• “What you don’t expect is for a Tuscan town of 10,000 people to dedicate two or three weeks of every year to fish and chips. And yet it really does happen – in Barga, northern Tuscany. Beginning around the end of July, the Sagra del Pesce e Patate is billed as a celebration of “traditional Scottish fish’n'chips”.” In The Guardian Mike McDowall tucks into Ketchup and chianti: fish and chips, Italian style
• In The NY Times Seth Kugel is eating Stuffed Peppers, Lamb’s Head Soup, Canyons and Condors in Arequipa, Peru. “How, you might ask, can the Frugal Traveler justify a two-dinner evening, especially when one is at perhaps the most chic restaurant in town?
• “Might the capital’s new-found confidence in the worlds of cycling and coffee explain why so many “cycling cafés” are springing up?” Richard Lofthouse reports on London’s new cycle cafés for The FT.

• “From Piedmont in the north to Sicily in the south, from cities like Florence and Milan to hamlets like Abbateggio, Home Food seeks out exceptional home chefs, puts them through a training course and dubs them Cesarinas — little Caesars, emperors of the kitchen. Then, the Cesarinas host dinner parties at which they open their homes to strangers.” In The New York Times, Matt Cross indulges in a lot of home cooking in Italy – Mangia, Mangia!
• In The New York Times Amy Yee discovers Tastes of India, by New Delhi Taxi. “Each of India’s 28 states has its own government-run house for state affairs, known as a bhavan, in the bustling capital city of New Delhi. And most of the bhavans have a canteen that specializes in regional cuisine…so an adventurous eater can embark on a gastronomic survey of India without leaving the neighborhood.”
• “As recently as a few years ago, the area was best known for its auto repair shops. But now, Tai Hang…is full of fruit stalls and noodle shops nestled between hip cafes owned and staffed by Hong Kongers.” In The New York Times, Veronica Zaragovia discovers Hip Cafes in a Hong Kong Noodle District.
• In The Telegraph Lesley Gillilan discovers a Health and wellness holiday: Pilates and pasta. “…this was a “double activity holiday”, combining Pilates with regional Italian cookery lessons…It was the Pilates that got me there, but it felt, at times, that we were simply working up an appetite.” Gillilan learns how to “debone a rabbit and make a plate of agnolotti” as well as “toning muscles I never knew I had.”

CITY

• In The New York Times Lisa Pham is On the Trail of Ghosts in Paris. “Tour participants are taken to a variety of haunted locations around the French capital — culled from history books and locals — where they discover stories that transcend time. For example, the Théâtre de la Ville in Montmartre is said to be haunted by the ghost of Gérard de Nerval, who is known for translating Faust and walking around Paris with a pet lobster wearing a blue ribbon. The most recent story included on the tour is of the so-called Vampire of Paris, who committed a series of murders during the 1990s.”
• “There are many memorable sights in Rajasthan but one in particular will stick in the mind. This is the view from the ramparts of Jodhpur’s 15th-century Mehrangarh fort, parked on a cliff and soaring 400ft above the city’s skyline. Mehrangarh is the greatest of India’s desert forts: below it and spreading west from its heights, the old murmuring city shimmers in a blue haze, particularly around the settlement of Brahmpuri, the quarter of Brahmins, a caste that, it is said, painted their homes in shades of indigo as a mark of both distinction and segregation…And if you look directly down to the bazaar, you might just detect a pile of distinctive modernist blue cubes. These are, in fact, part of Raas, Rajasthan’s most innovative boutique hotel.” In The FT Sunil Sethi discovers Boutique retreats in Jodhpur.
• “One month ago, Madeira’s capital was pounded by catastrophic floods and landslides, which killed 42 people across the island. Much of the damage has now been cleared up,” writes Emma Gregg in The Independent. “With its grand seafront promenade, black-and-white mosaic pavements, attractive historic buildings and old-fashioned shops and cafés, Funchal is back in business. The annual flower festival takes place 15-18 April.” Gregg highlight the best of 48 Hours In: Funchal.
• In The FT Claire Wrathall checks into Marrakech’s La Mamounia. “…the most celebrated hotel in the ancient Moroccan city of Marrakech has undergone a succession of refits and enlargements, not all pleasing. But its reopening late last year after a three-year revamp returns it to the realm of the angels…This is as fabulous, sensuous and fascinating a hotel as I can think of. It’s not just the colours, the scents, the sounds of trickling fountains and birdsong. Almost wherever you look, there is zellij, the minutely-patterned geometric mosaic tiling that defines Marrakech’s most important sites, such as the exquisite 16th-century Ben Youssef Medersa – imagine the Alhambra in Granada on a smaller scale – or the breathtaking Saadian Tombs.”

ESCAPE

• “The sea surrounding the Turks and Caicos has a hypnotic beauty I had not found in other “beach paradises” in Thailand, Indonesia or even the Cook Islands. As I stared at the transparent water, engaging in a kind of “dry snorkelling”, I could not wait to shed my city clothes and dive in,” writes Francesco Guerrera in The FT. “Thankfully, the Parrot Cay Resort is inches away from a pristine beach of fine white sand…A few days into the holiday and time appeared to have slowed down: the frantic New York minute gave way to long, lazy Caribbean days.” Guerrera samples two resorts on The tranquil Turks and Caicos islands.
• “Stepping aboard the Scenic Emerald riverboat in Budapest at the start of its 1,134-mile voyage along the Danube, Main and Rhine rivers, I had been surprised at how few British travellers there were – only 11 including me,” writes Sara Macefield in The Telegraph. “The result was a distinclty more easy-going atmosphere and a more eclectic cultural mix than I have been used to on river voyages taken in recent years. But it was more than this. With its intriguing promise of five-star river cruises on “exclusive spaceships”, the Scenic style of cruising offers a markedly different feel to the usual riverboat experience…With luxurious features such as private balcony suites, butler service and a choice of two restaurants – along with a price tag that includes free wine with meals, gratuities and excursions – Scenic Tours is taking river cruising to a new level.” Macefield climbs aboard the Danube cruise: the next level in river cruising.
• In The Times Nick Wyke checks into Sha Wellness Clinic, Alicante, Spain. “This impressive holistic medical spa is run on macrobiotic principles. Under the one roof guests can see a whole roster of specialists, from sleep disorder and Chinese medicine practitioners to a dermatologist or genetic analyst…Set back like a futuristic space ship on a hill overlooking a classic Brits’ Abroad strip of the Costa Blanca, the view from the ample fourth-floor deck is pure Hollywood Hills. It’s a stylish modernist vision of white curves, giant panes of glass, exotic tressling plants and mirror-still pools.”
• This weekend The Telegraph features Michael Buerk on the passion of Argentina. “It has everything, or as close to everything as makes no difference. From the subtropical rainforests of the north, Argentina reaches down more than 2,000 miles to the glaciers that poke their fingers at Cape Horn, a snowball’s throw from Antarctica. The pampas, where everything grows, stretches west from the endless Atlantic coast to the high Andes; real cowboy country where the estancias make Montana ranches look like a Rutland gymkhana…At the heart of it all is Buenos Aires, one of the world’s most exciting cities.” Buerk shares his highlights of Latin America’s gem.
• In The Times Lydia Bell discovers La Isla: the secret side of Cuba. “And so begins our spell on La Isla, the home of the most helpful, unhurried people in Cuba…La Isla is stunning. It has downy pastures dotted with mangos, palms, delicate pines and banana trees. It has soaring granite peaks and pale, shimmering lakes. There is a sense of space and freedom, the empty highway slicing the island lengthways…If Cuba is 50 years behind the rest of the world, La Isla feels 50 years behind Cuba. I just hope that the Government doesn’t install an all-inclusive resort any time soon.”

