For the adventurous among us, the point of a holiday is not to lounge on a beach surrounded by thousands of other tourists, but rather to get out there and see something new, exciting and out of the ordinary. You want unusual holidays. Here at Heading There, we're committed to bringing you news and information about the latest and best unusual holiday destinations, so you can have the holiday you want, where you want it.
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Beach Holidays
Nothing ruins the perfect beach holiday like thousands of other people hogging the sand. That's why Bulgaria is a great option for your beach holiday. Its Black Sea coastline is home to many spectacular beaches – resorts like Albena, Kranevo are not well-known, meaning all the more sand for you.
Cancún, Mexico is one of the world's top beach holiday destinations for its tropical beaches and world class resorts. Unfortunately, that means you'll have to share it with thousands of other people. For those looking for something a little quieter and more relaxing, try Holbox Island. It's about two hours from Cancún by car and ferry, but with no nightclubs, wi-fi or even cars it's one of the most secluded beaches going.
Of course, not everyone wants a quiet beach holiday. If you're looking for all out fun, you could do a lot worse than Brighton and Hove's Paddle Round the Pier beach festival. It's Europe's biggest free beach festival and features beach sports, both on the sand and in the water as well as world food courts and live music.
City Breaks
Poland's second largest city, Krakow has one of the best preserved medieval city centres anywhere in Europe. The centre is filled with cobbled streets and gothic buildings, interposed with a wide variety of great restaurants offering food from around the world. Krakow is also home to Wawel Royal Castle, which dates back to the 14th century and is now home to many important historical and cultural artefacts.
Reykjavik, Iceland's capital city, is often referred to as the nightlife capital of the north. With over 100 different bars and clubs, tourists can take part the traditional Reykjavik bar crawl known as the Rúntur. Iceland is a country with stunning volcanic geography and Reykjavik is also home to such unusual attractions as the Icelandic Phallological Museum.
Where the Alps meet the Mediterranean in central Europe, you'll find Slovenia and its capital city, Ljubljana. One of Europe's smallest capitals, Ljubljana is relatively unknown to tourists, but still a perfect holiday destination with a great variety of restaurants and hotels. The option to go skiing in the mountains, sunbathing on the beach or both makes Ljubljana the perfect destination for the indecisive.
Vietnam isn't on most people's radar as a holiday destination, but it's a beautiful country and its capital, Hanoi, is one of the cheapest places in the world to stay in a four or five star hotel. The city's culture is a blend of traditional Vietnamese with a French influence from Hanoi's days as the capital of French Indochina.
Adventure Holidays
For a truly unique adventure, why not try a motorcycle tour of Mongolia? You'll travel a 1400km trail on off-road trail-bikes, taking in the country's outstanding natural beauty and staying each night in traditional Mongolian round felt tents. The tour takes in Kharkhorin, the small town which was once the hub of Genghis Khan's mighty Mongol Empire.
The hefty pricetag means diving in the Antarctic won't be for everyone, but then that's exactly the point. If you're looking for something pretty much nobody else will have ever done, look no further. Guided by a team of onboard experts you'll get to see, up close, the geography and animal life of a part of the world most people only ever see on their TV screens.
Astronomy lovers will be blown away by the clear night skies you can see on a caravan trail through the Moroccan desert. Get a taste of the Bedouin way of life, riding camels and camping out under the stars in traditional nomad tents.
If you're looking to tread where nobody's trod before, Papua New Guinea could be for you. Reckoned to have more undiscovered terrain than virtually anywhere on Earth, this southwest Pacific country is ripe for exploration.
Family Holidays
Children and adults alike should relish a trip to Romania's infamous Transylvania. Stuffed full of imposing peaks and dark castles, Transylvania is full of the stuff of Gothic fairytales. For those looking for authentic Transylvanian accommodation Count Kálnoky's castle is well worth a look (guests even arrive there by horse and cart).
If you're looking for unusual accommodation, then there's no hotel quite like Finland's SnowHotel. Located almost 200 kilometres above the Arctic Circle, SnowHotel is made almost entirely from ice and snow, but contains such luxuries as a sauna and a large fireplace room. There are a variety of activities on offer in the accompanying snow village and surrounding area, including ice sculpting and a husky safari.
If you fancy spending the night in a habitable work of art, head to Berlin and the Propeller Island City Lodge. With accommodation including a room with coffins for beds, one filled with mystical blue lights and another with a pillow fortress, the Propeller Island City Lodge should appeal to kids and adults with a sense of fun. It also has its own gallery displaying artworks by the Lodge's designer Lars Stroschen.
Head to Turkey to get closer to nature, staying in Kadir's Treehouses. The mixture of treehouses, dorms, bungalows and a campsite provide a variety of unique accomodation to suit different tastes. The site offers a plethora of activities rock climbing, canoe tours and mountain biking and also has its own onsite restaurant.
Holidays with a difference
These days, many people are searching, not just for a different holidays destination, but a different kind of holiday altogether. Here are some options to get you thinking.
An increasingly popular option is volunteering holidays, offering you an interesting new experience, alongside the satisfaction of knowing you've contributed something positive to your holiday destination. Opportunities include working on a Caribbean botanical garden in the Dutch Antilles where you'll get to work on trail-building, maintaining the gardens or even help monitor and tag turtles during mating season. Alternatively, for something a little closer to home, you might try a Scottish conservation holiday where you'll get to learn about the natural mysteries around you, including understanding animal tracks, and work on a university-affiliated seal conservation program.
Many travellers are increasingly concerned with their ecological footprint, making eco holidays the perfect option. Hone Creek in Costa Rica is home to a rainforest retreat located in a 250 acre biological reserve. Surrounded by ancient trees, yet only four miles from the beach, the retreat offers guided tours into the rainforest, an adventure through the trees' canopies and access to the Samasati biological reserve. Alternatively, for truly sustainable travel, the Udayana Kingfisher Eco lodge in Bali is Indonesia's first Green Globe certified small hotel. Set high in the Jimbaran hills, the lodge is surrounded by a conservation area rich in birds and butterflies. Featuring solar powered water heating, rain water collection, biological sewage treatment and more, this is a first-class resort for those worried about their carbon footprint.
