Need inspiration for your holidays in 2013? Here's 10 suggestions each for adventure holidays, skiing, city breaks, great train journeys, family holidays, honeymoons, volunteering, walking, food and watersport destinations. Sandra O'Connellreports
ADVENTURE
Blaze a trail to Burma
Burma's top of everybody's must-see list, now that it has opened up to tourism. This 15-day tour will get you on the road to Mandalay (and Bagan and Yangon), with stops to visit magnificent temples, enjoy a riverboat cruise and treks through alpine villages way off the tourist trail. Priced from €2,095. intrepidtravel.com
Gallop Peru’s Sacred Valley
Stay on a ranch in the Sacred Valley of the Incas and leave the pedestrian tourist herd behind as you make your assault on Machu Picchu. The 11-night tour costs from €3,720. zarasplanet.ie
Pedal through Asia
Cycling is a great way to travel – the slower you go the more you see. Take a 17-day cycle trip round Laos, Thailand and Vietnam (don't panic, only little bits of each), along narrow roads shaded by jungle vines, through shimmering rice paddies and up into mountains to explore villages and temples. Priced from €1,760. exodus.co.uk
Dive into Malta
Malta suffered greatly during WWII and one of the legacies is that it's got some of the best war wrecks around, accessible from both shore and boat dives. Scuba Travel has dive holidays here, including flights, from £475 (€583), including UK flights. scubatravel.com
Walk on the wild side
Sunway's Great Kenya Safari has all the best aspects of a Kenyan safari, including the Masai Mara, the flamingos of Lake Nakuru, the foot hills of Kilimanjaro and the red elephants at Tsavo. That's your (big) five a day looked after then. Prices from €2,709, including flights and full board accommodation. sunway.ie
Gorillas in your midst
Catch up with the cousins on this four-day, once in a lifetime, trip to Rwanda to see that country’s most famous residents. The tour includes accommodation, transport, guide services and airport transfers. They’ll even train you how to behave when you finally meet. Priced from €2,099.
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Celebrate the sun
What could be more appropriate than to escape the Irish summer for Inti Raymi, the Incan Festival of the Sun, celebrated every year in Peru, with the biggest festivities taking place in Cuzco. An 11-day trip with award winning adventure specialist Tucan costs €1,699. Pray for sun with the Peruvians and put in a good word for the poor benighted folks back home.
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Madagascar by boat
What could be more adventurous than wending your way around Madagascar? White water rafting your way through its rapids, that’s what. Start deep in the canyons south of the remote Isalo National Park, watching lemurs and avoiding crocs, before finishing up with a chance to catch your breath on a beach. This 13-day tour only price starts at £1,895 (€2,325).
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Elephants in Nepal
Lonely Planet has Nepal as one of its best value picks for 2013 and Irish company GTI Tours has a great 16-day walking and cultural tour showing you why. Stay in four- and five-star hotels, taking in Kathmandu, Nagarkot and Chitwan National Park, with jungle safari and elephant rides too, from €2,699. gti-ireland.com
Sail Iceland
The land of fire and ice is a geography lesson come to life. Check out the world’s youngest island, walk on lava fields and ice sheets, check out the hotsprings and the freezing waterfalls, on a 10-day boat trip circumnavigating it, with breaks to go birding on the Arctic Circle, kayaking into fjords and hiking remote stretches of coast. Tour only price starts at $7,990 (€6,024).