OUTDOOR/ADVENTURE

• “My eyes refuse to leave the white mountain filling the sky before me, the 24,786-foot Himalayan peak Annapurna III. It dominates the horizon as surely as a sunset does, but with millenniums-old glaciers ringing its crest like a necklace of diamonds, it feels more dazzling than even the brightest setting sun,” writes Ethan Todros-Whitehill in The New York Times. “It is a shame, then, that by 2012 a road will have been built on this path, destroying this experience and, according to many, placing the last nail in the coffin of what was once the greatest trek on earth…On trekking blogs and message boards, purists are already mourning Annapurna’s demise. So when I walked the Annapurna Circuit this past October, I decided to test this trekking prejudice: with Jen, a guide and a porter, I would walk the 17-day trail, even if it meant mingling with jeeps, and find out first-hand if all the doomsaying was warranted.” The Last Footfall in Nepal?
• In The Times Mark Hodson goes Skiing in Chamonix (behind a horse). “There’s ice climbing, paragliding, canyoning, mountain biking and the frankly terrifying pursuit of speed riding (like kite surfing on skis, down the side of a mountain). And now there’s the traditional Nordic pursuit of ski joëring where you are pulled along a picturesque forest track by a draft horse. Sounds sedate? It’s not – these animals can rattle along at 60kph. And there are no brakes.”
• “Riding the rapids in the Grand Canyon is a Disneyland-ish experience – one second you’re plunging straight down into the trough of a wave, the next you’re getting drenched with cold spray as the boat shoots up and over the crest. It’s a white-knuckle, roller-coaster ride that has people screaming with the thrill of it…” writes Elisabeth Hyde on a 13-day, 225-mile trip down the Colorado river. This is Rafting on the Grand Canyon in The Guardian.
• “I can only say that, sitting on a 4×4, gazing out at dry, scrubby wood and brown earth and brown dust, in a light that, even though it was only afternoon, seemed strangely pink, I felt that I was falling in love,” writes Christina Patterson in Roar terror: If you want a good night’s sleep in Zambia, beware of the lions… for The Independent. Despite an interrupted sleep, Patterson is overwhelmed by Zambia – “Zambia is extraordinary. This land, of great beauty, and astonishing wildlife, and warm, dignified people, and that strange, gorgeous, early-evening pink light, is truly something special. Go, before everyone else discovers it, too.”
• In The Guardian Kevin Rushby overcomes his equine fears and takes his family Horse riding through the south of France. “Riding through the sun-dappled forest, the only humans we see are a couple of mushroom collectors. We emerge at an abandoned coastguard station and a magnificent panorama. Behind us are the snow-capped Alpes Maritimes, ahead the sparkling sea and the mountains of Corsica on the horizon, 200km away. Westwards we can see Provence disappearing in ridges of blue and violet, while to the east are the mountains of Italian Liguria…The trip has challenged my prejudice, and then surprised me by flipping it over entirely. The truth is that I was the one with the grudge, not the poor horse.”

ART/CULTURE

• In The Independent Norman Miller advises To get ahead on the arts scene, go to Glasgow. “It’s 20 years since Glasgow’s image-shifting stint as European Capital of Culture, and in the intervening two decades the city has quietly become an artistic powerhouse. This month alone sees the International Festival of Live Art (which ends today) and the Glasgow Art Fair (25-28 March), while April brings the International Festival of Visual Art…An art jaunt around Glasgow is a good way to experience the contrasting sides of a city renowned for combining a can-do attitude with an ambience built on a blend of beautiful architecture and urban grit – a sort of shock chic.” Miller reveals his cultural highlights of the Scottish city.
• “We’d just arrived at Naulakha, the striking Vermont dwelling Kipling designed and inhabited during the last decade of the 19th century. A long, tall structure in the American Shingle style, it is perched high on a hillside overlooking the Connecticut River Valley…” In The New York Times Anne Lawrence Guyon discovers Where Kipling Reared Mowgli (in Vermont). “Unlike many former residences of cultural heroes, this is not a museum with audio tours or roped-off doorways. Naulakha is a vacation rental, and every aged book, period chair and elegant bed is available for guests to use, with a tacit expectation of consideration for the home’s historical significance…it was not surprising that my initial moment of awe proved to be the first of many. The most mundane of domestic activities — sipping tea by the Kiplings’ fireplace, conversing on their porch, breaking bread at their dining room table — were infused with a heady cognizance that Ruddy, as he was known, very likely did these things too.”
• Agnès Poirier discovers Design in Milan: a top 10 guide ahead of next month’s Milan Design Fair. “Beyond the historical Duomo, beyond the boho-chic Brera, the southern district of Chiesa Rossa – ensconced between Porta Ticinese, Porta Genova, the canals and the art deco former central electric on Via Giovanni da Cermenate – was once home to factory workers, but is now where young designers dream up the shapes of the future.

FAR EAST

• In The Telegraph Barbara Noe experiences the magnificence of Japan’s Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail. “Their pilgrimage route, a trail network called the Kumano Kodo – across wild, waterfall-laced mountains and sprinkled with temples and shrines – highlights three grand shrines: Hongu Taisha, Hayatama Taisha and Nachi Taisha. Dressed in the white of the dead, they made pilgrimages here to purify themselves, pray to deities dwelling in the trees and rocks, and ask for special favours. Named a World Heritage Site in 2004, these shrine-bedecked trails continue to be restored and rediscovered – Japanese and visitors alike use them for ritual purposes as well as for some supreme hiking.”
• In The New York Times Julia Makinen reveals A Fresh Look for a Landmark in Macao. “By the ’60s, some 300 people were living at the house, with little inkling that their humble abode was once the palatial estate of one of Macao’s most prominent families. When the city gained possession of the parcel and then began the restoration in 2002, nearly 80 percent of the structure — in Macao’s Unesco World Heritage zone — had been altered or damaged…Now, after an eight-year, $5.3 million renovation, the mansion is welcoming its first tourists, as one of just two 19th-century Chinese-style dwellings open to the public in Macao.”
• “If there is a whisky drinkers’ paradise, it is usually assumed to be somewhere in Scotland. Perhaps one of those remote distilleries where you can taste the landscape in the glass. But true connoisseurs know that the best place to drink whisky is almost 6,000 miles away, amid the neon confusion of downtown Tokyo.” Stephen Phelan in The Guardian gives us the lowdown on Tokyo, a whisky drinkers’ paradise.
• “Wan Chai used to be best known among foreigners as an area crowded with seedy bars and massage parlors, but it remained popular for locals, filled with historic tenement blocks, old-fashioned street markets by day and youngsters shooting hoops after school. Now, the Hong Kong neighborhood is thriving, as a nascent cultural scene emerges and as young creative types and entrepreneurs alike are being lured by cheaper rents.” Kabir Chibber reveals New Life in Old Hong Kong and shares his highlights of the Wan Chai neighbourhood.
• “Taiwan has been off the map, almost literally, for decades from the British traveller’s perspective,” notes Neil Taylor in The Independent. “After a week in Taiwan, I felt I had seen China as I dreamed it could be, full of bicycles, narrow-gauge railways, contemplative monks and teenagers happy to come to terms with its troubled history. The future begins here.” Caught in a culture clash: Taiwan is thriving in China’s shadow.
• “There is nothing quite as bracing as the smell of rotten eggs in the morning,” writes Andrew Jacobs in The New York Times. “The odor, which courses through the lobby and rooms of some of the finest hotels on Taiwan’s northern end, is a telltale indication that you’ve arrived in hot spring country — a lush and mountainous region that forms the island’s volcanic belly…These days, workaday refugees from the mercantile bustle of Taipei, the island’s capital, flock here to soak away ailments real and imagined.” Jacobs discovers the lure of Taiwan’s Steaming Pools of Paradise.

