cover an epic 280 miles in eight days on a motorised raft. The trip leaves Las Vegas on July 27 and costs £1,319pp, including meals and drinks, with Footloose (0870 444 8735, www.footloose.com). Fly to Las Vegas from Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic (0870 380 2007, www.virgin-atlantic.com); from £328.

26 Football crazy? Why not teach it to African children? Few schools in Malawi have the resources to teach sport, so volunteers play a vital part, coaching and running after-school tournaments. It’s not all hard work — mornings can be spent exploring Lake Malawi or lazing on the beach. Two weeks cost £799, including meals and airport transfers, but not flights, with Real Sport Experience (01892 516164, www.realgap.co.uk). Opodo (0871 277 0090, www.opodo.co.uk) has flights from Heathrow to Lilongwe with Kenya Airways from £523.

27 Team-building exercises are popular with company managers: now families with teens can have a go, too. Based in the Alps, groups of up to 16 will tackle altitude hiking, whitewater rafting and glacier-climbing. A week, full-board, at Kaprun, in Austria, starts at £438 in June, or £548 in August, including activities, with Esprit (01252 618300, www.esprit-holidays.co.uk). Child prices vary, and flights or ferries can be arranged at extra cost.

28 At Neilson’s new active centre in Dahab, on the Red Sea (0870 909 9099, www.neilson.co.uk), conditions are perfect for learning to kitesurf. A week’s half-board costs £535/£685 (children £428/£548); a 10-hour kitesurfing course is £180pp.

29 Most tours of Japan are a gentle mix of culture and sightseeing, but Intrepid Travel (0800 917 6456, www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/jxa) has upped the adrenaline levels on a new active-adventure itinerary that includes hiking up Mount Fuji, kayaking along the coast at Izu and two nights in a log cabin exploring the Chubu-Sangaku National Park. The price is £1,240pp for 13 nights, including some meals, but not flights; there is also a local payment of about £100. Airlines flying nonstop to Tokyo include BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) and Virgin Atlantic (0870 380 2007, www.virgin-atlantic.com), each with fares from £550.

30 Learn to fly-fish for salmon and trout in a bucolic corner of Devon. Stay at the Arundell Arms Hotel (01566 784666, www.arundellarms.com), which sits on the River Tamar at Lifton and has its own lake stocked with brown and rainbow trout. Six nights, half-board, with a four-day beginner’s course, cost £1,075.

31 Anguilla has its first golf course, a Greg Norman-designed 18-holer at the luxury beachfront Cap Juluca (00 1 264 497 6666, www.capjuluca.com). A Tee for Two package costs £1,798/£1,681, including seven nights, full-board, and four rounds of golf, but not flights. KLM (0870 507 4074, www.klm.com) has flights from 13 UK airports to St Maarten via Amsterdam, from £548; from there, hop on a ferry to Anguilla.

32 Take your tennis game to new heights in the Austrian mountain resort of Brand. A week, half-board, including five days’ training with the European Tennis Academy, starts at £478/£504 with TimeOut Options (01273 778006, www.timeoutoptions.co.uk), which can also arrange riding, golf, mountain-biking and airport transfers. Fly from Stansted or Dublin to Friedrichshafen with Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com).

Treat yourself

33 If it was good enough for Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s honeymoon last year, it’ll do for the rest of us. Among the many charms of the St Regis Bora Bora are the adults-only pool with day-bed cabanas; the Miri Miri spa, on its own island; and the saltwater Lagoonarium, where you can swim with stingrays. A week, room-only, costs £3,775/£4,335 with Premier Prestige (0870 889 0834, www.premier-prestige.co.uk).

34 Mauritius has entered the premier league of spa destinations with the opening of Shanti Ananda, a retreat specialising in ayurveda, yoga, thalassotherapy and watsu. The hotel has 55 villas, soothing sea views and treatment rooms tucked inside a tropical forest. From £1,725/£1,855 with Western & Oriental (0870 499 0677, www.westernoriental.com).

