🇵🇹 PORTUGAL
Alentejo
Cork oaks, whitewashed hill towns and long, empty Atlantic beaches.
Road trip✈️ 3h7 to 10 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–JUN, SEP
🍷 HOLIDAY TYPE
Food and drink holidays
Street food, markets, cooking classes and long lunches. Here's where to go for a holiday built around eating well, and when to go.
Food and drink holidays: 45 guides
🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
Asheville
A mountain town of craft breweries, music and the grand Biltmore house.
Nature & hiking✈️ 9h3 to 5 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, OCT
🇪🇸 SPAIN
Asturias
Green mountains, cider houses and sandy coves on Spain's cool, rainy northern coast.
Nature & hiking✈️ 2h7 nights££
BEST TIMEJUN–SEP
🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
Austin
Spring-fed pools, barbecue and a million bats at sunset.
City break✈️ 11h4 to 6 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–MAY, OCT–NOV
🇹🇭 THAILAND
Bangkok
Golden temples, river boats and night markets, the classic start to a Thailand trip.
City break✈️ 13h3 to 4 nights£
BEST TIMENOV–FEB
🇧🇧 BARBADOS
Barbados
Calm Caribbean beaches, swimming with turtles and fish fries on a Friday night.
Beach✈️ 9h10 to 14 nights£££
BEST TIMEDEC–APR
🇪🇸 SPAIN
Barcelona
Gaudí's fairy-tale buildings, a city beach and tapas for dinner.
City break✈️ 2h3 to 5 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🇿🇦 SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town
Penguins on the beach, a mountain with a cable car and a jet-lag-free flight.
City break✈️ 13h10 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMENOV–MAR
BEST TIMEJUN–SEP
🇩🇰 DENMARK
Copenhagen
Old-fashioned fairground rides, harbour swims and the home of Lego next door.
City break✈️ 2h3 to 4 nights£££
BEST TIMEMAY–AUG
🇬🇷 GREECE
Crete
Pink sand beaches, a palace from the legend of the Minotaur and long sunny days.
Beach✈️ 4h7 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇫🇷 FRANCE
Dordogne
Castles on cliffs, canoes on a slow green river and prehistoric cave paintings.
Nature & hiking✈️ 2h7 to 10 nights££
BEST TIMEJUN–JUL, SEP
🇧🇪 BELGIUM
Ghent
Canals, a real moated castle and chips by the water, without the Bruges crowds.
City break✈️ 1h2 to 3 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🇬🇩 GRENADA
Grenada
Spice farms, chocolate estates and a long white beach on the Caribbean's Spice Isle.
Beach✈️ 10h7 to 10 nights£££
BEST TIMEJAN–APR
🇨🇦 CANADA
Halifax
Lighthouses, lobster rolls and the world's highest tides on Canada's Atlantic coast.
City break✈️ 7h5 to 7 nights££
BEST TIMEJUN–OCT
🇻🇳 VIETNAM
Hoi An
Lantern-lit streets, basket boats and a beach just down the road.
Beach✈️ 13h7 to 10 nights£
BEST TIMEFEB–APR
🇭🇷 CROATIA
Istria
Venetian harbour towns, truffle hill villages and clear swimming spots on Croatia's northern tip.
Beach✈️ 3h7 nights££
BEST TIMEJUN, SEP
🇯🇵 JAPAN
Kanazawa
Samurai streets, gold-leaf ice cream and one of Japan's most beautiful gardens.
Culture & history✈️ 13h2 to 3 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–MAY, OCT–NOV
🇮🇳 INDIA
Kerala
Houseboats on palm-lined backwaters, tea hills and spice markets in southern India.
Culture & history✈️ 11h10 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMEDEC–FEB
🇵🇱 POLAND
Kraków
A castle with a fire-breathing dragon, an underground salt mine and great value.
City break✈️ 3h3 to 4 nights£
BEST TIMEMAY–SEP
🇵🇹 PORTUGAL
Lisbon
Yellow trams, custard tarts and beaches a train ride away, with no time difference.
City break✈️ 3h4 to 6 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇱🇦 LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
Luang Prabang
Saffron-robed monks, golden temples and turquoise waterfall pools where two rivers meet.
Culture & history✈️ 12h3 to 4 nights££
BEST TIMENOV–FEB
🇲🇦 MOROCCO
Marrakech
Snake charmers, rooftop pools and the Atlas Mountains on the horizon, a short flight from the UK.
Culture & history✈️ 4h4 to 5 nights£
BEST TIMEMAR–MAY, OCT–NOV
🇮🇹 ITALY
Matera
Whole neighbourhoods of cave houses carved into a gorge, glowing with lights at night.
Culture & history✈️ 3h2 to 3 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–MAY, SEP–OCT
Showing 24 of 45 guides
When to go
Where's at its best in each month of the year.
- March
- Barbados, Cape Town, Grenada, Hoi An, Marrakech, Mexico City, Miami, New Orleans and 4 more
- November
- Austin, Bangkok, Cape Town, Kanazawa, Luang Prabang, Marrakech, Mexico City, Miami and 3 more
Food and drink holidays: common questions
Where is best for food on holiday?
Tokyo, Bangkok, Penang, Mexico City, Lisbon and Rome are some of the best places in the world to eat, at every budget.
Where is good for a food weekend away?
Porto, Paris, Copenhagen, Ghent and Kraków are short flights from the UK and easy to eat your way around in a long weekend.
Are food holidays good with fussy eaters?
Usually. Markets and street food let everyone pick a little of what they like, and most food cities have plenty of simple dishes like pasta, noodles and grilled meat.
Other kinds of holiday
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🎟️ IDEAS ON STANDBY
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Put it on standby with the rest of your family's ideas. Everyone spreads their points in secret, gets one veto, and the draw picks where you go.