CITY

• Helen Pickles of the Times tries to Rise above the crowds in Florence as she goes off the beaten path in an attempt to escape the hoardes – “It was the perfect spot from which to admire Brunelleschi’s iconic dome. And I was alone. No crowds of multilingual voices, no annoying cameras hogging the view. Florence can exhaust with its fabulousness.”
• Simon Calder of the Independent helps you navigate your away around the city of Singapore with this quick overview – find out how to get around, where to go for brunch and where to take in some culture. 48 Hours In: Singapore
• In the NY Times’ Israel With a Russian Accent (and Pork) Clifford J. Levy explores Ashdod, the self proclaimed ‘dance capital’ of Israel and examines the influence that an influx of Russian immigrants is having on the city, and across Israel as a whole: ‘“Ashdod is one of Israel’s secrets,” said David Stromberg, a journalist and cartoonist who was my navigator for the day…“You could call this the Israeli Riviera,” he said. “It has a very pan-Mediterranean feel.” Ashdod’s beaches did not disappoint, and while my wife and children swam, I mingled. I was curious as to whether adults who emigrated from the former Soviet Union as youngsters had a connection to the old country. Most of the people I met seemed pleased to be Israelis; some were more ambivalent.”
• Andrew Ferren from the NY Times is pleasantly surprised as Art Takes Root in Fertile Soil in Spain, more specifically in the city of Murcia where over a dozen new galleries and museums have popped up. “Murcia has all the charms one expects from a midsize Spanish city (population about 430,000) – a massive cathedral with a floridly Baroque façade, rows of colorful houses with elaborate balconies and lots of plazas shaded by orange trees and lined with cafe tables… that exhibition spaces like Espacio AV and cutting-edge commercial galleries like T20, which focuses on emerging artists, share narrow cobbled streets with traditional bakeries and basket weavers.”
• The NY Times’ Lionel Beehner checks out the best restaurants, hotels and art-house theatres to visit if you’ve only got 36 Hours in Telluride, Colorado. It’s like Aspen but without all the celebrities.
• Dedicated coffee drinkers might be interested to know why the New York Tmes thinks London Sips a Different Cup – Oliver Strand takes us through a rundown of all the best coffee spots in the city.
• Danielle Pergamente seeks out the places where Where Puccini Might Shop in Rome , now that the big business has gone from Via Margutta: ““Now there are all kinds of shops, but you don’t find the big Louis Vuittons here,” Mr. Moncado said. “These are high quality, elegant brands, but they’re small with a local flavor. Everything is done the way it was years ago.””

ESCAPE

• Cathy Pryor of the Independent encounters drunken parrots, mysterious glow worms and parasitic trees as she goes on An eco-tour in Queensland’s wildlife-rich rainforest – “You look up as if at the night sky, studded with thousands of fiery stars, only the stars are insects. They live along the cave walls, close enough to see that each glow-worm reclines behind a curtain of elegant threads, as if it were in a minuscule boudoir. “
• Lisa Grainger paints an idyllic picture of Zimbabwe as she goes on safari at luxury lodge, Pamushana, adding to the recent tourism boom the country is experiencing: “Thousands of trees speckle the plains. In the distance, I can spot giraffe. At the back, above lawns overhung with baobabs and strangling figs, I can hear birds chirruping in the morning light. It’s as close as you can get to an African Eden.”Zimbabwe earns its stripes
• Sophy Roberts goes Off the tourist trail in Iceland, visiting a hydroelectric power station, meeting the only survivor of a major trawler accident, and of course, seeing the Northern Lights. She insists “Iceland is becoming far more than the sum of its dramatic cliffside spurs, lava fields and glaciers: the country, after all, is a geological infant.”
• Damian Whitworth hopes you never find Cheviot Hills: England’s quietest spot as he enjoys the wilds of Northumberland with his family and a select few others – only 12 cars a day are allowed into the valley. ‘Already you feel like you are on a rather exclusive adventure.’ Hiking in the hills with his son, Whitworth treats the reader to a lovely description of this rare wilderness.

OUTDOOR/ADVENTURE

• Martin Symington of the Times visits The rock’n’roll Swedish ski resort of Åre where the runs are impressive, the snow lasts beyond the usual April thaw and the additional wildlife all add to the fun – “As well as tobogganing, ice climbing and paragliding, you can head out over the frozen lake on a sledge pulled either by packs of bounding huskies or at the more leisurely pace of trotting reindeer.”
• James Studholme is awestruck by nature when he visits Iguassu falls: A natural wonder of spray and thunder and takes a boat trip under the falls – “Then cameras away and the main course begins. They take you unbelievably close. You get drenched. It’s tremendously exhilarating. Our guide, Carlos, persuades the driver to go in closer and for longer than normal. A tip. The more you shout and scream, the more it eggs the skipper on. It feels as if you’re completely under the falls, so dense and disorientating is the spray, even though you know it’s not possible. “
• Ed Templeton finds a great mixture of spirituality and surfing on this unusual retreat in southern India: ‘The surfboard hanging over the dining room door painted with the words “Om Sweet Om” epitomises the relaxed spirituality practised in this ashram. This is no brainwashing cult, just a group of devout, spiritual surfers who are keen to share their way of life. “India: Devoted to surf

CITY

• Jamil Anderlini of the FT thought Christchurch was nothing more than ‘a necessary pit-stop on journeys into other parts of the South Island’s breathtaking scenery’ but has his mind changed by the venerable Otahuna Lodge, The legacy of a noble New Zealander, the New Zealander in question being Sir Heaton Rhodes: “From the sumptuous bathrobes to the chocolate brownies that magically appeared in the cookie jar by our bed every time we left our room, the service and surroundings were flawless. The native timber in the interior of the house exuded antiquity and grandeur and I found myself looking around for signs of secret passages or false bookshelves.”
• Utrecht is A Dutch Town That Nurtures Its Quirks according to Joel Weikgenant of the NY Times, who urges us to look beyond the half-day visit and explore the new creative and musical ventures that are springing up around the city: “the Oudegracht has kept a quirky charm. The balcony at Kafe Belgie, for example, is one of the best places in the city to watch the parade of bikers and strollers while sipping an Orval Trappist ale. Down the block, Tabou Haar en Jazz, a combination hair salon and record store, offers an extensive collection of Dutch jazz artists.”
• The Independents’ David Ryan thinks you should Try a villa in the land of the mighty Minoans – where he learns all about Crete’s history, spanning from Minoan civilisation and the legends of Icarus, Daedalus and the Minotaur, to key battles during the Second World War. Of course, you could do as his wife does and just go for the sun, surf and sand…

