Team Nomad

Long hair, dusty backpacks, dirt roads and a blue-spined travel bible: for more than 40 years thousands of young adventurers have relied on Lonely Planet guidebooks to navigate themselves through unfamiliar countries.

News that the Australian publisher is to make about 80 of its 450-odd staff redundant prompted a tsunami of blubbing from travellers who were worried that it might go out of business.

On Twitter, under the hashtag #lpmemories, suited thirtysomethings told fond stories of how they relied on the books to find obscure bus stations in Bangkok, cheap noodles in Singapore or the best spot to watch the sun rise over the Sahara.

“Researched Ecuador’s Amazon basin with an army colonel and found decaying resorts taken over by local tribes,” one tweeted.

“ ‘When you get to Songpan, just look for the guy with the bad eye’ [the book said]. Sure enough, there he was — horse trek, Sichuan, China, 1999,” remembered another.

In 1972 Tony Wheeler wrote his first guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. He and his wife, Maureen, had travelled from London to Australia and the book explained how to do it. Wheeler hand-stapled his guide, sold 1,500 copies — then went on to sell 120m travel books on just about every place on the planet.

In 2007 BBC Worldwide bought most of his Lonely Planet business for £130m, only to sell it for an £80m loss in March this year. Lonely Planet is now owned by Brad Kelley, a Kentucky billionaire and cigarette tycoon.

“The BBC didn’t appreciate enough that it’s a strong international brand. I’m hoping the new owners will,” Wheeler says.

Like much of the publishing industry, Lonely Planet is struggling to reverse a faltering business model. Between 2005 and 2012, guidebook sales fell by 46% in Britain. In America they plunged by almost 40% between 2007 and 2012. Stephen Bleach, chief travel writer for The Sunday Times, says that in the early 1990s “the latest Lonely Planet was almost currency for travellers, with second-hand copies trading at above face value in Laos or Thailand. Now the very people who used LP — young, adventurous, independent travellers — have abandoned it altogether.”

There are several reasons for this near-collapse, but almost all relate to the internet. Wi-fi is almost ubiquitous in most developed countries, meaning hotel reviews, maps, facts about landmarks and help with the logistics of travel are all accessible and free. If Lonely Planet was the leader on analogue travel guides, Twitter, TripAdvisor and a host of other apps and websites are lodestars of the digital world.

Travellers increasingly refuse to buy guidebooks, and not all trust them when they do. Thomas Kohnstamm was a Lonely Planet writer between 1998 and 2006. In his gonzo memoir Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? he claimed to have dealt drugs to supplement his author fee, slept with a waitress in exchange for writing a good restaurant review and written about Colombia without having visited it. “I got the information from a chick I was dating who was an intern in the Colombian consulate,” he claimed in an interview.

Lonely Planet’s then chief executive, Judy Slatyer, said Kohnstamm was being “disingenuous”: he was instructed to write about Colombia’s history but not to travel there. She added that Kohnstamm had “acted against our stated policies and accepted freebies, which compromised his recommendations”. Kohnstamm has stressed his book was “. . . about my personal experience and not intended as an exposé on Lonely Planet”.

The advice in the early Lonely Planets was often edgy, telling people how to sneak into luxury resorts to use the swimming pools. According to a New Yorker profile of the Wheelers, the first Japan book “had lengthy treatments of swinging with Japanese couples, live sex shows, and establishments where men could get soaped up to full satisfaction”. Today, Lonely Planet is a mainstream brand aimed at responsible travellers — perhaps with more money than time.

Kohnstamm says meeting the company’s demands became increasingly difficult: “You used to be able to write looser, more subjective entries like, ‘The street down by the beach has a number of good bars, too — check them out.’ By the early noughties, they were demanding the writer supposedly visit each of those bars, eat at all the restaurants and enter a dizzying amount of detail. Air-conditioning? Opening hours? Prices of appetisers? On-site parking? It was impossible for a writer to keep up with the expectations of the new digital era.”

In parts of the world that lack good internet connections, a guidebook can be a blessing. But such places are dwindling as the number of travellers soars. About 1bn international trips were taken last year: this surge means more people are using the internet to share tips. TripAdvisor, though patchy and chaotic, is a popular and sometimes useful means of finding hotels and restaurants. Gogobot works rather like a “travel Facebook”: people use it to create itineraries and offer advice.

One of the best new travel apps is Triposo, which has a mass of information on destinations. Crucially, it can be searched offline, meaning users do not rack up expensive roaming bills. Skyscanner is an excellent website for finding cheaper flights. Skift, which launched last summer, is a “travel intelligence company” offering news about the industry to committed travellers. All seem more exciting and contemporary — not to mention free — than patrician advice dispensed from a guidebook.

