Tasmania

Mar

Get going: bound for Bali

101 Bali-Legian hotel, Bali.

Hi ho, the summer sun is still only just dipping below the horizon but it’s time to think winter, with all the international resorts releasing their snow deals for the 2014 winter season, or drumming up business for summer in the mountains.

Otherwise, there are olives to pluck in Tuscany and family holidays mixing the Taj with tigers in this week’s international and domestic travel deals.

GO NOW

BALI

Get return flights from Sydney with Virgin Australia and
three nights at the 3.5-star 101 Bali-Legian hotel, with Wi-Fi and one
three-course dinner thrown in. From $600 a person, twin share, on stays
May 14-17. 1300 887 979, wotif.com/packages.
QUEENSLAND

Check into Brisbane’s newest hotel, the Four Points by
Sheraton Brisbane, and save up to 60 per cent on stays until September
3. There is free Wi-Fi, and craft beers in the hotel bar. From $149 a
night. 1800 074 545, fourpoints.com/brisbane.

The best of Colorado, USA.

GO SOON
USA

Discover Aspen’s glorious spring season. Local hotels and
lodges are offering the third night free from May 15-June 16, plus $50
towards outdoor activities such as ballooning, rafting or biking.

See stayaspensnowmass.com/secret.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Take one of Australia’s most luxurious hikes and bring a
friend free. The Arkaba Walk is a four-day, 45-kilometre private hike
through the Flinders Ranges, with food, wine and guides. Book by April
11 for travel June 12-August 31. Costs $2150 for two people. 1300 790 561, arkabawalk.com.

The rustic huts of Corinna, Tasmania.

GO LATER

TASMANIA

Explore the incomparable Tarkine Wilderness in winter. Stay
three nights for the price of two, get a brekky hamper, half-day kayak
hire and discounts on the Arcadia II river cruises. Three nights from
$540, queen cabin, $760, family cabin. (03) 6446 1170, corinna.com.au.

CHINA

Celebrate the Year of the Horse with $200 off Helen Wong’s
China and Vietnam group tours; its 12-day China Discovery tour costs
$3930 a person, includes international flights. Book by April 4, travel
May 1-November 30. 1300 788 328, helenwongstours.com.

TOURWATCH

HARVEST IN TUSCANY

Experience quintessential Italy at the annual olive harvest
in San Miniato, Tuscany. Back-Roads Touring’s new seven-day “Harvest in
Tuscany” winter tour takes you into the heart of the region’s cuisine
and landscape, with cooking classes, Prosecco and a night in a
12th-century castle. Tours depart November 11 and 18, 2014. From $2418 a
person, twin share. 1300 100 410, backroadstouring.com.au.

Talking tigers, India.

KIDS DEALS

TAJ & TIGERS

If you’re looking to take the kids into the wild, the
eight-day India Family Holiday package fits the bill. You’ll explore
manic Old Delhi by rickshaw, (hopefully) spot tigers in Ranthambore
National Park, take an elephant ride in Jaipur and witness sunrise at
the Taj Mahal.

Staying in three-star hotels, the tour departs daily
(except July-September). From $1698 an adult, $1443 a child, low season
(April-June). 1300 760 208, selectivetours.com.

Belinda Jackson‘s Get Going column is published every Sunday in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper.

Mar

Get going: the cycle of your life

Cycling in Mallacoota, Victoria.

GO NOW

FRANCE
Families get free ski passes this Easter, saving up to $440 a
person, when staying in fully catered chalets in Verbier, Courchevel,
Meribel, Val d’lsere and St Anton. Meribel’s Chalet Christiane sleeps
six, from $1280 an adult, seven nights from April 5. See powderwhite.com.

VICTORIA
Explore Victoria’s Wilderness Coast on a four-day cycling
tour from Mallacoota to Cape Conran, with walks and a half-day kayak
trip, all meals and support vehicle. Save 20 per cent on the March 16
departure. From $1836, twin share. Phone 0428 556 088, see snowyrivercycling.com.au.

Rumba Beach Resort, Caloundra, Queensland

GO SOON
UAE
Soak up two nights in luxe Shangri-La Dubai then take the
limo to its sister hotel in Abu Dhabi, with tickets to the top of Burj
Khalifa and Ferrari World. Save 20 per cent until September 1, quote
“DXB-AUH Arabian Stopover Experience”. From $1560, three nights. See shangri-la.com.

QUEENSLAND

Take a short Sunshine Coast break at the luxe Rumba Beach
Resort in Caloundra. Stay three nights and get $50 restaurant credit, a
morning boat cruise, bicycle hire and free in-house movie. Available
until April 17, from $597 a couple, three nights. Phone (07) 5492 0555, see rumbaresort.com.au.

Casa Angelina on the Amalfi coast, Italy. Photo: SUPPLIED

GO LATER
ITALY
Do the Amalfi Coast in five-star style at the cliff-top Casa
Angelina, 10 minutes’ drive from Positano. Book a four-night stay by
March 31 and get champagne, late check-out and 10 per cent off
accommodation and dinner, May 16-October 27. From $416 a night. Phone 02 9211 6590, see casangelina.com.

TASMANIA
Hike Australia’s most iconic walking trail, the Overland
Track, and save $200 when booked by March 31. Tasmanian Expeditions runs
weekly departures until May 18 with guides, meals and gear included.
Costs $1795 a person, quote “OV0214”. Phone 1300 666 856, see tasmanianexpeditions.com.au.

Tamil Nadu. Photo: SUPPLIED

TOUR WATCH: SOUTHERN INDIA
Tamil Nadu is India’s deep, secret south. Banyan Tours
offers tours of temples, dance academies and mansions as you discover
the region’s past. Tours include boutique hotels, a driver, guide, car
and domestic flights, from October 2014 to March 2015. From $2436 a
person, nine nights. See banyantours.com.

KIDS’ QUESTS

Your kids are just out of kindy, but they already know a
gaucho is an Argentinian cowboy, Bollywood is in India and a Moroccan
market is called a souk, thanks to Lonely Planet’s new World Search
series.

Aimed at five-year-olds and up, the three cartoon board
books, Busy Places, Amazing Jobs and Incredible Animals, have flaps to
lift, stickers to stick, treasures to find and a world to explore.
$19.99 each, lonelyplanet.com.

This column by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sun-Herald newspaper.

Oct

Building Interest: architectural tourism

Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring
Resort, China.

Build it and they will come. Or will they? Belinda Jackson rounds up the best newcomers on the architecture scene.

Could you visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower? Or
miss the Blue Mosque when in Istanbul? The Tower Bridge is a London
essential and Cairo’s pyramids are possibly the oldest tourist site on
the map.