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FAMILY HOLIDAYS, TRAIN JOURNEYS AND VOLUNTEERING
Family Holidays
Make a splash on the Algarve
Portugal's Algarve is terrific for families, with four water parks to choose from, not to mention all those soft sandy beaches. A seven-night stay at Villa Vargues, in Vilamoura costs €1,566 in July. Book before February 4th and get free car hire, travel insurance and welcome pack. jamesvillas.ie
Camp in a Castell
Castell Montgri campsite in Spain is the perfect base from which to tour Catalonia, including day trips to Barcelona, Lloret de Mar and the Aquadiver and Waterworld water parks. Keycamp has 14-night stays online at time of writing, sleeping two adults and three children, for €1,000. Flights extra. keycamp.ie
Villa treat in France
For a home from home, if your home were a five-bedroom villa with pool, then Villa Rustica is a perfect spot. Sitting snugly between Antibes and Juan Les Pins, it has matching grown ups and kids pools, is a shell's throw from the beach, and well located for scenic train journeys up the coast to Monte Carlo. Priced from €3,500 to €7,750 a week. holidayhomesdirect.ie
Snow fun at Easter
Easter comes early this year, with the kids off from March 22nd to April 8th, which means a ski holiday could be in order. All that snow will certainly make it easy to organise the egg hunt. Topflight has a range of ski options available on those dates, including seven nights BB in Soll, Austria, for around €579 per adult. topflight.ie
Summer comes early
The really savvy holiday shopper knows that Easter can be a great value option for the family summer holiday too. Falcon has 14-day, all-inclusive breaks including, at time of writing, the Orquidea Hotel, Bahia Feliz, Gran Canaria from €1,121 per person, based on two adults and two children. falconholidays.ie
Let’s go Lanzarote
Five nights at the five-star Princess Yaiza hotel in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote will give the kids a burst of sunshine after a long dark winter. From €384 per night during the second week of the Easter school holidays, based on a family of four. Flights for the same group come in at around €800 with Ryanair – as long as you wear your luggage. princesayaiza.com
Make it mid-term
For the midterm break, Sunway has special offers for Club Med ski breaks in Les Arcs, Les Deux Alpes and Avoriaz, all in France. Prices start at €1,779 for grown ups (and over 12s) and €1,524 for under 12s, on an all-inclusive basis, including flights, departing February 10th for a week.
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Theme park heaven
Because it's so darn hot in summer, spring is a better time to do the Orlando theme parks. Head out for the February midterm to the self-catering Orlando Metropolitan Resort, in the International Drive area, for €1,987 for seven nights, based on two adults and two children sharing, including flights. Car hire will be around €150 extra. cassidytravel.ie
Get soaked in St Tropez
Kids judge holidays by the quality of the pool. At Pachacaid, a campsite breezily high in the mountains behind St Tropez, they have their own water park with a spaghetti junction of slides, chutes and flumes. A week's stay in a three-bedroom mobile in early June is €525. pachacaid.co.uk
Dizzy at Disney
Book a two- three-or four-night break to Disneyland Paris by the end of January and you get two days (and nights) free, for travel between the end of April and August. Combine this with free hotel and park ticket offers for under sevens and you've got a great value deal. abbeytravel.ie
Train journeys
Glacier Express, Switzerland
Travel between St Moritz and Zermatt to see not one but two Unesco World Heritage regions, plus 91 tunnels and 291 bridges. The highlight, literally, is the 2,000m Oberalp Pass. Second class tickets from €120. glacierexpress.ch
The Ghan, Australia
Cross the red continent from Adelaide to Darwin, covering 3,000km in just two days. Despite the brevity, there are plenty of opportunities for whistle stop tours of such places as Alice Springs and Uluru. Seat only tickets from AUS 647 (€512).
