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LUCINDA BARING
Antigua was chosen for no other reason than we wanted to fly and flop. Yet reservations about gargantuan cruise ships and overcrowded beaches were soon dispelled by the unexpected exoticism of the island as we bowled through dense rainforest chirruping with bird life. And the laidback Caribbean vibe and chatty, cheery islanders disarmed me.
Our hotel, Carlisle Bay (001 268 484 0000; campbellgray hotels.com), has rooms spread along one glorious stretch of sand. Step out of the bedroom door and you're on the beach. The best part of the trip, however, came on our last day when we chartered a boat. The captain whisked us around the island before pulling into a secluded cove and dropping anchor, allowing us to swim ashore. We had the beach to ourselves, a pocket idyll, its simple pleasures relived any time sleeplessness comes to call.
GABRIELLA LE BRETON
I arrived in Ouarzazate, in central Morocco, at 1am, and then a bumpy, dusty ride took me to the remote Kasbah Dar Ahlam (0845 034 0700; mrandmrssmith.com) in pitch darkness. The joy of waking in this idyllic hotel was even greater for my nocturnal arrival.
I had arranged the trip to experience the annual Festival of Roses, which takes place in the "capital" of the Valley of Roses, El Kelaa M'Gouna. When I arrived, it transpired that "political unrest" had delayed the festival. So I spent the day exploring the valley's rose fields and farms and returned the following day, hoping that the festival would take place. I was in luck: somehow word had got out that the event was on. Villagers from far and wide flocked to El Kelaa M'Gouna. There were exuberant displays of Berber singing, dancing and sword-fighting, the coronation of a Rose Queen and hundreds of makeshift stalls, selling babouche slippers, silver jewellery, saffron and rose soaps, gels, creams, sprays and oils, and mountains of dried rose buds.
FIONA DUNCAN
My husband appeared wildeyed at the door of our beach villa on Vamizi Island. "The sea has turned red," he announced. "Perhaps it's a shark attack." It wasn't. It was the annual synchronised spawning of corals. They reproduce sexually but are at a disadvantage as they are fixed to the sea bed, and so,...