Beach Holiday Deals, News & Ideas

Beach Winter Sun Holidays: Mozambique Africa

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

A lot of what we see and hear about Africa on the news, is bad news. It is true that much of Africa is poor and it has many problems, but it is through tourism that many countries in Africa are generating vital money as well as employment for it’s people. Success stories like how well Kenya and South Africa does out of the many thousands of people who come to see the wonderful African wildlife every year. Apart form it’s wildlife Africa has in the whole the most wonderful and warm people as well as fantastic beaches.

In this series of posts, I am going to look at some of the best beach winter sun holidays in Africa that you may not yet have thought of, or even have known about.

Mozambique - Vamizi Island

There are some truly fantastic beaches in Mozambique and it makes the ideal location for a winter sun holiday getaway, one of the best places to visit is Vamizi Island which in part is managed by the Zoological Society of London and is amongst the last untouched African wildernesses. The low impact tourism to the on Vamizi is what funds the conservation on the island. The pearl white beaches and turquoise water are what beach holiday dreams are made of, on top of that there is some fantastic wildlife, including over 100 species of bird and samango monkeys. The coral reefs support a huge variety of fish and there are said to be more varieties of coral here than on the famous Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Vamizi island is just over 8 miles long and is a favourite holiday destination of Nelson Mandela.

Vamizi Island Activities
Apart from lazing on the beach, you can go scuba diving, snorkelling, deep sea fishing, shore fishing, kayak along the beach. There are also guided walk and day trips to the neighbouring Rongui island or go visit the old Portuguese lighthouse.

Accommodation on Vamizi
You will fin yourself staying in one of 10 luxurious sea facing villas, each set over 70 meters apart for complete privacy and nestled in the trees just off the beach. The large verandahs just invite you to take a sundowner and enjoy the magnificent views.

Vamizi Island has a permanent population of around 1000 people, and it is through responsible tourism that this wonderful paradise will be conserved by bringing much needed money and jobs.

Tags: Africa, Mozambique, Winter Sun Holidays
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Win 14 nights on the Caribbean Island of St Kitts

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Frigate Bay on St Kitts in the Caribbean.

Photo taken by Der Etienne

The Daily Mail Newspaper is offering you the chance to win a 14 night stay at the Frigate Bay Resort on the Island of St Kitts in the Caribbean.

The Frigate Bay Resort, on the island of St Kitts is just a three minute walk from the beach which is one of the Caribbean’s finest beaches. The resort has the advantage of being near the new 18 hole Royal St Kitts Golf Course.

Scuba Diving on St Kitts
St Kitts is an excellent Caribbean island to go scuba diving. They have many nurse sharks and stingrays on Monkey Reef, as wll as a few wreck diving locations including the freighter River Taw as well as a few snorkellable wrecks off South Friar’s Bay and White House Bay. For a dive center try Kenneth’s Dive Centre, in Basseterre (465 2670).

If you feel like getting away from the beach, you could try a rainforest hike on the island as well as mountain biking.

To enter the competition, go to the competition on the Travel Mail Website. But hurry, entries must be received by Midnight on December 12, 2008

Travel to St Kitts and the rest of the Caribbean
If you cannot wait for the competition and for a cheap holiday deal try Caribbean Holidays from Lastminute.com

Tags: Caribbean, St Kitts
Posted in Caribbean, Competitions | No Comments »

Cheap Deals on 3 sizzling Winter Sun Holidays

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

Marie Galante island, Guadeloupe

Photo taken by Rayced, see his photos here

Winter at times can seem never-ending, but for those with a little patience, you could be leaving the cold and gloomy days behind and spending a few weeks of winter sun holiday bliss at a price that won’t bite too hard this winter.

So how do you find a winter sun holiday at a bargain price?
It is all in the timing, The UK as well as the countries you are travelling to all have their peak travel seasons and if you get it right, you can make significant travel and accommodation savings. The two weeks leading up to Christmas, when here in the UK the schools have not broken up yet you can find some good deals on many long-haul holiday destinations. Another good time to book and go on that winter sun holiday is the first week in January a everyone returns to school and work and so there is a marked drop in the number of people travelling and so the prices of many holiday packages come down to reflect this. This also works for the countries you are travelling to, because they have less tourists many prices for accommodation as well as the attractions drop.

Another tactic to finding great bargain winter sun holiday deals if you are not to fussy as to your destination (as long as there is sun of course!) is to leave booking the holiday to the last minute. That is pretty much the unique selling point of lastminute.com and the are always worth checking for any cheap deals on winter sun holidays: Winter Sun on Lastminute.com

The Winter holiday deals page on Thomas Cook is also well worth checking, it works really well as you can quickly and easily and quickly filter what kind of holiday deal you are looking for and the destination you wish to travel to.

