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Great campsite just north of Alghero old town. It's an easy 20-minute walk along the beach into the city centre/port.
Staff are helpful and the loos and showers are clean and well-maintained (with the added luxury of loo roll!) Oddly, there is a big communal barbecue in the midst of all the showers/loos/sinks etc - looks well-used but I'm not sure about the location!
The campsite has a well-stocked shop, which has fresh bread and pastries every morning, and a bar/pizzeria. There's also direct access onto the beach and a little windsurfing centre which offers lesson and board hire.
We camped here in low season when prices were very reasonable but I think it pretty much doubles in high season, when to be honest it would probably be too crowded (as it's the only campsite in Alghero) to be fun. There's space for camper vans and mobile homes and you can also hire little wooden cabins and breeze-block bungalows (which look very basic but fine).
There are slighly battered outdoor chairs and tables dotted around the campsite, for anyone to use. I suspect that in high season these are the subject of fierce wars of possession but in low season they're fairly easy to find. We preferred setting up our meths stove on the beach and eating there, anyway - definitely recommended.
Wouldn't hesitate to return.
Camping la Mariposa
Via del Lido 22
07041 Alghero (SS)
Tel. +39-079950360
Tel. +39-079950480
FAX +39-079984489
info@lamariposa.it
www.lamariposa.it
Approx 20 minutes bus or taxi from Alghero airport.
A small and very quiet camp-site situated at only 800m from the amazing beach of Cala Montgo in l'Escala, on the Costa Brava.
On the old road to l'Estartit: Punta Mila s/n, www.campingneus.cat
info@campingneus.cat
Start off at Bill's Produce Store on North Road, where you can enjoy colourful platefuls of homemade pizza, quiche and salad in a huge room lined with delicious-looking preserves, pickles and other goodies. You'll be near North Laine now, so go for a post-lunch potter amongst the shops selling anything from vegetarian shoes to kooky sex toys.
If you have any space left after Bill's, a visit to the Bar du Chocolat on Middle Street is a must. Run by the iconic Brighton confectioners Choccywoccydoodah (Duke Street), the hot chocolate is top rate. For one last gastronomic treat, make sure you book a table at Terre a Terre, one of the top vegetarian restaurants in the country, and one of the few to serve up 'haute cuisine' vegetarian food. After all that indulgence, Sunday morning can be a bracing walk along the seafront towards Hove, past the dejected looking West Pier and towards the ice-cream coloured beach huts.
I cannot recommend the Caribbean city of Cartagena, on the north coast of Colombia, enough. I went for two weeks with my girlfriend and we never wanted to leave. Within the fortified old city are charming cobbled streets lined with immaculate Spanish colonial architecture, statues of fallen heroes and smiling people talking in the squares. Overhead will be baroque church steeples and domes, punctuated with colour spilling out from window flower boxes. There are superb restaurants offering fine seafood and other local specialities, a thriving, but not intimidating, nightlife and the full spectrum of accomodation, all enclosed within the walls. And the sun will be shining, but not so that you have to stay indoors, and advantage of the gentle Caribbean breeze.
Outside the old city are the white sands, green waters and palm trees the area is worshipped for. Take a boat trip to the offshore islands and see the island you'll both buy when you win the lotto! It is remarkably safe, and don't assume you will be queuing the entire time either - this is no Disneyland - you can have sweet little restaurant all to yourselves, or a park with a fountain, or a stroll atop the city wall, so romance is hard to avoid. However, if you feel like a film and a pizza, just grab a cab over to the new city and send an email home while you're at it. Definitely a winner - the most romantic place in the world.
Another recommendation to add to the 'used by Bondi locals' list. Full breakfast here comes on two plates for the really serious to keep your toast free of egg or tomato leakage. This is the king of breaky that keeps you going all day - the veggie one comes highly recommended as well... Mmmmm.
The menu for the rest of the day is pretty good too, but in Bondi breaky is king - after a swim and before a trip to the Sunday markets.
Gould Street Plaza (leads onto Campbell Parade), Bondi Beach
Google map: tinyurl.com/pfh6yn
I'm a Bondi beach local and am saddened when I see the Brits packing the cafes on Campbell Parade (the slightly dingy strip behind the beach) when no self-respecting resident would ever stop there. Get with the locals and try Jeds, Gusto, Le Paris Go, Speedo, Wet or Three Eggs for your morning bacon. You won't regret the change!
Take a 30 minute ferry from Circular Quay to the surfers’ community of Manly! Away from chaotic downtown Sydney, there’s a bit more privacy and great views over the ocean. It’s still vibrant though – from the Quicksilver shops to the busy Manly Beach.
For the views, go right along the beach from the Corso around Fairy Bower to Shelly Beach.
Google map: tinyurl.com/lgoplc
Manda Bay is a beautiful luxury lodge in an idyllic setting just 20 minutes boat ride away from the main Lamu Island.