35 Make those new-year resolutions happen on a health and fitness retreat run by Inspa (0845 458 0723, www.inspa-retreats.com), which commandeers small hotels, bringing in its own chefs, yoga teachers, trainers and masseurs. A week based at a 16th-century finca near Seville starts at £1,950, full-board, including detox diet, hiking and cycling, twice-daily yoga and three massages, but not flights. Fly to Seville from Stansted, Liverpool or Dublin with Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com).

36 The Rou Estate is a new holistic retreat in Corfu, created by a British couple who have bought an entire hillside village of 200-year-old stone houses and converted them into a dozen luxury houses with heated plunge pools. A central health club will offer a large pool, hydrotherapy tubs, a meditation room, a gym and yoga. A self-catering week, based on six sharing and including flights, costs £585 when the Estate is scheduled to open in July, or £735 in August, with CV Travel (0870 606 0013, www.cvtravel.co.uk).

37 Unwind in a meditation cave at the new Six Senses Earth Spa in Thailand. A week in a pool villa at the Evason Hideaway in Hua Hin costs £1,775/£1,995, including six treatments, with Wellbeing Escapes (0845 602 6202, www.wellbeingescapes.co.uk).


Tropical beaches

38 A candidate for hottest beach hang-out of 2007 is Montañita in Ecuador. Majestic surf, funky bars and live music on the sand attract a hip young crowd, and there is whale-watching, diving, mountain-biking and climbing in the Changon Colanche mountains. Stay at the hilltop Samai, which is bordered by forest and has rustic cabins built among mandarin trees. A week, room-only, costs £1,199 with Black Tomato (020 7610 9008, www.blacktomato.co.uk).

39 Sri Lanka is new on the villa market. Prices start at £400 per week for a two-bedroom beachside cottage north of Galle, rising to £7,000 for a six-bedroom clifftop pad with private beach and infinity pool at Mirissa. Most properties come with cooks and maids, so you won’t spend your holiday doing housework. Book with Fleewinter (020 7112 0019, www.fleewinter.com), which can arrange flights, tours and baby-sitting.

40 Vanuatu is a string of 83 South Pacific islands, made up of volcanoes, rainforest, reefs and sandy beaches. Turquoise Holidays (0870 443 4177, www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk) suggests combining the lively island of Efate, where you can eat at 24-hour street markets and swim under waterfalls, with Tanna, where the grass-skirted islanders have little contact with modern civilisation. Five nights, B&B, on each costs £1,895/£2,035.

41 A new resort in the Seychelles wants to bring guests closer to the natural beauty of the islands. Working with the Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles, Labriz has a resident naturalist who will walk you into the rainforest and a marine biologist to take you diving. Creature comforts include luxury villas with private gardens and a Per Aquum spa. The price is £1,579/£1,933 with Elite Vacations (01707 371000, www.seychelleselite.co.uk).

42 Some of the world’s finest chocolate comes from the Paria peninsula, in Venezuela, where you can stay on a working chocolate farm and explore deserted pristine beaches. Six nights at Hacienda Bukare — chocolate tastings included — can be combined with three nights at Waku Lodge on the banks of the Canaima lagoon, from where you can take a motorised canoe to the foot of Angel Falls. The price is £2,600, full-board, including an extra night in Caracas, with Audley Travel (01993 838300, www.audleytravel.com).

43 The most glamorous hotel in Vietnam opened last month at China Beach. The Nam Hai — managed by the same group as the Datai, on Langkawi — has 100 sleek villas, some with private pools and a 24-hour butler. The best time to visit is between May and September. Villas for two start at £290 per night with Essence of Asia (01865 268949, www.essenceofasiatravel.co.uk). Opodo (0871 277 0090, www.opodo.co.uk) has flights to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City with Thai Airways via Bangkok, from £600.

44 Most Caribbean resorts pale in comparison to the Grenadines. Stay on the pretty island of Bequia, where a week, room-only, at Friendship Bay, a small barefoot-luxury hotel on a beautiful white-sand beach, costs £889/£1,079 with Tropical Sky (0870 907 9600, www.tropicalsky.co.uk).