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Train to the Clouds, Argentina
Officially it's the train from Salta to La Polvorilla but Train to the Clouds better reflects the fact that you're being hauled up to 4,200m above sea level. The 400km round trip takes 15 hours but feels much, much longer, perhaps because of the way time stands still while you cross all those matchstick-style bridges and viaducts. As for the clouds in question, look down. Tickets from €134. trenalasnubes.com
Palace on Wheels, India
Take a journey through time as much as through India, in carriages designed for maharajahs. A cruise on rail, the week-long package begins and ends in New Delhi and takes in some of Rajasthan's best known sights along the way, including Jaipur, Jaisalmar and Udaipur. Singles from $595 (€449) including all meals, tours and elephants. palacetours.com
Rovos Rail, Africa
One month. One continent. Five stars. Once a year South Africa's luxury train firm Rovos Rail stages a cross-continental spectacular from Cape Town to Cairo. Includes great tours along the way, from sunset cruises on the Zambezi to game drives across the Serengeti. Prices start at $48,500 (€36,600). rovos.com
Trans-Siberian Express, Russia
The mighty Trans-Siberian Railway runs from Moscow to Vladivostok, over the Urals, across the Steppes and alongside Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater lake. That's eight time zones and 6,000 miles in a leisurely two weeks. From €15,995 for a single. gwtravel.co.uk
Orient Express, Venice
By comparison the Orient Express looks positively cheap. Yet the Venice-Simplon Orient Express is a by-word for luxury and likely the only train you’ll ever board where they expect you to dress for dinner. Cross the Alps in style and then recover from your commute with a few days at Venice’s fabled Hotel Cipriani, in a package priced from £5,535 (€6,800).
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Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu
If you thought Machu Picchu couldn’t be topped, you’d be right, other than, perhaps, arriving in style. The Hiram Bingham runs a daily round trip between Cusco and the world’s most famous Unesco Heritage Site. Think polished wood, gleaming cutlery and an observation bar car with panoramic views,for $599.
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Blue Train, South Africa
For a shorter African adventure, that's long on luxury, this one takes just 27 hours to cross from Cape Town to Pretoria, heading out of this world with luxury suites offering down duvets, double beds and full baths. Choose from a range of themed trips, from game parks to golf courses. From €1,190. bluetrain.co.za
Flam Railway, Norway
This one's a tiddler by comparison but packs a punch on two fronts – it's the steepest railway track in the world and it has, arguably, the best scenery. The tiny line spans only 20km but what a 20km that is, down from the top of a mountainous plateau to one of Norway's most dramatic fjords. Tickets €35. visitflam.com
Voluntourism
Save the sea turtles
What did sea turtles do before humans came to mind their eggs? Ponder it as you patrol the beaches of Costa Rica guarding the little critters. Then call in a baby sitter and head off on hikes through misty cloud-forests and rafting down rivers. Stay 15 days, departing July to November, from €1,859 per person. sunway.ie
Big game reserved
Enjoy the call of the wild for two to 12 weeks on this South African wildlife conservation expedition. Staying on the Karaongwe Game Reserve in the Limpopo province and the Zimanga Game Reserve in Kwazulu-Natal, your job is to help determine the impact of reintroduced animals on game resrves. The stay costs €1,409 to €4,242.
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Get physical in Kenya
If you spend your working week chained to a desk, the idea of doing something physical on holiday can be appealing. How about helping to build houses in Nakuru, Kenya from Monday to Friday, and your weekends exploring national parks? Stays can last up to three months, priced from €699 for a week, excluding flights. i-to-i.com
Scuba school
For the true multi-tasker, why not pick up a new skill as well as volunteer – and have loads of fun while you're at it. Learn to scuba dive in the Caribbean while helping to conserving coral reef and marine life in Mexico's Yucatan. A four-week stint in February will cost you €2,154. gvi.co.uk
Kids go too
Kids can join in with this family volunteering holiday in Tanzania, staying in a bush camp in a rural community along the Indian Ocean coast, working on school and community projects. Priced from €720 per adult, excluding flights, with child rates for under 11s. responsibletravel.com
Gallop to the Galapagos
The Galapagos might well be closed to tourists at some future stage so get your visit in soon, particularly one that includes boat trips to sea lions, swimming through lava tunnels, horse riding up volcanoes and mountain biking down them – plus 20 hours of volunteer work. Price £1,277 (€1,572) including flights from Quito to Galapagos. muchbetteradventures.com
Retiring elephants
Journey to Freedom is a project that allows elephants owned by the Karen people in the north of Thailand to retire from trekking camps and return to living in the jungle and hills. Volunteers stay for a week, walking with the elephants and staying in various villages along the way, paying a fee of about €327. elephantnaturepark.org
Home from home in India
EIL Intercultural Learning has volunteer camps in India focusing on community development projects such as gardening, painting and decorating in Himachal and Rajashan, staying with a host family. The tour only cost is €1,299 for two weeks.