ESCAPE

• Andrew Jefford at the FT enjoys The watery pleasures of Perth despite battling for space with everybody else – “We took our two little boys down to Cottesloe beach at 6am, thinking it would be empty. In fact, we got a dazzling demonstration of human interaction with seawater. Some strode the shallows purposefully; others stood to paddle boards across the waves like insects scuttling over a pond.”
• Jane Knight of the Times visits four of the most child friendly islands in The Maldives for families, including one resort which has beauty treatments specifically geared at children: “later, in the Ice Cream Spa, which is attached to the recently added kids club, my son is given the choice of his first beauty treatment. Will it be a massage like mummy or a facial? He settles on a tattoo and leaves proudly admiring the gecko and dragon on his arms. “
• The Guardian’s Gemma Bowes admires the simplicity of Feynan Lodge community project, Jordan, an electricity and alcohol-free vegetarian eco-lodge in the middle of the Wadi desert – “The sight of the lodge on our return from watching the sun set was jaw-dropping. Illuminated only by stars and flickering flames, it looked as impenetrable as the crusader forts we had visited all over Jordan, with similar slit windows and a heavy wooden door, decorated with dozens of ornate knockers.” Despite the lack of mod-cons Bowes finds plenty to do, visiting Roman ruins, and exploring the local landscape.
• Imogen Carter from the Guardian goes luxury Camping in Rajasthan to experience the desert, Maharajah style: “Each standard suite in the camp is pitched on a base of golden Jaisalmer stone covering more than 1,000sq ft, and features a sitting room, a bed the size of a judo mat and a bathroom with a plumbed toilet, twin sinks and shower…Four suites also have private sunken pools, while the Royal Suite comes with its own butler.”

OUTDOORS/ADVENTURE

• The Times’ Paul Croughton goes on a jungle adventure through the forests of Panama, describing it as “a wonderland. Whatever you like to do, you can do it there: slice through white-water on a raft, fly through trees on a zip wire, hike through jungle, snorkel with sharks, dive with whales, climb the volcano or cycle up and down everything else.” Panama: paradise is open for business
• The Telegraph’s Michael Jacobs and partner undertake a fortnight’s walk along El Cid’s road to paradise, a new tourist route of ‘immense and haunting beauty’ being promoted by the Spanish tourist board. Amusingly they find themselves the unwitting focus of much media attention due to the relative rarity of tourists walking this route: “We were barely prepared for the number of journalists there to greet us, all of whom were anxious to know why two British writers had been drawn to the idea of walking the Camino del Cid. Apparently the tourists undertaking the route were still quite few in number and largely limited to cyclists and motorists. Soon we were flattered into thinking of ourselves as engaged on a mission to revive some of the more forgotten corners of Spain. “
• “With that she pointed herself off the side of the path, crouched down with her poles tight behind and fell off the mountain. In 10 seconds she slid down the piste that we’d spent 20 minutes winding our way up. Louise, a quiet woman, was next. She yelped the whole way down. When she came to a thud at the end of the slide, she lay back, legs outstretched and laughed hysterically.” The Guardian’s Tamsin Omond enjoys goes Snowshoeing in the French Alps, extolling the environmental and aesthetic advantages of snowshoeing over traditional winter sport acitivities.
• The New York Times’ Greg Breining finds that winter snowshoeing amongst the trails and wilderness of Minnesota is the perfect way to go Trekking With Wolves as well as a great escape for those looking to beat the summer crowds of campers and canoeists – “The beauty of snowshoeing is you can do it just about anywhere – over lake and stream, through the woods, on a trail or off…In summer, some quarter of a million canoe campers manage to disappear into the wilderness, paddling down the craggy lakes, carrying canoe and pack down portage trails.”
• Simon Unwin of The Independent takes a trip to Norway for a glimpse of a Green sky at night. Travelling to northernmost Norway, exploring Sámi culture along the way, Unwin finally gets to see the magic of the Aurora: “To the north and then, suddenly, to the west, shape-shifting drapes of jade luminescence shimmer against the indigo sky as solar winds collide with the Earth’s magnetic field. It’s a sobering dance of light that is as unpredictable as it is breathtaking. “
• Mike Unwin goes on a wildlife tour around the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands in Brazil in a quest to spot the South American big 5 – jaguar, tapir, maned wolf, giant anteater and giant river otter – “ours would have been a memorable wildlife trip even had none of the holy quinity deigned to show up. Whatever your agenda, if it’s simply a ruse to explore Brazil’s extraordinary wildlife riches, you won’t be disappointed. ” Spot Luck: Great wildlife encounters in Brazil

REVIVAL

• Yigal Schleiffer from the NY Times enjoys the cultural resurgence of Istanbul, with its newly opened Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and the Santral Istanbul, another recent addition on the arts landscape – looks like it’s time for a visit to 2010’s European Capital of Culture. A Revival in Istanbul
• Having lived in Beirut during the war, Richard Beeston from The Times revisits the Lebanese capital city and marvels at The transformation of Beirut – “Where snipers previously took up positions, it is now possible to take a dip in the rooftop pool or sip a Martini in the panoramic Bar ThreeSixty. The basement is no longer somewhere to take cover from shells — it houses the spa.”

CHEAT SHEET

• The Telegraph’s Robin Gauldie takes us on a tour through Turkey holidays: an insider’s guide. Covering its ‘Lost Cities’ as well as the more popular resorts of Bodrum and Kusadasi, this will tell you all you need to know to start planning for that Turkish trip.
• Follow Hugh Ryan’s recommendations in the New York Times about how best to spend 36 Hours in Vieques, the small island off Puerto Rico – amongst the suggestions includes a military base that has been converted to a club and a trip to the bioluminescent bay on the Caribbean side of the island.
• Kate Graham takes us through recent restaurant and museum openings, revealing which neighbourhoods are on the up and up, and which the best places to visit on a visit to Munich as part of the Independent’s City Slicker series. This is City slicker: Munich