45 One of the hottest new island resorts in the Maldives is Anantara (00 960 664 4100 www.anantara.com), which brings a little slice of Thailand to the Indian Ocean. Stay in a beachfront villa with “jungle” bathroom for £1,595/£1,829 with Hayes & Jarvis (0870 850 3565, www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk). An additional £225 buys a seafood dinner for two, with wine, served by a private chef on an uninhabited island.

46 No sooner have charter flights landed in the Cape Verde Islands than the property developers have moved in, promising untold riches to buyers. Which is Good news for the rest of us, as we can now rent the beachfront villas for a fraction of Mediterranean prices. At the Murdeira resort, on the island of Sal, a two-bedroom villa with sea views and a shared pool costs £500/£600 per week through www.holidaylets.net. Fly from Gatwick with Thomsonfly (0870 190 0737, www.thomsonfly.com); from £484.

47 East Winds Inn, one of the finest hotels on St Lucia, is being revamped by its new owners, who have promised not to change things too much. Expect the same colonial-style rooms, fragrant botanical gardens and flawless service when the makeover is completed in March. A week, full-board, costs £1,525/£1,535 with Azure (01244 322770, www.azurecollection.com).

48 Expert Africa (020 8232 9777, www.expertafrica.com) has arranged the first-ever flights between the bush camps of Zambia and Mozambique’s Quirimbas archipelago — a dream combination of safari and beach. The 16-night trips will include three nights at Tafika, one of the most isolated camps in the South Luangwa, followed by stays at Chikoko Camp and Crocodile Camp, then a week chilling on Quilalea Island. The price is £4,375, including all meals

49 If Mozambique seems so last year, go to Angola, where you can drive for hours along pristine shorelines without seeing another tourist. Undiscovered Destinations (0191 206 4038, www.undiscovered-destinations.com) suggests 10 days at Flamingo Lodge, which has beachfront bungalows and makes an ideal base for quad-biking, camping in the Namib Desert and spotting dolphins and turtles in tidal lagoons. The price is £2,650, year-round, including meals and flights.


A place of your own

50 Discover true wilderness in southern Finland: crystal-clear lakes, endless birch forests and sheltered bays where you can fish for your supper. Do as the locals do and rent a lodge with a wood-burning sauna. Black Tomato (020 7610 9008, www.blacktomato.co.uk) has a selection of waterfront properties, including Heron’s Lodge, on Salahminjarvi Lake, which sleeps 12 and costs £550/£650 per week. Fly to nearby Kuopio, via Helsinki, with Finnair (0870 241 4411, www.finnair.co.uk), from £259.

51 Last year’s venture by English Heritage into the holiday-rental market proved such a hit that it is opening eight new houses this year. The Sergeant Major’s House is a four-storey Georgian property, sleeping six (plus a cot), in the grounds of Dover Castle. With views across the Channel and its own gardens, it will cost £795/£1,085 for a week. For details, call 0870 333 1187 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/holidaycottages.

52 Finding a quiet corner of Provence in August isn’t easy, but the village of Caromb, in the northern Vaucluse, is so remote that not even the most ardent Peter Mayle fan is likely to spoil your peace and quiet. With six bedrooms and six reception rooms, La Demeure des Gilles, a modernised 18th-century house with private garden and pool, is big enough for an extended family or a group of friends. A week’s rental costs £1,955/£3,755 with Voyages Ilena (020 7924 4440, www.voyagesilena.co.uk).

53 A cosy apartment for two in the Greek islands? Easy. A villa for two with private pool? Tricky. But Planos Holidays (01373 814200, www. planos.co.uk) has two secluded cottages on Paxos, each of which sleeps two, has a private pool and is within easy walking distance of a village. Neratzia Cottage costs £580pp/£730pp, Villa Samsu £630pp/£800pp, including flights.

54 Good news for families with teenagers. Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, BMI and Air Jamaica have all increased the maximum age
for child fares to the Caribbean from 11 to 16. Caribtours (020 7751 0660, www.caribtours.co.uk) has adjusted its prices accordingly, so a week at Villa Melissa, on Barbados — three bedrooms, butler, cook, private beach access — now costs £5,036/£5,302 for a family of four, including BA flights.

