THE PATIENTS

Jenna and Nic enter the surgery looking sheepish: they’re looking for a love potion. “We’ve spent four years living together through university and we’re now living apart for a while. We want a holiday that will rekindle our romance,” Jenna explains.

The couple will blow their savings on the trip, so they’re determined to get it right. They want a beautiful beach, hot sun and a warm sea, away from overdeveloped resorts. “Nowhere too obvious, like Thailand,” Jenna says. The hotel should have “a bit of soul” — no bland chains, then. And although they don’t need ostentatious luxury, nor do they want to rough it. Good snorkelling is essential, and Nic would be in heaven if he could go diving. For a week in November or early December, they have £1,000pp.

JENNA AND NIC

Jenna Lane, 22, has just graduated from university and is about to start a PhD in particle physics. Nic Webster, 23, is an aerospace engineer. They live in Manchester

Last CD bought

Him: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Her: Takk by Sigur Ros

Last book read

Him: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Her: The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Favourite food

Him: crispy duck
Her: Nic’s pasta with tomato and mascarpone

PRESCRIPTION ONE: Belize

A lot of hotels style themselves as romantic hideaways. Not all deliver. One that does is Salamander, on Ambergris Caye, off the coast of Belize. Wedged between a sugary beach and dense jungle, a 30-minute speedboat ride from the nearest town, Salamander is a small eco-resort with eight thatched cabanas on stilts. Simple but stylish, the rooms have hardwood floors, fans, hammocks and showers. The food is great, the staff are friendly and Jenna and Nic can spend their days lazing in the sun, walking miles of deserted beaches and snorkelling or diving on the vast reef. A week, room-only, costs £1,018pp with Journey Latin America (020 8622 8491, www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk).

PRESCRIPTION TWO: Cape Verde

Fly past the Canaries, keep going for a couple of hours and you reach Cape Verde, 10 volcanic islands off the coast of Senegal. Slowly opening to tourism, the islands have dazzling white-sand beaches, world-class dive sites, clear warm seas and 350 days of annual sunshine. The culture is a melting pot of African, Portuguese and Brazilian, and there are some fab places to stay, including, on the main island of Sal, the four-star Hotel Dunas de Sal, a sleek, minimalist establishment with a professional dive shop. What’s more, from November there will be direct flights from the UK, including one from Manchester. A week’s B&B at the Dunas de Sal costs £755pp with the Cape Verde Experience (0845 330 2071, www.capeverdeexperience.com).

PRESCRIPTION THREE: Cuba

Though it oozes soul, Cuba can disappoint if you land up in one of its many bland beach hotels. Rather than join the masses in Varadero, Jenna and Nic should head to the tiny island of Pinar del Rio and stay at the rustic Hotel Cayo Levisa. With 20 beachfront cabanas, simple fresh food and a youthful, friendly vibe, it’s an ideal spot to unwind, swim in the turquoise seas and snorkel (or dive) the reef. I suggest four nights on the island combined with three in Havana, at the beautifully restored Hotel Florida. Book with Black Tomato (020 7610 9008, www.blacktomato.co.uk), which can point the couple towards local salsa clubs and whisk them to and from the beach in a 1950s classic car, all in the price: £899pp, B&B.

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