“The notion of a white Brit, American or Australian popping into any country on the planet for three to seven weeks and writing the definitive account of how others should experience that place was faulty at best and neocolonial at worst,” says Kohnstamm. In fact, Lonely Planet was a web pioneer: it launched one of the earliest online travel forums, Thorn Tree. This closed temporarily last year at the height of the Jimmy Savile scandal, after reports that some users were discussing — with dubious motives — the age of consent in Mexico.

Some argue that Lonely Planet will have to reposition itself as a social media business to survive. “The apps that will succeed aren’t travel apps — they’re social apps people use to talk to each other,” says Greg Marsh, co-founder of onefinestay.com, a travel business that provides short lettings of private properties.

Much of the information vital for travelling (train times, phone numbers, maps) will soon be entirely electronic. But, unlike an iPhone, a guidebook dropped in the river will dry out. Its warped and muddied pages may even let you recall the accident when, years later, you lift it from the shelf with a stab of nostalgia. Those wistful tweets show that travel is partly a means of making memories. Those memories, however, will not sustain a business.

Where to go to find inspiration for your travels, pick up great deals and get the best advice before you leave

See the first two instalments of our list:

50 top websites you can’t live without

50 top websites for fashion and beauty

Five of the best for travel deals

1. Skyscanner.com 
Flight price comparison 
This is a brilliant flight price comparison site that offers a wider range of search terms than most others and can plough through the schedules of more than 1,000 airlines in seconds to get you the best deal. There’s a “deal of the day” that you might otherwise miss. The site has expanded into hotels and car hire too.

2.Travelsupermarket.com 
Compare deals on holidays, hotels, flights and more
The travel arm of Moneysupermarket offers price comparison on holidays, hotels, flights, car hire and holiday extras from dozens of companies in an easy-to-use format that gives quick results. Kayak.com offers a similar service but its lack of added value, such as Travelsupermarket’s regularly updated blog on money-saving tips and advice, meant it didn’t make it into our list.

3. Travelzoo.com 
Discount travel deals
Pick up a host of deals on hotels, holidays, flights and cruises by subscribing to this site, which uses 250 “deal experts” to source discounts of up to 60 per cent on brochure prices. Travelzoo sends you to the holiday provider to book and all future contact is through them.

4. Flycheapo.com 
Search budget flights
This allows you to see which budget airlines fly to which destinations — and is wonderfully straightforward. For example, say you want to fly London-Stockholm and it will list all the cheaper airlines that fly the route. It lists more than 5,400 budget routes and gives news updates on airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet.

5. Lastminute.com
Holiday, hotel and experiences bookings
Founded by Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman in 1998 as a source of late deals, Lastminute.com quickly became part of the UK’s dot-com boom. The name is now a misnomer as its focus has shifted to hotel bookings and experiences such as theatre breaks, but it remains an essential place to source holidays. Rivals Ebookers.comand Expedia.co.uk do similar jobs but lastminute.com pips them for its ease of use and more flexible search options.

10 best websites for finding a place to stay

6. Hotelscombined.com
Find a hotel deal 
If you’re looking for just a hotel, this price comparison site is devastatingly easy to use. Enter your dates and a destination and it rips through more than two million hotel deals from hundreds of providers in seconds. Results start to appear before the search has finished and you can then filter them by price, star rating, guest rating and distance from the centre of town.

7. i-escape.com
Original ideas for trip-planning 
Forget bland chain resorts! i-escape appeals to the discerning traveller by covering some of the world’s best boutique hotels, B&Bs and houses to rent, all in stunning locations. Each is individually reviewed by the site’s experienced team — they give negatives as well as positives — and you can book direct.

8. couchsurfing.org 
Free accommodation around the world 
Nominated by Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic: “One website which I think is really innovative and a great idea for travellers on a budget is Couchsurfing. It links like-minded travellers together and those who sign up will always have a place to stay wherever they may be in the world. I wish I had thought of it first!”

9. canopyandstars.co.uk
Unusual places to stay
If you’re looking for cute and quirky, take a peek at the Sawday’s Canopy & Stars site, where you can opt for anything from an ark or a yurt to an Indian-inspired French gypsy caravan or disused grain silo. Those with a head for heights can savour rooms with a view at Canopy and Stars’ amazingly sophisticated treehouses in France and the UK.

10. thewowhousecompany.com 
Amazing venues
Want somewhere to house your big bash, whether it’s a wedding, anniversary or a significant birthday? The Wow House Company offers a directory of stunning houses and apartments. You can choose from castles and converted convents — and each has a comprehensive review, dozens of pictures, a list of facilities and suggested activities.

11. mrandmrssmith.com
Discerning selection of hotels 
Nominated by Robin Hutson, cofounder of the Hotel du Vin: “I usually check out this site which, together with industry gossip of new places, normally confirms (or otherwise!) a selection. James Lohan has always had a good eye for an interesting property and I have not been disappointed so far.”

