The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
LESS THAN 8 HOURS FLYING TIME
Opt for the overlooked
Marsa Alam, Egypt
Average winter temperature: 25C Hours of daily winter sunshine: 9
Often foolishly overlooked in favour of more exotic (and expensive) climes, the Red Sea dazzles with colourful reefs and marine life. Attracting fewer crowds than Sharm El Sheikh, Marsa Alam on the western shore has equally reputable dive schools and benefits from a new direct flight from Gatwick launched by Tui last month. Once accessible only by liveaboards, diving can now be done from the shore or on boat trips to Sha’ab Samadai, frequently visited by a pod of spinner dolphins. Wind down with a massage or meditation session at the new Wadi Sabarah Lodge, built from coral limestone in botanical gardens.
Seven nights with Regaldive (01353 659999; regal-diving.co.uk) costs from £1,125pp (two sharing), including B&B, 15 dive packages, transfers and flights
Dive from an island oddity
Daymaniyat Islands, Oman
Average winter temperature: 21C Hours of daily winter sunshine: 10
Few capitals are within easy reach of paradise. A 45-minute boat ride from Muscat, the rocky Daymaniyat Islands are ringed by sparkling white beaches. Between November and April, the real beauty of this nature reserve lies underwater. Snorkel above seagrass beds for the best chances of seeing green and hawksbill turtles and look out for Arabian butterflyfish and angelfish in the reefs. Back on the mainland, freshwater pools in wadis provide relief on trips to the Sharqiya Sands Desert. Even more refreshing is the cooling breeze of the Al Hajar mountains.
A 10-night Oman in Style trip with Cox & Kings (03330 603 303; coxandkings.co. uk) costs from £5,795pp (two sharing), including B&B accommodation, transfers and flights
Combine beach and bush
Kenya
Average winter temperature: 27C at the coast; 19C in Borana
Hours of daily winter sunshine: 9
Offering better value than the Maldives and with beaches as sparkling as the Seychelles, Kenya’s Indian Ocean coastline is returning to our radar. Swerve Mombasa’s busy resorts for bohemian archipelago Lamu further north, where donkeys stroll through sandy streets and wooden dhows weave between islands. For a castaway stay, check into a smart beach hut on Manda Bay island, owned by the Dyer family. Their relatives manage pioneering eco conservancy Borana, a sanctuary for black rhino at the foothills of Mount Kenya.
Twin both for the ultimate beach and bush break.
A seven-night Kenya Unleashed trip with Nomad Africa (00254 708 238738; nomad.africa) costs from £3,559pp (two sharing), including full-board accommodation and transfers. Excludes flights
Walk through lava fields
Cape Verde
Average winter temperature: 25C Hours of daily winter sunshine: 6
Beyond the busy beach resorts of Boa Vista and Sal, islands in West Africa’s Portuguese-speaking archipelago are rarely visited. Best explored on foot, Santo Antão is a mosaic of steep gorges and valleys carved into volcanic rock, with coastal trails connecting villages clinging to cliffs. Hike inland through forests of mimosa and pine, sleeping in the thatched cottages of Pedracin Village. Hop over to São Vicente island by ferry for a walk through lava fields washed by the ocean and spend evenings listening to traditional morna folk music in the cultural capital of Mindelo.
A seven-night walking holiday with Walks Worldwide (01962 302085; walksworldwide.com) costs from £1,869pp (two sharing), including B&B, some additional meals and transfers. Excludes flights
Find favour with the whole family
Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Average winter temperature: 18C Hours of daily winter sunshine: 8
Masters of perfection, Emiratis struck gold when designing cultural hub Saadiyat Island, home to one of the largest concentrations of museums and galleries in the world. Not everything on the island 500 metres off the coast of Abu Dhabi is manmade, however. With not a speck of imported sand in sight, the natural beaches are regarded as the best in the UAE. Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas has direct access to a gleaming white five-mile stretch, making it a family favourite. Scott Dunn has launched a new twofloor Explorers Kids Club on site, with different games and spaces aimed at ages six months to 11 years.
Seven nights at Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas with Scott Dunn (020 3627 9878; scottdunn.com) costs from £6,000 for a family of four, including half-board, transfers and flights
Do fly and flop with a difference
Senegal
Average winter temperature: 23C Hours of daily winter sunshine: 8
French travellers have been bathing on West African beaches for decades. But it’s taken Brits a little longer to be convinced. A six-hour direct flight from London, Dakar is the gateway to golden stretches along Pointe Sarène where the water temperature is around 21C. Sharing the same time zone as the UK, it’s possible to slip immediately into relaxation mode without any irritating jet lag, yet the location is exotic enough to feel much further away. Perfect for an affordable fly and flop, Tui offers all-inclusive packages at the tasteful Riu Baobab.
Seven nights at Riu Baobab with Tui (020 3451 2688; tui.co.uk) on an all-inclusive basis costs from £1,067pp (two sharing), including transfers and flights