But tell friends you’re going to Oslo to see the new design
by Renzo Piano and chances are you’ll be tarred with a try-hard hipster
tag. “Architecture is the great public art,” says Eoghan Lewis,
architect and founder of Sydney Architecture Walk, in defence of
architectural tourism.

While not buying into the tallest-fattest-most-brightly-coloured
debate (“Do people really travel to see the new tall?”), he readily
admits to admiring Burj Khalifa, but describes Sydney’s Opera House as
“the most important 20th-century architectural moment”, matched only by
Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia basilica, in Barcelona.

The Cardboard Cathedral, New Zealand.

However, if you were so inclined, the battle for the tallest,
longest and shiniest building has just two serious contestants: the UAE
and China, with Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, at 829 metres, currently the
tallest building in the world. Pitch that beside Australia’s loftiest
offering, the Gold Coast’s Q1, and we come out looking positively puny
at just 322 metres high.

Architecture aficionados have their 2013-14 diaries full,
with a smorgasbord of beautiful little offerings from Britain and plenty
of Zaha Hadid curves in Asia.

Off the list is the tediously square new George W. Bush presidential
centre. And while we’d love to jet to Lima for sheer wackiness, its
cliff-hanging hotel is, unsurprisingly, still at the planning permission
stage, while Shanghai’s Songjiang Hotel, where two floors are
underwater, won’t open till 2015.

Back home in Australia, now is the time for quiet, beautiful,
subtle achievers. Read on for a baker’s dozen of great new
architectural statements going up around the world.

ASIA

Here’s a statistic that will probably be outdated by the time we go
to print: nine of the 20 tallest buildings currently in construction
across the world are in China. But just because they’re tall doesn’t
make them fabulous: they have to be beautiful, too.

At heart, many travellers are mountain goats who need to
climb to the top for the birds-eye view of a new city. So take a look at
the new Shanghai Tower, which erupts from Pudong, one big paddy field
until a couple of decades ago.

he stats are impressive: the futuristic
skyscraper designed by American super-firm Gensler, was “topped out” in
early August at 632 metres, making it China’s tallest building; well
under Burj Khalifa. It is expected to be overtaken in the sky race even
before its completion by the ambitious Sky City, in Hunan, which aims to
scrape past the Burj by nine metres. Is it just me, or does this smack
of playground politics? Would it make you plan a trip to Hunan to see a
pointy tower that won’t fit in your camera lens?

Still big but less pointy, the new Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring
Resort, also near Shanghai, is dominated by what’s unscientifically
been dubbed a “doughnut”. Perhaps “glowing horseshoe” is a kinder term
to describe Beijing-based MAD architects’ work: the ring is covered in a
metal skin covered with LED lights, which erupts 100 metres high from a
lake. The resort opened this year to the tune of about $1.5 billion and
should win dinner parties as the ultimate Shanghai weekender.

The Iranian-born, British-based architectural powerhouse Zaha Hadid
has been one seriously busy woman, with the new Dongaemun history and
culture park opening in Seoul next year. With her signature organic
curves, Hadid’s “urban oasis” is in the centre of old downtown Seoul and
includes a design museum and traditional Korean gardens. Detractors say
Hadid hasn’t tried hard enough to keep the old city but her admirers
won’t be disappointed (ddp.seoul.go.kr/eng/).

As an aside, while she’s not everyone’s cup of tea, Hadid’s
work definitely is admired by a group of Chinese builders, who have
pirated her Beijing Wangjing SoHo complex, in Chongqing. The copy may
even be completed before the original is finished, in 2014.

For more organic forms and materials, head to Kontum City in
Middle Vietnam for a cup of coffee at the waterside cafe in Kon Tum
Indochine Hotel. Designed by Vo Trong Nghia architects, the cafe’s roof
is upheld by 15 gigantic bamboo columns inspired by Vietnamese fishing
baskets. The cafe is on the shortlist for an award at this month’s World
Architecture Festival at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore (indochinehotel.vn).

Den Bla Planet, Denmark.

SCANDINAVIA
For most, the drawcard of Copenhagen’s Den Bla Planet (The
Blue Planet) won’t be the architecture, it’ll be the 20,000 marine
animals wriggling around on display at this new aquarium, designed by
Danish architects 3XN. The largest aquarium in Northern Europe, Den Bla
Planet holds seven million litres of water inside, is encircled by a
reflection pool outside, and the building’s form is inspired by a
whirlpool, a visual treat from the air when you fly in to nearby
Copenhagen Airport. Australian aquarium architecture specialists
Crossley Architects, who spent almost four years working on the project,
name the Amazon display as the best in show (denblaaplanet.dk). The aquarium has just won its category for display architecture at the 2013 World Architecture Festival.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Masdar City

Normally, we’d associate the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with excess:
the world recreated in man-made islands (“Anyone for Nigeria?”) or very,
very big, pointy towers, a la Burj Khalifa. Abu Dhabi’s new World Trade
Centre won’t disappoint on that count but for something completely
different, Dubai’s bankroller is also home to a sustainable,
zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city.

Set beside Abu Dhabi’s airport, Masdar City is designed by
British architect Norman Foster of Foster & Partners. A so-called
“arcology” project, which marries architecture and ecology to create
self-sustaining, densely populated cities, Masdar City runs on solar
energy – sensibly, given it’s built in a sunny desert.

Expect
super-modernity from the car-free city, which is connected by little
driver-less pods, but expect also lessons from the past, such as wind
towers, or barjeels, Iran’s ancient alternative to air-con (masdarcity.ae).

The Shard

BRITAIN
Architects
feature consistently in the top 10 sexiest occupations, which must make
Renzo Piano, co-architect of Paris’s Centre Georges Pompidou,
absolutely irresistible. Britain is currently revelling in golden years
and Piano’s Shard, which opened in February, is the new jewel in
London’s skyline. Stats first: topping 310 metres, yes, it’s the tallest
building in Western Europe, with 11,000 glass panels and, amazingly, 90
per cent of its construction materials are recycled. It’s not just a
viewpoint, the tower will soon house a hotel, four restaurants and
residencies with a price tag from £30 million ($50 million) (the-shard.com).

Shard aside (and we haven’t even gone to Glasgow’s
Commonwealth Games build), this year’s top talking points are all
low-to-the-ground historical landmarks, led by the new Mary Rose museum
in Portsmouth, which opened in May. The Mary Rose, a 16th-century Tudor
warship, was built on these docks in 1510, sinking after 34 years’
service. She was raised from the bed of the Solent River and four
centuries and $56 million later, is now encircled by a modern museum
displaying her sunken treasure. The museum is designed by architects
Wilkinson Eyre, the name behind Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay and the
Crown Sydney resort at Barangaroo (maryrose.org).

