Cut-price paradise
BOOK by the end of the month to save almost £600 on a Caribbean holiday with Destinology. Seven nights at the 4* St James’s Club Morgan Bay, on St Lucia, start from £1,159pp. That includes allinclusive accommodation, free upgrade to an ocean view room, transfers and return flights from London on departures during September and October. Call 01204 824 580 or visit destinology.co.uk. It’s a big country, Canada, and even its leisure centres are big. Alberta’s West Edmonton Mall is the size of a small city, with 5.3 million sq ft of interior space, hosting more than 800 stores, two hotels, and upwards of 100 dining venues.
And somewhere in there, if you can find it, is the world’s largest indoor amusement park, Galaxyland – home to Mindbender, the world’s largest indoor triple-loop rollercoaster, which reaches a terrifying 14 floors at its peak.
A collywobbling winter warmer for when it’s cold outside… which it very much can be in this part of Canada. GO: North America Travel Service has seven nights at the Fairmont Macdonald in Edmonton, plus international flights and fully inclusive car hire. From £1,535pp, packages are available at northamericatravelservice.co.uk. This huge amusement park within striking distance of Chicago is about as all-American as it can be, and all without a mention of Disney.
Its 10 themed areas feature the likes of the Yukon, the Wild West and Yankee Harbor, and the park ranks fifth in terms of quantities of rollercoasters in the world. Among them is its proudest beast, Goliath – a wooden coaster which set three world records when it opened in 2014: the longest drop (at 180ft), the steepest drop (at 85 degrees), and the fastest (at 72mph).
All of which, plus two inversions, is packed into just 100 seconds. GO: Riding the Goliath could be a flying start on Just America’s 14-day Route 66 itinerary. This self-drive Chicago-Los Angeles package includes hotels and itinerary planning, but not flights or car rental. From £589pp, justamerica.co.uk. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are making a big push to rival Orlando for the world’s biggest concentration of theme parks, boosting their winter sun appeal. Dubai already has four parks and aims to have eight by 2019, while