Holiday & Travel

Celebrate the festive season in style and luxury with a cosy Christmas and sparkling Hogmanay on The Isle of Eriska, a private island off the west coast of Scotland. Eriska has five days of Christmas festivities planned from 23rd to 27th December and six days of New Year celebrations from 29th December to 3rd January 2017.

Scrunching leaves, vibrant views and the red-tinted, orange and golden hues of autumn make for some breath-taking places to visit on the nation's beautiful waterways. Travelling by boat or on foot you can double your enjoyment by watching the watery reflections of trees as you follow the waterway to appreciate their seasonal splendour. The Canal & River Trust has handpicked eight sites that provide great places to visit and experience the vibrant colours that are nature's way of preparing for winter.

Stretching over six time zones, Canada features luxury offerings, spectacular wilderness, abundant wildlife, cosmopolitan cities and diverse cultures – plenty for Prince William and his family to explore. Landing in Victoria on the 24th of September, the royals will visit Vancouver, the Yukon and the archipelago of Haida Gwaii. Here Cox & Kings suggests itineraries from their new 2017 Canada brochure – all luxurious offerings fit for a royal visit.

Pine Cliffs, a Luxury Collection Resort, has revealed it has picked up a duo of accolades at the 2016 World Travel Awards Europe. At a glittering ceremony held on the island of Sardinia last night, the celebrated cliff-top retreat took the highly contested top spot as Europe's Leading Family Resort – building on its impressive list of industry honours, which include six previous World Travel Awards for Portugal's leading family resort.

The Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel is inspired by the glamour of the Roaring Twenties combined with the beauty of its location directly on the waters of the French Riviera. Contemporary design and styling meets the spirit of a bygone golden era at the elegant hotel.  Close to nature, Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel’s main focus is to reduce its environmental impact. All five of its restaurants - Elsa, The Deck, La Vigie, Cabanas and La Pizzeria use 100% organic fruits and vegetables.

Blue Air, the largest Romanian carrier that started operations earlier this year from Birmingham Airport, is adding another route to its network. The airline will start flights to Larnaca on the south coast of Cyprus from April 2017. Having only started in March 2016 with a twice-weekly service to Bucharest, on the success of this it then announced a second route to Cluj-Napoca, the capital and heart of Transylvania, commencing in December this year.

Chewton Glen has won the title of 'UK Holiday Hotel 2016' for the third time, in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Travel Awards, which was held last night in London's Ham Yard Hotel. Chewton Glen's sister property Cliveden House was also awarded 4th place in the same category, a tremendous achievement for both hotels.

In Japan, New Year's Eve is widely considered the most exciting festivity of the year. It is the time when families and friends gather for feasts with rigour and pay homage to the stunning shrines and temples, embracing a fresh outlook and optimism for the coming 12 months. While family celebrations are prevalent during this special period, there is also no better time to experience Japanese culture as a holidaymaker.

Secluded and private, Villa Pangi Gita lies beside the banks of the Pangi River in the traditional Balinese village of Pererenan, south-west Bali. Water is an important feature here, and its importance is reflected in the villa's name which translates to 'the singing river Pangi' - a reference to the small river that borders the property and enhances the ambience with its therapeutic melody.

Exclusive drone footage of Uluru, offering a never before seen perspective of the 600 million year old monolith has been released by Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia. These spectacular birds-eye views of Australia's spiritual heart were captured by the first drone to ever operate under permit inside Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

With the end of summer fast approaching, Wendy Wu Tours welcomes the warm colours and vibrant landscapes that come with the change in season. The award-winning travel operator offers a range of unique itineraries that are perfect to explore in the autumn including the golden autumn leaves in Japan and the red-tinted trees of Zhangjiajie National Park in China.

Earlier in the summer, a range of independent seaside events in Northumberland joined together under the banner of the Festival of the Coast. The centrepiece of the 2016 Festival of the Coast is the prestigious North Sea Tall Ships Regatta coming to Blyth in south-east Northumberland during the August Bank Holiday weekend. With fun for all the family, this is a weekend not to be missed.

The city of Jaffna, while home to centuries worth of history and heritage, is also youthful in its stride into the future. As the foundation of Tamil tradition in Sri Lanka, a visit to the city exposes you to the colours and fervour of a culture that is vibrant and energetic. A casual walk through the quiet inroads has you treading the paths of the ancient kingdom of King Sankili, complete with palace ruins and royal bathing pools. Kovils painted in colours that span the spectrum of the rainbow can be found at every turn and the faithful gather at these sacred places for worship throughout the day.

Traveling is all about exploring new places, having a pleasurable stay and finding inspiration within new destinations. The way we travel today has changed. Mostly thanks to technology, but also because of changes in lifestyle. This year, millennials represent the fastest growing group of travelers, exploring the world with their smartphones and digitally connecting with new places.

Old and new, colour and chaos, sticky cities and lush mountain ranges – India is a bustling hot mess of wonderful that blazes a trail in travellers' memories long after they've returned home. Contiki, the world leader in authentic youth travel experiences, is returning to this colourful destination after 40 years with the introduction of a brand new Indian Itinerary.