12. sawdays.co.uk (nominated by Kate Humble, the wildlife and science TV presenter)
Quirky places to stay 
“When I go away I want to stay somewhere unusual. It might be its location, the type of building or just the fact it is run by people who treat you more like a friend than a customer. The Sawday’s website has everything from treehouses to showman’s wagons, castles to cottages, rural pubs to luxurious city hotels. It has never let me down.”

13. Housetrip.com 
Home-stay search engine 
Among the plethora of sites that allow people to advertise their homes as holiday accommodation, House Trip is the best. Not just for the immense selection of properties but because of the protection measures it has in place. Guests can review properties once they have stayed and searches show the highest rated first. If you are not happy once you’re there, House Trip pledges to rehouse you in a nearby property pronto. It also has a payment protection scheme.

14. Campinmygarden.com 
Find a spot to put your tent
The rise of glamping sites with Mongolian-style yurts hasn’t yet killed off the joy of pitching your own tent, and if you are strapped for holiday cash this site offers a perfect solution for campers. Instead of staying on organised campsites you can pitch up in people’s back gardens in some great locations — and some offer extras such as showers or cooked breakfasts. Search by location or for places close to events such as music festivals or sports venues.

15. Airbnb.co.uk 
Stay in someone’s empty home 
This excellent site covers stylish apartments that you can rent from locals in more than 34,000 cities. Pictures are well presented in click-along galleries; and there are plenty of them, so you get a good idea what to expect. The booking engine is fast and there are some great bargains. The properties, though, are only as good as their owners: we have heard some horror stories.

10 of the best for inspiration

16. Tripadvisor.com 
User reviews 
Yes, we know it’s ubiquitous and everyone uses it — but this is a 50-best list and it has to be included on review numbers alone. There are reviews of things to do, hotels and restaurants, a list of travellers’ choices and a host of booking services. Take with a pinch of salt some of the more obvious reviews (the most gushing and damning ones are often by people with a vested interest), but it’s a good place to start looking for inspiration for your next trip.

17. aito.co.uk 
Search small tour companies 
The Association of Independent Tour Operators is an organisation that features a host of small, specialist holiday companies that focus on trips with a difference. You can use this site to search for holidays and find out what to do if things go wrong. All holidays sold by association members have full financial protection.

18. Blacktomato.com 
Unusual luxury trips 
If you’re looking for a luxury holiday with a difference, then Black Tomato creates boundary-pushing experiences around the globe, from honeymoons on deserted islands in the Philippines to trekking to look for mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Trips are tailor-made: after searching the site for inspiration, you are connected to a travel adviser who talks you through your preferences. Sister site beachtomato.com offers a similar service for seaside holidays.

Passengers flying to the Caribbean and Asia will pay lower aviation taxes from next year, the Chancellor announced, but airlines urged him to scrap a tax which they claim is damaging the tourist industry and wider economy.

Mr Osborne announced a streamlining of Air Passenger Duty rates, criticising a “crazy system where you pay less tax travelling to Hawaii than you do travelling to China or India”.

From 2015 a family of four flying economy class to the Caribbean or India will save £56 while a businessman flying to China or Brazil will save £28, the Treasury said.

Passengers on all long-haul flights will be taxed at the same rate as people flying to the United States. Two tax bands on flights of more than 4,000 and 6,000 miles will be abolished.

From April 2015, economy-class passengers on all long-haul flights will pay £71 in tax, or £142 for business class. The previous higher rate tax band on flights between 4,000 miles and 6,000 miles of £85 for economy and £170 for business has been scrapped, together with higher taxes of £97 or £194 on longer flights.

Mr Osborne said: “It hits exports, puts off tourists and creates a great sense of injustice among our Caribbean and South Asian communities in Britain.”

The Treasury said the change would cost £215 million next year, rising to £250 million in 2018-19. It would raise CO₂ emissions by 0.3 million tonnes a year. Passengers on short-haul flights of under 2,000 miles will pay £13 to travel in economy class or £26 in business.

Mr Osborne said that taxes on people flying in private jets would rise from four times the rate of economy-class passengers to six times in 2015.

Airlines repeated calls on the Chancellor to scrap APD altogether.

International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, said: “This is window dressing a tax that even George Osborne says is ‘crazy’. It still punishes families and costs UK jobs. The only long-term solution is to scrap APD in its entirety and allow the aviation and tourism industries to flourish, to the benefit of the wider UK economy. APD remains the highest aviation tax levied in the world.”

Virgin Atlantic said: “The Government has rightly recognised the damage APD is having on exporters and the travelling public alike.

“There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the huge economic benefits to the UK of reducing or abolishing APD and we hope that the Government will continue to go further in the long run.”