CITY

• For The Independent’s Michael Bywater “Fez is the opposite of Brussels” and all the better for it. As he describes the sights and sounds (you’ll find Al-Karaouine, the world’s oldest functioning university, and the notorious Chouara Tannery) Bywater urges you to lose yourself in the city – “the alleyways of the medina are so sinuous, straitened and overbuilt that there is, quite literally, no view. You never know what is around the next corner as it tilts down towards the river.” Best for getting lost: Fez
• “It’s ridiculous really. The British will visit Romania, Austria, Italy, even the Balkans. But they won’t go to Munich. They can’t pretend it is because there are no beaches – they go to Switzerland.” Alice Thompson at The Times finds that despite its relative unpopularity, she can’t help Falling in love with Munich as she discovers the city’s easy charm, Michelin-starred restaurants and nearby fairytale castles.
• The New York Times’ Jennifer Conlin spends 36 Hours in Istanbul , exploring what 2010’s European City of Culture can offer. According to her “the city is showcasing local artists in both historic areas and new museums – yet another example of how Istanbul is among the world’s most visually stimulating cities.” Recommendations range from a stroll down Istiklal Caddesi (a main thoroughfare) to a Mediterranean-Scandinavian restaurant and a music lounge housed in a former bakery.
• New inhabitant of Venice, John Brunton discovers The Venetian islands locals want to keep to themselves in the weekend’s Guardian, savouring the tourist-free zones of nearby towns – “all you do is buy an all-day public transport ticket then set off on an adventure that takes you from the steps of the Doge’s Palace, across the lagoon to the Lido, and then to the sleepy fishermen’s island of Pellestrina, that traverses the wild wetlands of the littoral, with the beaches and nature reserves of the Adriatic on one side, the calm waters of the lagoon on the other. The final leg, on the water bus, delivers you to the ancient port of Chioggia, a charming mini-Venice minus the crowds.”
• Edwin Heathcote, the FT’s architecture critic takes a tour of the town in the grip of a renaissance – Art Basel’s rising popularity has helped to forge Miami’s reinvention as a design capital: “The latest boom, though, has ended without a conspicuous legacy beyond the endless, bland apartment blocks and second homes. If there is something left over it is the reinvention of some of the city’s less palm-lined streets as design and arts districts. And the stage-set architecture of the city is proving a compelling backdrop to its reinvention as a design capital.”

ESCAPE

• Holly Finn writes about The ancient landscape of the Grand Canyon in the FT. “No faith is shaken when we’re told the oldest rock in the canyon, the Vishnu Schist at the bottom, is two billion years old. And yet, holy moly, this feels like a religious place. Looking into that fearsome 277-mile-long crack in the planet, you want to laugh, clap, sing. Then you want to stand very still and say nothing. You’d have to be wicked to leave here unmoved.”
• Best for sun-worshippers: Bondi Beach says Janet Street-Porter. Writing in the Independent, Street-Porter sings its praises describing it as “the most vibrant beach in Australia; perfect for a fun weekend break from the city. The combination of a beautiful bay, golden sands and a cosmopolitan crowd ensures that this is a beach for everyone”
• Looking for an escape? Well according to the Independent, Cyprus is your best bet. Jocasta Jones explains why – “we finally ventured west to view the ancient ruins and mosaics of Pafos, south to watch the ships pass by the bustling port town of Limassol, north to the fascinating walled city of Nicosia, the world’s last partitioned capital. We drove up into the hills to nibble on stickily preserved fruits in the enchanting village of Kakopetria, where shady squares brought welcome respite from the summer heat.” Best for island escapes: Cyprus
• The Times’ Daniel Finkelstein takes a family trip to Provence and attempts to learn the art of Golf and the flying trapeze at Club Med – “I was able to get out on the golf course. I write that as if it’s something I do routinely. In fact I’ve never been before. My golf handicap is that I can’t hit the ball. I wanted to go out and have a go, though, because the course looked so fantastic and also because I wanted to stand in the middle of the putting green and ring my broker on my mobile phone and tell him to sell my Harrods’ shares. I don’t have any Harrods’ shares, but you get what I mean.”

ADVENTURE/OUTDOORS

• Robert Adams goes on a 6 month adventure around Africa with two families (that’s five children) in tow, visiting some of the wildest parts of Africa – “North of Addis Ababa we took a hard, dusty mountain road to the ancient holy city of Lalibela and marvelled at the monolithic cave churches hewn from bare rock. The boys were captivated by the medieval world around us, the priests with their ornate gold crosses, the tunnels linking the churches, and the macabre sight of human bones sticking out of coffins and carved niches in the rock face.” This is Cape Town to Cairo – and back again
• In The Telegraph Lydia Bell gets away from the urbane pace of Cuba’s cities in search of a more relaxed way of life. Passing through the towns of Cienfuegos and Trinidad “an exquisitely preserved museum piece of cobblestone streets and sumptuous squares” Bell and her husband sit back and soak up the simple charms of these small towns – “On our way home we stop in Plaza Ignacio Agramonte and join the locals on the marble benches. We stay there until the sun fades then walk back through silent streets.” Cuba: Journey to the provincial heart
• In Iceland: Go with the floe Chris Heath from The Telegraph takes an 830 mile trip around the country, stopping for the many curiosities along the way – hot springs full of ‘uncommon’ bacteria, lava formations, waterfalls, glaciers. Culture comes in the form of a poetry reading, whale museum (which is also an indoor golf course) and erm, a penis museum – “Once you’ve been in Iceland for a while it barely seems surprising, let alone remarkable, that in a small fishing town on the northern coast a man would open what he calls the Phallalogical Mus eum, dedicated to the display of the world’s most extensive collection of mammalian penises” – but it’s the beauty of the island which most enthralls Heath.
• The Independent’s Maria Arnold, heads to a beginner-friendly ski resort in Sainte Foy as she heads to the slopes with her children on for their first time skiing: “Two great nursery slopes with magic carpets (gone are the jerky button lifts of yesteryear) got our young children off to a great start, and they quickly graduated to greens and blues. For them, the great highlight was the “Fox Run”, a narrow track through the woods with a big bump every few yards – producing squeals of delight as they came bobbing down, emerging from the trees with huge grins across their faces” Best for reluctant downhillers: Sainte Foy
• “Either everyone needed cheering up or it was national “make fun of a limey” day. Michael Jackson was on the sound system, encouraging us not to stop till we got enough. The women high-kicked, while I just looked like an arthritic old labrador on a one-way trip to the vet. I moved right as they moved left, and I shimmied when I should have sashayed.” The Times’ Will Hide finds himself enjoying the ball game, despite having to go Cheerleading with the Miami Dolphins in Southern Florida.

WILDLIFE/NATURE

• The Telegraph’s Jessamy Calkin takes his son Jonah Whale watching in South Africa, staying near the town of Hermanus, marvelling at the grace of these great creatures – “at one point she turned on to her side and Jonah and I, leaning over the side of the boat, found ourselves looking directly into her eye. I thought of Paul Watson, the eco militant…and the beginning of his fight to save the whales: ‘As the whale slid back into the water we saw his eye, which was the size of a dinner plate, and in that whale’s eye I saw recognition, compassion, empathy and understanding. Something passed between us and it changed my life for ever.’
• “When you are an old man, remember this moment,” I said to my companion, a six-year-old relative called Elliot. “Why?” said Elliot, licking his ice lolly. “Because when you are an old man the snow leopard will not exist.” – Nigel Richardson goes to mountains of Ladakh: Chasing the snow leopard, a creature which, partly due to its endangered status proves to be tantalisingly elusive.
• Sean O’Grady gets an animal education in Best for the wild at heart: South Africa, the Independent’s top tip for safari holidays: “I now know why leopards take their kills up a tree (so dinner isn’t stolen by hyenas), how to distinguish hippo and rhino tracks (hippo drag their feet) and how to age a lion (the darker the mane, the older it is).”
• In the New York Times Tara Mulholland enjoys a trip Into the Wild in Lush Guyana exploring the wildlife and off-the-beaten track isolation, although, she warns, it’s not for everybody – “At the Karanambu ranch, we ran into two Frankfurt-based couples, who, upon finding that Guyana did not provide the on-tap wildlife, chilled wines and lizard-free log cabins that, say, a chic safari trip might, had chartered a private plane to take them back to Georgetown.”