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Make for the Cape
Do three days' work helping disadvantaged communities in Cape Town – working in a community kitchen or gardening – then spend the rest of your holiday touring the Winelands and enjoying a Big 5 safari. The nine-day tour costs from €5,500 based on two sharing. handsupholidays.com
Back to school
Go back to school in rural Vietnam. Staying in the highlands of the Mai Chau region, help out in a local secondary school before heading off on a cruise – in a traditional wooden junk – along Halong bay. Prices start at £1,150 (€1,415). godifferently.com
TAKE TO THE CITY
City breaks
The lure of Lisbon
The Travel Department has great value city breaks including a three-night sojourn in February, for €219. The price includes flights, transfers and three nights B&B in four-star hotel accommodation, as well as guided sightseeing. Gourmets will hold off until April, to tally with Peixe em Lisboa, the city's gastronomic extravaganza and celebration of all things fishy. thetraveldepartment.ie
Inside Malaga
You probably think you know Malaga, right? Know the 27 museums, the largest private collection of Picassos, the Fortress, Castle, Cathedral, Botanical Gardens? Thought not; too busy transferring out to your beach resort. This three-night Malaga Insiders Tour will put that to rights. Priced from €359. citiescapes.ie
Race to Barcelona
Barcelona is perfect for a city break – great for walking, a shady park at every corner and a beach right beside it. If that doesn't rev you up, there's the Barcelona Grand Prix to look forward to in May. Abbey Travel has a three-night trip including flights, hotel and entrance tickets to the Circuit de Catalunya from €729 per person sharing. abbeytravel.ie
Art in Amsterdam
Looking for a break that won't, ahem, break the bank? All through January, subject to availability, Arrow Tours is offering two nights in Amsterdam from €167 per person sharing, staying B&B at the two-star Trianon Hotel. It's just round the corner from the Rijksmuseum, which is reopening in April after a 10-year renovation. arrowtours.ie
Take the Derry air
You'll have to make a date with Derry this year, to celebrate its status as City of Culture. Events planned include the relocation of Other Voices, the Dingle musical event, to the Maiden City for three days in February and a Guinness World Record attempt involving 4,000 dancing "Annies" in March. So maybe February then.
cityofculture2013.com
Hit the sales in Paris
There's no such thing as starting the January sales on Christmas Eve in France. They're far too tasteful. Or perhaps a tad over-regulated. Either way, the sales begin this year on January 9th and last for six weeks, with prices increasingly slashed as time goes on. Everything must go, and so should you, particularly as Ryanair has end of January tickets from €23. ryanair.com
Make music in Berlin
How about a musical city break? The Travel Department has a Berlin Opera Break, including tickets for Verdi's Rigoletto at the Deutsche Opera House. The three-night break takes place at the end of April, and costs €455 including flights, guide assistance and sightseeing.thetraveldepartment.com
New York in the new year
January and February might be New York's coldest months but they are also a great time to go, with Restaurant Week to enjoy and Chinatown's Lunar New Year to celebrate, plus a chance of a decent seat at a great Broadway show. What's more, it's when NYMA, the New York Manhattan Hotel is offering budget stays in Midtown from €98 per room, per night, including breakfast and free wifi.
