Botswana
Small camps, private concessions and a flood that arrives in the dry season: the Okavango is safari at its quietest.
Destinations
Compare them all by month76 places across nine regions. Each page covers when to go, where to stay, how to get there and a sample route, with the FCDO advice linked.
All destinations
Africa
Egypt
The pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then the Nile between Luxor and Aswan by dahabiya, five hours from London.
Kenya
The Masai Mara's private conservancies, rhino country in Laikipia and a Swahili coast, a single overnight flight from London.
Morocco
Riads in the Marrakech medina, High Atlas villages and an Atlantic coast, all under four hours from London.
Mozambique
Dhows, dugongs and empty sandbars in the Bazaruto Archipelago: the Indian Ocean beach that pairs with a Kruger safari.
Namibia
Red dunes at Sossusvlei, desert elephants in Damaraland and Etosha's waterholes: a classic self-drive, or flown in by light aircraft.
Rwanda
An hour with mountain gorillas in the Virungas, then chimpanzees, rainforest and a big five savannah, all within a day's drive.
South Africa
Cape Town, the Winelands and a private Kruger reserve in one trip, with direct flights and barely any jet lag.
Tanzania
The Serengeti migration in every season, the Ngorongoro Crater and Kilimanjaro, then an easy hop to the beaches of Zanzibar.
Zambia
Walking safaris in South Luangwa, canoes on the Lower Zambezi and Victoria Falls: bush country at walking pace.
Zanzibar
Swahili Stone Town, spice farms and white-sand beaches on the Indian Ocean: the natural finish to an East African safari.
Zimbabwe
Most of the Victoria Falls viewpoints, Hwange's elephant herds and walking in Mana Pools with rigorously trained guides.
Middle East
Abu Dhabi
The Gulf at a slower pace: quiet Saadiyat beaches, the Louvre and the Grand Mosque, with the Liwa dunes a drive away.
Dubai
Seven hours from London, winter sun you can count on, and an old creek-side city under the glass towers.
Jordan
Petra at opening time, a night under the stars in Wadi Rum and a float in the Dead Sea, five hours from London.
Oman
Wadis you can swim through, mud-brick forts and a night in the dunes: Arabia as a road trip, seven hours from Heathrow.
Qatar
Two museums worth the trip on their own, an old souq that still trades and an inland sea in the dunes, all within an hour of Doha.
Ras Al Khaimah
Mountains, mangroves and a quieter beach, 45 minutes north of Dubai airport: the Emirates for people who like to be outdoors.
Saudi Arabia
Nabataean tombs at Hegra, sandstone canyons at AlUla and the coral-stone old town of Jeddah, with few other visitors.
Asia
Bali
A Hindu island of temple ceremonies, rice terraces and clifftop villas, with a spa culture that runs deeper than hotels.
Cambodia
Angkor at dawn, a riverside capital, Kampot pepper farms and islands with very little development.
China
The Great Wall, the Terracotta Army, pandas and the karst hills of Guilin, joined by high-speed train.
Hong Kong
A harbour city of dim sum, ferries and skyscrapers, with wild country parks and islands half an hour away.
India
Palace hotels, tiger forests and the Taj Mahal at dawn, with the Kerala backwaters for a slower second week.
Indonesia
Beyond Bali: Komodo dragons, the reefs of Raja Ampat, the temples of Java and the wild coast of Sumba.
Japan
Neon Tokyo, temple Kyoto and hot-spring inns, all joined by trains that run to the minute.
Malaysia
Orangutans in Borneo’s rainforest, the street food of George Town and island beaches on two different monsoon coasts.
Philippines
Limestone lagoons in Palawan, coral reefs and island-hopping by outrigger across an archipelago of thousands of islands.
Singapore
An easy first stop in Asia: hawker food, garden architecture and four cultures on one small, very green island.
Sri Lanka
Ancient cities, tea hills, leopards and beaches in an island small enough to cross in a day.
Thailand
Temple cities, cool northern hills and two coasts with opposite monsoons, so there is nearly always a good beach somewhere.
Vietnam
A long, narrow country of limestone bays, lantern-lit old towns and street food that changes every few hundred kilometres.
Indian Ocean
Madagascar
Lemurs, chameleons and baobabs found almost nowhere else: a wildlife journey first, with a beach at the end if you want one.
Maldives
Twenty-six coral atolls, one resort to an island: here the reef and the transfer decide the holiday, so we start there.
Mauritius
One island with lagoon beaches, forest gorges and Creole cooking, where the coast you choose matters as much as the hotel.
Seychelles
Granite boulders, forested peaks and islands you can hop between by ferry: the Indian Ocean for people who like to explore.
Europe
Austria
Austria is Vienna coffee houses, Salzburg music and Alpine lakes in summer, then family-run ski villages in winter.
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are Europe's nearest dependable winter sun: volcanic landscapes, dark skies and no time difference.
