|
Travel news  Me
old China:
Should you be interested in Chinese culture, the Victoria & Albert
Museum this month is the place to go. The China Design Now! exhibition
opens on March 15 and should you be looking for a place to stay nearby
the chic boutique hotel The Rockwell on Cromwell Road could be the very
place. They’re running a special China package from March 14-30.
The package for two people is based on a minimum two-night stay and includes
a deluxe double room, a bottle of chilled Michel Arnauld champagne on
arrival, a free selection of the latest movies and Rockwell breakfast
buffet cost: £197 including VAT per night.
The Rockwell offers 40 individually-designed rooms and a stylish garden
restaurant and bar, One-Eight-One, serving modern interpretations of traditional
English food. www.therockwell.com or call 020 7244 2000.
Fin de cycle: Cycling holidays in Tuscany:
Enjoy a taste of quintessential Tuscan landscapes — rolling hills,
fortified hill-top towns, olive groves and vineyards — following
a circular cycling route which begins and ends with the Renaissance grandeur
of Siena.
Price: From £515pp based on two sharing including four nights B&B
in three hotels, cycle hire including cycling accessories and return rail/taxi
transfers from Pisa airport.
www.inntravel.co.uk/shortbreaks/walks/cy_tuscany.htm
Sail away:
Savings of up to £53 per person are on offer on hotel short breaks
— for travel up to the end of April including Easter — to
a choice of more than 40 properties across Ireland with Irish Ferries
Holidays.
For example, a three-night break with breakfast at the two-star Bella
Vista Hotel overlooking Cobh, Co. Cork — and with boat hire for
leisure or fishing — is on offer at £138 per person. Up to
two children travel and stay free of charge when sharing parents’
room, paying only for breakfast direct to the hotel.
The price is inclusive of return Pembroke/Rosslare or Holyhead/Dublin
cruise ferry crossing for car and passengers. Telephone 08705 17 17 17
or log-on to www.irishferriesholidays.com
Town drives on to tourism map:
The west Limerick town of Askeaton has parked itself on the international
tourism map. It now provides the only service base in Ireland for tourists
who holiday in motor-homes. The county council in conjunction with the
community has provided the service point as part of its development of
the e5.66million Askeaton pool and leisure centre.
Knockin’ on Heaven’s door:
Flights from Glasgow to Knock have now begun with BMIBaby. The service
operates on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday with prices from £13.50
each way. www.bmibaby.com.
Carry on to the Carlton:
Seven Carlton hotels — all four-star properties — are dotted
round the country: Kinsale, Galway, Donegal, Wexford, Westport, Kildare
and Dublin airport, room-only rates through March from e79 (£60)
per night. www.carlton.ie
Hippy hippy shake:
One of the great road journeys of the ’60s and ’70s is set
to return. The OzBus team are re-launching the legendary Hippie Trail
overland route from Istanbul to Kathmandu, crossing Turkey, Iran, Pakistan,
India and Nepal.
Based on the famed original trail when thousands of free-spirited westerners
headed east in search of adventure, enlightenment and, well, a few other
things. The hippie trail takes the traveller on a 49-day adventure.
Using a combination of buses, coaches and trains (and maybe even the odd
rickshaw or camel) the first Hippie Trail bus departs from Istanbul on
September 14. Cost £2,450. The 49-day trip will arrive at the final
destination of Kathmandu on the November 1.
www.hippie-trail.com
Kerry calling:
The Carrig County House, Killorglin reopens next week on March 7. Mary and
Frank Slattery are celebrating the relaunch with an opening offer of two
nights’ bed and breakfast and two gourmet dinners from e199 (£149)
per person sharing. Tel: 00 353 66-976 9100 or www.carrighouse.com.
If healthy living is all Greek to you:
Healthy Options, the wellbeing holiday, specialise in week-long exercise
breaks on the Greek island of Lefkas.
They’ve just launched their Dance and Movement Weeks (beginning
June 8, cost £569pp) where you’ll be able to learn some contemporary
dance moves and smouldering salsa steps — as well as getting a basic
introduction to Greek dancing. Tutorials are offered on the subtle and
gentle movements of Tai Chi — before trying out your new dancing
skills at the weekly barbeque evening.
The new programme joins existing itineraries — all of which take
place amidst landscaped gardens, just yards from Vassiliki Bay beach —
including:
Healthy Options Programme — a week-long itinerary which includes
daily yoga and pilates classes, nutrition and vitality advice, herbal
walks, aqua safaris, cycling tours, sailing, astronomy evenings and therapeutic
massage. Prices from £444pp.
The Week Of The Brand New You — led by a nutritional therapist and
a phytotherapist using plants and plant products to promote better health.
Prices from £488pp.
All prices are based on two sharing and include return flights from Gatwick,
overseas transfers, beachfront hotel accommodation (room only) and the
chosen weekly activity programme. There is also a Willing to Share option
where those open to sharing a room are paired up with guests of the same
sex eliminating the single supplement.
Tel: 0844 499 2909, or log-on to www.healthy-option.co.uk |
