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.

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.

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.

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.

Sport And culture

Skiing is not the only attraction Austria has to offer; the Austrian cycle tour along remarkable routes and largest rivers of the country is also a major draw.  The city of Vienna is a musical heritage site with its opera performances, jazz and international music festivals.  Folk, pop and rock music festivals are also part of the entertainment scene and they draw huge crowds from all over the world.  The theatre and cinema of Austria is also popular with fans. 

The countryside of Schrocken and the vast white mountains of Sankt Anton Am Arlberg are popular sights for tourists.  The Belvedere Palace with its Baroque influence is a place that has be visited to truly understand the origins and zenith of this art form. 
 
Cuisine

Austrian cuisine is known for its range of breads and desserts.  Chocolates and apple strudels are culinary temptations.   The dough and jam-packed Karntner Kasnudeln is filled with cottage cheese and spearmint and is a culinary delight.  The Wiener schnitzel and Viennoise are savoury dishes that are known the world over.

The party season in Ibiza starts in the middle of May with the huge opening parties hosted by top DJ’s ready to get the season kicked off with a bang, the opening parties run all the way through to the start of July by which time the club season is in full swing, ready for the hordes of tourists.

After the opening parties, many of the main clubs run full on club nights so you will find parties every night of the week. These are some of the biggest and best Ibiza club nights:

Tiesto at Pacha
Ibiza Rocks
Manumission
Monza
Cream
Fuck Me I’m Famous (David Guetta)
Judgement Sundays
Hed Kandi
Meganite
Radio 1 Weekend Ibiza

And if you’re not sure where to go then check out our top ten top clubs and bars:

Space
Cafe Del Mar
Amnesia
The Mermaid Bar
Mayfair Bar
Pacha
Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Club
Privilege
Ibo
The Red Lion

Many of the club nights go on to 6am (a curfew set by the islands government) which means you have a couple of hour’s kip in your room before you head out to get your spot in the sun. If you don’t fancy leaving your hotel but still want to have some fun, then many of the hotels offer entertainment on an evening however it won’t last until the early hours of the morning.

If you book a week’s holiday to Ibiza from Sunshine.co.uk it may be worth booking a week off after to recover from all the fun you have after all I don’t think you will be getting much rest while there!

There are plenty of entertainment events and festivals in Marrakech to satisfy any visitors longing for local colour. The city holds an annual arts festival featuring strolling players, sword-swallowers, fire-eaters and fortune-tellers.

The museums of Marrakech contain fascinating relics of a rich tradition going back more than 1,000 years. Fabrics, jewellery, mosaics, paintings and ceramics all bare their age-old glory to visitors in museums surrounded by lush gardens.

The walls enclosing the city of Marrakech give tourists a great opportunity to photograph the fortresses and gates of the old city. Djemaa el Fna is an imposing space that occupies the centre of the town. Travellers visiting the square will see snake charmers and jugglers at work, while they look for bargains at the many stalls and shops. Djemaa el Fna is also a gateway to the delights that await visitors in other parts of the city.

The riads of Marrakech are unique tourist attractions in their own right. These lovely traditional homes feature an internal garden, which brings all the rooms in the house together with its cool, green ambience. Tourists are able to stay in riads, enjoying a special mix of luxurious accommodation and traditional architecture.

Marrakech has not remained in the distant past. There are many discos, casinos and bars dotted around the city, but western visitors need to be aware that no alcoholic drinks are served. The cafes and restaurants of the city offer their own special buzz as the sober patrons sample the delicious local cuisine.

P & O Ferries offers 3-night comedy themed minicruises from Portsmouth across the channel to Bilbao, Spain. Experience the fun of stand-up comedy, which sets the tone for a joyful mini-cruise. These 3-night mini-cruises offer an en-suite cabin on the luxury ferry, Pride of Bilbao. The cost is £87 per person including taxes and surcharges. You may book mini-cruises online at P & O Ferries.com.

The price for the mini-cruise includes the round trip channel crossings, live comedy and music with entertainment by professional entertainers; bars; restaurants; a casino; swimming pool and a fitness centre.  There is a playroom for younger children and a variety of children’s activities on P & O ferry mini-cruises.

Once across the channel the P & O ferry docks in Santurtzi, Spain. There are three different coach tours available once you arrive in Santurtzi.  The tours are not included in the cost of the P & O ferry mini-cruise. The tours are of the Guggenheim Museum, a tour of old and new Bilbao and a visit to the Castro Urdiales, an old Spanish fishing village.

Iceland is a volcanic island created by thousands of years of volcanic eruptions.  Even today, it is expanding and changing as the volcanic action continues.  The island has been carved out by glaciers, meaning that the locals are used to cold temperatures and deal with it in a unique way – hot springs bubble up in geothermal heated pool and mud pools, allowing locals to chill out all across the island.

In winter, the island is a snowbound country that offers a contrast of white snow with the blackness of lava fields.  The days are short, but the dark of night is broken by the shimmering waves of light coming from the Northern Lights that dance across the sky on clear nights.  Skiing, snowboarding, and other snow activities call visitors from across the world.

Despite its name, Iceland is not constantly locked in snow and ice.  The summers can be surprisingly warm.  This is when guests can get a glimpse of the island’s beautiful landscapes, flora, and fauna.  In summertime when the sun does not set, it barely touches against the horizon, creating long days that can be packed full of uniquely Icelandic activities including glacier skiing, ski-dooing, diving, or hiking.

This area is known locally as the Red Sea Rivera, with Sharm El Sheik popular with many people as a holiday destination because it caters for a lot of people’s needs. There is an array of hotels in the area, some right by the sea and others will be in easy walking distance. There are plenty of places to eat and drink as well as plenty of shops to mooch around.

If you don’t want to spend all your time lounging around in the sun then there are plenty of other activities available in Sharm El Sheikh. For those that like diving or even snorkelling there are some stunning coral reefs and the amazing underwater reserve of the Ras Mohammed National Park or the Tiran Straits. You will come across deep blue canyons full of exotic fish and shipwrecks full of intrigue.  If water isn’t for you then you could opt for a camel trek instead!  Shopping here caters for everyone, whether you like designer labels in glitzy stores, or handmade traditional fare such as Bedouin handicrafts, pottery, perfumes, mother of pearl ornaments and crisp Egyptian cotton.

Because the unique location of Sharm El Sheikh, it gets great weather and when I say great I mean nice and hot. You can enjoy hours of sunshine, so it’s a great option if you don’t want to go as far as the Caribbean.

Picture courtesy of WomEOS