55 The neighbours may be fowl, but the views from the balcony of the Keswick Boat House are gorgeous. Said to be the only property of its type for rent in the Lake District, the converted boathouse sits on the edge of Derwentwater and has its own rowing boat. It sleeps two and costs £750/£1,080 per week with Cumbrian Cottages (01228 599960, www.cumbrian-cottages.co.uk), which has a wide selection of accommodation in the area.

56 The best way to soak up the lazy rustic charm of Gozo is not in a posh hotel, but a restored farmhouse. Two dozen of them are available to rent, most with limestone courtyards, beamed ceilings and antique furniture. For example, the three-bedroom Luna, in the village of Xaghra, with a private pool, costs £504/£688 per week through Gozo Farmhouses
(00 356 2156 1280, www.gozofarmhouses.com). Fly to Malta with Air Malta (0845 607 3710, www.airmalta.com), then take the ferry to Gozo.

57 Why settle for a villa when you can rent a castle? In Gascony, Tony
Blair’s favourite slab of France, Château Robert has 10 bedrooms, 45 acres of grounds, a new 13-metre pool, a tennis court and a trout lake. A week costs a hefty £4,725/£5,400, but it sleeps 19 adults and 8 children, and if you fork out another £1,500, you get a chef, serving staff, maids and a full-time chauffeur thrown in. Book through The Gascony Secret (01284 827253, www.gascony-secret.com).

58 Just inland from the Costa Brava — in the nice bit around Tamariu and Fornells — you’ll find Pals, a handsome medieval village that was, until recently, best known for a row of ugly radio masts used by the Americans to broadcast Cold War propaganda to Eastern Europe. Last year, the masts were finally torn down, revealing superb vistas across to the Mediterranean. PCI Holidays (01305 835835, www.pci-holidays.com) has several villas with views, including the four-bedroom Casa La Torreta, which has a pool. A week’s rental costs £595/£1,495. Fly to Gerona with Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com).

59 Toddlers can be difficult holiday companions — they’re too old to lie in a cot all day, but too young to help with the washing-up. So hats off to Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire (01437 765765), which has a website dedicated to under-2s: www.toddlepembrokeshire.com.
It highlights properties with baby listeners, stair gates and highchairs, details nearby toddler-friendly attractions and even allows you to book
at restaurants. Try Gorse Cottage, near the beach at Broad Haven; it sleeps four and costs £331/£643 per week.

60 Like a few toys thrown in with your holiday villa? Then snap up the Great House, on the west coast of Barbados, which offers a 30ft speedboat, a catamaran, a Sunfish sailboat, a private raft and waterskiing and scuba equipment. It has 300ft of beachfront, comes fully staffed and costs £1,702pp, based on 16 sharing and including flights. Book with Owners’ Syndicate (020 7381 7493, www.ownerssyndicate.com).

61 Out-bling your mates by renting Christian Dior’s former home, a 19th-century castle at Montauroux, on the Côte d’Azur. Château Colle Noire has 14 bedrooms, a pool, a chapel, a tennis court and 12 acres of grounds. A week’s rental costs £10,676/£12,101 per week with Interhome
(020 8891 1294, www.interhome.co.uk).

62 The best way to see Cornwall is on foot, along the 630-mile South
West Coast National Trail. Classic Cottages (01326 555555, www.classic.co.uk) has a stack of properties along the route, including Carndu, a 17th-century thatched cottage in the fishing village of Coverack. It sleeps four and costs £429/£834 per week.

63 There is no shortage of posh villas in the hills around Pollensa, in northern Mallorca, but few can match Es Costes, an ultramodern conversion with wide-open minimalist interiors, walk-in showers and a wooden pool deck. With bedrooms spread across three buildings, it is ideal for couples sharing and costs £1,995/£3,195 per week, including car hire, with Mallorca Farmhouses (0118 947 3001, www.mfh.co.uk). Fly to Palma with BA (0870 850 9850,www.ba.com) or EasyJet (www.easyjet.com).

