Set on a secluded hillside overlooking the infinite blue of the eastern Mediterranean, the Anassa Hotel and Resort is a calm collection of Byzantine style villas, peaceful gardens, and cool courtyards. Anassa, meaning ‘queen’ in ancient Greek, is a superbly apt name for this palatial Cypriot resort with it’s classical low-rise buildings and tropical gardens, arranged around an idyllic village square. Classic interiors feature Roman Mosaics, beautiful Venetian frescoes, with facilities inspired by the outstanding natural beauty of the surrounding landscape.

Guests may choose between romantic suites with their own plunge or whirl pool on a terrace looking out to sea, simple yet elegant rooms, or villas with panoramic sea views. Throughout the complex, traditional architecture has been designed to incorporate complete privacy for guests. Resort facilities are first-rate; perhaps the jewel of the Anassa hotel and resort is ‘The Thalassa’ spa, offering pure indulgent relaxation. This Roman-style health retreat provides a full spectrum of wellbeing treatments, with facilities including a sky-lit, columned indoor pool, 18 treatment rooms, saunas, steam baths, a seawater exercise pool, squash court, fitness room and hair salon. On the beach, sailing lessons are on offer, boats are available for private hire or as a charter with a skipper, with the local waters offering fantastic sailing locations.

The resort offers four different restaurants for different tastes or occasions. The Basiliko, cavernous, with cool stone surroundings, is the hotel’s signature restaurant, offering gourmet cuisine prepared using local, seasonal ingredients. The Helios offers a Mediterranean feast of handmade pasta and fresh local seafood, with daily and à la carte menus and an outdoor terrace. The Amphora offers informal dining, with both locally-inspired and international cuisine, and the pool-side Pelago is the least formal, perfect for light al fresco bites from the lava-stone grill, and à la carte lunches and dinner.

The Amassa’s pre-order ‘Baby go lightly’ service allows arrangement for items such as cots, car seats, push chairs, and baby baths to be available before arrival for travelling families. Crèche is provided with highly-qualified English-speaking nursery nurses for children 6mths up to 3 years old, and the complimentary Smiling Dolphin Club has supervised playrooms and organized activities including tennis, water-skiing and scuba-diving lessons for 4-12 year olds.

Weddings in the unique Ayia Athanassia chapel in the heart of Anassa’s Byzantine village square are a specialty of the resort. Paths bordered with sweet smelling lavender and scarlet bougainvillea lead to the door of church giving the perfect setting, and the resort’s expert planners can tailor all the arrangements to suit your specific needs. Following the service could be a candle-lit meal for two, or a gala banquet for one hundred or more guests in the hotel, with excellent cuisine and discrete yet attentive service.

Wherever you stay in the Anassa hotel and resort, you are guaranteed a luxurious stay in beautiful surroundings. With the array of activities and excellent facilities, your time spent in this famously opulent Cypriot retreat is sure to leave you with lasting memories of an indulgent holiday.

Turkey is one of my favorite holiday destinations. It offers fantastic opportunities for families who want to enjoy child friendly holidays, couples looking for romantic getaway and travelers who want a unique sun and sea based getaway. Holidays in Turkey always offer me some sweet memories. The mesmerizing coastline, culture and mouthwatering cuisine add zing to my holidays.

Though I visited various tourist destinations in Turkey, Icmeler is the most favorite place for me. It is located in the south east coast of Turkey. The beach resort of Icmeler offers a relaxed village atmosphere, without compromising with the modern amenities. The turquoise waters and steep hills covered by pine forests enhance my holiday mood greatly. The resort is clean and well maintained. Icmeler features well kept gardens that soften the lines of hotels and apartment blocks. The restaurants serve the best food items. I used to relish the local specialties like kebabs, clay pot casserole with some Turkish wine or raki, which is the traditional aniseed spirit. Indian, Italian and Chinese menus are served in the Majestic Restaurant here. Iclemer supports plenty of water sports. Expedition to Cleopatra’s Isle, the Pamukkale waterfalls renowned for their curative spring waters and the archeological site of Ephesus offer some memorable experiences.

Marmaris is another splendid spot in Turkey. Once I set my foot here, I start enjoying the true holiday aura. It is a Turkish Rivera, which offers plenty of accommodation and entertainment options. Catamaran trips, water skiing, scuba diving, sailing and parasailing are some of the fantastic activities that can be enjoyed here. It is located just 8 km away from Icmeler. Marmaris offers a delightful shopping experience. In the downtown bazaar, we can buy natural sponges, the local blue glass beads, carpets, embroidery and sandals at competitive prices. Atlantis water Park in Marmaris boasts of attractions for fun lovers of all ages. Mini golf, restaurants, kids pool, wave pool and numerous slides offer a full day fun for the entire family. The park is located on the sea front with private beach. It offers free sun beds and umbrellas throughout the day.