Going further back into the mists of time, the new visitors
centre at Stonehenge is set to open in February next year, after two
decades and more than $60 million spent on planning and construction.
The building has sparked interest among the design community for the
hurdles it faced: the low-key design, by Denton Corker Marshall, sits
lightly on the ground so as to not disturb nor detract from the ancient
Salisbury plain (stonehenge.co.uk).

The Mary Rose.

Serious design aficionados already have their names down for
the chance to sleep amid the serene architecture of celebrated architect
Peter Zumthor, winner of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2013. The Secular
Retreat, which taps into the concept of “ecclesiastical architecture”
(read “monastic use of rammed concrete”) is located among the rolling
hills of South Devon and will be completed in 2014 (living-architecture.co.uk).

OCEANIA
As a half-Tasmanian, here’s a sentence I never thought I’d
utter: “You must go to Glenorchy and check out this amazing piece of
architecture.” The Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park (GASP!) sits on the
banks of the Derwent River, just a couple of kilometres downstream from
another fine architectural statement, Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).

GASP, Tasmania

Designed by the young guns at Room 11, a boardwalk that curls around the
bay to MONA opened in 2011, followed in April by a new pavilion of rose
glass and concrete that juts out over the river. GASP! is already a
popular promenade and there are plans for regular art events and a new
social enterprise cafe and food truck. Ferry to MONA and hire bikes to
coast down to GASP or borrow free Art Bikes in Hobart and ride 30
minutes to GASP! (gasp.org.au, arts.tas.gov.au/artsatwork/artbikes).

Across the pond to New Zealand, the Cardboard Cathedral in
Christchurch officially opened in late August, already has a solid fan
base. Designed and donated to the city by “emergency architect” Shigeru
Ban after the Anglican cathedral was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake,
the temporary cathedral is an exercise in the resilience of faith and
community. Made from gigantic cardboard tubes, it has a life span of
about 20 years (christchurchnz.com/planning/cardboard-cathedral).

Architecturally, across the world there is no one trend:
there are small conversations and there are immense statements. With
Australia’s and the world’s top awards soon to be announced, the
conversation continues.

FIVE CITY ARCHITECTURE TOURS
MELTOURS ARCHITECTURE TOUR
Found in Melbourne; costs $39, phone 0407 380 969; see meltours.com.au.
SYDNEY ARCHITECTURE WALKS
Costs from $30; phone 0403 888 390; see sydneyarchitecture.org.
CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION
Costs from $10; phone +312 922 3432; see architecture.org.
THE BAUHAUS TOUR
Found in Tel Aviv, Israel; costs $18; see bauhaus-center.com/tours.php.
EDINBURGH ARCHITECTURE TOURS
Found in Scotland, phone +44 1620 825722; see edinburgharchitecture.co.uk.

FIVE MORE OCEANIA BUILDINGS

MELBOURNE
Occupying the corner of Swanston and Victoria Streets, the
super-restrained Design Hub by Sean Godsell Architects is tipped to
clean up at this year’s national architecture awards, agree Eoghan Lewis
and Jerome Miller, of Meltours Architecture Tours. The building’s
“skin” is a grid of disks that can be rotated to catch the sun,
ultimately to power the building. Jerome also names 700 Bourke Street,
Docklands worth a look for its vivid “slices”, best seen from Southern
Cross Station.

CANBERRA
Opened in February, the National Arboretum is 250 hectares
dominated by a dramatic amphitheatre with secret gardens, cork oak
forests and high-arched, stone-clad visitor centre overlooking Lake
Burley Griffin, designed by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects and
landscape architects Taylor Cullity Lethlean (nationalarboretum.act.gov.au).

SYDNEY
The new Prince Alfred Park+Pool in Surry Hills is designed by
Neeson Murcutt Architects and Sue Barnsley Design. The 50-metre heated
outdoor pool lined playfully with palms and smart, sunny yellow
umbrellas, set amid grassy mounds that “fold” over the main building,
hiding it from street view (princealfred.org).

AUCKLAND
The Auckland Gallery Toi o Tamaki has just been named 2013
World Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival. It was
remodelled by Sydney’s FJMT and Auckland-based Archimedia and reopened
in September 2011 (aucklandartgallery.com).

This feature by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

Aug

Wheeling through South Korea, wining in dear old Lonnie: travel deals & kids’ gigs, August 25

New to travel: cycling in South Korea.

With winter just about out the window, you could be forgiven for thinking Tasmania’s raison d’être has also gone the way of the Australian tiger. That’s only because you haven’t been to Launceston, up on the north coast. Interestingly (well, ok, interesting to me), a Brit once said it should be pronounced Launston ( the ‘ces’ isn’t pronounced: think Worcestershire sauce). But I digress. Check out this week’s travel deals and kids’ gig, where smearing your nose along a window is encouraged – nay – obligatory.

TASMANIA

Visit Launceston and take in the art galleries, harvest
markets and Tamar Valley wineries. Stay in a one-bed Superior suite at The
Sebel Launceston from $219, and they’ll deliver breakfast in bed and a wee
bottle of champagne. Until December 31. accorhotels.com.

SOUTH KOREA

Singapore is about to roar: F1 racing comes to town.

Get ahead of the pack with South Korea’s new cycle
trails. Save 25 percent on the first, nine-day Korean Cycle trip from Seoul to
traditional Andong through unspoilt forests and villages. Departs October 26, from
$2590, 1800 107 060, adventuresouth.co.nz.

SINGAPORE

Head to the 2013 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix,
September 19-23. Packages include a three-day Grandstand race ticket, race preview
lunch, return international airfares and four nights’ accommodation. Save
over $500, costs $2595, 1300 888 858, sportsnetholidays.com.

Gentle luxury at The
Sebel Launceston.

KIDS

If squished noses on windows is a feature of your airport
visits, check out the Parkroyal Melbourne Airport’s Kids Plane-Spotting package
and watch the big birds take off right outside your hotel room. Includes
accommodation for one adult and one child under 12 (Friday and Saturday nights
only), breakfast and an activity package, from $269 until 31 December. Extra
adults from $20. 1800 192 144, parkroyalhotels.com.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun-Herald newspaper

Jul

Of white wallabies and chic Sydney babes: travel deals 23 June 2013

Bruny Island’s white wallaby.

