The Travel-Lady-Mitchell

The best Christmas present surprise ever!! So Christmas 2010 had arrived & I had been laying down the ground work on where our holiday for 2011 would be.  New York was on my hit list & I was making it very clear that the choices were New York, New York or New York, but he just wasn't committing & I didn't know why.  The Christmas list (yes I still write a list to tell him exactly what I would like, so there is no room for error), lay in the same spot upside down as I left it, so knew he was being his usual unorganised self once again. However, Christmas morning, when I started to open presents, one being a gift voucher for a hypnotherapy session to help with my fear of flying (see a separate blog on this), I was starting to fear he had lost the plot.  Still nothing clicked!  My final present was hidden at the back of the tree and I was instructed to go digging! Unwrapping to find a guide book on New York, I still thought he was trying to be f...

Varkala, Kerala Soul and Surf offers surfing, yoga and wellness holidays with a distinctly easy-going ethos – the emphasis here is on relaxation with like-minded people as much as improving your surfing or yoga techniques. Set among lush gardens in a cliff-top location overlooking a quiet beach, the retreat offers simple yet stylish accommodation in a modern garden block or in the main building, a 150-year old traditional Keralan house. Breakfasts are communal, and evening activities include BBQ and pizza nights as well as surf movie screenings and impromptu music gigs. Sunset free-flow vinyasa yoga sessions take place every evening and morning sessions are offered three times a week, surf lessons take place every morning. The retreat is open from May to October, but Soul and Surf run a year-round programme in Ahangama, Sri Lanka, that’s also worth checking out. Algarve, Portugal Set in a secluded valley on the Atlantic Coast, the off-the-grid Tipi Valley Al...

Described as “the City of a Hundred Spires”, Prague’s architectural beauty is wildly photogenic. Amid Gothic cathedrals, Baroque palaces and Cubist facades, there are also knockout music clubs for revellers and superb craft breweries serving up some of the best beer in Europe. Best time to go Spring (March-May) in Prague is pleasant as temperatures climb from 4C to 18C. May is also a month of celebrations – the prominent Prague Spring International Music Festival and the Czech Beer Festival draw large crowds. Summer (June-August) offers dry sunny weather and the city bustles with tourists. If you’re willing to brave crowds and high hotel prices, you’re in for a great trip. Autumn (September-October) is a season of colour in Prague. Amid fluttering maroon, yellow, and auburn leaves, you can sample the offerings of the autumn wine harvest and savour the chords of the “Strings of Autumn” music festival. Winter (November-February) is long and cold in Prague, but there ar...

Es Grau, Menorca More like a giant spa pool than an ocean bay, this pristine crescent of sand within the S’Albufera des Grau nature reserve is a hit with kids and less confident swimmers. Its appeal lies in the shallow, warm waters, which stay lapping at your shins as you wade 40 metres or more out to sea. The beach itself is a secret gem – half a kilometre of dark, uncrowded sand backed by the dunes of S’Albufera des Grau. Negril, Jamaica With five miles of palm tree-backed sand sloping gently into a perfectly calm ocean, Negril boasts one of the best beaches in the Caribbean. You can wade at least 30 metres out into the sea before reaching swimming depth, making this a perfect choice for non-swimmers. There’s plenty to see and do around Negril too, from golf courses to fine dining restaurants. St George Beach, Naxos, Greece The Greek island of Naxos has more than its fair share of beautiful beaches, but this one has a golden combination of shallow waters, e...