James Stamp, head of aviation at KPMG, said: “The changes announced today do not go far enough. British industry would like to see APD reduced substantially as it continues to hurt the UK airline, leisure and tourism industry and makes Britian less competitive.”

Passengers to the United States had previously faced lower taxes than people traveling to the Caribbean, South America and Asia.

Never mind the Taj Mahal or Grand Canyon – try diving with whale sharks or stargazing in Utah instead. Travel experts tell Lisa Grainger what’s on their bucket lists

1 Sail round Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
This is one of the most affordable ways to see a natural wonder of the world – an all-in day trip from Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, is about £40. This includes the bus journey (about three and a half hours each way), a boat trip out to the limestone islands and lunch on board. Just book at any travel agent in the centre of Hanoi. And don’t forget your cossie.

2 Lunch on the Isle of Skye 
The Three Chimneys is a tiny restaurant in a former fisherman’s cottage whose ingredients all come from the island or nearby Lochalsh. Regularly cited as one of the world’s top 50, it offers a seven-course tasting menu (£90 per person) including oysters, langoustines with tattie scones, crab with green apple and nasturtium, and a hot marmalade soufflé.
threechimneys.co.uk

3 Camp in the Empty Quarter
Rub’ al Khali, the Empty Quarter on the Arabian Peninsula, is the largest sand desert on Earth. Hud Hud Travels sets up the most comfortable camps surrounded by mountains, canyons and plains. Tents have proper beds and starlit showers (as you might expect at a cost of £730 per person per night), and excursions are conducted on camels for those who want to explore the dunes slowly (or there are Jeeps for fans of air conditioning).
hudhudtravels.com

4 Learn to dance in Cuba
Dance company Ballet Folklórico Cutumba offers lessons in Cuban son and salsa in Santiago de Cuba and organises club nights in Havana. Plus, trips around the country can be arranged, trying or watching various dance forms and experiencing local styles of music. A three-day package costs £480 (including flights from Havana).
esenciaexperiences.com

5 Shop for antiques in Paris
Paris has the biggest flea markets in the world – from the seven-hectare Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen at Clignancourt to the smaller Porte de Vanves. Antiques specialist Stuart Paterson will not only whisk you round the best bits, but arrange for your purchases to be shipped back home – all while you’re lazing at the perfect little Marais hotel, Pavillon de la Reine. Rooms start at £365 a night.
pavillon-de-la-reine.com; stupat@gmail.com

6 Explore Spitsbergen from a ship
Basecamp Explorer’s ship, Noorderlicht, is based all year in the frozen fjords of Norway, hemmed in by ice. Overnight packages start from around £835 per person and while its ten cabins are not superluxurious, they provide a base from which to explore the Arctic wilderness from February until May, climbing glaciers and traversing mountain passes by dog sled or skidoo.
basecampexplorer.com

7 Click with the bushmen in Botswana
Jack’s Cap and San Camp, owned by the charismatic guide Ralph Bousfield, are in the middle of the biggest salt pans in Africa, the Makgadikgadi. From here, go with San bushmen into the desert, learning about bush life and traditional lifestyles, or head out on safari to spot unusual creatures such as desert lions, brown hyena, porcupines and meerkats. Prices from £710 per person per night, staying in stylish colonial tents filled with antiques and four-poster beds.
unchartedafrica.com

8 Explore the Dolomites in privacy
San Lorenzo Mountain Lodge in the Italian Dolomites was once a 16th-century hunting hideaway. It’s now a stylishly decorated gourmet retreat for private groups, run by a charming couple. You can keep it just the two of you from £1,995 a day or invite friends for an extra £82 per person a day. With mountains and forests all around, there’s plenty to do, from hiking, biking and mushroom-hunting in the forests to skiing – just ten minutes away by helicopter. Or you can just float in the heated pool, admiring the views and tucking into porcini soufflés and wild-boar tagliatelle.
sanlorenzomountainlodge.com

9 Relax in Provence
Stay at La Bastide de Marie: a farmhouse converted into a superchic boutique hotel. Spoil yourself at the spa, hang out in olive groves, then go on a tour with a local painter to discover the spots that inspired Picasso, Matisse and Chagall. From £315 a night.
labastidedemarie.com

10 Lie on a beach in Mozambique
Situated on 200 metres of private beach on a protected wildlife peninsula, Pambele is on a stunning part of the African coast, surrounded by reefs, deserted beaches and seas teeming with fish. The fully staffed private house sleeps ten adults and four children (from £3,920 a night all-inclusive) in five wooden, thatched villas, and comes with a catamaran and speedboat for excursions to marlin fish, dolphin and whale-spot, or picnic on one of 100 little islands nearby.
pambele.co.mz

