Travel deals, tips, insider news and comment by 101 Holidays editors, Mark Hodson and David Wickers
Holiday details: Beaches, elephant trekking and a river canoe trip in Thailand. Three nights full-board in tented accommodation at Elephant Hills in Khao Sok National Park, combined with four nights B&B at the 5-star The Sarojin in Khao Lak.
Price: a 9-day tour costs from £989 pp, saving £920 pp. Includes private transfers, guides, activities and flights with Thai Airways.
Dates: book by March 15 for travel between May 1 and June 30.
Book with: Tropical Locations at W&O Travel.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
A holiday in an over-water villa with facilities that include an Underground Chocolate Cave, a funky wine cellar and award-winning spa sounds intriguing; when the cost is slashed by £940 pp, it definitely gets our attention.
Tropical Locations at W&O Travel is offering 7 nights at the Soneva Gili by Six Senses from £1,965 pp. A great spot for a “no shoes, no news” escape, Soneva Gili is one of the Maldives’ more intimate resorts and yet it’s set on one of the region’s largest lagoons with a choice of two restaurants.
The price includes room-only accommodation in an over-water villa, flights and a 20-minute speedboat transfer from Male. Book by February 28 for travel between May 12 and July 15.
From the 101 Holidays newsdesk
Tropical Locations has slashed £1,150pp off the cost of a week’s stay in the new InOcean Villas at the Angsana Velavaru in the Maldives. For stays between May 1 and September 30, 7 nights cost from £2,010 full-board, including flights from Gatwick and sea-plane transfers.
New for 2010, each two-storey InOcean Villa has a private infinity pool and is located right on the lagoon, a short boat ride from the main island of Velavaru in the South Nilandhe Atoll.
Hotel facilities include a choice of restaurants, the luxurious Angsana Spa, cookery school and wide range of watersports.
Contact Tropical Locations at W&O Travel for more details; the offer must be booked by January 26.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
Tropical Locations has 8 nights at the Oberoi Mauritius (pictured above) for £1,469 per person (saving £720) based on 2 sharing a Luxury Pavilion on B&B basis, including flights from London Heathrow and private transfers. Valid for travel until 30th September 2009.
Kirker Holidays has 3 nights for the price of 2 at the 5-star L’Heure Bleue (pictured above), a luxurious and elegant riad at the heart of the medina in the unspoilt seaside town of Essaouira. Prices from £698 pp – a saving of £141 pp – including return flights to Marrakech (regional departures), private car transfers , 3 nights’ B&B and a complimentary hammam treatment.
Classic Cottages has 30% savings on Woodlands Manor (pictured above, sleeps 12), near Bude in Cornwall, boasting a VisitBritain Quality Assurance Standard 5-star rating and set within its own grounds. Guests have use of a heated indoor pool and a games room, and the local The Bush Inn dates back to 950AD – it was once a popular haunt for smugglers. Arriving Saturday 12 September, a week now costs from £75 pp (£893 total).
Departing on 23rd September, Hayes & Jarvis is offering a 14-night holiday to Thailand at only £549 per person – a saving of 37% (£325pp). Within easy reach of both Cha-am and Hua Hin, the 3*+ Holiday Inn Resort Regent Beach Cha-am (pictured above) is set within tropical gardens along a 4-mile stretch of beach. The deal includes 14 nights on a room only basis and return Qatar Airways flights from London Heathrow.
Find more travel news at A Luxury Travel Blog.
By 101 Holidays newsdesk
10 nights from August 25 in the Sol Pins apartments in Tamariu now costs just £594 for up to 5 people (apartment rental cost only, flights to Girona and car hire extra), saving 40% on the original price. Details from PCI Holidays.
A week from August 22 at Butterfly Farmhouse near Ilfracombe costs £1,625 – saving £500 – for up to 12 people. Contact Classic Cottages.
3 nights B&B in Prague’s 5* Hotel Aria with flights, private transfers and a private 2-hour walking tour from £658 pp – saving £154 – for departures up to August 31. Details from Kirker Holidays.
A week for 2 from August 22 in Ca Na Xidoia, a stone-fronted cottage with private pool near Old Alcudia, now costs £1,150 (villa rental cost only, flights and car hire extra), saving £200. Details from Vintage Travel.
A week from September 10 at the 3* Mermaid Hotel on Sri Lanka’s Kalutara beach now costs just £499 pp all-inclusive (including Emirates flights). Details from Hayes & Jarvis.
On selected departure dates in September, a week at the St Lucian by Rex Resorts, bang on Reduit Beach, costs from £799 pp all inclusive including a free room upgrade (saving £200 pp) or a week at the Sandals Halcyon Beach costs from £1,399 pp all-inclusive (saving £400 pp). Details from Tropical Sky.
7 nights at the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang on Batu Feringgi Beach, now costs from £1,055, B&B, a saving of £420. Departures between now and November 30. Details from Tropical Locations.
Departing from Manchester on September 5, a week self-catering in a villa in the Riverside Holiday Village costs from £466 pp, saving £178 pp. Details from Anatolian Sky.
Chiva Som is the last word in spa resorts – the dream destination for health-conscious sybarites and cash-rich, time-poor city folk.
And it’s now more appealing than ever, with a series of new yoga retreats led by guest teachers from around the world, and a chance to learn from the head chef how to prepare some of the resort’s healthy Thai dishes.
Chiva Som, which first opened 15 years ago, is also unveiling the ultimate in accommodation, the Leelawadee Suite, which was once the home of the resort’s founder.
The suite is enormous – 192 square metres of open plan living space, plus views over your own tropical garden and the Gulf of Thailand, an oversize circular Jacuzzi and your own private yoga/meditation area. Should you get lost, your personal butler will show you around.