Dalyan is a beautiful river bank town in Turkey. As it is quite different from other resort towns in Turkey, I like to visit it during my trips to Turkey. Dalyan Cayi, Lycian tombs and Iztuzu Beach are some of the stunning locations to visit here. It is also famous for therapeutic mud baths.

Tenerife is the ultimate complete holiday package for sun lovers and direct flights to Tenerife are available from most of the UK’s main airports. Whatever your accommodation or recreational requirements, the main attraction of Tenerife holidays has to be the fantastic weather and almost guaranteed sunshine no matter what time of year you choose to visit. Tenerife holidays offer a surprising level of diversity ranging from the island’s resorts and activities to its unique landscape and contrasting beaches.

It is the largest of the Canary Islands and boasts an impressive nine world-class golf courses plus a choice of excellent water sport facilities right around the coast. The beautiful volcanic ash beaches in the north are a stunning and unusual contrast to the fine golden sand of Tenerife’s south coast for those who like to relax by the sea.

Such a wide variety of resorts ensure that Tenerife holidays are a great choice to suit just about everyone. Hotels by the sea, city apartments and rural accommodation ensure that whatever your lifestyle there is somewhere on this beautiful island where you can experience your perfect holiday.

Family friendly hotels with on site children’s activities, pools and water parks are particularly popular. Alternatively, holidaymakers can opt for rather more lively Tenerife holidays at apartments within walking distance of nightclubs, pubs and evening entertainment that have a reputation for being on a par with some of the best in the world. Smaller guesthouses and cottages are also scattered across the heart of rural Tenerife for those who prefer a peaceful, relaxing time in the countryside.

From traditional street markets to vast commercial shopping centres in the city, Tenerife holidays have plenty of retail therapy available for those who need it and a selection of sports centres and theme parks will keep the kids happy.

The imposing volcano, Mount Teide and its surrounding National Park dominate the centre of Tenerife. The park is a glorious escape from the busy coastal tourist areas where you can indulge in some of the island’s stunning inland scenery within the World Heritage Site. There are breathtaking views from the mountain and a traditionally styled hotel that provides guests with original Canary Island dishes in the restaurant.

The island is only 2034 square kilometres and so wherever you are, you can reach any other part of the island in less than an hour. 400 kilometres of beaches mean that there is always plenty of sand for everyone, even in high season.

Flights to Tenerife’s two international airports from the UK are frequent and reasonably priced, especially when booking a last minute break or cheap flight. Plenty of year round sunshine means that flights to Tenerife don’t vary a great deal in price, so almost any time is a good time to soak up some reliably warm weather. The only exception is during the school holidays when you can expect the cost of flights to Tenerife to double by August at the height of the summer season.

The best way to explore a foreign country or city is undoubtedly to go down the renting route. Traditionally, hotels have usually attracted all the tourists through all-inclusive packages that include flights and meals.

This might have been good enough at one time, but as the traveling public has become more savvy and adventurous, less easily satisfied and more demanding, and as cheaper flights are becoming increasingly available, along with a proliferation of travel websites, the scene has changed completely.

There is a move towards renting villas and apartments for holidays, as this affords greater flexibility and often in fact works out cheaper than staying at a hotel. You can spread the cost across the group, there is more space to relax in and feel at home and self-catering is great fun as well as being cost effective.

Rent a holiday apartment or villa in, say Bilbao, and explore a colorful city and culture at your own pace without being organized and having to rush back for meals. It’s the largest city in Spain’s Basque country, and the capital of Biscay. The city dates back to before 1300, and is a vibrant cultural hub. The Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art has a collection second to none, and the sleek, modern Metro system was designed by Norman Foster. Explore the Plaza de Espanya and eat at the tapas bars along busy modern shopping malls. The city panorama can be seen from the Basilica de Begona, built on the spot where the Virgin Mary appeared in 15th century.

Rent a villa and explore this great Basque city for yourself. Come during the summer months when the weather is at it’s best too!

With the world seemingly shrinking by the day, and cheap flights on offer to every destination that you can dream of, there has never been a better time to spread your wings and fly to wherever your fancy takes you. And one of the best places to take a trip, at least a quick romantic one, is to the city of Vienna in Austria.

Vienna is a beautiful city that used to be the capital of the Austrian Empire. You can see the great palaces of the Hasburgs here and during the summer, the gardens are great to walk around. Many of the locals come here during the summer time and have a picnic. It gives you great views of the city below.

Vienna was also the capital of art, culture, and philosophy during the start of the 1900s. This was the home to Frued, musicians, and painters. A visit here will let you explore the museums that showcase their work as well as the streets and shops they frequented. One of the best things about Vienna is that it is very well preserved and much of the old buildings still look the same as they did back then. Walking through Vienna is like stepping back in time.