Croatia
Croatia is the Adriatic by boat: Roman Split, the walls of Dubrovnik and islands such as Hvar, Vis and Korčula in between.
Cyprus
Cyprus has a beach season that runs into November, Roman mosaics at Paphos and painted mountain churches in the Troodos.
France
France is close enough for a long weekend and big enough to keep coming back: Paris, Provence, the Riviera and the wine regions.
Greece
Greece is really a choice of islands: the Santorini caldera, quieter Paros and Milos, the gorges and palaces of Crete.
Iceland
Iceland puts glaciers, geysers and black-sand beaches three hours from London, with midnight sun in June and aurora in winter.
Italy
Italy rewards choosing one region well: lemon terraces at Amalfi, Tuscan hill towns, lake villas and the lagoon light of Venice.
Montenegro
Montenegro packs a fjord-like bay, walled towns and wild mountain canyons into a country you can drive across in a morning.
Portugal
Portugal fits a lot into short distances: Lisbon, the Douro terraces, the quiet Alentejo coast and the Algarve cliffs.
Spain
Spain pairs Moorish Andalucía and the food of San Sebastián with Mallorca coves, all within three hours of London.
Switzerland
Switzerland is the Alps made easy: car-free mountain villages, lakes you can swim in and trains that climb to the glaciers.
Turkey
Turkey joins Istanbul, the balloons over Cappadocia and a wooden gulet on the Turquoise Coast in a single, varied week.
Australasia and Pacific
Australia
Reef, red centre, rainforest and wild islands in one long trip, planned around the seasons of a continent.
Bora Bora
One volcanic peak, one vast turquoise lagoon and a ring of motu hotels built over the water: the honeymoon island.
Fiji
Island resorts on clear lagoons, soft coral reefs and a warm village welcome, an easy add-on to Australia or New Zealand.
French Polynesia
Tahiti, Moorea, the coral atolls of the Tuamotus and the wild Marquesas: 118 islands across a vast stretch of ocean.
New Zealand
Fiords, volcanoes, vineyards and fine lodges within a few hours of each other, at the far end of the world.
Caribbean
Antigua
A beach for every day of the year, Nelson's Dockyard and a day trip to the pink sand of Barbuda.
Bahamas
Hundreds of cays scattered across clear, shallow banks, reached by a direct flight from Heathrow to Nassau.
Barbados
Daily direct flights, a calm west coast and a serious food and rum culture: an easy week of sun from London.
Jamaica
Blue Mountain coffee, river rafting, reggae and a north coast of fine old hotels: a beach holiday with a strong culture.
St Lucia
Two volcanic peaks rising from the sea, rainforest down to the shore and hillside hotels with open walls facing the Pitons.
Turks and Caicos
The pale sand of Grace Bay, a barrier reef and calm, shallow water, on a British Overseas Territory.
The Americas
Argentina
Buenos Aires evenings, the Iguazú falls and the glaciers of Patagonia, joined by short domestic flights.
Belize
Maya cities in the rainforest and the longest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, a short hop apart and in English.
Brazil
Rio on its granite peaks, the roar of Iguaçu and jaguars on the Pantanal riverbanks, in one long-haul trip from Heathrow.
Canada
Glacier lakes in the Rockies, whales off Vancouver Island and polar bears on Hudson Bay, each in its own short season.
Chile
The Atacama's high desert and the granite towers of Patagonia in one trip, with Santiago's wine valleys in between.
Costa Rica
Volcano, cloud forest, turtle beach and whale coast in one small country, with a lodge in each that puts you in the forest.
Ecuador
Andean volcanoes, cloud forest and Amazon rainforest within a day of each other, with Quito's colonial centre at the heart.
Galapagos
Volcanic islands where sea lions, iguanas and boobies ignore you entirely, seen from a small ship with a naturalist guide.
Mexico
Mexico City’s food, Oaxaca’s markets and Maya ruins in the Yucatán, finished with a week on the Caribbean coast.
Panama
A canal city with a colonial old quarter, cloud forest coffee farms and two coasts of islands, each a short flight away.
Peru
Inca stonework in the high Andes, Machu Picchu at dawn and Amazon rainforest, all within a short flight of Cusco.
USA
Canyon country, geyser basins and Pacific coast roads, planned so the long drives land you somewhere worth waking up in.
Polar and Expedition
Antarctica
The Antarctic Peninsula by small expedition ship from Ushuaia: penguin colonies, blue ice and landings by inflatable boat.
Greenland
Icebergs the size of towns, an ice sheet you can drive to and Inuit communities, four hours from Copenhagen.
Svalbard
The high Arctic three hours from Oslo: glaciers, walrus and polar bear country, reached on a scheduled flight.
The Arctic
The Northwest Passage by expedition ship: Franklin's route through Arctic Canada, narwhal waters and Inuit communities.