Daring destinations (or so you thought)

The Lebanon is for wimps and you can even get travel insurance for your holiday in Colombia. The really risky places are often not where you would think. By Jeremy Atiyah

Jeremy Atiyah 

Sunday, 23 February 1997

A risky adventure is the last thing that most holiday-makers are looking for when they jet off from Gatwick or Manchester. But for the more intrepid "real" travellers, who positively enjoy getting off the beaten track, an element of adventure (read: risk) is an essential part of the experience. The two British travellers who yesterday passed their 600th day as hostages of a political group in Kashmir surely once dreamed of adventure. But which places are unacceptably dangerous to visit even for the most hardened traveller? And how can you work this out before you get into trouble?

One way is to find out whether your insurance company offers cover for the place you are going to. Columbus Travel Insurance currently rate a number of places as War Zones - where full-scale fighting is involved - for which they will not provide any insurance cover at all.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) also has a list of countries to which they advise against "all travel". The 14 places currently on this list include perennial disaster zones (Afghanistan, Somalia), "enemy" nations (Iraq), and obscure disputatious corners such as Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea.

In terms of casualties though, there can be a fine line between a War Zone and an area of high criminality. Colombia, for some reason, is not considered a war zone - despite the fact that getting on for one person in a thousand of the population is murdered every year (at this rate, one in 15 of all Colombians is destined to be murdered). Although most of the killings are political, foreigners have also been in the firing line, with kidnappings and disappearences regular occurrences.

Is tourism remotely feasible in such an environment? Toby Follet, a television producer recently returned from Colombia, says yes. "Away from the Bogota slums, it feels completely safe and tranquil, as long as you don't read too much about the dangers. Conspicuously rich foreigners are a target, but scruffy backpackers, for example, are probably the safest people in the country. Most of the killings are political, after all." Columbus Travel Insurance seems to agree; it will offer cover for your trip to Colombia, though with a "loaded" premium.

The Americas are generally more crime-ridden than the Old World and the USA is no exception, with a murder rate three or four times that of Europe. The murders of several Europeans in Florida have caused particular alarm in recent years and the FCO, while admitting that most travellers visit Florida without difficulty, emphatically warns tourists to take precautions such as not stopping if their car is bumped from behind, and not sleeping in vehicles in rest areas.

Not that Europe itself is totally risk-free. Although nobody is advising you not to go there, it does appear that whole swathes of eastern Europe are currently on the verge of collapse, particularly Albania, Bulgaria and Serbia.

On the other hand, anyone considering a visit to Bosnia - where several hundred thousand people have been killed in the recent war - will be interested to know that they now have the chance to do so for the first time in years. Not only can you buy travel insurance for Bosnia, but tour operators such as Dat Travel will organise tailor-made trips for you. Flights from London to Sarajevo (via Zagreb) are also available on Croatian Airlines. Before packing your bags however, note that the FCO still advises against travel to Bosnia "unless on essential business".

Another part of the globe sometimes perceived as hostile to Western tourists is the Arab world and the Middle East, though this fear is very largely misplaced. Countries such as Iran, Syria and Lebanon not only welcome tourists but are in fact very safe places to travel.

Algeria, on the other hand, where a string of Europeans have recently been murdered, is certainly classed as a War Zone by both insurers and the FCO, though interestingly, the Algerian Embassy in London dispute this, insisting that the major cities are safe to visit and that visas are still routinely being issued. "Just don't go off into the countryside on your own," an embassy spokesman suggested.

A Middle Eastern country whose London embassy has not issued tourist visas for nearly twenty years is Afghanistan. But Suzy Price, a BBC correspondent recently based in Kabul, recalls that stray backpackers did still occasionally materialise in Kabul from nearby Pakistan. "Tourists were all brought directly to the BBC by the militias," she says. "We acted as a kind of tour guide to get them out of the country again."

Africa is probably the continent with the largest number of countries unsafe to visit. Tourism to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Somalia, Angola, Zaire, Rwanda, and Burundi is currently considered inadvisable by the FCO, and even the new star in the firmament of African tourism - South Africa - has a serious crime problem, with tourists counted among the victims.

All in all, the world is a seriously dangerous place for those who like it that way. But if you prefer safety, why not instead try Lichtenstein, where crime is officially described as a "minor problem".

