Holiday & Travel

From 25 March to 10 May 2016, the Channel Islands Heritage Festival will celebrate a group of small islands with a big history.  The six-week festival, in its second year, takes a maritime focus honouring the Islands' coastal significance and naval traditions with a full programme of exclusive openings, guided walks, family adventures and coastal tours. Many events and activities will be held at maritime heritage sites around Guernsey and the isles of Jersey, Alderney, Sark and Herm.

Offering idyllic islands like Mauritius and the Seychelles, you'll also find the good value and easy to access Indian Ocean mainland coast of Tanzania and Kenya, as well as remote and exclusive destinations like the Bazuruto or Quirimbas Archipelegos in Mozambique or the quiet sands of Mnemba, Mafia and Pemba, all islands in Tanzania.  

As travellers become more adventurous with their holiday styles, Freedom Treks has noted a sharp rise in the number of first-time customers trying out short bike breaks. With nearly 30 short cycling tours to choose from, the cycling holiday specialist has found that many holidaymakers feel a 3 to 5 night break is the perfect introduction to the sport.

The Maltese Islands have once again claimed 3rd place in the category for “Best Diving Destination” at the Diver Awards Ceremony held recently at the International Dive Show in London. This prestigious award places Malta and Gozo as the most popular diving destination in all of the Mediterranean, as voted for by thousands of DIVER Magazine readers.

Admire front row views of the spectacular sky at altitude from the comfort of a warm bedroom with glass walls. This latest sensory thrill in Cortina d'Ampezzo is the creation of Raniero Campigotto, manager of the  Rifugio Col Gallina, who turned the Starlight Room Dolomites from dream to reality.

A pleasant combination of open, powered- white sands and smaller, secluded beach fronts make St. Kitts the ultimate beach destination. The southeastern peninsula undoubtedly hosts the finer beach scene, picturesque pale sand and tropical blue waters, while the north tends to present a more rustic feel with darker, volcanic sands. The western, Caribbean side of the island flaunts calmer seas, while the eastern, Atlantic coast boasts a wild, breezier shoreline.

Efteling received 4.68 million visitors during the past year an increase from 4.4 million the previous year.  The increase is largely due to the investments in 2015 in the new attraction Baron 1898 and in Holiday village Efteling Bosrijk, as a result of which visits are being spread more evenly over the year.  

The single travel bug is catching, with a new world of healthy holidaymakers realising the freedom this blissfully selfish form of travel affords. Whether on a yoga retreat in Asia or fitness bootcamp in Europe, with solo travel having almost doubled amongst affluent and first-time travellers in 2015, more health retreats are banishing hefty single supplements to welcome this new wave of solo wellness warriors.

Luxury Villa Tour Operator, The Villa Collection is expanding and offering its customers a wider range of villa style holidays in more destinations. The ATOL bonded tour operator already offers a fantastic range of villa style accommodations in the most popular Caribbean islands for British holiday makers including Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, Bahamas and Jamaica.

Following a successful start to 2016, over half of the most popular selling tours of the year so far from Tucan Travel were trips to Peru. The top selling group tour was their 21 day Peru Completed group tour which departs weekly from Lima. It includes highlights such as a two night excursion in the Amazon Jungle, the Inca Trek to Machu Picchu and a guided tour of the site and a day trip onto Lake Titicaca.

Children and young people in Birmingham with complex medical and specialist needs are set to benefit from a series of action-packed short breaks provided by national deafblind charity, Sense. Sense’s Short Breaks programme has been developed in partnership with Birmingham City Council to give 27 children and young people up to three separate trips away from home over a one year period.

Spring is a time of re-birth in Liguria. Locals walk along tree-lined promenades by the seafront, mountain bikers take to the Ligurian hills, and the air is filled with the scent of festivities and celebrations. Liguria is the heart of Italian cuisine and is famous for its street vendors selling warm focaccia, award-winning pesto and seafood dishes filled with aromatic fresh herbs and seasonal vegetables.

Visit the birthplace of William Shakespeare, the playwright whose work is considered the greatest in the history of English literature. April 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death and Saga guests can stay in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon to trace Shakespeare’s own story.

Sardinia has a remarkable 450 miles of standard and narrow gauge railway so what better way to explore its unspoilt inland and coastal beauty than on board a historic steam train? Heritage rail tour operator The Railway Touring Company has been offering its 'Sardinia and the Emerald Coast' tour for 15 years now and has refined the route to take in all the highlights in a nine day journey around this mountainous Italian island.

From trekking round Mont Blanc to camping in Provence, Nice on a shoestring to the culinary delights of Auvergne, the regions and lifestyle of France were celebrated by an inspirational variety of entries to this year's French Travel Media Awards. The winners were announced at a celebratory evening in the stylish surroundings of Searcy's country-style townhouse in London's fashionable Knightsbridge. 

World-class tourism marketing campaigns, attractions and events have pushed international visitor numbers to a record high in NSW, with 3.4 million overseas visitors spending $8.45 billion in 2015. Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said the data shows the results of the NSW Government's ongoing investment in tourism and major events and promotion of our State to attract even more international visitors.