11 Watch glaciers calve
Glacier Bay in Alaska has some of the world’s most impressive glaciers. The only yachts allowed to stay there overnight are those owned by American Safaris. Week-long trips start from £1,154 per person per night. From the intimate yachts, see huge ice walls falling off glaciers, explore icebergs from kayaks and, if you’re brave, take a dip in the icy water.
un-cruise.com/alaska-cruises

12 Fly-fish on the Tweed
The Boathouse, a five-bedroomed, self-catering cottage in Northumberland, is not just surrounded by spectacular countryside, but fronted by 1,000 yards of the River Tweed, renowned for its salmon fishing. It starts at £1,000 per week and, for non-fishers, there are fine beaches at nearby Bamburgh and spectacular clifftop walks at St Abb’s Head.
crabtreeandcrabtree.com/The_Boathouse-propertyid:11647

13 Track gorillas in Rwanda
Tracking gorillas in the Parc National des Volcans is the highlight of staying at Virunga Lodge (from £384 per person per night), but its hilltop position, with views over the Virunga volcanoes, shimmering lakes and misty tropical forests, is pretty special, too. There are 10 gorilla families in the area (of the 800 or so mountain gorillas still left in existence); once one has been found, you have just one precious hour to spend with them.
volcanoessafaris.com

14 Swim with penguins in Cape Town
At the very tip of the African continent the oceans are packed with sealife, which can be spotted from the beach. Boulders beach is the classic penguin-watching spot but also try Betty’s Bay, where you can swim with them too; watch whales and their offspring at Hermanus; and shark-dive in cages at Gansbaai. Stay at the Marine in Hermanus (from £264 per room) or Grootbos (from £94 per room), situated in a botanically rich nature reserve.
collectionmcgrath.com/the-marine-experience; grootbos.com

15 See Scotland from a castle
Ackergill Tower, near Wick, which has one of Scotland’s most northerly golf courses, offers all of the romance and none of the discomforts of a 15th-century castle. There are turrets; baronial dining rooms hung with flags and bedecked with armour; its own opera house for ceilidhs; four-poster beds with views of the sea; beaches – often dotted with seals – on which to walk or fish. With 71 of your nearest and dearest, you can hire it exclusively from £7,000 a night. Rooms are available from £350.
ackergilltower.com

16 Rent a private manor
Finding a perfect country house isn’t easy, but Eastcourt House in the Cotswolds is pretty close to ideal: a 1658 Grade II listed building south of Cirencester which has been restored over the past two years. It’s furnished with a mix of antiques and modern art, and has a swimming pool and tennis court. Sleeps 14; from £4,000 a night.
ltr.co.uk/ltr-collection/eastcourt-house/

17 Stargaze in the Wild West
The western states of America are some of the most unpolluted by light, which is why hotels are set up for activities at night, as well as day. Stay at Amangiri in Utah (from £670 a night), which has a resident astronomy guide and massive telescope, or just over the border in Arizona at the Four Seasons Scottsdale (from £270 a night), where every suite comes equipped with a telescope.
amanresorts.com; fourseasons.com

18 Hike glaciers
The Aletsch Glacier in the Swiss Alps is Europe’s longest and largest, flowing from just beneath the Eiger. A 7-night hiking trip takes in breathtaking views from the summit of Eggishorn at 2,878m, and allows close-up experiences of the glacier at Riederalp, staying at comfortable local guest houses en route. From £1,065 per person.
walksworldwide.com

19 Step out on the new Wales Coast Path
The path is now 870 miles long, taking in some of the most beautiful parts of the British coastline. A good start – or end – is the Llys Meddyg restaurant and hotel, known for its food using local produce and foraged ingredients. Rooms start at £100 a night and a three-course meal is £35 a head.
llysmeddyg.com

20 Taste whisky on Jura
Right next to the distillery on the island of Jura – inhabited for 8,000 years – is Scotland’s most romantic hideaway. Furnished by the fabulously named French decorator Bambi Sloan, it offers snifters of peaty whisky just a few steps away and dramatic sea views. It sleeps up to eight people and costs £2,500 for four nights.
isleofjura.com/lodge

21 Game-watch on the Zambezi
Chongwe River House is the only private villa on the Lower Zambezi and the most exclusive location from which to see game from the water and land. From the Gaudí-esque house in Zambia, paddle on canoes right up to elephants, drive out lion-spotting at night, fish for the sharp-toothed tigerfish, or just lie by the pool, listening to game trumpet and roar all around. Prices start from just under £2,000 a night for a family of four.
chongweriverhouse.com

22 Fall in love with palatial Venice
Stay in one of the city’s swankiest hotels. The Gritti Palace’s rooftop suite now has a private pool with stonking views of the Grand Canal (£7,825 a night); the Ca’Sagredo hotel has restored murals in its palatial rooms (from £430 a night); the new Aman (from £830 a night) has opened in a former palace. Lunch at Cip’s, right on the Canal – order cuttlefish with fresh peas or spaghetti with clams.
bellinitravel.com