FACT FILE

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Advice Unit: 0171-238 4503

Columbus Travel Insurance: 0171-375 0011

Dat Travel: 0171-3796249

Croatian Airlines: 0171-306 3138

All you'll ever need to know about Saba's Bottom

Jeremy Atiyah 

Sunday, 23 February 1997

I am holding in my hand the most useful guide-book I have ever seen in my entire life. Admittedly, at 2.67kg (nearly 6lb) it would take up more than 10 per cent of my airline luggage allowance, but I might consider throwing out my mosquito repellent and Swiss Army penknife rather than leave this monster behind. The World Travel Guide (Columbus Press, pounds 59.50), published annually for the travel trade, contains enough travel facts to get any traveller 10 times round the world and still not get lost.

Any guidebook that includes travel information on the USA, Benidorm, Antarctica and Iraq within its pages has my instant approval. And glancing through this masterpiece, the challenge I have now set myself is to find examples of the most obscure (ie interesting) travel information that has ever been published. I think I may have found some of it.

How about Pitcairn Island, just for example. That's a place I've always wanted to visit since watching Fletcher Christian burn his boats there in Mutiny on the Bounty. And lo and behold, here is all the essential information a traveller could need to know. Its location is described as "equidistant between New Zealand and Panama". Its population is 55, the majority religion is Seventh Day Adventist and the currency is the Pitcairn Dollar (Imagine a whole currency for 55 people. That must be a candidate for the champion of all obscure travel facts).

But while Pitcairn is a British Dependency, some other little-known islands in the South Pacific can boast fully fledged nationhood. One of these is Niue, an isolated island of one hundred square miles and a population of 2,000 (Language - Niuean; Religion - Ekelesai Niue). Niue's nearest consulate to the UK is in New Zealand but fortunately visas are not required for tourists anyway. Other deliciously obscure details concern plugs in Niue (which are of the standard three-pin type) and the Niue Post Office (which is open 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday).

Obscure islands are not confined to the South Pacific, of course. The eastern Caribbean packs a number of pleasingly unknown territories, such as the islands of the Netherlands Antilles. One of my favourites is the island of Saba, whose capital city has the improbable name of "The Bottom". With an area of just five square miles, I notice from the guide that the island is rather densely populated - it has a population of over 1,000. But in spite of the crowds, nightlife is still "generally quiet" during weekdays.

A vital additional note is included for those interested in doing business in Saba, namely that it is "very discourteous to be late" for appointments.

Along with the islands, huge empty spaces on maps such as the West African state of Mauritania are not neglected by the guide. This fascinatingly little-known country, normally only mentioned in the murky context of the slave-trade, in fact turns out to have an Honorary Consul in London as well as a Tourist Association (and Chinese restaurants) in the capital Nouakchott. Access to Mauritania from London, by the way, is remarkably straightforward, with connections on Air France via Paris twice weekly.

Equatorial Guinea has long been another one of my favourite obscure countries, tucked away just to the south of the great West African bulge. I now learn however that it has an embassy as near as Paris and furthermore, that it is a country of "luscious vegetation and much beautiful scenery".

Other gems of information included in the guide are that tips in Equatorial Guinean restaurants should amount to precisely10 per cent, while the Duty Free allowance when entering the country is 200 cigarettes and a litre of wine. There is just one prohibited item - Spanish newspapers. The background to this, sadly, is not explained.

Finally, I've always had a soft spot for Greenland, and for this destination, as for all others, the guide is a mine of useful information. To begin with, it turns out that flying time from London to Nuuk, via Copenhagen, is only five hours 30 minutes. And one of the least known but most fascinating facts I have so far been able to glean on Greenland is that sledge-dogs are only semi-tame. "This is just one reason why dog sledges should be given right of way at all times," states the guide.

With facts like that at your fingertips who really needs a Swiss Army penknife?

...and some other resorts worth a second chance

Jeremy Atiyah 

Sunday, 16 February 1997

SOME MEDITERRANEAN resorts have become so notorious that their names have virtually become synonyms for bad taste. Even the least well- known of these have acquired a subliminal, awful presence in the brains of anyone who glances at the holiday pages of teletext or the cheap flights ads in travel agency windows. But isn't this just snobbery of the highest order? Many of the following resorts are excellent places to party and to make pan-European friends. They can also be extremely cheap to fly to, out of season. And finally, those flying on a ticket-only basis can easily escape out of town in search of more "authentic" local attractions, if beer and beaches are not their thing.