HISTORY

• Tom Chesshyre visits Mandela’s prison island, 20 years on, led by tour guides who are former inmates of the prison: “Tours to Robben Island take about four hours – 45 minutes each way on the ferry, with a walk through the prison compound and a drive around the island on buses bearing the slogan: “The journey’s never long when freedom’s the destination.”"
• In the FT, Andrew Mueller visits monuments linked to the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery, Alabama, in homage to the Ghosts of Alabama’s civil rights struggle and the Montgomery bus boycott – “A museum named after Parks, a few blocks from the King church, recalls the boycott in detail. It’s a heartening illustration of what can be accomplished by determined and reasonable people. Like all of Montgomery’s civil rights heritage, it’s worth travelling a long way to see.”

Kenya improves with each safari, especially as you travel deeper and deeper into the country. On my third visit and away from the mass tourism of the Maasai Mara and the sprawl of Nairobi heading north you get a sense that even in this vastly travelled country there is still room to explore. In the shadow of the Matthews Range (also known as the Lenkiyio Hills), I was actually the only tourist in almost a million acres of remote wilderness.

Kenya’s tourism has not yet recovered from the political violence that marked the beginning of 2008 and until mid-October, drought also continued to mark the situation with crop failures, dry rivers, and devastation for the people. Flying over the land the impact of the damage was clear – you could spot cattle carcasses lying on the parched ground. Certain animals, like rhinos, can survive in this kind of habitat and the tourism that they pull in can provide much need money. (The rains finally came in mid-October as people predicted.)

An interesting form of responsible conservation tourism was carried out at some of the lodges I stayed at. What I liked about these places was they offered four completely different ways to travel – from upscale to rugged – all with their own unique flavour, and three are community-run conservancies. In the past, nature conservation was a preserve of the rich and the philosophy was that land was for the animals. Over the past couple of decades that has changed.

The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is an example of how to adapt conservation to include the community, which then benefits directly from tourism income. That should translate into schools, clinics, employment, and micro-financing schemes. Too often the money thattourism brings in does not trickle down to the people who need it most. Lewa is also the last corridor between Mt Kenya and the north, especially for elephants. It is here that I began my trip.

Kifaru

Kifaru means rhino in Swahili, and rhinos dominate the landscape. Creatures of habit, you can find baby black and white rhinos grazing alongside their mothers almost on a regular basis. Ian Craig, the co-founder of this conservancy, started the campaign to get the rhino returned to this part of the country and to protect the area over 20 years ago. Security is essential for the 67 black rhinos and 46 white rhinos because poaching remains the biggest problem. By the time horn reaches its end user – often in China or Yemen – it costs $6000. The GDP in Kenya hovers around $300 so it’s no wonder animals need protection.

Kifaru is one of the most luxurious lodges on the 62,000 acres of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and is used almost exclusively for the donors who help keep the conservancy afloat. Everything in the rooms, from the mosquito net to the hot water bottle tucked between the sheets at night, define safari chic. The coffee is great and occasionally at tea-time rhino shaped biscuits appear magically – and disappear all too quickly.

Knowledgeable guides oversee game drives, and for bird lovers there is a covered forest walk
that I didn’t do, but heard was fantastic, as are the staff. You really believe it when they say they are going to miss you. From $610 per person, per night. Visit reservations@lewa.org or call +254 722 203562 or +254/ 722 203563.

SaSaab Samburu

Samburu sits in an elevated position above the Ewaso Ng’iro River in a dry, arid part of the (politically) forgotten north. The lodge has a Moroccan theme with nine magnificent rooms, open on all sides, with amazing views towards the jagged peaks of Mt Kenya. Each room has a plunge pool and there is a long cushioned banquette on which to sit and watch the sun set. SaSaab Samburu offers great amenities, a wonderful gift shop, and a spa with western prices.

Over Moroccan food at dinner, Tanya Carr-Hartley and her husband Mikey, the owners of Sasaab, chatted with guests at the communal table. She’s a wonderful story-teller and that night she talked about her grandmother riding horseback to her home at Lake Naivasha.

While I love flying in small planes across the continent, I was told by one of my guides that the only real way to see Kenya and feel part of the country was by car. I have my doubts; saying the roads can be gruelling is an understatement. I left SaSaab by car and headed to Sarara past long lines of camels moving through the acres of dead acacia trees, past the Samburu people, wrapped in their red check blankets and wonderfully bright beadwork.

From $620 per person, per night, plus $90 per night conservation fee. If you combine two of The Safari Collection properties, there’s a 20% discount. Visit www.thesafaricollection.com or call +254 (20) 251 3166 for details.

Sarara Tented Camp

Of all the places I visited on this trip, Sarara Tented Camp stands out most of all. To me this is the way I like to see the African wilderness. It’s rugged, real, quiet, vast and run with passion and commitment by Piers and Hilary Bastard who gifted the camp to the community and drew up a contract to run it.

A tented camp on a natural slab of granite overlooking nearly a million virtually empty acres of wilderness, it is as close to perfect as a safari camp can be. Years ago safaris meant roughing it, now even bush camps have to be equipped with the right shower gel, which Sarara happens to have, along with excellent food. One of the highlights, besides the natural granite pool outside the mess hall was a trip to the nearby ‘singing wells’.

The Samburu love their cattle. Every morning men go to the wells to get water for their herds. In this particular spot there are about 50 wells, one for each family. Depending on the climate the large round wells cut into the red soil and can go seven men deep. Each hands the other water to put into the trough, singing while they work. The cattle know the songs and only go to their herders, refusing to drink if they are not there.

Peak Season: $610 per person per night; regular Season: $530 per person per night. There is also a community conservation fee of $80 p.p. per night. www.sararacamp.com; safaris@acaciatrails.com.

Sera

Strong winds blew and the tall palms swayed as we arrived at this camp and this really is camping. There is almost nothing around except the stillness of the Kenyan wilderness. It was here that I met conservationist Ian Craig, a former hunter and now passionate animal activist, and a group of us sat in a semi circle in the dry riverbed as the embers of the fire died and the stars and the new moon came out.

When it was time to sleep the men took only their sleeping bags to the river bed. Instead I followed the row of lanterns in the sand and headed to the banda, an open air stone hut with a large comfortable bed, a rock shower and running water, lit with the half light of solar powered bulbs. Never mind the bats. I am told some people actually like them. I just ducked. $40.00 per person per night.

In the Masai Mara the animals are so used to people that they pose for photos. Find something exciting like a kill, and you’ll have to share the experience with a fleet of four wheel drives. So it’s a pleasure to stay in Ol Seki – a luxury tented camp situated idyllically in the heart of Eastern Koiyaki – on the edges of the Mara. It’s where the animals are timid and humans scarce. At night, guards with poison darts patrol the camp’s perimeters, ready to defend against marauding buffalo and hungry lions; and guests sleep, safe and sound, inside the tents with hot water- bottles.