23 Take over a mini Italian hamlet
American aesthetes have taken over the entire village of Castiglioncello del Trinoro and created the just about perfect Monteverdi: a group of three villas (starting at £4,570 for the week), a chapel, a seven-room boutique hotel (rooms cost from £310 a night) and a farm-to-fork restaurant. Learn to cook Italian-style or simply luxuriate in the fine private collection of art and wine from vineyards just outside your window.
monteverdituscany.com

24 Sail off Papua New Guinea
Just off the coast of the remote Raja Ampat area, 5 metre-wide manta rays swim the channels, whale sharks come to breed, and walls of unspoilt coral drop for miles onto the ocean floor. This is the place to which the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace came to discover new species (now in our Natural History Museum), and where the scenery is still as stunning as it was when Sir Francis Drake dropped anchor. The Tiger Blue schooner sleeps up to ten and has its own chef, diving equipment and tender and can travel to the Banda and Komodo islands, too. You and six others can hire her from £2,680 a day or two can share a double cabin from £3,025 per person including international flights, transfers, meals and watersports.
tigerblue.info

25 Bathe at the top of the Victoria Falls
Just above one of the world’s biggest waterfalls is a pool, which, at low tide, you can only get to from a Zambian island with an experienced guide. With him, you can swim into it, be guided onto a rock at its edge and watch millions of gallons of water roaring over right beside you. Stay at Tongabezi, from £360 per person per night, a little further up the river.
tongabezi.com

26 Cocktail over the sea
The Rock Bar at Ayana Resort in Bali (rooms from £152 per night) has one of the most stunning settings on the island: built right over the sea, with bar seats set up for optimum sunset views and DJs on hand to keep the party going as the stars come out.
ayanaresort.com/rockbarbali

27 Furniture-shop in Stockholm
Swedes are masters of simple but stylish living, and their capital is littered with design shops. Spend a morning with guide Charlotta Carlsen of Smart City Shopping, lunch on herrings, lobster and fine wine at Lisa Elmqvist in the Ostermalms Saluhall (£70), and end the day with waygu beefburgers (£30… yes, for the burger) at the Michelin-starred Matbaren restaurant at the Grand Hôtel.
selectcollection.com; grandhotel.se

28 Fly above the fairytale castles of Bavaria
Germany’s 19th-century “mad king”, Ludwig II, built palaces to rival Louis XIV’s in Versailles, and 200 years later inspired Disney. For a fairytale view of the Linderhof Palace, Neuschwanstein and Herrenchiemsee, fly in a balloon to see his fantastical creations from the air. A 90-minute ride for 2 costs £166.
bavaria-ballon.de

29 Rejuvenate in Geneva
The seven-day Better Ageing Programme at La Réserve in Geneva, £3,300, is not just supervised by doctors, nutritionists and fitness instructors, who use science to test your body and ascertain what it needs; it is also beautiful: modern, luxe, light and overlooking Lake Geneva. Rooms are an additional £300 a night.
lareserve.ch/en/the-spa

30 Live like a cowhand in Montana
The Ranch at Rock Creek, in spectacular Montana wilderness, has been a working cattle ranch for more than a century. Expect clay shooting, horse riding, biking, hiking and fishing in the summer, as well as skiing and skating in winter. All-inclusive rates start at £517 per person per night. Accommodation is in spacious wooden villas or canvas tents with five-star comforts – including barstools topped with cowboy saddles.
theranchatrockcreek.com

31 Meet Santa in Finland
The Arctic Circle, just above Rovaniemi, is where Santa has set up his Finnish home – and where children can visit the bearded, red-suited man, tell him their wishes, send a postcard with a North Pole stamp and then meet up to 50 Arctic creatures in the Ranua Zoo, from polar bears to Arctic ravens. A three-night package starts at £588 per person. After a night at the private log cabin Bear’s Den, there are husky rides and a trip to the reindeer farm the next day.
luxurybeyond.com

32 Dive with whale sharks
From April to June, the world’s biggest fish converge on the Unesco-protected Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, coming so close to the beach that you can paddle right up to them. Stay at the barefoot luxury Sal Salis (£410 per night all-inclusive), where you camp on the dunes with no one else around.
salsalis.com.au

33 Dance with the Gnaoua
Every year in June, hundreds of traditional Gnaoua musicians converge for the World Music Festival in the white-walled coastal town of Essaouira in Morocco. Most gigs are in the square or on the beach, so the whole town becomes filled with sound: a hypnotic mix of Haitian and Brazilian melodies, African beats and Islamic chants that few can resist dancing to. Stay at the chic Villa Maroc (rooms start at £75 a night).
festival-gnaoua.net; villa-maroc.com

