RAVEL DREAM UP AN
There’s a world of heavenly holiday destinations
GALAPAGOS
You can’t draw up a list like this without including the island group 560 miles off the coast of Ecuador. Its remoteness is key to its appeal. Species flourish here that are not found anywhere else – something that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
What to do: Most visitors to the 18 principal islands arrive by aircraft on the main island, Baltra, before crossing to Santa Cruz and boarding a cruise. Boats usually cross between islands overnight, allowing you to spend more time ashore.
How to do it: A seven-day small group experience with domestic flights and cruise costs from £3,197pp at intrepidtravel.com.
TRANSYLVANIA
This rolling, forested chunk of Romania is where eastern Europe jumps back a couple of centuries. It’s an almost medieval landscape of wells in the villages, wolves in the woods, bears in the hills, and carts instead of cars.
What to do: Go bear watching, hire a horse and cart for a picnic, or visit Dracula’s castle, inset. Stay local, renting a house in a charming Saxon village.
How to do it: Village house rental costs from £28pppn with experiencetransylvania.ro. A six-day Transylvania Walking and Nature Holiday is from £816pp, excluding flights, from www.responsible travel.com.
Southeast Asia has been a travel nirvana for decades, and for good reason.
Great food, temples, friendly people, lovely weather, low prices… what’s not to like?
Thailand has long been the soaraway leader, while Laos has gone on doing its own thing, just like Thailand of 40 years ago.
What to do: The key hub for a vision of old Indochina is Luang Prabang, the former imperial capital with its old Chinesestyle shophouses and colonial mansions.
This backwater city on a peninsular on the Mekong is like a film set animated by bicycle rickshaws and robed monks.
How to do it: Treasures of Laos private tour spends six days in Luang Prabang, with a trip on the river, and capital Vientiane. From £779pp, with one domestic but no international flights, at trailfinders.com.
WITH travel slowly finding its feet again, it’s time to dream about destinations that are true hidden gems… then plan to visit them before they are changed forever.