Bear in mind that for the cheapest seats you are likely to be travelling at odd times of the day (such as 7am from Gatwick) and will need to find late-availability tickets. And because the prices given in newspaper ads are always "subject to availability" you may not get the prices listed. Nevertheless, bargains such as Alicante for pounds 59 return do exist. Honest.

LLORET DE MAR

This was the first part of Spain colonised by mass tourism and the first to be abandoned by the middle classes. Approach it for what it is: a Butlins- in-the-sun, full of Chinese takeaways, German wurst and pizzerias and you should have fun (though the weather is unreliable out of season). There are still some remarkably cheap pensiones stashed away amid the high-rises. Quick escapes: Barcelona, Figueras. Nearest airport: Gerona.

BENIDORM

This is almost certainly the most maligned of all Mediterranean resorts. Not only does it have three miles of good, sandy beaches, but it is also blessed with palm-tree-lined boulevards as well as a pretty old quarter piled up on a rocky peninsula. Admittedly, the place is packed with British pubs and more than 70 discos, and contains many more northern Europeans than native Spaniards, but if people are enjoying themselves, who cares? There is a surfeit of inexpensive accommodation out of season. Quick escapes: Alicante, Valencia. Nearest airport: Alicante.

TORREMOLINOS

Just 30 minutes east of Malaga, this monument to mass tourism is described by the Rough Guide as a "vast, grotesque parody of a seaside resort which, in its own kitschy way, is fascinating". As with Benidorm, the beaches are excellent, if a trifle crowded, and entertainment revolves round Irish pubs. There is a large expatriate population of retired people, transvestite gays, and (allegedly) British crooks. Quick escapes: Andalusian countryside, Ronda, Granada. Nearest airport: Malaga.

RHODES

The tiny capital city of Rhodes is undeniably packed for the longest part of the year, but part of the reason for this is that it is so beautiful: a perfectly preserved medieval city built by the crusading Knights of St John, with palaces and old city walls, as well as Byzantine and Turkish relics. Rhodes also contains plenty of cheap, pension-style accommodation, even in high season. Airport: Rhodes

RIMINI

In the middle of the Riviera del Sole, (Italian for Costa del Sol), this is the only Italian destination in this category, and does have the distinction of attracting a majority of local Italians. Attacked by John Paul II for immorality, Rimini now boasts more than 100 discos as well as a large transsexual community. Quick escapes: San Marino, Ravenna. Airport: Rimini

PAPHOS

On the south-western corner of Cyprus, the Paphos area has recently experienced a sudden burst of rather uninspiring development, and caters largely to the pre-booked market. Immediately beyond the town, however, in almost any direction, are rolling hillsides and traditional Cypriot villages. Airport: Paphos

TENERIFE

The largest of the Canaries, it is hard to imagine why this varied volcanic island, far to the south of mainland Europe and just off the coast of Africa, should be considered as anything but a pure fascination. The resort Puerto de la Cruz has a stylish old centre (but black beaches). Quick escapes: Lava deserts, volcano craters, primaeval forests. Airport: Tenerife

FARO

Perched on the southern edge of Portugal, this year-round resort sees a huge flow of people through its international airport but is by no means an unattractive destination in itself, with a harbour, beaches and lots of late-night carousing. Quick escapes: the scenic mountain area, Serra de Monchique. Airport: Faro.

JEREMY ATIYAH

FACT FILE

The following all offer cheap flights to the featured resorts:

l Flightseats: 0990 239904

l Icarus: 01476 514666

l Embassy: 01273 700737

l Jetline: 0171-360 1111

l Flightclub: 01903 231857

Go west, young holiday-maker

Even communist Cuba is not being left out of the tour operators' quest for ever more exotic locations. Jeremy Atiyah on what's big this year

Jeremy Atiyah 

Sunday, 16 February 1997

F YOU take any notice of an industry that only knows of two conditions, boom or bust, you will be glad to know that the travel industry says bookings for summer 1997 are booming. And if you are waiting to know where everybody else is going to be this summer before making up your mind, there are a few early indicators of where the crowds are (and aren't) going to be.

One thing that is clear is that more and more people are following the big tour operators and heading west. A lot of people who would not previously have strayed away from the Mediterranean are now looking further afield, partly because peak season in Europe equals low season in the Caribbean. Florida remains the most popular long-haul destination by a wide margin, with over half-a-million visitors from the UK. But probably a quarter-of-a-million people are going to the Dominican Republic this year as well, which means, for the first time, that Thomson Holidays (for one) are taking more people to the Caribbean island this year than to Florida.