64 Loch Tay House, in Perthshire, makes an ideal bolt hole for two families. A detached property with five bedrooms, it sits on a 140-acre private estate, with riding, sailing and salmon-fishing. So magnificent are the views across the loch that the house was built “upside down”, with a huge sitting room sporting an open fire and balconies on the first floor. A week’s rental costs £995/£1,850 with Ecosse Unique (01835 822277, www.unique-cottages.co.uk).

65 If you can stand the heat in summer, Cyprus is a good deal. Because hoteliers do good business year-round, most don’t hike prices in August.
For instance, a three-bedroom house at the Aphrodite Hills resort — with an 18-hole golf course, a beach club, a spa and a tennis academy — costs £1,190 for a week in August, compared to £1,050 in May, with A&K Villas (0845 070 0618, www.abercrombiekent.co.uk). Fly to Paphos with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) or Cyprus Airways (020 8359 1333, www.cyprusairways.com).

66 Is that City bonus still burning a hole in your pocket? Oh dear. Why not blow some of it by private-jetting the family to Villa al Boschiglia, near Lucca, in Tuscany? The house is magnificent, with six bedrooms, huge reception rooms and a large pool. A week for four costs £35,180 with Elegant Resorts (01244 897000, www.elegantresorts.co.uk).

Animal magic

67 When the snow has melted in the Italian Alps and all the skiers have gone home, you can saddle up and explore the region on horseback. Ride through valleys carpeted with wild flowers and stay in cosy village hotels. The new week-long tour, for confident novices and upwards, includes up to six hours’ riding per day and costs £954 (plus a local payment of £145), including most meals and a day in Turin, with Exodus (0870 240 5550, www.exodus.co.uk).

68 Admittedly, it’s extravagant, but who could resist the chance to witness two of Africa’s greatest natural wonders — the mountain gorillas of Rwanda and the migration of the wildebeest — on one trip? The experiences are wildly different. In Rwanda, you stay in a simple hotel and trek each day into the forest to commune with the animals; in the Serengeti, you watch the thunderous hordes from the comfort of a luxury tented camp. Ten days start at £4,180, full-board, in August, with Reef and Rainforest Tours (01803 866965, www.reefandrainforest.co.uk).

69 You don’t need to fly to the Antarctic to snorkel with seals — you can do it in the Isles of Scilly, where the creatures are so friendly, they will swim alongside you. Stay at Star Castle Hotel (01720 422317,
www.star-castle.co.uk), a 16th-century fortress on the island of St Mary’s. A week costs £595/£693, full-board; the return helicopter transfer from Penzance costs £112. Snorkelling costs £36 with Island Sea Safaris (01720 422732, www.scillyonline.co.uk/seasafaris.html).

70 Unleash your inner cowboy in Montana. Head for the Lonesome Spur, which is not a “dude ranch” but a fifth-generation working cattle ranch in the Clark Fork Valley, where the owner, Lonnie Schwend, will entertain you with campfire stories after long days in the saddle. Remember The Horse Whisperer? This is where its author, Nicholas Evans, stayed to do his research. A week, full-board, starts at £1,645/£1,880 with Ranch America (0870 499 0689, www.ranchamerica.co.uk).

71 Study the endangered long-nosed proboscis monkeys on a photographic tour of Borneo and Sumatra led by Nick Garbutt, twice BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Two weeks cost £2,750, full-board, departing on June 24 and excluding international flights (ask the operator for details), with World Primate Safaris (01273 691642, www.worldprimatesafaris.com).

72 Head to Brazil’s Pantanal in search of the jaguar, one of the world’s most elusive cats. The best chance of a sighting is at night during
June or July, when the waters recede, forcing predators and prey into the open. Even if you miss out, you should see giant anteaters, Brazilian tapirs, marsh deer, giant river otters and hyacinth macaws. A 12-day trip costs £2,490, full-board, with Naturetrek (01962 733051, www.naturetrek.co.uk).

