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Lapland is a magical place; one that conjures up images of reindeer and Santa Claus but it is also home to a very unusual range of hotels. Summer activities in Lapland include river rafting and canoeing, driving, hunting and fishing. This is the place where for 100 days the sun never sets and the white snow gives way to lush green countryside. It is also the time of year when the natural phenomenon known as the midnight sun can be seen.

The best time to visit Lapland is during the winter months. There are snowmobile tours; dog sledding, skiing and Arctic trail snowmobile safaris. There are of course the fabulous northern lights to experience as well as the opportunity to stay in a hotel made entirely from ice.

The ice hotel has a number of ice rooms as well as warm buildings that are connected to the main hotel. These buildings house dressing rooms, saunas and luggage storage spaces. The hotel is open from early December and at this point it is still taking shape.

The hotel is constantly changing and goes from a solid structure to free-flowing water and back again during the course of the year. Because it has to be reinvented each year no two rooms will ever be the same. If sleeping in an ice room is far from your idea of fun then there are warm rooms and chalets that can be rented as well.

If you want to visit Santa Clause’s village you will need to hop over the border into northern Finland. Here you can treat the kids to a truly magical experience where you can then send cards back to loved ones from the Santa Claus mini post office which has its own unique Arctic Circle postmark.

There really is no better place to experience a wealth of exotic culture than to take holidays in South Africa. Located on the tip of Africa, the area generally referred to as South Africa rests between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Inside the borders of Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique is the Kingdom of Besotho.

This extraordinary part of Africa has an unforgettable history, which only adds to its magnificence. It is due to this rich and diverse history that you will find public holidays such as Human Rights Day, Day of Reconciliation, Youth Day, and Freedom Day.

If you are not certain when to book your holidays to South Africa, the months between June and October are the driest. These winter months not only offer great weather, they are also considered to be the best times for game viewing and hiking as well as a variety of other outdoor activities. For those wondering about whale watching, these are also the key whale watching months.

Your South Africa holidays should definitely include at least one local festival. This part of the country is notorious for its numerous cultural events, so it should be easy to find something while you are visiting. One popular event is the Addo Elephant Trail Run. Held each April inside the Addo Elephant Natural Park, this event allows racers to run alongside the elephants for an unforgettable experience.

There is also the Festival of the Arts in Cape Town each July, as well as the Hermanus Whale Festival, which is held each September. This festival provides great family entertainment and awareness about the local environment. Another highly popular festival is Woodstock. Yes, Woodstock lives as a youth festival each year at the end of September.

Aside from festivals are many beautiful towns such as Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, and Johannesburg. Don’t forget about the national parks such as Mkuze Game Reserve, Kruger Park, and Kgalagadi Traansfrontier Park.

With so many world famous monuments in Egypt to tick off your ‘to see list’, it can be a little overwhelming to know where to start, but a well-planned tour around Egypt will make sure you see all the best sights during your holiday. 

Most people begin from Cairo to visit the pyramids, which include the imposing Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus pyramids.   These famous sights can get rather crowded in peak season, so the earlier you get there the better.   The next logical step is to travel onward to the Great Sphinx, a limestone monument over 4,000 years old, which is steeped in mythology.   The Valley Temple of Khafre is near to this – an intricate funerary complex that links to the pyramid’s burial chamber.   It is very well preserved, having only been uncovered in the 19th century.   The Open Air Museum at Memphis is a great way to round off this first day of sight-seeing.   It has numerous artefacts from its former time as Egypt‘s capital.

On your second day of sightseeing, refresh your memories of the day before by visiting the Egyptian Museum, which has more than 5,000 years’ worth of art, jewellery, sculptures and other artefacts.   Travel onwards to the Citadel of Salah Eldin, which is a grand a medieval Islamic fortification towering over Cairo.

Save some of your holiday for shopping; the local bazaars provide a fantastic experience of sounds, smells and sights.   The Bazaar Khan EL Khalily is one of the most famous – just make sure you brush up on your haggling before you go.

Iceland cruises are becoming increasingly popular. The country has natural wonders that are attracting more and more people to take a holiday in and around Iceland.

Nature lovers will find a lot to enjoy in Iceland. Iceland cruises are especially great for nature lovers as they allow travellers to see many different natural attractions. On an Iceland cruise, travellers will pass by some breathtaking sights along their journey, and then disembark to get a closer look at what Iceland has to offer.

Iceland is actually the youngest country in Europe, geologically speaking. Situated on lively tectonic plates, it is a grand landscape full of varied natural beauty. The tectonic plates contributed to Iceland’s mountains, which have in turn helped to create black volcanic sands and rugged lava fields. However, that is not all that Iceland has to offer. The nation also contains deep fjords, hot springs and some majestic waterfalls. Visitors see the strange rock formations that have grown up over the landscape, contributing to local legends and folklore about giants, trolls and other fantastic creatures. On land, learn how these natural formations have affected the culture and heritage of the country.

One of the biggest natural attractions of Iceland are the Northern Lights, or the Aurora Borealis. This amazing spectacle draws travellers from all over the world. An Iceland cruise can get sightseers to the ideal locations from which to see the lights, and during the short time of year when the Lights are most likely to appear in the night sky.