Where are the best cheap deals on winter sun holidays?
To find some sun during the European winter you are going to have to travel to catch the sun, here are a few of the best value getaways from winter:

The Gambia
I visited The Gambia over Christmas in 2007 and not only will you find more than enough winter sun (I don’t think I saw a cloud in 10 days!) but there are also some excellent white sandy beaches and for the more adventurous and for a true Gambia Experience, there are some excellent Gambia river boat safaris. The Gambia is also an excellent place if you wish to escape the commercialism of Christmas, being mostly a Muslim country, I awoke to the wonderful sound of the sea on Christmas Day, with not a Santa Claus or DVD advert in sight! For more info see the Beach holiday guide for more details on Beach Holidays in Gambia.

I found a few package holidays to The Gambia on lastminute.com. Including a 7 night holiday at a 3* Hotel in Banjul in The Gambia from £349 per person including flights in January. Over December the prices start at £419. Flightsdepart from Manchester, East Midlands, Bristol and London Gatwick. There is also a 7 night stay at the 4* Kombo Beach hotel for £409.00 including flights and transfers leaving on the 16th of December. Prices then increase over Christmas to about £700 and then drop again in January, February and March. The Gambia on Lastminute.com

On Thomas Cook, there are a bunch of great deals including a 7 night stay at the Hotel Badala Park in Kotu Beach leaving Gatwick on Fri 30 Jan 09 at 08:10 (so not too early!) for only £250.00 per person. Admittedly it is only a 1 star hotel, but the sun and beaches are 5*! There are also many other deals available and it is well worth checking out the:
Thomas Cook Holiday Deals to the Gambia

Caribbean
Two important considerations to know when planning on a holiday in the Caribbean, the high season in the Caribbean starts in Mid December and the hurricane season ends at the end of October! So to grab the best cheap holidays to the Caribbean, you need to travel before the high season but after thehurricane season, so in November and early December. The once again in early January you can once again find deals as the high season tourists return home.

I found a 7 night stay in a 4 star hotel in Barbados on lastminute.com for £646 which includes International flights, local transfers and meet and greet at the airport.

Winter Sun on Lastminute.com

Winter Holiday Deals on Thomas Cook Including holidays to The Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Maldives

Dubai
You are guaranteed to find the sun at this time of the year in the Middle East. You just have to be a little clever to get the best cheap deals as this is also their peak tourist season. But if you travel in the two weeks leading up to Christmas, it is possible to find a cheap holiday in the sun in Dubai. Dubai is an excellent location for Shopping as well as having some of the best golf courses in the world.

Dubai Holidays on www.lastminute.com

Find out more on the Beach Holiday Guide to Dubai

Tags: All Inclusive Beach Holidays, Caribbean, Cheap Beach Holidays, Dubai, The Gambia, Winter Sun Holidays
Posted in Africa, Caribbean, Holiday Deals, Middle East, Winter Sun Holidays | No Comments »

Win a beach holiday on Antigua in the Caribbean

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Antigua Bay

Most of what I do on the Beach Holiday guide is look for great deals to fantastic beach holiday locations, but how would you like to have the chance of going to one of the best beach holiday locations in the world, with someone else and all for free?

The Times Online is offering you the chance to do just that, with a prize value of over £7000, you could win a week’s luxury holiday for two on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

If your idea of a perfect beach holiday, then Antigua won’t disappoint, the island with it’s white sandy beaches, palm tress and friendly people, Antigua is a true beach paradise.

Antigua is said to be the sunniest island in the Eastern Caribbean, but as well as the beaches, you will find coral reefs and lush tropical forests to explore.

The winner of the competition and their partner will stay 7 nights in a suite in the all-new Mediterranean Village. This ocean front complex brings style and sophistication to the tropics. As well as 24-hour room service all rooms have sea views and come furnished with four-poster beds, plasma TVs and hot tubs for two.

Bur hurry, you have until January 10 2009 to enter this fantastic competition.

For more details click here to enter this fantastic beach holiday competition.

Tags: Antigua, Caribbean
Posted in Caribbean, Competitions | No Comments »

Welcome to Beach Holiday News

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Welcome to the first post of Beach Holiday Deals, Ideas & News. The Beach Holiday Guide website has been around for a few years now and up until now there has not really been a way for us to post a quick news article or something of interest relating to beach holidays, without having to create a whole new page.

Well that has changed from today as we have now developed our news/blog site.

I hope you enjoy it, and if so please subscribe to our news feed or come back and visit us often as we hope to update this section on a regualr basis

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