73 Camels make unusual but surprisingly useful companions on Kenyan walking safaris. Not only do the animals haul supplies, they will also carry flagging children, allowing you to concentrate on the sights and sounds pointed out by Kerry Glen and her team of Samburu guides. A four-night walking safari combined with three nights at a camp in the Masai Mara starts at £2,629/£3,025 (under-12s £1,536/£2,087), full-board, with Okavango Tours (020 8343 3283, www.okavango.com).

74 In the Corrientes region of northeast Argentina, explore the Ibera wetlands on foot, on horseback and by boat, spotting alligators, fishing for bream and riding with gauchos. Divide your stay between three estancias owned by the same family, including the newly opened Rincon del Socorro, a cattle ranch turned nature reserve. Eight days cost £1,949, full-board, with Cazenove & Loyd (020 7384 2332, www.cazloyd.com).


Boats and trains

75 Take advantage of the crumbling dollar by shopping in New York — and sailing there and back on the Queen Mary 2. Set off from Southampton on June 26 and you’ll be in the Big Apple for the July 4 firework celebrations: 12 nights, full-board, on the ship, with four, room-only, in New York start at £1,999pp with ROL Cruise (0845 458 8909, www.rolholidays.co.uk).

76 Fifty years in the making, China’s £2.3 billion Shangri-La Express finally opened last year, completing the connection between Beijing and Lhasa, 2,500 miles away in Tibet. It’s a breathtaking three-day journey, crossing passes above 16,000ft, where crisp packets burst and many passengers require oxygen. Ffestiniog Travel (01766 512400, www.festtravel.co.uk) has seats on one of the train’s first private journeys, part of a 20-day guided tour with stops in Xi’an, Kashgar and the Gobi Desert. Departing on August 24, the price is £5,935, full-board, including flights.

77 For the first time, you can sail to Norway from Tower Bridge. A week-long cruise, departing on April 13, will explore the southern fjords, including Geirangerfjord, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and Sognefjord, the longest
and deepest fjord in Norway. Prices start at £695pp, full-board, with Hurtigruten (020 8846 2666, www.hurtigruten.co.uk).

78 Take a grand tour of Italy by train. Begin with Eurostar to Paris, then a TGV to Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva. Next day, take the tilting Cisalpino train to Milan before rolling into Rome, Florence, Siena, Lucca and Tivoli. Nine nights, B&B, cost £1,399/£1,349 with Page & Moy (0870 010 6400, www.pageandmoy.com).

79 EasyCruise (01895 651191, www.easycruise.com) has ditched its headache-inducing all-orange livery, and this summer takes to the seas in Stelios’s back yard. Its seven-day Alternative Aegean cruise takes you off the beaten track to small islands such as Milos, Amorgos, Folegandros and Serifos, with prices starting at £75pp, cabin-only. Fly to Athens with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), Olympic Airways (0870 606 0460,
www.olympicairlines.com) or EasyJet (www.easyjet.com).

80 The Trans-Siberian Express is more than a train journey — it’s a rite of passage for any self-respecting globetrotter. Take the epic 8,000-mile journey from London Waterloo, across Russian steppes, Mongolian desert and Siberian wasteland, to the Sea of Japan at Vladivostok. The price, £4,690, includes 12 nights, full-board, on the Trans-Siberian, three nights, B&B, in hotels, two nights on other sleeper trains, city tours and the return flight to London, with Great Rail Journeys (01904 521980 www.greatrail.co.uk).

81 The Navigator of the Seas, a cruising colossus that sleeps more than 3,000 passengers and boasts an ice rink, a climbing wall, a miniature-golf course and an inline-skating track, will operate out of Southampton for the
first time this summer. A 14-night trip to Barcelona, Nice, Corsica and Sardinia costs £1,119/£1,312 (children £486/£702) with Royal Caribbean (0845 165 8330, www.royalcaribbean.co.uk).

82 Take a circular tour of the Canadian Rockies on three classic rail journeys: from Vancouver to Whistler, then across to Jasper and back via Banff. The trip includes a truck ride on the Athabasca glacier, mountain gondolas and lakeside strolls. A 10-night trip, including flights, some meals and overnight stays in Vancouver, Whistler, Lake Louise and Banff, costs £2,298/£2,598 with Canadian Affair (020 7616 9999, www.canadianaffair.com).