34 Take children on safari in South Africa
An ideal combination for first-time safari-goers is Ant’s Nest in the Waterberg (no lions or elephant, but there are horses, so you can trot around; £160 per person per night and £103 for the kids), followed by Jaci’s Safari Lodge in Madikwe (from £170 for adults and £74 for children aged 5 to 12; four-year-olds and under go free), which has the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant).
waterberg.net; madikwe.com

35 Ski in Aspen
The little town where America’s millionaires jet in to ski and snowboard has remained remarkably unblingy. The slopes are wide, the snow is powdery and deep, and skiing is hassle-free thanks to ski concierges who store, dry, clean and transport equipment between slopes overnight, so you can make straight for the après-ski attractions without any distractions. Stay at the historic Hotel Jerome (rooms from £400 a night), with its famous J-Bar (where cocktails were disguised with ice cream during Prohibition).
hoteljerome/aubergeresorts.com; scottdunn.com

36 Party with Indian folk-lovers
Every October, groups of musicians from all over India descend on Jodhpur, playing on ramparts, in ornate palace rooms and on platforms on the edge of a mountain in a wild, colourful celebration of traditional folk music. The place to stay is in safari-style tents in the maharajah’s fort, which is closed to crowds at night, leaving it blissfully free for you to explore on your own. A seven-night package to Rajasthan (including flights and four nights at the fort) starts from £2,150 per person.
jodhpurriff.org; greavesindia.com

37 See tigers in Rajasthan
Thanks to poachers and the insatiable Chinese demand for tiger bones for traditional medicines, there aren’t many of these magnificent animals left in the wild. A good place to see them is Ranthambore. If you can stretch to it, stay in the smartest glamp site, the Oberoi Vanyavilas (from £550 per night), where staff look immaculate in cream outfits and coloured turbans.
oberoihotels.com/oberoi_vanyavilas/

38 Luxuriate in colonial splendour
Singita Sabora Tented Camp, on a 130,000- hectare private reserve in Tanzania, is where Middle Eastern princes and Hollywood stars go for safaris, Out of Africa style. Its canvas-walled rooms are littered with Persian rugs and antiques; the food is gourmet and served on silver; there’s a stable of horses for crossing the plains; and masseuses to soothe muscles after a hard day. If you’re lucky, the wildebeest migration passes by here; if not, they’ll whisk you off by plane or helicopter to see it. A seven-night package (including flights and transfers) starts at £6,495 per person.
Africa Travel, 020-7843 3500

39 Venture into the tribal heartlands of Ethiopia
Ethiopia is still home to ancient tribes who have had little contact with the Western world. Simoon Travel runs small specialist group tours into Southern Ethiopia to meet little-seen tribes and witness their traditional way of life once a year with prices starting from £3,300 for two weeks (full board, including flights). Accommodation is basic – but with such stunning sights around, who cares?
simoontravel.com

40 Party like a film star
The most glamorous house on the Côte d’Azur is Le Grand Chateau in St Tropez (yours to hire from £25,000 per week). It sleeps 16, and is just off the Place des Lices (within walking distance of Caves du Roy, Club 55 and Nikki Beach), with its own DJ and 16 metre pool lit by coloured fibre-optic lights for pool parties.
sjvillas.co.uk

41 See New Zealand by helicopter
The aptly named Louisa “Choppy” Patterson founded her own helicopter company in 1976, and her smart black Over the Top flying machines still whisk guests over some of the country’s most exquisite scenery. Glide over fjords, glaciers and coastlines, stopping for an hour or two of heliskiing or a picnic on the edge of a mountaintop – with an antique gramophone providing the soundtrack. A 30-minute ride starts at £134.
flynz.co.nz

42 Feast on Michelin-starred foraged food
Fäviken restaurant isn’t easy to get to – on a huge estate in the north of Sweden, with an airport a few hours’ drive away. And neither is it easy to get into; it has just a few tables and long waiting lists. But the long journey there is worth it to sample the extraordinary cuisine (fancy birch-sap wine, berry digestifs or roast deer with nuts?). There are six double rooms (from £187), and most guests stay the night.
faviken.com

43 Explore the pampas
From a South American perspective, Patagonia is the end of the Earth – and it feels like it. Arctic gales blow, trees grow sideways… even its mountains are twisted into contorted peaks. In Chile, stay at the Explora inside the Torres del Paine National Park (from £1,716 per person for four nights) or the Singular hotel (from £213 per room), converted from a cold-storage plant just outside the park, and cross the hundreds of miles of pampas and Lord of the Rings-like ice-covered mountains on horseback.
explora.com; thesingular.com