We left our shoes on the beach when we arrived at the island and had no cause to put them back on until the day we left!
Fishing and water sports are their speciality, and the waterskiing and fly-fishing was a great experience.
The wonderful friendly hosts make you feel so welcome and part of the family, and the food is superb.
It's an amazing experience and well worth it for that bit of island paradise luxury.
Not a place you ever want to leave!
Just outside the 'centre' of Kilwa Masoko (ie. a 10-15 minute walk), this collection of ensuite chalets sits in grounds on a headland with amazing views over the sandy bay of Kilwa Masoko and towards Kilwa Kisiwani island.
The resort is very professionally managed and keen to make visitors welcome. Activities organised by the resort - tours, diving, etc - seem very well organised and reasonably priced. There is a special path from the resort down to the beach. The restaurant is recommended, too.
tel: 022 265 0250/1
e: info@kilwa.net
www.kilwa.net
The naturist resort at Cap d'Agde is the largest of its kind in the world. The great thing about it in fact is an excellent camp site, long sandy beach and great weather in the summer months. Also within half a day's drive of Barcelona.
Yalikavak lies ten miles north of Bodrum, and of all the many resorts on the peninsula, it retains best its original Turkish charm and character. Many excellent restaurants (Secret Garden, Three Brothers, Honeypot, Kosede and Karia, on the harbourside, are our favourites, but all are good) and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere that draws its many fans back year on year.
Few of the large tour firms come to Yali but it is definitely worthwhile making the small additional effort to come here as an independent traveller via a flight to Bodrum airport.
www.yalikavak.co.uk/
Onur Hotel
A nice small hotel situated on the east coast of Zanzibar, right at the beginning of Jambiani village. 10 palm-thatched roof beach bungalows, set in the peaceful tropical gardens.
The hotel has a quiet, peaceful, friendly and very relaxing atmosphere for an affordable sunny holiday.
Right at the beginning of Jambiani Village, Jambiani (on the east coast of Zanzibar).
Tel:00 255 777843622
Email:mbuyunibeachvillage@yahoo.co.uk
www.mbuyuni.com
Surf Shop, Surf Hire, Cafe, sea view. Fabulous food including vegetarian options. Chill out in this fantastic cafe. They serve alcohol and sell the most amazing cakes. You can buy an appropriately named breakfast like the half pipe and sit and read the local newspapers or surf the internet on their internet cafe pc's. Really friendly staff. Cash only but will accept cards for purchases over £20.00. Amazing sea views, fabulous food, really chilled.
sunsetsurfshop.co.uk/
Gwithian Towans
Nr St Ives
Cornwall
Garota de Ipanema is a famous bikini store located in Ipanema.
I bought some great bikinis for my wife there. They have a special quality and beauty! She loved it.
Rua Vinícius de Moraes, 53 - Loja A - Ipanema - Rio de Janeiro.
(55)(21)2521-3168
www.garotadeipanema.com.br
This is a four-star hotel on the beach, which includes fantastic spa facilites. Had three lovely nights here enjoying the beach and treating ourselves to pools, spa, sauna and some of the many treatments available - from facials to massages.
Placa de les Barques
08393 Caldes D'Estrac
Barcelona
93 791 0400
www.hotel-colon.net
Right outside the rail station for Caldes (about 50 km North of Barcelona).
One of the largest marine parks in Indonesia, consisting of four major islands along with atolls and reefs. High quality diving, uncommercialised so far and given its location, unlikely to be developed hugely in the future. Bring your own dive gear, or just come out, snorkel, relax and experience rural Indonesian island life. Worth every minute of the very long journey.
Take the Pelni ferry out of Makassar. Go for first or second class - for an extra 50,000Rp or so you get a decent and secure cabin. 12 hrs later you're in Bau-Bau. Local ferries run to the Wakatobi, journey time around 16-20hrs: erratic, unsafe and all the rest. The place barely gets a paragraph in Rough Planet type guides, so check out www.wakatobi.org for a good introduction.
Sunday night is a good time to walk along the beach. A lot of local families etc. go every week before sunset.
Main beach
This is one of the few beach areas in Cuba that is not spoiled by lots of hotels and thousands of tourists. There is only one hotel and 12 rooms. Plus this small island is a game park.
Totally unexpected – green in the heart of Arabia. We travelled at the start of October for casual birdwatching and a beach holiday. We got both but also a little part of Arabia that contradicts practically everything written about the Middle East. The mountains were covered in trees and coastal birdlife extraordinary. Our lasting memory was the bucolic surroundings and total contrast from the cities of Egypt and desert of Jordan.
http://www.Salalah.Travel
A beautiful beach hut resort on Palolem Beach. Great huts with en suite bathrooms and hot water, amazing beach, lovely staff.
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