"The Dominican Republic is such good value compared with other Caribbean destinations such as Barbados," explains Carol Bailey of Thomson Holidays. "And although a few years ago we still had problems with the basic tourist infrastructure, those early problems have now been ironed out. Another thing is that all-inclusives are now as popular for families with children as they are for young couples and singles."

The success of destinations such as the Dominican Republic reflects the relentless rise of the all-inclusive holiday in the Caribbean. Mexico is also experiencing a meteoric all-inclusives boom, with the two (highly un-Mexican) resorts of Cancn and Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific taking the majority of bookings. Even Cuba, one of the last bastions of the communist world, is now being descended upon by big tour operators establishing their all-inclusive resorts. The only place where it is possible that there might be signs of a backlash against the all-conquering all-inclusive tide is Jamaica, where the tourism experience, for tourists and locals alike, seems to be suffering under the cultural impact of it all.

The popularity of the Caribbean region is perhaps odd given that it is not an ideal summer destination: it rains a lot and the threat of hurricanes grows through August and September. The sunny Mediterranean can rest assured, however: its beaches will not be empty next year.

Summer sun brochures for the Mediterranean were issued much earlier this year and bookings are correspondingly much further advanced. According to Lunn Poly's estimates for the summer of 1997, which are based on bookings made by all its UK agents, by far the biggest single resort destination for British tourists will continue to be the Balearic island of Majorca, with Turkey coming up on the outside. As well as the Balearics and Turkey, the Canaries retain their undiminished popularity, as a cheap year-round destination.

While the beaches at Palma Nova, Olu Deniz and Las Americas will be seething as never before, those in Cyprus and Greece will continue to look a little empty, particularly when it comes to British visitors. Cyprus has political problems while Greece, until this year, had become rather expensive, though with a weaker drachma it is set to improve on the disastrous performance of the last two years.

If you have not booked anywhere this year on the supposition that you are going to pick up a last-minute bargain, beware: desperate price-cutting may be a thing of the past. Big operators such as Thomsons have announced that prices will rise as the season approaches, to avoid the situation of having to cut prices to fill seats later.

And for travellers heading further afield? South Africa and Australia are not quite destinations for mass tourism yet, with a large proportion of British visitors still VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives), though with air fares to Australia at an historic all-time low - pounds 400 return tickets are now available from Austravel - young independent travellers are catching their opportunity to explore the southern hemisphere.

Charlotte Hindle of Lonely Planet feels that for independent travellers Africa is the up-and-coming area: "People are looking for new continents. South-east Asia and South America have been thoroughly explored but Africa is still unknown. Countries such as Malawi, Mozambique and Ethiopia are going to see a lot more visitors, I think." The lure of the Caribbean is also having an effect on independent travellers, with Lonely Planet's Cuba book outselling all their other titles at travellers' fairs this year.

Meanwhile the foreign country which British tourists will visit in the largest numbers will continue to be, as it always has been, France. Why then do French resorts not show up in the league tables of popular resorts? Presumably because visitors to France know best how to hide themselves away.

Leaky yurts, falling rocks and still it's a marvel

Chinese new year: MY ROUGH GUIDE

Jeremy Atiyah 

Sunday, 2 February 1997

BEST DISCOVERY

Putuoshan. It is pretty rich to talk about "discovering" anywhere in such a crowded place as eastern China, but the tiny offshore island of Putuoshan had not featured prominently in the major guide-books when I first went there, and backpackers were few and far between. The island has no private cars, no urban hubbub and is dotted with giant old temples. Benign monks loiter among the massive camphor trees in the temple forecourts, greeting the visitors who come asking the Goddess of Mercy for grandchildren. This was also the only place in China that I visited where one could talk about sandy beaches, wooded hillsides, rural hikes and ocean panoramas of blue waters and islands. Although it was January a warm sun shone, as if by miracle. I stayed in a hotel that was a converted monastery.

MOST INTERESTING HOTEL

Zhejiang Hotel, Hangzhou. Set among shining green tea plantations outside town, this hotel provides a rare flash of humour on the part of Chinese bureaucracy. One wing of the hotel used to be the private home of the now disgraced former leader Lin Biao who, as Mao's appointed heir in the early 1970s, was killed after allegedly instigating a plot against his boss. Today you can take a tour round Lin Biao's old rooms, to see the one-way windows and the soft padded lampshades (which could cause no injury if dislodged from above by assassins). What I found hilarious was that a Chamber of Horrors had been installed in the bunkers beneath the building, in an attempt to capitalise on Lin Biao's deeply sinister reputation as a doer of evil.

