My top 3

Okay so off the back of all my recent research, there are three places that really stand out to me, that I REALLY want to try to get to before I eventually head home. I should point out that obviously, I have not included Rome in this list! Rome is always the top one, and as I have explained to you guys before it will be the LAST place I visit before I head back to Iceland – have no fear I have not changed my mind. These 3 are just really high up on my bucket list and hopefully I can get to them first!

Russia

Perhaps the biggest anniversary of 2017 is the centenary of the Russian Revolution, which will be marked in the travel world by various tours with revolutionary themes. For example, Regent Holidays has put together a nine-day Russian Revolution holiday that follows the life of Vladimir Lenin. This starts in Moscow with a visit to his mausoleum, followed by a tour of Kazan, where he went to university, and then trips to the Lenin House Museum in Ulyanovsk and the former Bolshevik Party headquarters in St Petersburg. The tour, which departs in September, costs from £2,445pp, including flights and some meals. Cox & Kings has created Art of the Russian Revolution five-day breaks in Moscow, led by the art historians Andrew Spira and Monica Bohm-Duchen, in conjunction with the Royal Academy. The trips cost from a lot, including flights and some meals.

Colombia

When the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, was awarded the Nobel peace prize this year, for his efforts to end the 52-year conflict with Farc left-wing rebels, it was a watershed moment for tourism to the South American republic. Intrepid tourists had been visiting for years, but the insurgency and its connected drug trade had put off the more cautious. Now, however, it’s full steam ahead for holidays and 2017 should be a bonanza year. It will also be the 50th anniversary of the publication of 100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez’s groundbreaking magical realism novel. Amakuna has a ten-night guided tour of Colombia covering sights connected to García Márquez including Bogotá, Barranquilla and Aracataca (his birthplace and the basis of the town of Macondo in 100 Years) . Wild Frontiers has a 14-day break that takes in Bogotá, Santa Marta and Cartagena including international flights, transfers and guided tours.

Oman

New flights from the UK are helping to make Oman more accessible next year. British Airways launched direct flights from Heathrow to Muscat in October, and Oman Air will inaugurate its daily route from Manchester to Muscat in April. A raft of adventure tours is on offer for next year too. Intrepid has an eight-day Discover Oman tour that travels from Muscat to Wahiba Sands — where you’ll take on the sand dunes in 4WD vehicles — before travelling on to Nizwa and Jebel Shams. From here it’s possible to visit Misfat al Abryeen, one of the oldest villages in the region, with its traditional mud houses, some of which are 400 years old. The trip is exciting, including most meals and all activities, but not flights . Also new is Explore’s seven-day Family Oman Adventure, which includes a visit to a turtle reserve at Ras al Hadd, a camel ride across Wahiba Sands, and a night in a desert camp.

 

From reading all this you may well be able to work out where I am now. I have purposely not mentioned it in the last few posts because I felt a little like being a bit mysterious and keep you guessing. And I feel like sometimes maybe I should hold back a little and keep somethings precious to me, just to enjoy myself. I promise I will be back to my normal self soon, telling you more than everything you need to know! 😀