Holidays | City Breaks, Camping, Golf, Adventure Holidays

The world’s largest land predator has long been adored in films and documentaries however, long-haul travel specialist, Canadian Sky, can now offer one better with a six-night polar bear expedition to Churchill, Canada. For those wanting to learn about and observe these formidable creatures in their natural habitat The Great Ice Bear Tour is an experience not to be missed.

This week sees the launch of what is Northumberland’s tallest, smallest and most unique self catering accommodation – The Outchester Ducket. Standing at 65ft high this is no ordinary holiday cottage or villa it is a remarkable and unusual 5 Star holiday experience for two able people.

Inghams Short Breaks 2009 brochure is your perfect getaway companion for the credit crunch. Sometimes, three days away really can be better than seven. In the current economic climate, short breaks are a great holiday option for anyone flinching at the thought of forking out for a whole week away from home. Inghams, with 18 years of experience in this market has put together a new short breaks brochure that combines adventure with affordability.

Specialist tour operator, Libra Holidays in conjunction with the 5-star St Raphael Hotel in Limassol in Cyprus is offering a free room upgrade on all new bookings due to depart between 6th Jan – 31st March 2009, including the February Half Term.

Tailor-made natural history specialists Wildlife Worldwide offer a new 14-day holiday in the Malaysian provinces of Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo, focusing on flora and fauna of the world’s oldest rainforests. Explore Bako National Park, Mount Kinabalu, Kinabatangan River and Danum Valley, then get hands-on at Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary and Turtle Islands Marine Park.

Titan HiTours, the escorted tours specialist, has released the first of its new National Geographic Journeys brochures in conjunction with the National Geographic Society. The new programme of exclusive holidays contains an inspiring collection of exceptional journeys, each accompanied by a National Geographic expert to ensure a rewarding, insightful holiday quite unlike anything else on the market.

Soaring household bills now mean that cash-strapped consumers can save money – by going on holiday. Popular destinations such as Turkey, outside the Eurozone, enable families to eat more cheaply than they can at home, points out holiday accommodation specialist Artemis Travel. And by travelling in the winter, consumers can also turn off their heating and lighting for a week or two.

Walks Worldwide’s 19-day Patagonian Adventure guided trek through a wild corner of the Andes, where ice and time have shaped an unbelievable landscape of breathtaking spires, dramatic glaciers, azure lakes and sub-Antarctic forests, should top lots of travellers’ wish lists for 2009! Even more so when you add in seductive Buenos Aires and isolated Tierra del Fuego, the ultimate end of the world experience for true adventure-seekers.

Four beaver families from Norway have arrived in the UK as part of an historic plan to reintroduce the toothsome mammals to Scotland after they were hunted to extinction over 400 years ago. In the forested regions of central Sweden, animals such as Beaver, Wolf, Brown Bear and Elk still thrive and indeed outnumber the local human population.

While the Government is implementing a variety of recession busting tactics – from VAT cuts to cash ‘Christmas presents’ for pensioners (no, dressing up as Santa won’t do), Dragoman is offering one of its own - a 25% discount on the world’s ultimate music festival in Mali.

The latest episode of the BBC’s Oceans series investigated the depths of the Atlantic from a group of islands in its western reaches - the Bahamas. To experience a diver’s paradise of pristine reefs, historic wrecks, spectacular walls, blue holes, fantastic caves along with the opportunity to dive with diverse sea life, join Dive Worldwide on its new 10-day Riding Rock Resort & Marina dive holiday based on San Salvador – the Bahamas’ most south easterly island. Holidays depart London daily throughout the year.

Travel website, alpharooms.com is celebrating a decade in business with the release of great trading figures and ambitious growth plans for 2009. Despite the recent economic downturn, alpharooms.com continues to buck the trend and can report exceptionally strong growth and a fantastic financial performance over the last 12 month period.

G.A.P Adventures, the adventure travel company, has announced that it is launching a new package of thrilling and affordable trips to Turkey.

Canvas Holidays, one of the UK’s leading camping tour operators will introduce yoga for children aged 2 - 5 years across five of its European campsites, as part of the company’s new FamilyExtra activity programme for 2009.

Hoburne Holiday Parks this week reveals a 200 per cent increase in advance booking figures as a growing number of families choose a UK-tion – a holiday in the UK - over a break abroad next year.

Fans of the hit TV series Strictly Come Dancing can now choose to follow the lead of their favourite celebrities by either taking a John Sargeant-style cruise through the Panama Canal or learning to dance like the professionals in Argentina, thanks to specialist itineraries from Journey Latin America.

Walking specialist operator, Ramblers Worldwide Holidays, has just launched a new holiday to Madagascar as part of extensive global portfolio (250 destinations in 70 countries).

MSC Cruises have been recognised for their efforts to implement sustainable environmental programs while maintaining habitual operations by becoming the recipient of a special prize for recycling city councils, an initiative promoted every year by CIAL (Consorzio Nazionale per il Recupero e il Riciclo di Imballaggi in Alluminio).

The introduction of a new 13 day “Indochina Footprints” small group journey from Travel Indochina is testament to the operator’s continued commitment to sustainable tourism and further cements the company’s reputation as the leading Asia specialist for responsible travel.

Renting out a spacious property by the water may seem completely out of reach in this credit crunch era, but it is possible for you and your family and friends all to fit under one enormous roof - without resorting to selling the family silver! The trick is timing – there are some tempting low season deals to be had and of course, the larger the property the more impressive the saving.

Context, the network of scholars who lead critically acclaimed walking tours in New York and several European cities, has announced the launch of 2½ and 8-day packaged tours to Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice, London, Paris, Sicily and Istanbul. The first trips will run in April, 2009.

Barbados is sanctuary to a healthy population of hawksbill and leatherback turtles. These sociable creatures were once endangered by over-fishing but are now protected by The Barbados Sea Turtle Project (BSTP) who actively promotes awareness about sea turtle conservation.

As families reassess their finances and values, a unique new wildlife boating adventure holiday closer to home could be the answer; lots of fun, educational, healthy, relaxing and very affordable.

Independent tour operator, Prestige Holidays, has expanded its Isles of Scilly programme to four islands for 2009; St Mary’s, Tresco, Bryher and St Martins with prices starting from just £272 per person for a three night stay. The operator launched its first programme to the islands this year with a selection of properties on St Mary’s.

Tour operator The Adventure Company is expanding its selection of Galapagos Island tours in preparation for what it predicts will be next year’s travel hot spot.

Shows such as ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and Come Dine With Me have led to a renewed surge in demand for themed holidays, according to a leading UK travel company. Since the recent series of the popular dance show began two months ago, travel retailer Cruise118 has received hundreds of enquiries about their selection of dance-themed cruises. Meanwhile, the popularity of cooking shows such as Come Dine With Me and Masterchef have created a demand for cookery-themed holidays.

Experience Dubai’s latest attraction, Atlantis – the first hotel on the spectacular Palm development. The flagship resort, covers 113 acres and features the largest open-air marine habitat in the Middle East with 65,000 marine animals, including sharks and manta ray.

Eat at top notch restaurants, drink world-class wines, stay at a deluxe five star hotel and enjoy spa treatments at a wonder full day spa. Budapest offers luxury at a fraction of the cost of many other European cities.

A wealth of holiday ideas in Montenegro – including for the first time alpine-style properties surrounded by the Bjelasica and Biogradksa Mountains in the resort of Kolasin – is the offer in 2009 from Holiday Options.