BIGGEST LET-DOWN

Suzhou. The fact that this city is regarded by most Chinese as the country's premier tourist attraction is more a reflection of Chinese literature and history than of current reality. It used to be a city of gardens, canals, white-washed houses and hump-backed bridges. People came here to write odes to the moon's reflection and to reflect on the mythical origins of ponds and crooked rockeries. Today, however, the gardens remain but most of the rest of the city has been bulldozed. And even though the gardens are undoubtedly classic specimens of the genre, they can seem pretty trivial to the uneducated eye.

UNBEATABLE BARGAIN

No one ever gets a real bargain in China because the local people are far too astute but one of my cheapest pleasures was taking a donkey-cart ride out of the remote oasis city of Turfan, in the north-western deserts of China. The countryside was a strange combination of Central Asia with touches of rural France; a world of dusty tracks, vineyards, wheatfields, shady poplars, running streams and smiling Uigur families. I sat on a Kashgar kilim on the back of the cart talking in bad Chinese with the young driver as we plodded round at something less than walking pace.

MOST USEFUL PHRASE

Probably "My God, your English is excellent" or possibly (if you are speaking Chinese) bu shi - "no it isn't" - which is what you should say every time anyone tells you how excellent your Chinese is. Such simple inter-racial pleasantries are a huge novelty for many Chinese and will win you a lot of friends.

MEMORABLE MEAL

During a rainy, two-day group tour of the Inner Mongolian grasslands, I stayed in a grotty, dripping yurt with a group of Japanese students and was subjected to various "authentic" Mongolian entertainments such as wrestling and horse-riding stunts.

Amid all the dross, the evening meal was the high point: a banquet in a large tent, comprising a truly colossal spread of dishes and attended by waitresses carrying silver goblets of a nauseatingly powerful white spirit which we were compelled to drink to the sound of ritual Mongolian chanting.

GREAT MISTAKE

Karakoram Highway. I learnt something rather important while attempting to cross by bus from Pakistan into China over the Karakoram Highway, namely that the bus company takes no notice of the weather, even when conditions are blatantly adverse. We set out to cross the 15,000ft pass in teeming rain and within a couple of hours had entered an area of falling rocks. The road was soon blocked in both directions, and we eventually had to abandon the bus and walk back the way we had come, in a blizzard, while attempting to dodge rocks that were flying down like bombs. Oddly enough, the fact that this must surely happen whenever there is rain never seems to prevent the buses from setting out in the first place.

BIZARRE MEETING

I visited the obscure port town of Weihai in Shandong Province to meet some contacts of an English friend called Mark who had once spent a year teaching English there. As soon as I arrived I found strangers coming up to me speaking amazingly good English. "You know Mar-Ke?" they said. "Mar-Ke is a great and famous man in Weihai. Why has he sent you?" It transpired that the whole town had been inspired by the presence of the former English teacher to extraordinary feats of linguistic excellence.

As for the people Mark had actually taught, these were now captains of industry throughout the province.

n Jeremy Atiyah is co-author of the forthcoming 'Rough Guide to China' with Simon Lewis and David Leffman. Keep up with the latest developments in travel by subscribing to the free newsletter 'Rough News', which is published three times a year by Rough Guides, 1 Mercer St, London WC2H 9QJ. A free 'Rough Guide' goes to the first three new subscribers each week.

FACT FILE

Putuoshan. Accessible by an 11-hour ferry trip from Shanghai, or a four-hour trip from Ningbo. The Shanghai ferry costs about pounds 13 per head in a cabin for two. On the island, the converted monastery the Ronglei Yuan Hotel costs as little as pounds 5 a bed in a four-bed room. Upmarket hotels include the Putuoshan Zhuang (doubles from pounds 40).

Zhejiang Hotel. On the road to Longjing, half an hour from central Hangzhou. Doubles from pounds 25.

Suzhou is an hour-and-a-half from Shanghai by train. A "soft" (first- class) seat costs pounds 1.

Turfan. Donkey-carts with driver can be rented in town for between pounds 1 and pounds 3 an hour.

Inner Mongolian Grasslands. Tours can be booked from the city of Hohhot, and cost about pounds 25 for a two-day tour including transport, food, entertainment and yurt.

Karakoram Highway. Buses from Sust in Pakistan to Tashkurgan, China, between May and Nov. The seven-hour ride costs pounds 15.