theneworkmanhattanhotel.com
Reeling in Rio
For a city break with a difference, head to Rio for Carnival, the greatest party on earth. If you can get a bunch of friends together (minimum 10), Bespoke Brazil offer a trip including not just entry to the Sambadrome but a chance for you to dress up and join in. Prices start at £1,799 (€2,208). bespokebrazil.com
Have a ball in Venice
Attend a masked ball at Venice's Carnival or wander around enjoying the street theatre. Just €100 will get you into an 18th century group dance lesson at the Hotel Danieli – about the cheapest way to spend time there. Allegro Holidays has limited availability for hotel city packages, from €329 for three nights. Balls extra. allegroholidays.com
WHALES, DIVES AND UNFORGETTABLE FOOD
Get skiing
Good Bad-Gastein
The Gasteinertal ski area is one of the largest in Austria, with five resorts on one lift pass, access to 200km of prepared piste and 50 plus lifts. A week's stay half board at the Hotel Mozart, in the Austrian resort of Bad-Gastein, costs from €839 in February falling to €699 in early March. topflight.ie
Slopeside in Andorra
Duty free Andorra's Pas de la Casa is part of the massive Grandvalira ski area linking it with Soldeu and El Tarter. Enjoy the lively après ski without having to trudge for miles next morning with a slopeside stay at Aparthotel Olimpiades. A week's package arriving February 3rd is €689 pps online.
directski.com
Cruise St Johann
Austria's St Johann lies at the foot of the mighty Kitzbuheler Horn and with long cruising runs offers plenty of skiing for all standards as well as a lively nightlife. Stay half board at the Hotel Post, from just €499 if you can leave by January 12th – subject to availability – or wait a month and pay €899. topflight.ie
Ski across countries
Nothing gets you fitter than cross-country skiing. Adventure company Exodus has an eight-day (tour only) package based in Chamonix, France and crossing the border to Italy. The trip costs €1,270, including expert tuition and guiding. exodus.com
Short and sweet
If it's a short, sharp, shock of snow you're after, think Morzine. With scheduled low- cost flights to Geneva plus three-day ski packs, including lift pass, skis and boots for €142, you can get an all-inclusive short break package from Highlife for €750 per person, including extras such as minibus transfers to your door, meals and guided skiing. highlife.ie
Heaven and Zell
The pretty, cobbled town of Zell am See in Austria is part of the Europa Sport Region which includes the glacier resort of Kaprun. Seven nights BB at the Grand Hotel, arriving March 16th, costs €3,412 for a family of four, including flights. crystalski.ie
City ski in Oslo
For a combination of ski holidays and city breaks the Norwegian capital has more than 2,600 kilometres of prepared cross- country ski trails surrounding it, many lit by night. Oslo Winter Park has 18 slopes and 11 lifts, plus ski rental and tuition. SAS flies Dublin to Oslo from €76. flysas.com
Snow sure in Val Thorens
Val Thorens in France is Europe's highest ski centre. Purpose built, the skiing starts right in the centre of the village, with pistes to suit all levels of ability. A week's stay at the three-star Residence Tourotel on a self- catering basis costs from €559, arriving January 26th. topflight.ie
Doorstep skiing in Val d'Isere
Val d'Isère and neighbouring Tignes combine to create the vast ski area known as Espace Killy. Stay at Les Residences Val d'Isere, a monolithic structure short on charm but long on the kind of practicalities serious skiers love – you can ski up to the back door – from €548 for a week based on two sharing, self catering, flying from Dublin, February 2nd. skimcneill.com
Easter in the Alps
Make the most of an early Easter this year (March 31st) with some high altitude skiing in the French Alps. Highlife has departures for its fully catered chalets in Val d'Isere, Morzine and Meribel on March 24th, 7th and 31st, with prices starting from €840 per adult and €686 for under 12s.