GO NOW: TASMANIA

The
cutest little white wallabies are waiting to be seen on a Bruny Island Safari, which includes a gourmet touch. Usually $140,
save $40 on Sundays or Fridays from July 1 to August 31, quote ‘whitewallaby’.
Costs $100 a person. 0437 499 795, brunyislandsafaris.com.au.

GO SOONER: NEW ZEALAND

Winter in style luxury Kauri Cliffs and The Farm at Cape
Kidnappers. Save 35 per cent on your
room rate, which includes pre-dinner drinks and canapés, a five-course tasting
menu and unlimited golf or a massage. Costs from $740 a person a night, twin share. Kauri Cliffs, +64 9407
0010, kauricliffs.com or The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, +64 6 875 1900, capekidnappers.com.

GO LATER: USA
& CANADA

Sleeping in style @ QT Sydney

Save up to $400 when you book a guided tour and airfare
with Trafalgar before June 28. The 14-day East Coast USA & Canada trip starts
and finishes in New York. From $3395 a person, flights from $1299. 1300 663
043, trafalgar.com.

KIDS: SYDNEY

Stylish babes stay at QT Sydney: its new BabyQ package
beds tots down in a super-chic Leander cot and includes a complementary iiamo
Go self-heating baby bottle worth $129. Parents get two nights in a king deluxe
room, breakfast (including fresh baby food), massage and a bottle of champagne.
Costs from $900 for two nights, qthotels.com.au, (02) 8262 0000.

Jun

From British royalty to Victorian winery walkabouts: travel deals June 2, 2013

Mediterranean flavour: Santorini is the final destination
in Maeve O’Meara’s Greek gastronomy tour.
Photo: Getty Images

Australia

Queensland
Make a
date for a night in at the movies, at the QT Port Douglas hotel. Of
course, being in the tropics, it’ll be moonlight cinema. Stay any
Friday, Saturday and Sunday night between June 22 and October 6 and the
Locals Package gives you a complementary upgrade to a one-bedroom villa,
as well as two tickets to the flicks and breakfast for two in the
Bazaar restaurant. Quote code “moonlight01”. Costs from $199 a night.
(07) 4099 8900, qtportdouglas.com.au.

Victoria
Discover
the rich red and white Rhone varietals and sweet muscats of Rutherglen
at the Rutherglen Winery Walkabout, Australia’s longest running wine
festival, on the weekend of June 8-9 (winemakers.com.au).
Stay at the Tuileries and save 20 per cent on Sunday to Friday nights
until September 30. They’ll include a country breakfast and three-course
dinner for two at Tuileries Restaurant, including the unlimited wine
buffet, which showcases the region’s top drops. Usually $346 a night,
costs $276 a room, a night. (02) 6032 9033, tuileriesrutherglen.com.au.

Tasmania

Love
a snowy winter but hate long-haul travel? Freshwater on Berry is a
two-bedroom lodge in Miena, on the Great Lake in Tassie’s central
highlands, two hours from Hobart. Opened just six months ago, the local
attractions are all natural, from horse riding to bushwalking, mountain
biking and hunting. Usually $170 a night, stay two nights or more and
save $20 a night, with a bottle of Tasmanian wine thrown in to the
bargain. Valid on stays from July 1 to September 30. Costs from $150 a
night (two-night minimum).

Northern Territory
Check
in to the red heart of Australia, at one of our most iconic hotels,
Longitude 131˚, a luxury tented camp that curls along the sand dunes
facing Uluru. This three-night package includes all meals and drinks,
tours exclusively for Longitude guests and airport transfers, and
they’ll include a 15-minute helicopter flight over Uluru. Book by
September 30 for travel until November 30, and quote “escape”. Costs
from $2805 a person, twin share. 1300 134 044, longitude131.com.au/escape.

Travelodge Phillip St, Sydney

NSW
Be
a city slicker for three nights at Travelodge Phillip Street, main
picture, where you can walk to the best museums and art galleries as
well as the Opera House, the Rocks and Hyde Park. You’ll save 30 per
cent on stays until July 31, from $160 a night, with a buffet breakfast
included. Costs from $480 for three nights. 1300 886 886, travelodge.com.au.

Western Australia
Warm
up in the west, with a winter weekender special saving $100 at the
Metro Hotel, Perth. Stay one night in an executive room and get
breakfast, a bottle of sparkling wine and chocolates, noon checkout and a
$10 Coles voucher. Available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights
until August 31. Costs from $299. 1800 004 321, metrohotels.com.au.

International

Indonesia
Children
are welcome at Seminyak’s Serene Villas, which have pool fences, toys,
cots, movies and games, and a special children’s menu. Book a three- or
six-night stay and get all that plus two complimentary meals for each
child, as well as discounted entry into Bali’s ultra-kid-magnets
Waterbom Park and Bali Safari Park. Save 20 per cent on stays until
September 30. Costs from $1130 for three nights, or $2415 for six
nights, for two adults and up to three children sharing a two-bedroom
villa. +62 361 730 899, serenevilla.com.

Abu Dhabi
It’s
official: the best of the Middle East’s desert resorts, according to
the World Travel Awards four years running, is Anantara’s Qasr Al Sarab,
in Abu Dhabi’s Empty Quarter. It’s got all the romance, with camels,
sand dunes and falconry. Stay five nights in a one-bedroom pool villa
and save up to 40 per cent. Book by July 22 for stays until July 31.
Costs from $1026 for five nights. +971 2 886 2088, anantara.com.

Oman
Gorgeously
traditional, Oman is a glimpse into the real Arabia, without the Dubai
glitz. Each of the 213 rooms in the new Crowne Plaza Duqm face the
Arabian Sea, with its shipbuilding history and tales of Sinbad. There
are five restaurants and lounges and the hotel’s opening special sees
rooms from $200 a night until September. 1800 007 697, crowneplaza.com.

Bolivia
From
the witches’ market in La Paz to the dazzlingly bright Uyuni salt flats
and the pre-Colombian terraces around Lake Titicaca, Bolivia is a blur
of colour and contradiction. Save 10 per cent when you book the new
13-day Bolivia Explorer tour. Book by June 30 for departures between
June 7 and November 8. Includes transport, guides and most meals. Costs
from $2115, twin share. 1300 763 338, bfirsttravel.com.

Greece
Dine like a goddess on the heavenly Greek isles, with SBS Food Safari
host Maeve O’Meara leading you off the beaten track to the islands of
Evia, Limnos and Lesbos, to finish with a bang in Santorini. “Each day
is a perfect little jewel,” O’Meara says. “You have a range of the best
regional produce, meet all our favourite Greek characters and feast on
dishes you’d never find in restaurants.” Includes accommodation,
internal flights, luxury sailing, most meals and wine. The tour runs
from September 3 to 15. Costs from $7250, twin share (save $700), $8200
for singles (save $800). (02) 8969 6555, gourmetsafaris.com.au.

