By Kate McWilliams
Now that spring has sprung, there is no better time to visit the pretty Riviera dei Fiori or Flower Riviera located on Liguria’s south-westerly coast. In May and June, visitors can experience the colourful flower blossom unique to this coastline and venture off-the-beaten-track to discover the rural interior and some of the many medieval villages and towns, each with an interesting history.
The capital of the Riviera dei Fiori, San Remo, also known as the ‘City of Flowers’ is home to many beautiful parks and gardens, richly endorsed with …

By Peter Smith
“What a rip off” I laughed. 
This became a standing joke every time I was handed the almost absurdly low cost bill (or “bull” as it’s pronounced locally) for my meal, in and around Cape Town.  Here you can lap up the luxurious surroundings, with the finest food and drink, at pub grub prices!
Cape Town is a tonic, a concoction of a favourable exchange rate, superb hospitality, beautiful beaches, mountains, valleys and vineyards, rugged coastline and one vibrant city.  In fact everything you need as a remedy to the economic gloom hanging …

By Rupert Parker
Mayan Cave Adventure
I left Belize City on a “chicken bus” bound for the highlands.  On the radio, the President was giving his Independence Day address and his theme was peace and love.  He was pleading with Belizeans to stop killing each other and, more important, to leave tourists alone. And he had a point. With nothing to export, the country’s main income is tourism and the government has set up a vast network of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and archeological reserves stretching from the Caribbean coast to the …

By Rupert Parker – Part 2 of a series
Caribbean Barrier Reef
What most people come to Belize for are the Cays, coral islands that run the 150 mile length of the country, rivaling Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. After a couple of sweaty days in Belize City I was ready to exchange the hustle and hassle for something slightly more laid back.
Caye Caulker
It’s a 45 minute ride by water taxi to Caye Caulker and you pass several other smaller Cays on the way.  Size isn’t an issue here, and Caulker itself is …

By Rupert Parker – Part 1 of a series
Belize City
Belize wasn’t top of my list of countries to visit but I had to get out of Cancun, an ersatz Vegas on Sea without the gambling.  So I decided to hop on the bus and find out what it was like.  If fact it takes a couple of buses, the first, modern and air conditioned, hurtles down the freeway to Chetumal in about 5 hours.  Then it’s all change to a Belize “chicken bus”, which, in a former life used to …

By Rupert Parker
There was bad news from Madeira.  On one terrifying Saturday, in February, a freak storm washed away roads and bridges and reduced the streets of Funchal to a morass of mud.  I wasn’t so surprised since, a few weeks earlier; I’d been at the Madeira Islands Walking Festival when the weather was also playing up, drenching intrepid hikers.  But, that was the winter that was, and now springtime in Madeira is back to normal, the streets have been cleared and the damage is being repaired.
Madeira Islands Walking Festival
Since …

By Rupert Parker
Bus from Prague to Pec pod Sněžkou
From Prague, it’s a three hour bus journey east through the Bohemian countryside to Pec pod Sněžkou, the country’s main ski resort. It’s the middle of summer, hardly the season for winter sports, but we’re here to climb Sněžka, the highest peak in the Czech Republic, and reputedly home to a bearded giant called Krakenos.  
Pine forests and chocolate box chalets hug the steep valley walls.  It could be a typical alpine scene, were it not for the odd architectural hangovers from …

By Rupert Parker
Where do you go when you want some winter sun and a bit of piece and quiet, without breaking the bank?  Christmas was looming and we needed to get away from the horrors of a London winter. We ruled out our choices of previous years – Morocco, too cold, India, too far. Cheap flights were on offer to Tenerife with Thomson and, although the party capital of the canaries is not to my taste, I knew that you could take a ferry to its sister island, La Gomera.  …