In the lifting light of the morning, wildebeest herds gather with a dazzle of zebra on the plain, for protection against predators. Thompson gazelle speed away from our jeep, tails moving like high- speed windscreen wipers. With mounting excitement, we come across a troop of baboons and then ten hippos in a pool – bathing, going under water, blowing bubbles and reappearing. We stand inches away on the river bank knowing that if we joined them, they’d bite us in two. Later, from the car, we watch two cheetah brothers carefully washing each other. And why not, after eating a baby hippo?

Ol Seki is a no-bricks, no-mortar, 1920s-style camp. Think 12 sided tents like big tops but filled with contemporary cream sofas, African cushions, ethnic furniture and elephant-sized beds. You can sit on a Colonial plantation chair on the groovy circular decking outside your tent and look over the Savannah to spy elephant. Or shade from the sun under the cream awning, with sundowners or steaming mugs of Kenyan coffee in your hand.

We gather for meals at a communal table in the ‘mess tent,’ its tarpaulin curtains pulled back, our eyes feasting on the plains and animals. The food is excellent by any standards, particularly given that nothing grows locally and everything has to be flown in, in Tintin’s plane. Evans, the chef, appears in whites at breakfast with a portable stove on which, by popular request, he makes chilli omelettes. For dinner, we have the world’s best bloody and Virgin Mary’s followed by modern Colonial fare: asparagus, fillet and fresh passion-fruit sorbet. Afterwards we follow the directions of the Swahili words written in chocolate on the coconut cake, ‘Goodnight, sleep well.’

Ol Seki attracts French women in giraffe-high heels, couples and bonused-out bankers, here to sweat out the credit crunch. People dropped off on the tiny airstrip in one-pilot planes or spirited here in Lady Lori helicopters, Kenya’s finest fleet and known for its celebrity clientele. No wonder they come here: Ol Seki is a place of superlatives and not just for the game drives. Although we go on one drive, and then another and another. Animals and plains as far as the eye can see and just us, our children, and our guides Daniel Koya and Betty Maitai, who are the most knowledgeable I’ve encountered in six safaris.

But when I’m safari-ed out, Ol Seki also appeals to the Guardian in my soul. Rakwa is the local mud village, authentic to its last twig- filled cow hide mattress and fly-crawling child’s face. A brisk 45- minute walk away is the school, Olesere with 270 children and four teachers. There are wooden board classroom walls with gaping holes and wall posters bearing legends like, ‘Water is Life’ and, ‘Sanitation is Dignity’. ‘We used to be caned on the hand and under the feet and then have to walk to school bare foot,’ remembers Betty. ‘Now teachers just hit with a ruler and pinch. No wonder the children don’t behave so well’.

One day we drive to the local Nkoilale village, in the middle of a plain. En route, we pass Masai tribesmen – noble, lithe and carrying spears – walking to market in their red kikoys to scare off lions. In the village, there’s a Mother Teresa Clinic and near it the Empiris Shop, which sells Fanta, loo paper and flour: nothing else. Women with huge earrings, beaded hair and wearing orange, yellow and red garments sit on the ground selling potatoes, maize flour and cabbages. Others sell beads or goats. They perch in front of huge sacks of snuff and piles of second-hand clothes laid out on blankets. Best of all are the ‘1000 mile shoes’, made from tyres that have driven a thousand miles. (If you have a rubber bit sticking up purposefully between your toes, it shows you’re not married. Jimmy Choo take note.)

Afterwards we visit the restaurant, a place with a concrete floor and corrugated roof. It serves only chicken. Then we go to a pub in a breeze-block hut, with a frescoed wall of a tribal scene. Men with spears and knives sit in a line along the wall drinking local maize and barley beer, and spirits straight from the bottle. Afterwards they walk back to their village to stagger into the wrong huts.

These people believe in Enkai, a God who descended from the sky to give them cattle. They do cattle raids on other tribes to reclaim what seems rightfully theirs. For them, cows are moving banks. Indeed Daniel has to give his parents ten cows as a fine for having chosen his own wife. ‘Otherwise they will hate me and put a curse on me,’ he explains. Fresh cow dung is used as an antiseptic by ladies when they’re expanding their ears with huge earrings.

We return to the animals, to another fabulous game drive, and another. We’ve seen some of the Big Five – lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard. We’ve seen many of the Little Five – insects. Now along the dry river bed, a baboon has killed a leopard. Later vultures scavenge over a cow. We see giraffe, zebra, impala, buffalo. Rising dawns and setting suns. Then a huge male lion sits on a rock, surveying his plains. The sound of playing impala fills the air. The lion slides down his rock and walks very slowly towards them….

From £2080 per person, based on two sharing for 3nights on a fully inclusive basis including flights, air taxes, park fees and transfers. Book through Scott Dunn: 020 8682 5000; www.scottdunn.com; www.olseki.com. Lady Lori helicopters can also be arranged through Scott Dunn.

As we arrive, a baboon is trying to break into our tent. The manageress shoos him away and calls a guard who arrives with his spear a few minutes later. She says our primate friend won’t return unless we offer him sweets, which seems good enough reason to ban sugar from Africa. The frisson we feel increases when we learn that guests are only allowed to their tents accompanied by guards. Welcome to the delightful excitements of Naibor Camp, one of the most exclusive tented safari camps in Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve.

The camp is hidden in a grove of riverine woodland on the banks of the Talek River, enjoying possibly the best location in the Mara. Captivatingly, hippos bathe in the river at the bottom of its garden and can be seen hauling themselves out in the evening. The area has the region’s highest concentration of leopard. Rhino hang out on the south side of the river. Plus it’s strategically placed for the wildebeest migration, being close to all the major crossing sites on the Mara River. And because it’s in the heart of the Mara, there’s wildlife viewing throughout the year.

There’s a small air-strip 30 minutes away for landing private planes (or for charter ones, if you must). Or it takes mere seconds to get here if you come in a Lady Lori helicopter, as did the squillionaire who had our tent before us. The celebrity transport of choice, Lady Lori is renowned for accessing the inaccessible from finding a plant not seen by botanists since the Seventies to offering superlative safaris from the air.

But we’re here to enjoy things from the ground, to explore from an open-sided Land Cruiser the rolling open grassland and Safari Wonderland outside our tarpaulin door. So, accompanied by our guide Daudi wearing Masai suka (blanket) and beaded headdress – we set forth into Animal Disney World. We don’t wish to spend time spotting different strains of the Greater and Lesser Safari Jeep or the hot-air balloons that litter the sky so Daudi takes us off the beaten plain.

We are soon rewarded with a herd of elephant, including mini Barbars gambolling and frolicking in the sun; a band of mongoose; and enough zebra to make a crossing. Then we see one of the world’s most spectacular sights: thousands of wildebeest and zebra crossing the great Mara River. A crocodile hovers nearby. But I have to admit that, in this instance, there are also other predators in sight: the animals are closely surrounded by bands of Homo sapiens and a fleet of four wheel drives.

Our next stop is lunch. It’s nothing like the steak and baked pineapple and custard enjoyed by some back at Naibor Camp. Instead we’re served a truly memorable Out of Africa picnic complete with chairs, table and chest of food eaten under a tree on the open plain under the wide sky. If it’s specifics you want, then imagine delicious chicken drumsticks with rosemary and honey and potato salad, eaten under the ’sausage’ fruit tree beloved of rhinos and in which the leopard likes to lie with his kill.