Tour watch

With
a royal warrant from the Prince of Wales on its sleeve — the only one
of its kind in the world — expect fabulousness when checking in to the
Ritz London. Britain is deep in coronation mode, celebrating Queen
Elizabeth II’s 60th anniversary on the throne, and the Ritz has tickets
to the Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace, from July 11 to 14. Its
Festival Fantastic package includes two nights’ accommodation, English
breakfast (naturally), dinner in The Ritz Restaurant, tickets to the
festival, and champagne and canapes when you’re there. Valid on
check-ins between July 11 and 13. Costs from $1789 a person, twin share.
1800 222 033, lhw.com.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald

May

Deep fabulousness in Vietnam, heli-ski New Zealand or frock up in Melbourne: travel deals May 19, 2013

InterContinental Danang Sun peninsula Resort, Vietnam

Is this the most gorgeous photo ever? It was a toss-up between this fabulous shot of the restaurant at the InterCon Danang, designed by Bill Bensley, or the awesome NZ heli-skiing shot below. Reader: I chewed my nails for you. Enjoy this week’s best international and Australian travel deals.

QUEENSLAND
Avoid the queues
and head to the Gold Coast’s Sea World, main picture, out of the school
holidays and save up to 80 per cent on stays at the 4.5-star Broadbeach
resort, which includes unlimited entry to Warner Bros Movie World, Sea
World and Wet’n’Wild Water World. Stay two nights and get a free Dolphin
Discovery presentation at Sea World. You’ll get 25 per cent off food
and drinks, the kids’ club and free wi-fi. Valid until July 14. Costs
from $79.90 a person, twin share, $20 a child. 133 386, seaworldresort.com.au.

NSW
Sydney
Airport just grew up, with its first airport hotel in the international
terminal – Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel opened on May 7. The hotel is
celebrating with an opening special, free wi-fi and $35 to spend in its
Blackwattle Grill and sports bar. The 318-room hotel is one minute’s
walk from the international terminal and includes 24-hour room service.
Costs from $205 a night. (02) 9313 2500, rydges.com/sydneyairport.

TASMANIA
There’s
a rugged beauty to the Henry Jones Art Hotel, pictured above left,
which has had everyone from whalers to jam-makers on its stone floors on
Hobart’s waterfront. Book a night in a deluxe spa room and get
breakfast for two, free wi-fi and $50 towards dinner in Henry’s
Restaurant, saving a cool $178. Stay before September 30 and quote
PT014. Costs from $355. 1800 420 155, puretasmania.com.au.

TOP END

Hawke Dreaming camp

The wet season is
over, the roads are dry and the wilderness camps of the Top End are open
for business, including the Hawke Dreaming luxury tented lodge. Located
near Ubirr in a restricted section of Kakadu National Park, the lodge
has just 12 tents, with en suites and decks. Book by June 30 and save 15
per cent off the regular rate. Normally $265 a night, pay $225.
Self-drive travellers can save 10 per cent when they stay five nights at
any of APT’s exclusive luxury network of lodges across the Northern
Territory and Western Australia, including the Bungle Bungles and
Mitchell Falls. Includes dinner, bed and breakfast. 1800 240 504,
kimberleywilderness.com.au.

VICTORIA
Have
a Hollywood moment in Melbourne, at the Hollywood Costume exhibition at
the Australian Centre for the Moving Image as part of the Melbourne
Winter Masterpieces program. The Sofitel Melbourne normally costs about
$450 a night, but the Hollywood Costume package includes one night’s
stay, breakfast and two tickets to the exhibition, which has the
costumes of Scarlett O’Hara, Holly Golightly and Jack Sparrow. The
hotel’s Atrium Bar is shaking up Hollywood-inspired cocktails during the
exhibition, until August 18. Costs from $360. (03) 9653 0000,
sofitelmelbourne.com.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Set
at the start (or the end) of the Great Ocean Road, Mount Gambier is a
great base for wine tourism up into Coonawarra, for exploring the wild
and empty beaches along the Great Australian Bight or just taking in the
classic genteel sight of the town’s astonishing Blue Lake. Save up to
20 per cent on two-night stays in a self-contained apartment in the
4.5-star Precinct on Jardine. Valid on stays until August 5. Costs from
$800 for two nights in a three-bedroom apartment (sleeps six).
travel.com.au.

VIETNAM
One of the
world’s best new hotels, according to Conde Nast Traveler, is the
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, pictured, on the Son Tra
Peninsula, halfway between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. To celebrate the
opening of the new Harnn Heritage Spa, packages include a three-night
stay, breakfast and yoga and 25 per cent off spa treatments, and a
one-hour massage. From $930 a night. 13 83 88,
danang.intercontinental.com.

SWITZERLAND
Switzerland
can be so cliched, and don’t we love it? Trafalgar’s new eight-day
Swiss Delight takes it a step further with a cable car ride to Mount
Pilatus, chocolate making and folklore tales at a traditional “stubete”.
Book by July 10 to save 7.5 per cent. Costs from $1688 a person, twin
share. Book a Singapore Airlines flight to Europe from $1999 with a
Trafalgar guided tour, and your friend flies from $899. Book flights
before July 31. 1300 663 043, trafalgar.com.

THAILAND
Get
four free nights in Phuket when you book eight nights at the five-star,
award-winning Merlin Beach Resort, close to Patong Beach. Facilities at
the resort include a kids’ club and pool, day spas and a range of bars
and restaurants. The deal includes breakfast, airport transfers,
restaurant discounts and a two-hour massage or half-day Phuket tour.
From $466 a person, twin share. Valid until October 31. 1300 883 887,
travelonline.com.

CHINA

The lobby of the new Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai

Just
a few years ago, the glitzy Shanghai district of Pudong was mere rice
paddies: now it’s home to the newest Mandarin Oriental hotel, which
features more than 4000 original artworks. Opening packages include stay
two nights and pay just one with free wi-fi, or the Discover Shanghai
package, which includes one night’s accommodation, free wi-fi and up to
$300 in spa or restaurant use. Valid until September 30. From $661. 1800
123 693, mandarinoriental.com.

SOUTH AMERICA
South
American adventurer Explora has been combining eco-adventure and luxury
for 20 years and celebrates its birthday with a free night on
four-night stays in remote lodges in the Chilean Patagonia, Easter
Island and the Atacama Desert until October 14. Stay four nights at
Atacama, which includes airport transfers, meals and open bar, and daily
explorations via horses, vehicles, boats and foot. From $2720 a person,
twin share. +56 2 2395 2800, explora.com.

