FOR ADVENTURERS

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A SOUTH AMERICAN SUMMER Don’t read this entry yourself. Hand it to the children. OK, kids: this Christmas, mum and dad can take you on an actionpacked trip to Peru and Colombia, the former linked by a new direct flight to Lima from December 2. After a stint in the capital, you’ll head to the Sacred Valley to raft rapids, holler down zip-wires and walk to the Sun Gate above Machu Picchu. If your parents are pulling a face, tell them visiting Cusco’s markets will improve your Spanish, and a new(ish) flight from there to Bogota means beachtime at Cartagena. Also, that this is goodvalue for a bespoke itinerary.

Thirteen nights’ including breakfast ( full-board in Colombia) for four, flights, transfers and activities, costs from £19,750 with Stubborn Mule travel (01728 752751; stubbornmuletravel.com)

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A DIFFERENT SIDE OF ARABIA An intrepid roadtrip where the weather is nailed-on and the welcome is generous; not the Antipodes – 24-hour flying times are madness for a week away – but under-visited Oman. On a self-drive 4x4 tour launched this year, you take the coast road south of Muscat into the Wahiba Sands, a hypnotic land of rolling dunes (download the Lawrence of Arabia theme) where you’ll meet Bedouin nomads and stay in luxury camps beneath mind-boggling skies. Magic. Over the return through mountainous north Oman are medieval castles, souks and traditional villages of Jabal Akhdar. Think you’ve done Arabia? Think again. Seven nights’ B&B costs from £5,895pp, including transfers and car hire with F&P Travel (01306 264005; fandptravel.com)

i Desert bloom: 4WD and tents nestle among the dunes in Wahiba Sands in Oman