highlife.ie
Walking trips
The Lycian Way
Turkey's Lycian Way takes you along rugged hilltops overlooking an azure sea. Stay at the Montana Pine Resort on a half board basis, with a choice of guided walks each day, typically around 9km each. Departing May 2nd for seven nights, this trip costs €715, excluding flights. uwalk.ie
Amazing Amalfi
Few coastlines are as amazing as Amalfi's, with its emerald seas, plunging gorges and pastel villages, linked by ancient walking paths. Hug the coast to Sorrento, via Positano, on this hotel to hotel break from Headwater, with tour only prices starting at £1,158 (€1,422). headwater.com
Trek the Terra
Trek the Cinque Terra, the Five Lands – Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso – in the Italian region of Liguria. The region, a Unesco World Heritage list bonanza, is best explored on foot, with walking holidays available from Topflight, from €475 per person sharing, excluding flights. topflight.ie
Island hop the Cyclades
Explore the islands at your leisure with this self-guided walking tour. Starting in Athens and heading out to Serifos, Sifnos and Milos, the 10-night break costs from £825 (€1,013). inntravel.co.uk
Alight in the Azores
Or island-hop the Azores instead. Great for walking, each is completely different from the one before, from green and lush to black and volcanic. A 14-night fully guided walking holiday, half board, costs from £2,399 (€2,946), including London flights. hfholidays.co.uk
Alpine highs
Check out the picture perfect Salzkammegut region of Austria without its snowy jacket on this great value seven-day guided walking holiday that includes half board accommodation at a four-star hotel, plus picnic lunches and the services of a qualified guide. The package, including Munich flights and transfers, costs €875 per person sharing, departing May 23rd.
thetraveldepartment.ie
Snow shoe for sure
If you're keen on snow but not on skiing, how about snowshoeing your way across the Dolomites? Stay just north of Cortina d'Ampezzo and shuffle your way through national parks, lake lands, and the foothills of Italy's most impressive mountain range. Exodus has eight-day tour only packages in February and March from € 1,170.
abbeytravel.ie
La Grande Canyon
France has its own Grand Canyon, the Verdon Gorge. On the border between Var and Alpes de Haute Provence, the canyon is up to 700m deep and runs through a nature park. This four-night break, staying in two or three star hotels on a BB basis,
starts at €235. onefootabroad.com
Walk the Eagle's Way
The Tyrolian lakeshore village of Walchsee, surrounded by the Zahmer Kaiser mountains, makes a great base for an independent walking holiday along parts of the Eagle's Walk, the longest distance hiking path in Europe. Seven nights half board from €729. uwalk.ie
Round the mountain in Nepal
One of the world's most awe-inspiring treks, a circuit of the Annapurna range in Nepal takes you from the sub tropical lower Marsyangdi Valley to the semi desert of the Tibetan Plateau. The walking is moderate but the altitude high. An 18-day tour costs from £1,021 (€1,254) including transfers and most meals. responsibletravel.com
Getting married
Thailand comes tops
According to Hotels.com Thailand is the most popular choice for honeymoons this year. Sunway has seven nights' BB at the four-star Amari Palm Reef, a boutique resort on Chewang Beach, Koh Samui from €1,289 per person, travelling in May. If you fancy getting married there first, they can handle that too. sunway.ie
Kid free in Cuba
Don't fancy a clatter of children before you're ready for a clatter of your own? Then the four-star Sandals Royal Hicacos Resort in Cuba, on the white sands of Varadero Beach, is just the ticket. It's only for adults and has large swimming pool, tennis courts, seven bars and five restaurants. From €1,429 per person sharing.
travelmood.ie
Luscious St Lucia
St Lucia is the Caribbean's premier honeymoon island. To make a name for yourself as a premier honeymoon planner, at least with your beloved, book into the Jade Mountain. Each of its extravagant suites – we're talking 15ft ceilings, three walls and private pools – has picture perfect views of the Pitons. A week's BB from €3,259 in low season July. tropicalsky.ie
Two birds
If you fancy combining wedding and honeymoon, Topflight is guaranteed to get you to an uber-atmospheric Italian church – or registry office – on time, and organise your reception at smart hotels like the Hotel Capo La Gala, cut into a cliffside south of Sorrento. A week's stay here, departing May, starts €1,279 per adult, plus wedding fees. topflight.ie
Blissed out in Bali
Start your wedded life blissed out in Bali – island of the gods – at the four-star Nusa Dua Resort Spa. Joe Walsh Tours has a 16-day package, departing May 1st, from €1,699. The recently renovated hotel sits on nine acres of lush grounds.
