Where are the best leisure holiday destinations around the world today? I guess it very much depends on who is going, doesn’t it? Maybe just two of you, a couple? Maybe a family? Maybe a group of friends? Or on a hen or stag trip.
Hen and stag trips are when a soon-to-be-married, bride-to-be, or groom-to-be, takes a ‘posse’ of friends for a trip away, where they let their hair down and do stupid, foolish, and crazy things. It’s meant to be a ‘last hurrah', of sorts, before they each lose their so-called ‘freedom', as a singleton. They have evolved to going to the next town to ‘play up', which usually meant they got a little bit more, well, raucous. However, as the younger set have gotten more footloose, they now tend to go international.
The young men seem to go to Ibiza where they can dance and party all night, sleep most of the day, have a swim and then party again before pressing replay and doing it all again for another couple of nights. One of them will fall asleep and get his eyebrows shaven off or be left to sleep in too late and miss his flight home, either giving the ‘lads’ a story to tell for years. The more mature stag groups tend to go to Sofia or Prague, where they will drink and eat to excess, swap age-old stories, and have a great time having spent well, but without the dancing! The girl’s hen party destinations sometimes feature Ibiza according to travel agents, but they tend to prefer places with a bit more ‘class', with Barcelona, Majorca and Marbella more to their taste. You will know who’s on a hen party trip because they usually all dress the same way, with cowgirl outfits, Pink, Mama Mia, Cheerleader, Spice Girls, Barbie, even pyjama themed outfits. While they are away, they party, just like the guys, but without the eyebrows... Again, the more mature set will usually aim for London, Paris, or Dubai. They tend to prefer more ‘elegant', more lazy destinations, with more than a touch of class.
Families still get hooked on Disneyland. I guess it must be a ‘rite of passage', to do it once, to Disneyland Paris, California, or Florida. If fairground rides, noise and standing in queues are your thing, and happy with how deeply your pockets will be gouged, and you can handle that, go. Kids love it, trains, merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, bungies, popcorn, hotdogs, candy, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Finding Nemo... what’s not for them to like. Just remember, it costs a whole lot more to get out than to get in, so, take your credit card! And then there’s just the two of you. Couples love Paris of course; it is the most romantic of cities. The old-world charm of Dubrovnik, the beaches of Belize, the Galapagos Islands and the Iguazu Falls are becoming more popular every year, according to leading travel agents.
Or you could step back in time, and take in the sights, sounds and experiences of Oman, dwelling on its history, meeting its wonderful, respectful people, and every night revelling in the luxury accommodation, dining at a table fit for Kings and Queens, safe and secure.
Visit Masirah Island, Al Jabal Al Akhdhar and Nizwa, trek to Salalah, or take in the Wave in Muscat, among a hundred beautiful holiday destinations in Oman. Where else delivers camels, turtles, blue seas, sandy beaches, castles, forts, and sunshine, culture, traditions, and activities like surfing, diving, fishing, mountaineering, dune bashing and so much more... There is, in my eyes, no other destination with so much going for it, not, of course as a hen and stag destination, but Oman, for couples and families, is the amazing Jewel of the Gulf, where “beauty has an address.”
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