In The Financial Times Linda Inoki enjoyed a deviating, scenic route from Oslo in the east to Bergen in the west (A train and ferry journey through Norway), taking in Norway’s incredible variation of scenery (and extremely efficient transport system). A swimming tour of Croatia: This might not appeal to everyone, but ‘All seems well when the sea sparkles’ in an organised swimming tour around the Croatian islands of the Adriatic (combined with hiking and fine dining). On Germany’s forgotten isle, “The islanders have largely resisted commercialisation. Hiddensee’s allure is in its peace and quiet.” This island on Germany’s north-east coast is fantastically difficult to reach and equally resistant to change, so you needn’t necessarily rush to get there. Approached in the right manner, you can have a lot of fun Discovering Mallorca’s quieter corners such as ‘Restaurante C’an Carlos [which] is actually everything we hoped for – a small, stone and polished wood restaurant on three floors tucked away up a cobbled alley.’

In The New York Times, The Dubai Melting Pot Is in the Kitchen, Too: “Though the international economic crisis has raged like a sandstorm through Dubai’s office towers, financial markets and construction sites, a January visit found the sprawling restaurant scene remarkably intact.” Hardly visited so still extremely wild, America’s Outback is Southern Utah: “The sandy Hole-in-the-Rock Road is one of the few routes that even attempt to enter the biblical expanse of desert in southern Utah called the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.” In Pursuing the Feathered Treasure of Belize Stephen Regenold went on a wilderness boat tour looking for the extremely rare scarlet macaw. On the shopping trail, The Antiques Are Up to Date in London, where Alfies Antique Market sells fewer ‘dusty knick-knacks’ but has ‘remained true to its Church Street merchant soul.’ And there is 36 Hours in Palm Springs: “Today, after some hard-earned changes, the desert town nestled in the Coachella Valley is becoming a destination for laid-back cool once again.’

The best-kept secret in the Indian Ocean is the island of Rodrigues 600km east of Mauritius. According to The Guardian, it has a quirky cultural mix and an exciting local culture as well as a ‘big splotch of dazzling turquoise: the wide lagoon, twice the size of the island, that is Rodrigues’s greatest natural asset.’ In Trinidad beyond the carnival Amanda Smyth noted that the island is ‘Vibrant, colourful, humming with creative energy and famed for its carnival, calypso and steel pans,’ and furthermore its gorgeous beaches and lip-smacking street food, are there all year round. Where Athens chills out is Vouliagmeni, only 10 miles south of the city, “And in a country noted for its dryness, it has water everywhere – not just sea but also a spectacular basin of local water, Vouliagmeni Lake.” In time for a big fiesta this summer to celebrate 200 years since South America’s first independence uprising, the old town of Ecuador’s capital, Quito has been restored to its former splendour.

In The Telegraph Steven Berkoff discovers Spain’s double act: The actor and playwright appeared at a Shakespeare Festival in Santa Susanna and visited Barcelona. He loved the latter and detested the former: “It is the taste, the smell of Spain which is so vital to the soul. When it is broken up into these sterilised resorts it’s as if you’ve smashed a great piece of sculpture and used the pieces to build supermarkets.” In the Toronto city guide Paul Wade looks at Canada’s largest city, featuring the best hotels, bars, restaurants and sights, plus advice on where to shop. Summer 2009 will bring the opening of New York’s sky-high urban jungle: “The park consists of a series of pathways made from tapered concrete planks, built to resemble railway sleepers, that allow grasses, trees and plants to creep up at the edges.

In The Independent Mark C O’Flaherty said of the Piton de la Fournaise during his Indian Ocean adventures in La Réunion, “Everything you’re looking at is infinitely more vast, infinitely more impressive – a humbling but profoundly moving realisation.” The island’s dining, hiking, beaches and generally relaxed French ambience further added to the island’s appeal. In Take to the water in Menorca renting a sailing dinghy gave Gerard Gilbert the freedom to find the quieter beaches: “As a landlubber, [one misses] an important dimension to this fascinating isle.” From army camp to tourist town: Mae Salong was once a camp for the 93rd army of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) forces, “These days, [it] is like an authentic slice of Yunnan China deposited high in the hills of Thailand.” Explore Valencia’s Sierra de Irta, which is sandwiched between two busy resorts on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. It is a ‘rectangular and mountainous outcrop of rock, about 20km long and 10km wide…just demanding to be explored. And the only way of doing that was on foot.’ And why not take 48 Hours In: Geneva, which is ‘waking up to spring, with flowers blooming in the city’s many parks’?

In The Times Dan Snow was taken on a fascinating tour Among New Zealand’s warrior tribes by a native oral historian, to places such as Ruapekapeka and the Te Koru Pa – unheard of outside the country but sites of of major battles between the English and the Maoris. In India’s new elephant corridors Simon Barnes discussed the latest effort to help elephants and humans co-habit in Kerala: “People and elephants together – it’s never an easy mixture. We both want the same thing. Space.” A classic 1920s Carrelli streetcar has been converted into an restaurant, so you can have a Milanese feast on a tram: It isn’t mind-blowing, but ‘the food is nicely presented and properly Italian, the atmosphere is very friendly and fun, and you have an adventure, too.’ In Bewitched by Salem, New England fine dining, beautiful architecture and an impressive naval history make Salem about a lot more than witch trials for Brunonia Barry. And finally, there is now a centralised booking service for Staying in an Oxford University college: cheaper than the city centre hotels and exactly where you want to be.