joewalshtours.ie
Married in Malta
Ensure the sun shines on your wedding day by tying the knot in Malta, and staying on for the honeymoon. Curragh Travel's Weddings Away division can organise the complete package at posh properties such as the five-star Westin Dragonara, on St Julian's bay. Three-course receptions from €60 per person. curraghtravel.ie
Follow the turtles
Turtle Beach is an all-suite resort on a white sandy beach on the south coast of Barbado. You know it must be good because sea turtles come back here year after year to lay eggs. Heffernan's Travel has online deals including a seven-night all inclusive stay, with flights, from €1,869, valid for travel in May or June.
heffernansweddingsabroad.ie
Make it in Mexico
The Banyan Tree Mayakoba is a five-star operation, with a super spa with the lagoons and waterways that meander through this elegant resort. A week's BB break available online, at time of writing for £1,900 (€2,300 – a saving of up to €864 on the regular price) in May. kuoni.co.uk
Make out in the Maldives
The Maldives are perfect for honeymooners. Stay seven nights at the four-star Adaaran Hudhuran on Fushi Island – the name translates as "island of white gold" – on an all-inclusive basis from €1,639 in May. destinations.ie
Aussie de luxe
For utter luxury, the Wolgan Valley resort in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney is the perfect place to recover from all that wedding planning. Enjoy the wildlife and the spa, or just soak up the mountain views from your private pool, from €1,252 per villa per night. wolganvalley.com
Water holidays
Float your boat
Sunsail invented the flotilla or group boat holiday back in 1974. Being part of a group of likeminded sailors offers a great balance of independent sailing, sociability, and support if you want it. The company has a special offer price of £499 (€612) for a seven- night Greek flotilla holiday in October.
sunway.ie
Good dives in the Maldives
How about a liveaboard diving holiday? Stay on a 39m boat with hotel standards including concierge, bars and sundecks. There's a massage room too, though. A 10-day Maldives dive holiday costs from £2,485 (€3,057) in February.
aquatours.com
Cruise into summer
The Med will be warming up nicely as you head off on this May cruise from Barcelona and back taking in Valencia, Tunis, Civitavecchia (for Rome), Genoa and Marseille, on board the MSC Splendida. The price, which includes flights, is from €985. thetraveldepartment.ie
What lies beneath Belize
Fulfil a bucket list favourite and dive Belize's famous Blue Hole. A perfect circle 300m wide, and the same again in depth, if Poseidon had a front door it would look like this. Opt for a liveaboard with Scuba Travel – offering up to five dives a day – starting from £2,495 (€3,070) including UK flights. scubatravel.com
Canal du Midi to the max
If you prefer your water to be inland, France's Canal du Midi is just the ticket. The weather's warm and the locks are either automatic or fully manned, so stress-free really. To totally unwind opt for the languid Languedoc Cruise, a two-week meander from Narbonne to Castelnaudary and back. Online discounts will get you a boat that sleeps five from €2,844 in late June.
leboat.net
Kayak Croatia
Sea kayak your way around the Pearl of the Adriatic, Dubrovnik, or around the green Elaphite Islands along the coast. Covering distances of 15-20km a day, come ashore for lunch at local tavernas and then dine out on your salty tales all evening. A seven day sea kayaking tour costs €715.
responsibletravel.com
Sail away in style
Is there any more elegant mode of transport than a tall ship? If your answer is no, then Classic Sailing has all sorts of guest crew opportunities around the world, including a 29-day voyage aboard the Bessie Ellen, a 1904 trading ketch, leaving Tenerife for Falmouth in early February. To join costs £1,970 (€2,420).
classic-sailing.co.uk
Ahoy Captain!
