Charm of Sharm is back
For more great holiday ideas, see page 39
and Candolim. Think yoga on the beach, temples among the trees, waterfalls in the forests, mystics on the streets, and free-range cows wandering everywhere.
Goa was once a full-on hippie destination. But while most of the hardcore tie-dyes have vanished, the dreamy, chilled-out ambience still lives on. GO: A week’s B&B in the modest Peravel Hotel in Candolim, plus flights, ht costs tf from £787pp. See onthebeach.co.uk.
Glam rocks Maldives
Welcome to the most Instagrammable and selfie-driven vision of beach holidays in Asia. Elegant boutiquey hotels are cast away on slivers
TUI will start selling holidays to Sharm el Sheikh again after the ban on flights to the p popular Red Sea resort was lifted last month.
And in addition to Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester r breaks from February next ext year, flights of sand, sa surrounded by coral seas patrolled by turtles t and manta rays. The Maldives is a as setting for honeymooning spa lovers, and an if you want to do no more than gaze adoringly ad at your other half in the sun, you yo could not ask for more.
Its disadvantage is that it is a bit pric pricier than other destinations and rather sho short on other things to see and do.
GO: Seven nights’ all-inclusive in a beach villa at the four-star Reethi Faru Resort costs tf from £1 £1,779pp, including flights. See emiratesholidays.com.
Tiger tiger
Saigon and Nha Trang, Vietnam
These nations of southeast Asia have been changing so rapidly they have been nicknamed the Tiger economies. Vibrant Vietnam, which was riven will also be available from Doncaster Sheffield and Bristol in the summer.
Holidays to hotels including TUI Magic Life Sharm El Sheikh and Reef Oasis Blue Bay will go on sale on Thursday, with more announced soon. by war until 1975, is at the forefront of this boom in business and is opening up even more to tourists – not just your backpackers.
Its super-speedy development is best witnessed in the buzzing street life of Ho Chi Minh City, better known as Saigon, with its glorious mix of markets, skyscrapers and French colonial architecture.
A short flight away is the beach resort of Nha Trang, with golden sands, exciting diving sites, lively resorts and sensational seafood restaurants. A selection of wonderful islands with nature reserves and coral reefs lies just offshore. It also has one of the world’s longest cable car rides, to the highly rated theme park Vinpearl. GO: An 11-day break to both Ho Chi Minh and Nha Trang costs from £774pp, B&B, but without flights. See trailfinders.com. Flights, with one stop, cost from £520 with Royal Brunei airlines. See flyroyalbrunei.com.