TOURWATCH

So you can’t sing, but you can still ski like a rock star
amidst the snowy peaks of New Zealand’s South Island. Southern Lakes Heli Ski’s new all-inclusive,
one-week heli-skiing package gives you unlimited heli-ski runs. “As long as
your legs can keep going, then so do you,” they promise. And if the weather
gods get moody, there are golf pros, bungy jumping and Central Otago wines to
drink. Join a group with an Unlimited Package, which guarantees first and last
tracks each day, or the Private Package for groups of four or more gets your
own chopper and 8,500 square kilometers of heli-ski exclusive terrain to
explore. Includes five-star accommodation, meals and guides. From June 30 –
September 30. Costs from $7500 (Unlimited) or from $13,499 (Private) per
person. +64 3 442 6222, southernlakesheliski.co.nz.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald

May

Make like Ellen on Hayman, jet across Australia, hike to Everest’s back door: travel deals May 12

Ubirr, Northern Territory

Make like Ellen on Hayman Island, air-cruise the continent on a private jet or hike to Everest’s back door in this week’s best domestic and international deals.

TASMANIA

There’s more to Launceston than the beautiful Cataract
Gorge. Dear old Lonnie (as the locals call it) also has a sparkle in its step,
thanks to all the delicious sparkling wines sold at the cellar doors on the
nearby Tamar trail. Stay three nights in a deluxe room in the Hotel Grand
Chancellor Launceston and pay for just two, on stays until September 30. Costs
from $165 a person, twin share, three nights. 132 757, harveyworld.com.au.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Get the
best seat in the house for Sydney’s Vivid Festival, from May 24 – June 10, and save
20 percent at the five-star Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour. The hotel’s
guestrooms have some of the best views of the Harbour Bridge, which will be
splashed in light during the festival. Stay in a one-bedroom harbor view suite,
which includes its own balcony, and get a three-course dinner for two delivered
to your door and a bottle of Taittinger Champagne. The Vivid
Stay & Play package costs from $569 a night. (02) 9256 4000, pullmanhotels.com

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Birks Harbour Boatshed, Goolwa, SA..

It’s about time the eastern states (as we’re known in
SA), turned our attention to the unsung Fleurieu Peninsula. It’s an hour south
of Adelaide, but budget a full afternoon if you travel via McLaren Vale’s
insanely good cellar doors (mclarenvale.info). Take a bottle back to your
boathouse accommodation on the water’s edge at the port town of Goolwa, a
serene retreat on the Murray River. Each of the three retreats sleeps two
people, and includes a gourmet brekky basket and a bottle of local wine. Stay
three nights, pay for two from June 1 – August 31. Costs from $590, three
nights. (08) 8555 0338, birksharbour.com.au.

QUEENSLAND

Experience living like an international talk-show host
and do Hayman Island the Ellen DeGeneres way. The ellenTV Excape package
includes four nights’ accommodation for the price of three, an upgrade to a
deluxe room, beachside breakfasts and transfers from the airport on the
island’s glam white launch. There’s also a seaplane tour of the Whitsundays and
all the windsurfing, catamarans, golfing and island exploratory walks a celebrity
could wish for. Valid for stays until December 20, quote code ‘Ellen’. Costs
from $1705 a person, twin share. 1800 075 175, hayman.com.au.

PAN-AUSTRALIA

All aboard the Great Australian Aircruise, a 12-day
journey by private plane from Sydney to Longreach into Kakadu and up to the
Kimberley, returning via Uluru, stopping at Australia’s most iconic country
towns, from Broome to Birdsville. Save $750 and they’ll also include
accommodation the night before at the Sir Stamford, airport transfers and breakfast,
a saving of up to $2000 per couple. The tour departs June 18, book and pay by
May 31. Costs from $11,595 a person, twin share. 1800 252 053,
billpeachjourneys.com.au.

NEW ZEALAND

Christchurch’s hotel scene is getting back on its feet,
with the re-opening of the Rendezvous Hotel Christchurch on May 1. Get 10
percent off the best available rate, with free internet and free local calls
until June 1. Or stay two nights and get 20 per cent off, otherwise stay three
nights and get 25 per cent off. Costs from $204.30 a night. 1800 088 888, rendezvoushotels.com/christchurch.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia has to be the ultimate shop-and-flop
destination: shop up the bargain-tastic malls of Kuala Lumpur then recuperate
on the beaches of Tioman Island at the Berjaya Tioman Resort, where the
bargains continue. The resort is offering six nights for the price of five,
with daily breakfast and flights from Kuala Lumpur. Book by May 31 for stays
till June 30, and from September 1 – October 31. Costs from $609 a person, twin
share. 1300 9393 414, flightcentre.com.au.

RUSSIA

See two faces of enigmatic Russia
when you absorb the hard-cash capitalism of racy Moscow with the genteel art
scene of its northern cousin, St Petersburg. Save five percent on the six-day
Russia Two Cities when booked by 31 May. Includes accommodation, breakfast and
rail transport between the two cities. The tour costs from $1214 a person, twin
share. 1800 221 712, bentours.com.au.

NEPAL

Help celebrate the 60th anniversary of Sir
Edmund Hillary’s ascent of Mount Everest with a 15-day trek in his footsteps to
Everest Base Camp. The trek reaches 5000 meters in the Himalayan foothills,
starting from the airstrip at Lukla. The price includes 12 nights’
accommodation in local tea houses, return local flights from Kathmandu to
Lukla, sherpas and an English-speaking guide. Book by June 15 for departures
until December 31, and save 10 percent. Costs from $1395 a person, twin share. 1300
021 123, myadventurestore.com.

GERMANY

Dreaming of a white Christmas? Slip Bing on the record
player and book your eight-day Bavaria & the Romantic Road tour, which runs
from December 2013 to March 2014 through the Rhine valley. Visit snowy
Neuschwanstein castle, medieval towns and see the Passion Play Oberammergau,
travelling quiet roads in mini-van comfort with a maximum of 15 guests. Save 10
per cent when booked by May 31. Costs from $2560 a person, twin share, excludes
international airfares. 1300 100 410, backroadstouring.com.au.

