Wild nights at Chester Zoo
Omio saves EU hassle For more great holiday ideas, see page 39
beaches and medieval settlements, before reaching Pula on Istria’s southwest tip.
Here, the magnificent Pula Arena is a beautifully preserved Roman amphitheatre.
GO: This seven-day self-guided trip has B&B in three and four-star hotels, bag transportation, maps and route information, for £890pp.
Bike hire and flights are not included. See freedomtreks.co.uk.
Pure peaks France’s southern Alps
Autumn in the Alps is a magical time. As the heat of the summer cools and before the big snow of the winter arrives, there are a whole host of outdoor activities to fill your lungs and satisfy your soul.
Test your head for heights on a via ferrata protected climbing route, go mountain biking, fly high paragliding, go caving and kayaking. Or just dangle on a zip wire and contemplate. GUESTS will wak e up to wildlife at Chester Zoo after it revealed details of a huge g expansion and its fir st acc accommodation – Africanth themed lodges and tents.
The project, Grasslands, is expected d to launch in 2022 and will r ecreate GO: Alps multi-activity specialists Undiscovered Mountains has launched a new autumn holiday based in the mountains southeast of Grenoble. Local experts put together customised itineraries based on a flexible points system, and offers a range of accommodation depending on budget.
A week is from £407pp with accommodation and activities. See undiscoveredmountains.com.
Celeb hike Amalfi Coast, Italy
The Italian coastline between Salerno and Sorrento, south of Naples is a place of wonder, recognised by Unesco.
Its plunging mountains and cliffs, its verdant woods and its fabled towns create a dreamworld that could have stepped straight out of the different habitats. The highlight will be an open savannah, home to rare animals, including endangered species of giraffe, zebra, ostrich and antelope.
Elsewhere, visitors can meet cr anes, aardvarks and warthogs. movies – and indeed many of them have been filmed here.
There is pastel-coloured Positano, favoured by the jet-set, and ancient Amalfi with its beautiful cathedral, and there is Sorrento, a handsome clifftop resort.
But this is not about the towns because dotted all the way along the shore is a selection of Italy’s finest hotels and restaurants.
Walk this route, past fragrant lemon groves and deep gorges, g sampling incredible food and wine, and an there is a good chance you might spot s somebody famous along the way.
GO: Starting in Naples, this sociable sev seven-night break includes four days of gu guided walking with a group of no more th than 16 people, as well as four pa packed-lunches and six dinners.
The price of £1,119pp also includes ret return flights from the UK. See fligh flightcentre.co.uk/holidays. Omio Free
Formerly Go Euro, this nifty travel search engine and booking app saves a lot of hassle. You can n book flights, trains and buses for more than 80,000 destinations across 12 European countries. It not only includes popular cities and airports, but also small towns and villages that are served by trains and coaches. But the best thing about it is it will give you information about the cheapest and also the fastest options.