83 Floating spas are getting bigger. The Costa Concordia, which launched last summer, claims to have the largest spa of any cruise ship (with a thalassotherapy pool, thermal baths, a rock sauna and its own teahouse). June sees the launch of a sister ship, the Costa Serena. A week-long cruise out of Venice, visiting Izmir, Istanbul and Dubrovnik, starts at £819 in August with Costa Cruises (020 7940 4499, www.costacruises.co.uk). Fly to Venice with EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) or BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com).


Stretch your legs

84 With the Tour de France kicking off in London this year, cycling is likely to be more popular than ever. Beat the rush and book a five-day self-guided tour of the Loire Valley with Discover France (00 1 800 960 2221, www.discoverfrance.com). The price is £520, half-board, including baggage transfers, a map and directions. You can rent bikes or take your own with SeaFrance (0871 222 2500, www.seafrance.com), which has return fares from £60 for a car and up to five passengers.

85 Explore the wild coastlines of the Faroe Islands on an 11-day guided walking tour. Staying on three of the islands, you’ll see puffins and guillemots, and hike across windswept moorlands to gaze down into craggy fjords. Departures in June or August cost £999, half-board, with Ramblers Holidays (01707 331133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk).

86 Missed your winter skiing fix? Go in summer instead. On the glacier at Les Deux Alpes, 13 lifts open from 7am to 1pm, after which you can relax in the sun or go mountain-biking. A self-catering week in August costs £305, based on four sharing and including ferry crossings, a six-day ski pass, a half-day’s guided biking and two half-days of whitewater activities, with Peak Retreats (0870 770 0408, www.peakretreats.co.uk).

87 With 400 miles of rivers, lakes and canals, Fermanagh is an ideal place to mess about on the water. Grab a paddle and follow the UK’s
first dedicated canoe trail as it winds through Lough Erne past the Cuilcagh Mountains. Stay at Fermanagh Lakeland Lodges (028 6863 1957, www.fermanaghlakelandlodges.com), where each house comes with its own rowing boat and costs £405/£560 for a week. For details of the Lough Erne Canoe Trail, call 028 9030 3930 or visit www.nicanoeing.com.

88 Hop on a ferry to northern Spain for a cycling holiday along the “green coast” of Asturias and Cantabria. It’s not all lung-busting hill climbs: a minibus whisks you to the top of the San Roque pass for the long ride down the Miera Valley to the coast near Santander. Eight days, B&B, cost £799 (under-12s £649), including bike hire, support and port transfers, with Freewheel Holidays (01636 815636, www.freewheelholidays.com). Take the car ferry from Plymouth to Santander with Brittany Ferries (0870 536 0360, www.brittany-ferries.co.uk); from about £900 for a car and passengers.

89 The Douro Valley, in Portugal, is the perfect setting for a grown-up walking holiday: the views are spectacular, the accommodation is classy and there are plenty of historic wineries where you can put your feet up and enjoy a tasting. Take a seven-night independent trek that follows the river from Porto and includes a train trip and an overnight stay at the Casa do Visconde, a lavishly restored nobleman’s house. The price is £698 in June, July or September, including most meals, luggage transfers and maps, with Inntravel (01653 617906 www.inntravel.co.uk). Flights available on request.

90 If the movie Miss Potter, starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, inspires you to discover more of the author’s beloved Lake District, book a self-guided cycling tour with Country Lanes (01539 444544, www.countrylanes.co.uk). On the Trail of Beatrix Potter begins in Windermere and takes you along quiet lanes and bridleways to Cartmel Priory, the gardens at Holker Hall and Potter’s home, Hill Top, which is now cared for by the National Trust. Four days cost £195pp, B&B, including bike hire, backup and maps.