TOURWATCH CHINA
& TIBET

From the Silk Road markets of Kashgar to the Taklimakan
Desert, across the Aksai Chin plateau to Mt Everest’s North Base Camp in Tibet
(did you know there are two base camps?), this 28-day tour takes you far off
the beaten track into the wilds of western China and Tibet. The ‘Epic Dreams’
tour kicks off in Urumqi, in Xinjiang , and travels the highest road in the
world, the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway. Visit the ancient ruins of past kingdoms,
revered temples, see K2 as it hulks on the horizon and spy yak hurders’ camps
in the distance. The last stop is Chengdu’s panda reserve. The tour departs
August 20 and includes return international airfares with China Southern,
tipping and visas. Costs from $7634 a person, twin share. Wendy Wu Tours 1300
727 998, wendywutours.com.au.

May

Find beauty in Sri Lanka, Tasmania or Madagascar: island & beaches’ travel deals May 5, 2013

Colours of Tasmania’s Bay of Fires.

Find beauty in a Sri Lankan boutique hotel, in Tasmania’s Bay of Fires or in the bright eyes of a Madagascan lemur.

QUEENSLAND

Save up
to $450 on a three-night stay on the Gold Coast’s beautiful beaches in the
happening QT hotel. The Family Fun package gets you two interconnecting rooms
(hey, no kids sharing your bedroom!), breakfast for two adults and two children
under 12 and a family pass to Dreamworld, worth $230. Psst: starve yourself in
advance for the hotel’s fabulous buffet restaurant, Bazaar. Costs from
$360 a night, minimum three night stay. Available until December 24. (07) 5584
1200, qtgoldcoast.com.au.

NSW

With Tiger now joining Virgin and Qantas
flying up to Coffs Harbour, the NSW north coast just got a whole lot closer to Sydney. The strip, from
Coffs to Nambucca Heads, is a market lover’s paradise, with growers’ markets,
beach markets and even Bollywood markets on the beach at Woolgoolga (coffscoast.com.au).
Book five nights in a beachfront apartment at Smugglers on the
Beach and get a bottle of wine and save $125. For stays until August 31. Costs
from $625, five nights. (02) 6653 6166, smugglers.com.au.

VICTORIA

Cycle the iconic Great Ocean Road, from Mt Gambier’s Blue
Lake, just across the SA border, to Geelong, covering 610km. This is the 30th
year for the RACV Great Victorian Bike Ride and up to 6000 cyclists are
expected to take part in the ride, from November 23 – December 1. You can do a
nine-day, fully catered camping holiday, with medical and bike repairs support,
opt for the three-day leg from Gellibrand to Geelong, or the last day’s day ride
from Torquay to Geelong. Registrations open for the general public on May 20. Book
by July 29 and save $100. Costs from $895 adults, nine days, $460 adults, three
days, or $70, one day. 1800 639 634, greatvic.com.au.

TASMANIA

Keen walkers know that Tassie’s east coast is the home of
the happy hiker. Get your boots on for three days walking the white beaches of
Wineglass Bay, the fossil cliffs and peaks of Maria Island or the glorious Bay
of Fires. Complete the immersion in all things Tasmanian with starlit dinners
with Ninth Island wines and local cheeses. Get in early for next season and
save up to $150. Book by June 30 for travel from September 2013 to March 2014. Costs
from $849 a person for the three-day Bay of Fires walk. (02) 9913 8939, lifesanadventure.com.au.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The epitome of Australian luxury, and constantly voted
one of Australia’s top stays, the Southern Ocean Lodge is on sale. Pay half
price – saving more than $3600 – when
you stay three nights at the 21-suite Kangaroo Island retreat. The
all-inclusive rate covers all gourmet fare and naturalist experiences to show
you the best of KI. Book by May 31 for stays until August 23. Costs from $3600
a couple, Ocean Retreat, three nights. 1300 851 800,
abercrombiekent.com.au.

At Kahanda Kanda, the order is to drink tea and watch the
peacocks and monkeys at play.

SRI LANKA

One of the country’s top boutique hotels, the eight-suite
villa Kahanda Kanda is on a working tea estate by the serene Koggala Lake and
its stilt fishermen. Stay three nights, pay for two or stay seven nights and
pay for just five, with a free upgrade and spa treatments included. The villa
does not take children under 12. For stays from June 1 – July 31. Costs from
$548, three nights. +94 (0) 91 494 3700, kahandakanda.com.

CHINA

Tagged as the Chinese Riviera, Hainan Island is
officially going off, as Julia Gillard would have noted when she visited
recently. The newest addition is the Raffles Hainan, in Clearwater Bay. There are 299 rooms and 32 villas in the
resort, beside two championship golf courses and a 200-berth marina. Stay three
nights, pay for two from September 1 – December 31. Includes an upgrade to a
Grand Ocean view room, airport transfers, breakfast and checkout at 6pm. Yes,
6pm. Costs from $297 plus taxes. 0011
800 1723 3537, raffles.com.

MADAGASCAR

Madagascar’s nature – including lemurs, chameleons and humpback
whales – makes it a haven for adventurers. Save up to $1440 a couple on Bentours’
eight-day Barefoot Luxury South Explorer journey through rainforests, islands
and bays. Includes stays at Mandrare River Camp, two regional flights, all
transport, park fees, guides and excursions. Book by July 1 for travel June 25
– July 31. Costs from $3490 a person, twin share. 1300 799 783, escapetravel.com.au.

TAHITI

For the quintessential overwater bungalow experience, go
back to where it all began. Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora’s Surf & Turf
packages is no steak-and-prawns affair, it combines three nights in an
overwater bungalow (surf) and another three in two-bedroom beachfront villa
(turf). Included is daily buffet breakfast, a two-hour walk and snorkel with
their resident marine biologist and a reef walk, saving up to $1168. Costs from
$9241, six nights. +(689) 603 130, fourseasons.com/borabora.

VIETNAM & CAMBODIA

Spend 15 days exploring the
waterways and architecture of the Mekong River, Ha Long Bay and Angkor Wat
temples, and get free flights to Asia and two free hotel nights pre-or
post-tour. The tour includes seven nights on the RV La Marguerite on the
Mekong. Book by May 15 for travel between July and September. Prices include
all touring, meals, drinks and guided excursions. Costs from $4,395 a person,
twin share. 1300 300 036, travelmarvel.com.au.

TOURWATCH

It wouldn’t be Christmas without Helen Reddy, but be
prepared to turn the season on its head when the singer leads Christmas in July
on Norfolk Island. Reddy, who has a home on the island, returns regularly to
unwind amidst the island’s serenity. She is opening her house to guests for one
night during the eight-day tour, which covers all the island’s World Heritage
sites. Reddy will spend two nights with the group, including a progressive
Christmas dinner and will perform two concerts and lead the carols singalong,
of course. The package includes return airfares with Air New Zealand and seven
nights’ accommodation. Departs July 8.
Costs from $2055 a person. 1800 645 103, www.norfolkisland.com.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald

Apr

Italian trains, Croatian hideaways and Kangaroo Island feasts: travel deals April 21, 2013

Dubrovnik, Croatia

See Italy by train, do Croatia beautifully, in boutique-hotel style or give a goat the eye on Kangaroo Island on an Australian food safari in this week’s best Australian and international travel deals.