Back at base camp and done for the day with the wonders of the natural world, it’s hard not to marvel at some man-made wonders. Take the Little Naibor tented suites with their enormous under-lit, low-floating beds on fig-wood bases, Savannah-sized cream sofas and African wool rugs: contemporary style allied with muted bush colours. And as for the Mess Tent with its rustic fig-wood dining table and chunky bush dining ‘thrones’…well, it’s pure Conran en Afrique. And if such style doesn’t sound like the bush, you should try reflexology in the spa tent…

Naibor Camp is also so eco it makes you weep and recycle your tears of joy. Everything is solar- run. It has safari showers and charcoal-heated irons. It attracts khaki-heeled guests who want to leave the world a better place, families, people who want luxury in the bush and rich businessmen. It’s also popular with honeymooners, sipping sundowners and eating romantic meals privately under the stars. After all, it’s particularly charming at night; candlelit and gas lanterns light the paths as the sounds of hippos, frogs and crickets fill the air. And as you sit chatting about the day’s adventures around that communal table, a camp fire burns cheerily…

From £1868 per person based on two sharing for 3nights on a fully inclusive basis including flights, air taxes, park fees and transfers. Book through Scott Dunn: 020 8682 5000; www.scottdunn.com; www.naibor.com. Lady Lori helicopters can also be arranged through Scott Dunn.

All photos courtesy of Naibor Camp

CITY

• Ian McCurrach reports that “King Mohammed VI’s recent investment in northern Morocco, with Tangiers as its focus, has rescued the once fashionable resort from festering.” City Slicker: Tangiers in the Independent highlights the best of Tangiers for new and returning visitors.
• In Québec City: My kind of town the author Louise Penny gives her top tips on this Canadian city for the Telegraph, including where to ice slide and where to enjoy a warming whisky. “
• Fancy staying in a 19th-century residential building that was once inhabited by the KGB? The Big Six: Chic Berlin apartments in the Independent features some of the most interesting apartments to rent in the happening city of Berlin.
• “As autumnal tones begin to transform the Tuscan countryside, the queues to see Florence’s Renaissance treasures will be a little shorter and the temperatures still warm,” says Aoife O’Riordain in the Independent. This is how to make the best of 48 Hours In: Florence.
• On an autumn day The parks and lakes of Babelsberg “offer an idyllic last escape from the city before winter closes in,” says Neville Walker in the FT. On Berlin’s western outskirts, “reminders of Germany’s tortured 20th century are as thick on the ground as fallen leaves.”

ESCAPE

• Grape escapes: 10 French vineyard stays from Alastair Sawday’s French Vineyards is compiled by Patrick Hilyer in The Guardian. From chateaux to B&B’s this guide caters for wine enthusiasts who want somewhere special to stay.
• Bettina Kowalewski in the Telegraph spends some Crazy nights in extraordinary hotels. Globe rooms suspended in trees, seashell houses and a floating house on a lake – this is some of the most bizarre accommodation in the world.
• Four Independent travel writers have compiled the Traveller’s Guide: Venezuela. “The country is ripe for exploration: the number of overseas visitors has fallen, making prices keener than ever; and with an extensive transport infrastructure, Venezuela is yours to discover.”
• Part of the attraction of El Salvador, says Georgia Brown in The Guardian, is that “it’s so small you can drive from east to west in just seven hours, north to south in four, hopping from beach to pretty colonial towns or heritage sites in a day.” Add to that The lakes and volcanoes of El Salvador, and you’ll find plenty going on in this often overlooked corner of Central America.
• John Kampfner in the Times had high expectations of Egypt. “Get to as many places as possible, provide us with a guide seriously versed in ancient history, find a Nile experience that avoids the usual nightmares and throw in some diving at the end. Most important of all, show us parts of “real Egypt” that others don’t bother to see.” Did he succeed? Find out in Egypt: Who’s pulling the strings?
• Stefanie Marsh goes in search of Diu, Goa for modern-day hippies, but takes a travelling companion more adjusted to 5* luxury. This small island off the north coast of India thankfully placates both the luxury traveller and the chaos-loving hippy.

ADVENTURE

• “The terrible thing about getting lost in Spain wasn’t simply that I couldn’t find the trail. Worse — much worse — I was trapped inside a really irritating song,” writes Nicholas Roe in the Times. Spain: hiking Europe’s driest desert, the Cabo de Gata, Roe discovers an area that is “tranquil, wild, exotic, blazingly colourful and quite unlike any other region I’ve yet walked through in February.”
• “On the drive toward the park along the flat expanse of the valley, the dunes materialize unexpectedly, as if someone had superimposed the Sahara onto Colorado’s lush, blue-green mountains,” says Helen Olsson in the New York Times. American Journeys – Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a surprising destination, with plenty of sand based activities and extraordinary wildlife.
• From black rhinos to silverback gorillas, the Telegraph reveal the best places in Africa to encounter game on foot. Four of the best African walking safaris include Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda and Namibia.
• In the New York Times, Anne Lawrence Guyon takes a coastal road trip Just Outside San Francisco, a Wild Coastline. The road – Highway 1 – “emerges as a ribbon of clifftop roadway known locally as Devil’s Slide…renowned locally for its stark beauty and treacherous mystique.”
• Eric Wilson, reporter for the New York Times, is not a camper by nature. But Wilson admits, as he goes on A Path to Self-Discovery on Mount Rainier’s Wonderland Trail, that, “in spite of myself, I was really beginning to enjoy camping.”
• Taking youngsters on A family safari in Namibia may fill you with dread – but as The Times’ Mary Loudon discovers, “with its stable Government and population of only two million, [Namibia] is arguably the cleanest, safest and most efficient African country.” Throw in boundless deserts, mountains, palm-fringed oases and an abundance of elephants and Namibia promises to delight adults and children alike.

ART / CULTURE

• Acclaimed conceptual artist John Baldessari goes on A tour of the LA art scene for The Guardian. Old curiosities and the forgotten museums of Los Angeles are revealed, as well as the art-world’s favourite places to eat, drink and sleep.
• “Brussels is rightly famed for its Art Nouveau architecture,” says the Guardian, who highlight Ten architectural gems in Brussels. Throughout October cultural group Voir et Dire Bruxelles organise guided walking tours of the city around the theme “From Art Nouveau to Art Deco”. It’s all part of the fifth Biennial Art Nouveau Event.
• Adrian Bridge undertakes a journey from Gdansk on the Baltic to Varna on the Black Sea, to be serialised in the Telegraph over the next six weeks. How the East was rediscovered begins with Gdansk in Poland, on the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism.

SKI

Photo by Thomas Kirkevåg

• The Observer’s Ski section kicks off with Ski resorts where early snow is guaranteed. These are the best European ski resorts to head to this side of Christmas.
• Rupert Mellor goes on his first snowboarding trip of the season – leaving the UK on a hot September day. Taking advantage of Early season skiing in France, and a bargain weekend in Tignes, Mellor says, “it occurs to me as I make my first carves, I could blow the cost of this whole trip in four hours on Tamworth SnowDome’s 170m of indoor, man-made snow.”
• In the Observer ski special Belinda Archer explores Chamonix, Verbier, Les Gets and Tignes Les Brévières, to find Ski chalets with star appeal.