44 Sail the Croatian coast
Anouska Hempel’s private 92ft gulet, Beluga, is equipped with a butler and a chef from Blakes Hotel, and is captained by a charming local sailor who will let the anchor down whenever you want: in turquoise bays, at oyster restaurants, in deserted coves. It sleeps six and is yours for the week for £37,400. Or, for around £1,000 per head for ten people, book the Eleganza gulet, from Sail Dalmatia.
dalmatiandestinations.com; saildalmatia.com

45 Follow Scott to the ends of the Earth
On Silversea’s Silver Explorer – one of the most luxurious expedition ships on the seas – it is possible to reach the snowy world explored by Captain Robert Scott (but in considerably more comfort). Witness calving glaciers and penguins and killer orcas, while taking in spectacular scenery. The ten-day trip starts at £6,450 per person.
silversea.com

46 Drink in the vineyards of Cape Town
Because of the diversity of South Africa’s vineyards – some small and charming, others sophisticated and gilded – there’s always plenty to do around the characterful towns of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Dream trip? Stay at Babylonstoren, feasting on dishes made of produce from its own gardens (from £258 a night); then luxuriate at Delaire Graff (from £444 a night), with its impressive African art collection, slick spa and private villa pools with vineyard views.
babylonstoren.com; delaire.co.za

47 Live like a tsar in St Petersburg
The Russian city’s famous Lion Palace, immortalised in Alexander Pushkin’s poem The Bronze Horseman, has been restored and transformed into a Four Seasons hotel under the watchful gaze of the Department of Culture to make sure none of its precious frescoes, marble, elaborate ceilings and impressive staircases is lost. Double rooms start at £236 per night.
fourseasons.com

48 Sip in the châteaux of Bordeaux
Winemaker Bernard Magrez organises bespoke trips into rarely visited private estates, touring the properties in his Rolls-Royce, enjoying dinners and concerts in private châteaux (including his own) and, from September to October, taking part in the harvest. A 24-hour tour starts at £1,068 for two people.
luxurywinetourism.fr

49 Celebrate with monks in Bhutan
In April, during the Paro Tsechu festival, thousands of devotees flock to the Paro Dzong fortress for five days of celebrations, which culminate in a huge appliqué picture of Buddha being unfurled at dawn. Highlights include festival dances and hikes during the day and nights in quaint mountain inns. The festival package starts at £2,795 per person including flights, hotels and guided tours.
ampersandtravel.com

50 Snorkel in the Indian Ocean
Park Hyatt Hadahaa in the Maldives is a beautiful string of villas on a speck of sand, with a pristine house reef and a resident marine biologist. Think Finding Nemo, but with turtles. From £514 per night.
maldives.hadahaa.park.hyatt.com

Real adventure travel
For great bragging rights around the dinner table, join one of the tours to Bangladesh or Angola being launched by the adventure company Exodus (0845 8639601, exodus.co.uk) for next year. Bangladesh takes travellers to the citadels of Bagerhat, tea plantations, mangrove cruising in the Sundarbans National Park and the possibility of tiger spotting. The 15-day tour costs from £1,999 including flights and B&B. A 14-day northern Namibia and Angola trip costs from £3,699 with flights, accommodation and meals, and includes a safari in Iona National Park, the Skeleton Coast and the Tunda Vala escarpment. Namibia is also one of Exodus’s latest trekking destinations.

Purobeach opens in Dubai
Calling all fans of Purobeach — the luxury beach club with outposts from Majorca to Marbella opened in Dubai yesterday. It’s not at the beach this time but on the sixth floor of the newly opened Conrad hotel in the city’s financial area. Purobeach Urban Oasis has poolside loungers, private cabanas and daybeds with the backdrop of music from resident DJs and is open from 8am to 2am. To reach Purobeach in Dubai you can apply for Dubai Visa online. More details on conradhotels.hilton.com.

Chinese new year special
If Boris Johnson’s visit to China has inspired you, why not book this new tour to celebrate Chinese new year with Wendy Wu herself? Eponymous founder of the company, Wendy will join you in Shanghai on her Dragon Boat cruise to see the festive fireworks. The eight-day trip includes visits to Beijing and Xian for the Terracotta Warriors and costs from £1,890 pp, leaving Heathrow January 25 or January 28 (0844 4993899, wendywutours.co.uk). The price includes all meals, touring, flights, accommodation and visa fees.

GoEuro — or not
First the good news: the travel website GoEuro has linked up with National Express so you can now search coach as well as air and rail services to reach your destination in Europe — a step that GoEuro claims “revolutionises the travel planning experience”. Now the bad news: when we did a random search from Chelmsford in Essex to Troyes in France, the website failed to find the easy rail route from nearby Kent to Paris and then Troyes, and instead suggested going all the way to Luton to fly to Orly. Not so revolutionary then.