NSW

Wind
down on the banks of the Murray River at Barham, between Echuca and
Swan Hill, and take the time for sculpture walks, riverside barbecues, a
round of golf or some great fishing. Stay three nights at Barham Golden
River’s self-contained apartments and save up to $118 on stays until
August 31. Three nights from $236. 1800 243 355, goldenriversapartments.com.au.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Spot
crocodiles and wild geese, bathe in waterfalls, admire the rock-art
galleries of Ubirr and Nourlangi and breathe in the pure tropical air of
the Territory’s Top End on a three-day getaway that takes you through
Litchfield and Kakadu national parks. Forget slumming it: you will spend
one night at the luxury Wildman Wilderness Lodge, pictured above left,
on the Mary River wetlands and the next at indigenous-owned Gagudju
Crocodile Holiday Inn. Save up to 10 per cent on Long Rainbow tours
departing June 6 and July 7 and 14. Quote code PP406. Costs from $1255 a
person, twin share (departs Darwin). 1800 467 747, inspiringjourneys.com.au.

QUEENSLAND

Mantra Noosa, Qld.

If
you want to see what $5 million looks like, check in to Mantra French
Quarter in Noosa (formerly a BreakFree), on happening Hastings Street.
The 68 one- and two-bedroom apartments have all been upgraded with new
kitchens and furniture. To celebrate, the opening two-night Relax and
Refresh package includes free in-house movies, popcorn and a cheese
platter on arrival. Book a one-hour massage at Endota day spa and you’ll
also get a free 30-minute facial. Book by May 20 for stays until
December 24. Costs from $374 for two nights in a one-bedroom apartment,
or from $458 for two nights in a two-bedroom unit. 1300 987 604, mantra.com.au.

Bridestowe Lavender
Farm, Tasmania

Skip
across the puddle to discover the natural beauty of the Nut at Stanley,
Mount Field National Park, Eaglehawk Neck and the Bridestowe Lavender
Farm in a 12-day exploration of Tasmania. There are stays in crafty
Launceston and the west coast town of Strahan, as well as Freycinet
National Park, home to the perfect crescent of Wineglass Bay,
consistently ranked in the top 10 of the world’s best beaches. Book
before July 31 and save up to $500 a couple on the Royal Tasman escorted
coach tour on departures between September and May. Costs from $4545 a
person, twin share. 1300 229 804, aptouring.com.au.

TRANS-AUSTRALIA

Cross
Australia in style, from Sydney to Perth via Adelaide, on a
4348-kilometre journey. Scenes from your window include the Nullarbor
Plain, the Blue Mountains and the vineyards of South Australia.
Travellers who book gold service class can save 20 per cent off the fare
and train excursions, worth up to $484. The package includes all meals
and most drinks, and a 50-kilogram luggage allowance. Book by July 31
for travel June 1-October 31. Costs from $1832 for an adult. 1800 014
392, greatsouthernrail.com.au.

Venice, Italy

ITALY

Seeing
Italy by train is much cheaper now, with main operator Trenitalia
cutting some fares by up to 70 per cent. Save up to $40 on economy fares
between Milan and Rome (now $66); $23 off Rome-Florence ($41) and $31
off Rome-Venice ($68). Tickets can be booked up to three months in
advance. raileurope.com.au.

NEW ZEALAND

Sweet-toothed
Australians already know about the Dunedin Cadbury Chocolate Carnival –
July 20-26, 2013 – which includes a tour of the Cadbury chocolate
factory, chocolate painting, and a jaffa race down the world’s steepest
street. Apollo Motorhome Holidays is celebrating a decade in NZ with
discounts on all campervans, from two to six berths. Save up to $19 a
day on a six-berth motorhome, costs from $48 a day. 1800 777 779, apollocamper.co.nz/specials/chocolate-carnival.

CROATIA

Balmy
seas and fabulous mediaeval architecture are the hallmarks of
Dubrovnik. Enjoy its delights from Villa Dubrovnik, perched on a rocky
outcrop. Stay seven nights and pay half price as part of Mr & Mrs
Smith’s 50 Half Price Hotels promotion. Other hotels on sale include
Anantara Seminyak in Bali, from $226 a night, and Hotel Crillon le
Brave, Provence, France, from $172 a night. Book until May 14 for stays
until July 14. Villa Dubrovnik is usually from $260 a night. 1300 896
627, mrandmrssmith.com/au/luxury-hotels/villa-dubrovnik.

Sheraton Maldives

MALDIVES

Fabulous
families holiday in the Maldives: stay eight nights at the Sheraton
Maldives Full Moon Resort and get two free nights, for families of two
adults and two children. The package includes international airfares,
breakfast and dinner daily, until December 23. From $12,200. 1300 296
543, byokids.com.au.

HAWAII

Regarded
as the nirvana of the shop-and-flop brigade, Hawaii gets an adrenalin
hit as World Expeditions gets you up and going with its Hawaii hiking
itinerary. The 14-day adventure crosses Kona, Kauai and Maui, walking
through cloud forests, tropical swamps and the craters of Haleakala
National Park. Save $200 on the May 19 departure. Costs $3090 a person.
1300 720 000, worldexpeditions.com.

TOURWATCH

The
greats of South Australian food come together at the country’s premier
eco-lodge, Southern Ocean Lodge, in the annual Kangaroo Island Food
Safari, which runs for six nights from August 24. The island truly is
the land of milk and honey. Get your gumboots out as cook-and-chef team
Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant lead the safari. Chef Damien Pignolet, of
Woollahra’s Bistro Moncur fame, joins the safari, which includes cooking
demonstrations, winery lunches and drinks at Remarkable Rocks. The
six-night package includes accommodation, dining and epicurean
excursions, open bar and flights between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.
Costs from $5940 a person, twin share for six nights. (02) 9918 4355, southernoceanlodge.com.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun Herald

1 234 5 6

Follow

Australia

International

Tour watch

NSW

NORTHERN TERRITORY

QUEENSLAND

TASMANIA

TRANS-AUSTRALIA

ITALY

NEW ZEALAND

CROATIA

MALDIVES

HAWAII

TOURWATCH