There are many things to do here too. You can visit palaces and museums but also old Gothic churches, stroll down the river, and eat amazing food. Vienna has some really amazing eateries here and lots of traditional food that is served cheap. You can head to a local beer hall and eat schnitzel and have great beer for under 10 Euros. Or just eat the sausages on the street for 3 Euros. They are a great way to fill up and not spend a lot of money.

Vienna is a great city and with all the cheap flights there, it’s easy to get to and makes for a cheap weekend holiday. So don’t hesitate, get away on a cheap flight to Vienna and enjoy one of the prime tourist cities of the world.

Aberdeen is one of the most important cities in Scotland and visitors flock to the city all year round on various cheap flights from destinations around the world.

From playing golf at the Royal Aberdeen golf course, first founded in 1790 and the sixth oldest course in the world, to exploring the coastline and harbour, or wandering the halls of King’s College, there are a wide number of activities to enjoy. Aberdeen is also one of the leaders in terms of pedestrianization and the city has a huge number of walking routes. So many, in fact, that there are actually walking maps available to help keep travellers from getting lost.

Many visitors choose to explore Aberdeen Art Gallery or the Gordon Highlanders Museum, and there are also plenty of theaters throughout the city, not to mention the various universities. Shopping is particularly popular and while you could head out to other cities via flights to London or other places where the shopping is perhaps a little more luxurious, something that you cannot find anywhere else is the Aberdeen culture and style.

Whether you choose to hang out in one of the local eateries or pubs and down drinks with some of the local Gaelic speaking folk, there is always something going on. Considering Scotland has long been famous for its whiskey, as well as its golf, the distilleries of Glenfiddich and Glen Grant are only about 30 miles north, so as long as you have an appetite for the malt, you can stay entertained for days.

I’d been planning a little get away for me and my girlfriend for awhile. Now, they say Paris is the city of romance and I am of the opinion that you use the right tool for the job so I checked out hotels in Paris online and found some amazing offers as we were in the off-season.

I know that normally people would use the Euro tunnel but to be honest the thought of a thousands tons of water surrounding me gives me the creeps. So I had a look to compare flights to Paris with trains and was actually really surprised to find that they were very reasonable. I was scared that it would cost me an arm and a leg just to get there and for accommodation because my girlfriend is a woman of the finer things in life and Iím a bit easier to please.

After checking into our hotel we decided to explore the city a bit more and try experience the Parisian lifestyle. One of our favorite films is Amelie which depicts an idealized Paris with cobbled streets and fruit stands. We hired a scooter to get around as we wanted to actually see the city rather than be cooped up in the metro (plus like I said I don’t like tunnels) We sped around the town through narrow streets and market places, reliving our favorite scene from the movie. We had a few funny looks from the locals but we didn’t care.

We couldn’t afford to live in the lap of luxury whilst we were there but the hotel was elegant, clean and simple. We showered and had a coffee out on the patio in the evening ready for our night ahead. To be honest I am not the most cultured of people. I prefer drinking beer at home with pizza and football rather than Ballet or Opera. So when my girlfriend revealed she had booked us theatre tickets my heart sank but when she revealed it was for the Moulin Rouge, I didn’t realize what I was in for.

The show was brilliant! Clowns, burlesque, magicians and of course the Can-can which was originally created here. We found a quiet bistro afterwards and had dinner overlooking the Seine with the Eiffel tower in the background. I’m not one for spontaneity but suddenly I found myself on one knee but without a ring! Thankfully the moment was so perfect she accepted my proposal even without it. I guess Paris is the city of romance after all.

I ended up in Denmark kind of on a whim. Denmark had never really made my traveling list before. But once I was fortunate enough to visit, I couldn’t believe that I had overlooked such a great and colourful country.

Most of my stay in Denmark consisted of visiting a friend who lived in Copenhagen. The cosmopolitan city is renowned for its fun loving and tolerant residents. My favourite place in Copenhagen that I visited was Christiana.

Christiana is an environmentally conscious, traffic-free city with paths, gravel roads and large water areas. It covers an 85 acre area and has almost 1000 inhabitants. It is a major tourist attraction as it is a symbol for free-spiritedness and liberation. The area is free of many symbols of modern life including traffic lights which make the stars a lot brighter and easier to see. I found it a bit odd staring at these people’s way of life like they were in a fish bowl, but it was very interesting none the less.

The other tourist attraction I had a chance to see was the Tivoli Gardens. I was not expecting there to be so much inside the gardens. At first I was surprised that there was an entrance fee, but once inside I understood that it was much more than just a garden. There is a lake, a ton of flowers, a bunch of amusement rides, and an obscene amount of restaurants inside Tivoli. It is so much bigger than I thought and it was really beautiful. It was, however, full of tourists.

The rest of my time in Copenhagen was spent doing everyday local things since I was lucky enough to be staying with my friend. I got to experience regular life, and even got to see a concert. Now that I’ve seen a bit of Denmark, I can’t wait to do a complete Scandinavian tour.