Hit the road

91 Bored with stuttering around the M25 in your company Mondeo? Then head to France, where you can explore the empty backroads behind the wheel of an open-top motor. Joffreny Classic Car Tours (020 7193 1815, www.joffrenytours.com) is based in Limoges, handy for the vineyards of Bordeaux, the volcanic hills of the Auvergne and a wind-in-your-hair whizz across Norman Foster’s Millau viaduct. The company provides maps and itineraries, and delivers to Limoges airport, which is served by Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) and Flybe (0870 567 6676, www.flybe.com). A week’s rental starts at £270 for a BMW Z3, rising to £665 for a V8 Triumph Stag.

92 You don’t need to go through a midlife crisis to get a Harley-Davidson. Rent one for a week and ride from LA, down the Pacific Coast Highway, to San Francisco, staying where the fancy takes you. A week costs £1,264/£1,444, including flights and bike hire, with Virgin Holidays (0870 220 2707, www.virginholidays.com).

93 Go island-hopping in Estonia, beginning in the beautiful medieval capital, Tallinn, then heading out by car and ferry to Muhu and Saaremaa. Medieval churches, windmills and caves rank among the most popular sites, but you’ll also find a meteorite crater, an abandoned Soviet missile base and lip-smacking locally brewed beer. Nine days start at £879, including flights, car hire and some meals, with Regent Holidays (0870 499 0911,
www.regent-holidays.co.uk).

94 Okay, you won’t be the first, but it’s damn near obligatory to re-create your favourite scene from the movie Sideways on a Californian vineyard tour. You can drive yourself, but with all those wonderful wine-drinking opportunities, a better option is to book a car and a chauffeur. An eight-day tour of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino costs £1,969/£2,498pp, room-only, based on four people sharing two rooms, with North America Travel Service (0845 122 8899, www.northamericatravelservice.co.uk).

95 Hold onto your moustaches for a high-octane tour of Borat country that includes a ride in a Mi8-MTV high-altitude former Soviet helicopter, trekking on glaciers, riding and an overnight stay in a yurt. Two weeks, full-board, in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, leaving July 14, costs £2,150pp with Wild Frontiers (020 7736 3968, www.wildfrontiers.co.uk).


Culture and sun

96 Roy Strong will lead a private tour of the Imperial Gardens of St Petersburg, departing on June 13, showing how the recovery of original plans has enabled horticulturalists to re-create the gardens as they would have been in the time of Peter the Great. Four nights cost £1,700pp, including flights and some meals — with the option to stay for additional nights — with The Ultimate Travel Company (020 7386 4646, www.theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk).

97 The Arena Sferisterio, built in the 19th century as a handball stadium, is
now the venue for one of Italy’s finest opera festivals. Each summer, the festival takes over the historical town of Macerata, in Le Marche, with performances by leading international singers. Whydontyou.com (0845 838 6262, www.whydontyou.com) has a six-night guided tour, including tickets to three operas (by Verdi, Bellini and Donizetti), three dinners and excursions. It departs on July 31 and costs £1,448.

98 This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first English settlement of America, at Jamestown, Virginia. You can help the Yanks celebrate
by taking a new charter flight to Norfolk, Virginia, direct from Kent International airport. Three nights in Williamsburg combined with four nights
in Virginia Beach cost £599/£719 with Cosmos (0870 787 9588, www.cosmos.co.uk/virginia). Children go for £529/£649.

99 Following the Silk Road to Samarkand is one of those must-do-sometime trips you keep putting off because they’re so time-consuming. Who can get three weeks off work these days? Fortunately, The Adventure Company (01420 541007, www.adventurecompany.co.uk) has come up with a nine-day version that includes the bazaars of Tashkent, the mud-walled streets of Bukhara, an overnight train to Khiva and the turquoise domes of Samarkand. The price is £1,002/£1,052.

100 Transylvania is likely to rank among 2007’s hottest destinations, with Romania having joined the EU and the city of Sibiu taking its turn as European Capital of Culture. Sunvil Discovery (020 8758 4722, www.sunvil.co.uk), which is going in for the first time, suggests the Hotel Imparatul Romanilor, in Sibiu, which costs £727/£739, including car hire. Go bear-watching in the nearby Carpathian Mountains for an additional £149pp.