‘I cooled off in a rooftop pool in Cairo’
Fleeing the British winter, you have felt the heat in places as diverse as Egypt, Portugal, Australia and Albania
It wasn’t our first Christmas in Melbourne – but it was our first with our son’s future in-laws, staying with them on Phillip Island. On Christmas Day it was decided to get the ski boat out. Arriving at the boat ramp, there was no sign of our son, his fiancée or her family. They had driven to where the water skiing would take place – a mile away.
Bundled into the ski boat, we had a white knuckle ride to where the family were waiting. The next couple of hours were fun – and funny – as those of us who had never water-skied spent more time in the water than on it.
Lunch on Christmas Day was a bottle of water and crisps, but dinner was a banquet with plenty of Christmas cheer. John Clark, Berkshire
ANNIVERSARY ADVENTURE
Portugal, with its castles, cobblestone villages, captivating cities and golden beaches, will be our winter escape – and this will be my first overseas travel clutching a British passport.
For our eighth civil partnership anniversary, my partner and I will bask in the sun in Faro. Adrenaline will rush through our veins as we zip-line over the Guadiana River, with stunning views of the landscape. It will be a welcome change from our usual afternoon walks in east London as we explore Faro’s labyrinthine alleyways.
After nearly two years of house arrest, our minds are already filled with anticipation. It won’t just be a holiday, but a much-needed form of self-care. Dennis Relojo-Howell, London
THE SILENT WORLD
Leaving a dull and dreary Gatwick in January, we stepped off the plane in Tortola and it was like entering a warm oven. Introduced to our sea shepherd and shepherdess, we met out fellow flotilla crews over a “Painkiller” – rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, freshly grated nutmeg – the delicious national drink of the British Virgin Islands.
Next day we sailed to Peter Island for lunch. The warm north-east trade wind blew us across in no time. As we snorkelled into what felt like a warm bath, another world opened up: rays, parrotfish and butterfly fish swam among myriad brightly coloured corals. A wily old barracuda was waiting for us under the yacht. Neither of us said a word. Peter Harrold, Lincolnshire
TEENAGE ANGST
Let’s go away for Christmas, we thought. It sounded wonderful. So we flew to Bangkok, then took a ferry to Koh Lanta. It all seemed perfect: sun, sand, warm sea. But half the parents of northern Europe were there, to join their backpacking youngsters for the festive season – and we’d left ours behind! We felt so homesick. On Christmas Day we hired a jeep and found a deserted beach. Floating in the tepid water, we began to feel a bit better – then drifting through the trees came the sound of Nat King Cole singing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”. That finished me! In floods of tears, I got into the Jeep and we drove back to the hotel to phone home.
Did we go away for Christmas again? Of course we did! That’s another story. Jacqui Baldry, Suffolk
BOUTIQUE ALBANIA
Beautiful warm blue sea lapping on a sandy beach. Village-made wine served in the thatched café behind the ranks of sun loungers. No, I am not in one of the “exotic” holiday favourites, but in Albania.
Why travel thousands more miles when this intriguing country is less than a three-hour flight from Britain? Tomorrow we will go to the town of Butrint – a 2,500-year-old Unesco World Heritage site from Greek and Roman times, with an amphitheatre and grassy walkways. The following day we might drive to Gjirokaster, check in at a boutique hotel and explore the Byzantine city with its 17th-century houses.
If you go, friends will be impressed as few people even know where Albania is; I always say “North of Greece and across the Adriatic from Italy”. What’s more, Wizz Air flights cost just £60 return. Simon Cole, Norfolk
PHARAOH ENOUGH
Last winter, we sailed down the Nile. In Luxor we boarded the Grand Rose and over the next week Assem, our guide, transported us to the world of Ramses. At Karnak we paraded past the ramheaded sphinx into the temple where the engraved pillars towered over us.
We watched the Biblical landscape unfold as we sailed south to Aswan. Children frolicked in the shallows; oxen pulled carts. In Aswan we watched feluccas sail past the Old Cataract Hotel, where Churchill and Agatha Christie stayed. We rose pre-dawn, travelled across the barren landscape to the Abu Simbel temples and were transfixed by the four seated Colossi.
We bought Egyptian clothing from the boatmen and watched dancers perform. In the afternoons we rested, drank tea and ate pancakes on deck as the sun set over the desert sands.