5 amazing trips you can do in a weekend
NOBODY knows how to make the most of a long weekend better than cabin crew. When I worked for an airline, we learned how to maximise our short layovers – and discovered a whole new world of options beyond the usual city-break lists. Here are five of the most surprising places for a fast-paced, midwinter break…
BERMUDA
Why go? Brave the Bermuda Triangle and you’ll be rewarded with pink-sand beaches, fantastic dive spots, classic white-roofed houses and lush golf courses. You’ll experience Bermuda’s links to the British Empire from the start: there’s an oil painting of the Queen at immigration, motorists drive on the left-hand side of the road and there are bright red post boxes all around. Fast fun: Most long weekends are spent around the water. Bermuda has more shipwrecks per square mile than anywhere else on Earth – snorkel or scuba to see them with bermudascuba.com.
You could also ride horses from beach to beach with bermudahorsetrailride.com – then end the day watching swirls of glow-worms light up the Atlantic on a cruise with analunaadventures.com. To see the whole island, join well-to-do locals little ferries that criss-cross the bays, trying to spot Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones’s old home along the way. Eat burgers at the Pickled Onion in the old-world capital, Hamilton, or cross to The Reefs for a pictureperfect waterside dinner. Place to stay: The ‘Pink Palace’ – the Hamilton Princess, one of the island’s most luxurious grand hotels. Rooms cost from £199 (prestigeholidays.co.uk). Plan it: The mid-Atlantic island is seven hours 20 minutes from Gatwick – and it takes an hour less to fly back, thanks to the jetstream. British Airways flies five days a week in winter, and has daily flights from April to November.
You fly out mid-afternoon, arriving in time for dinner by the ocean. Return overnight and you’re back at 6.30am – just in time for work.
CANADA
Why go? Flying to Canada for the weekend sounds ridiculous, if not impossible. But the routes most transatlantic airliners take mean it can be surprisingly close.
The best – and one of the closest – spots for a long weekend is Halifax, Nova Scotia. Halifax residents – Haligonians – say they have more pubs, clubs and bars per head than anywhere else in Canada, and it’s fast becoming the country’s live music capital too. Fast fun: Take a tour at Alexander Keith’s Brewery (alexanderkeiths brewery.com) and sample its ales and stouts.
Alternatively, fuel up at one of more than 250 stalls in North America’s oldest continually operating farmers’ market (halifaxfarmers market.com) and check out some great modern architecture in the Halifax Central Library.
For iconic photos, take a trip to see the classic Peggy’s Point Lighthouse or join a whale-watching boat. If you’re late back to town, grab a ‘Halifax Donair’ – a local kebab – from any street corner.
Place to stay: The Halliburton for its old-world charm – every room is slightly different in this row of converted townhouses. Stays cost from £90 per room per night (thehalliburton.com). Alternatively, The Waverley Inn is where Oscar Wilde stayed – it’s now an antiquefilled boutique hotel in the heart of the city. From £70 per room per night for B&B (waverleyinn.com). Plan it: Halifax is six hours 45 minutes away on direct Air Canada flights. Leave London at 9am and you’re in Halifax in time for lunch, thanks to the time difference. On the way back to London, you have all day in the city before an overnight flight reaches the UK at about 8am.
CAPE TOWN
Why go? Jet-lag is the enemy of the long-haul weekend but South Africa is only two hours ahead of the UK so your body clock barely notices the difference. And with its recent water shortage abating, Cape Town is crying out for visitors. Fast fun: New highlights include the stretched stone curves of the Zeitz museum of contemporary African art (zeitzmocaa.museum) near the V&A Waterfront. The once-derelict grain silo is one of the latest masterpieces of British designer Thomas Heatherwick and looks amazing inside and out. As does the city. Table Mountain views never disappoint. On a clear day, go to the top on the revolving cable car. If the clouds roll in to give it a white table cloth, then take pictures from below.
If you have four hours to spare, tour Robben Island. You’ll see Nelson Mandela’s old cell and may meet former inmates on the tour staff. Head out of town to the classic Cape Dutch farm Babylonon
storen (babylonstoren.com) for great food and wine. Place to stay: For awesome views try The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, with rooms facing the sea and mountain. From £332 per night for a double room including breakfast (12apostleshotel.com). La Splendida is within easy reach of the bars and restaurants of the V&A Waterfront. Seaview rooms cost from £275 per night (newmarkhotels.com). Plan it: Daily direct flights leave the UK in the ‘after-work’ slot, so you don’t need to take a day off to travel. Fly overnight and you can soon be enjoying the sunshine of Camps Bay and sipping a coffee – you’ll probably need a pick-me-up as flight times top 11 hours. You can also enjoy a full final day in Cape Town before heading back on another overnight flight.
JORDAN
Why go? If you want to see extraordinary Roman ruins without the crowds, try the Jordanian capital of Amman. As with Rome, Amman was built on seven hills (so bring walking shoes) and prepare to tour a 6,000-seat Roman amphitheatre where you can stand on an ancient stage or sit in the gods and imagine gladiators doing their stuff far below.
The nearby Temple of Hercules is a perfect spot to watch the sun set as the call for prayer sounds over the city. Fast fun: Amman can be surprisingly modern – there’s craft beer and local wine to drink, although you’ll find that juice and coffee bars are more common. Falafel fans will be happy at the historic Hashem restaurant.
Take a very long day trip and you can get to Petra – or an hour away are the Roman ruins of Jerash, which are billed as among the best in the world. Place to stay: For a shot of Western glamour, go for one of the world’s coolest chains at W Amman. Stays cost from £174 per room per night. (whotels.com). The Locanda Hotel is named after an Arabian musician and there’s often live music in the lobby. From £110 per room per night for B&B (locanda hotel.com). Plan it: Royal Jordanian and BA fly direct to Amman in about five hours, though BA’s return flight leaves in the morning so you don’t get a full, final day away. EasyJet has just launched flights to Jordan’s ‘second city’ of Aqaba, best for those wanting to visit the moonscapes of Wadi Rum.
ISTANBUL
Why go? It’s the only big city in the world that straddles two continents. So for a more memorable long weekend, leave Europe behind by getting a ferry across the Bosphorus and effectively spend a long weekend in Asia. You’ll find fewer tourists but no shortage of party-loving locals. Fast fun: Start in the studentpacked Kadikoy area, with its food and flea markets, cafes, tea gardens and baklava-sellers.
Channel your inner James Bond on a two-minute boat trip to the Maiden’s Tower where M (Judi Dench) was locked up in The World Is Not Enough.
For bargain-basement but worldclass opera, head for the refurbished Sureyya Opera House (www. sureyyaoperasi.kadikoy.bel.tr). Place to stay: The Summit bar at the Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus offers amazing views. Stays cost from £112 per room per night for B&B (conradhotels.com). Plan it: Istanbul airport is one of the busiest in the world, so there are plenty of flights. Turkish Airlines leads the pack, followed by BA and Pegasus. Flights take just over four hours.