A skippered sailing holiday is the perfect option if you haven't sailed before and want to see what all the fuss is about. A week's stay on board a skippered charter on the Greek island of Mykonos in mid July costs £1,855 (€2,282) with plenty of room for four holidaymakers – and one patient skipper.
bareboatsailingholidays.com
Swim or swim
If you reckon boats are for wimps, perhaps an open water swim holiday float your boat? A seven-day break around the Maddelena archipelago, on Sardinia's EmeraldCoast, features crystal clear waters, pink sand and blue cliffs. It costs €1,000.
swimtrek.com
Whale of a time
Got a soft spot for cetaceans? Your best chance of getting up close and personal with them is Mexico's Baja California, home to the largest concentration in the world of everything from Blue Whales to Harbour Porpoises. This 14-day whale-watching and wildlife cruise down the western coast of the Baja Peninsula and into the Sea of Cortez costs from £2,795 (€3,436). naturetrek.co.uk.
Food breaks
Flavours of Italy
Flavours Italian Cookery Holidays runs small group cookery holidays in Tuscany, Puglia, Sicily or Umbria, with lessons in your villa kitchen. A week's break in Tuscany, with five classes and plenty of opportunity to explore San Gimignano, Sienna and Florence, costs £1,599 (€1,964) per person. The downside is it excludes flights, the upside is no single supplement either.
flavoursholidays.com
Fancy an Indian?
How about a gourmet North Indian tour to Lucknow Calcutta to discover the subtle flavours of refined Moghul cuisine, dining in private palaces and touring markets and farms for the freshest ingredients. Staying in five star hotels all the way the eight-day trip costs roughly €3,695, including internal flights. tastingplaces.com
Cook up a storm
Luxury in the Loire Valley and a pupil to chef ratio of four to one are only part of the appeal of a cookery holiday at Walnut Grove in France. With ample time to tour, chat with other guests or just relax in the sun, the five-day courses cost €1,595 pps. Non-participating partners pay €895. Or go solo with a single supplement of €220. walnutgrovecookery.com
Wine and dine
Wine tour specialist Arblaster Clarke has a Reserve Collection that will appeal to the most ardent gourmand. Staying in private chateaux, winery hotels or luxury Relais Chateaux hotels, it includes tastings from the best vintages combined with meals at Michelin starred restaurants. A four-day Bordeaux First Growths tour in March costs €4,523 pps. arblasterandclarke.com
Fishy fun
In TV chef Rick Stein's cookery school in Padstow, Cornwall it's all about the seafood. Its Cooking From Spain course focuses on making perfectly fresh seafood. A morning's cooking is followed by a leisurely lunch, a final demo and washed down with wine. Two-day residential courses cost £785 (about €964). rickstein.com
Michelin magic
Want to learn about Provencal cooking with a Michelin star chef as your guide? Stay in a luxury hotel, with spa, and have class each day in the chef's 19th century country kitchen in the hilltop village of La Cadiere d'Azur, in the Bandol wine region between Nice and Marseile. The six-day course costs £1,222 pps. golearnto.com
Delta delights
How about letting someone else do all the hard work? Take a Vietnam Cuisine Tour, a kitchen-crawl through the Mekong Delta, North and South Vietnam on an 11-day small group tour that includes lunches, dinners, just a couple of cooking classes and loads of sightseeing, from Unesco heritage site Halong Bay to bustling Saigon. From £1,185 (€1,456). responsibletravel.com
Tullio on tour
Get some kitchen confidential-style insight on a gourmet tour with chef and restaurant critic Paolo Tullio, based in Cannes but exploring all sorts of tasty places along the Cote D'Azur. It includes a walking tour of Nice and an afternoon in Saint Paul de Vence.The trip departs May 28th and costs €985. thetraveldepartment.ie
Slow cook in Morocco
Learn to slow cook the Moroccan way, alongside a Berber cook at a privately owned riad in a quiet corner of Marrakech. Prepare tagines of meat and vegetables or marinated fish over charcoal and then go and have a nap while they cook, before dining on a candlelit rooftop that evening.
holidayonthemenu.com
Experience Michel Jr
For anyone smitten with Michel Roux Jr the good news is that you don't have to sign up for Masterchef. Cactus Kitchens offers a day long Michel Roux Jr Experience. (They just mean cooking, unfortunately.) The cost is £895 (€1,100). cactuskitchens.co.uk
