Hidden away down a rough track just a short drive from the medieval hilltop town of Marvão lies Lost Valley of Ramila, a complex of eco-friendly buildings spread across the hillside. Choose from four cosy self-contained apartments, each with neat kitchenettes, spacious bedroom/living area and private terrace with a glorious vista across the hills. Down by the river stands the charmingly renovated, century-old mill, with thick stone walls, neat windows, rustic furnishings and, forming one of the two bedrooms, a sleeping platform. All bathrooms are modern with showers and terracotta floor tiles.
The setting is magical – think rocky outcrops covered in lichen, wild swimming in the river (or in the purpose-built hillside pool), secluded picnic spots beneath gnarled cork oaks, and wooden decking areas connected by pathways that meander through cacti, yuccas and olive trees. You can even try your hand making pizza or homemade bread in the traditional wood oven. Shops and restaurants are just a short drive away and the area is a dream for nature walks, photography, bird-watching and horse-riding.
The choice of accommodation is also an advantage; choose between newly built, eco-friendly apartments or one of the century-old mills, painstakingly restored to their former glory, with all the contemporary trimmings. But it’s the Sever River that makes this place even more special. As you meander along the river through the valley, enjoy your own private river beach, swing bridge or a nature walk through the São Mamede Natural Park.
Equal parts eerie and amazing, this underwater gallery of more than 500 life-size sculptures brings new meaning to interactive art. Occupying 420 square metres of seabed off the coast of Cancún, the Museo Subacuático de Arte is a haunting garden of human faces and bodies. The sculptures, created by dive instructor and graffiti artist Jason deCaires Taylor, surrender to the marine environment over time, transforming into a unique artificial reef that is constantly evolving.
The reef is a magnet for snorkellers and divers, and also helps promote the recovery of sensitive ecosystems by luring visitors away from natural reefs vulnerable to human impact. The museum can also be enjoyed from a glass-bottom boat.
Step 1) Find a glass bottle.
Step 2) Stick a whole venomous snake in it, like say, a cobra.
Step 3) Leave it to ferment so the venom seeps into the alcohol.
Step 4) Try and get Westerners to drink it by telling them it cures everything from poor eyesight to hair loss.
If you’re feeling particularly brave, drunk or stupid, you might also have a go at downing a shot of blood from the still-beating heart of a snake. It, like so many things in Asia, is said to increase male virility.
Head to the reputable snake meat and liquor restaurant, Quoc Trieu, in the famed ‘snake village’ of Le Mat near Hanoi. There you will find all manner of snake dishes and, if you request, they can even source you a live cobra.
Hidden away in a remote section of the north coast on Indonesia’s Seram Island is Ora Beach Resort, where accommodation is kept deliberately simple to highlight the sheer natural beauty of the surrounds. Only accessible by water, the resort is not easy to get to, but if you do brave the trip – via plane, ferry, car and fishing boat – you’ll be more than rewarded. Think steep limestone cliffs, powdery white sands, electric-blue waters, delicate coral reefs, mountains carpeted with riotously lush rainforest and more than 117 species of exotic birds.
Stay in one of the five stilted bungalows that jut out over the reef – perfect for fishing from the balcony – and get up close and personal with the breathtaking marine life on a dive or snorkelling adventure.
For a truly ‘out-there’ experience, sleep under the stars surrounded by wild animals, all under the watchful eye of the night rangers at Pamushana Lodge in Zimbabwe.
Don’t be put off by the idea of sleeping in the desert – this lodge is all luxury. With ensuites, air-conditioning and telescopes in every suite, you’ll struggle to decide whether to go on an animal-spotting safari or stay in and enjoy the lodge’s outdoor hot tub.
Perched atop Cape Town’s swanky Grand Daddy hotel, you can stay in a souped-up, USA-style vintage trailer park. Don’t think trailer trash, though – this is penthouse of all caravan parking lots. Local designers were brought in to reinvent the interiors of seven 1930s Airstream trailers, creating the chic aesthetic you see today.
Each of the over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek motor homes has its own theme – think Karoo, Safari and Surfing – and they’re spick and span following refurbishment. Big screen TVs, air-conditioning, ensuites and massage services give guests a taste of the real American dream.
This monument to one of Germany’s favourite foodstuffs is as interactive as it is interesting (if sausages are your thing).
It is exactly as you would picture a museum that pays homage to hotdogs to be, with bun-shaped couches, artistically sculpted fries and glass cabinets explaining spices, flavours and all the other specifics of making the perfect currywurst.
Snag tastings are included in the tour and there is even a van set up inside for anyone who has ever dreamed of what being a street vendor must be like.
This is food and fun right in the heart of Berlin, and a must for all those who consider themselves sausage connoisseurs.
There is nothing on earth like Tasmania’s MONA. From the rumours surrounding its enigmatic, casino-busting creator, David Walsh, to its cavernous spaces more akin to a Bond villain’s lair than an art gallery, Australia’s largest privately funded museum has fast become one of the country’s seriously hot spots.
If you’re thinking it’s not worth hopping Bass Strait just for a museum, then think again. Twice a year, Walsh and his minions bring Tassie to life with MONA’s dual festivals: Dark Mofo in June and MONA FOMA in January. The two seven- to 10-day events are extensions of the museum’s bacchanalian themes, fusing international and local art, music, food and drink into a defiant and ballsy contradiction to any festival Australia has on offer.
In one day you can fill your stomach with locally sourced food while listening to Tibetan throat singing, experience sensory overload as international composers choreograph a giant industrial laser, and lose your mind to The Presets as they blow the roof off Macquarie Wharf.
The best part, however, takes place after the sun goes down. Without a doubt one of the highlights of both events is Faux Mo, the festival’s after-party. Held on each evening of the program, this sweaty, hedonistic communion will have you cheek to cheek with transvestite burlesque dancers, throwing your hands up in the air in a converted coin laundry and wishing on everything you hold dear that they don’t announce last drinks.
Like something out of the film Waterworld, Kapalai Dive Resort is built on stilts on a reef amongst some of the world’s most stunning scuba diving in the Celebes Sea. For those wanting to escape the world, sitting on a deck chair watching the sun go down over the mainland on the distant horizon is the perfect tonic.
Rooms are more than comfortable – obviously all over water – with well-designed private decks for some serious après-dive chilling. The centre of the main dining room has an open void through to the reef below, and it’s not uncommon to see live versions of your dinner swimming past.
The resort is a web of rich wood walkways connecting the rooms with dining areas, the dive department and even a beach rotunda; the perfect spot for a cool sundowner. This might be predominantly a divers’ resort, but there is plenty to do for non-divers, with a white-sand beach materialising at low tide and excellent snorkelling from any part of the resort. For the divers, you’re only a 20-minute boat ride to Sipadan, one of the world’s most stunning dive sites.
Defend queen and country with a sea-bound stay on a repurposed fort. Built 2.2 kilometres off England’s Isle of Wight in 1867 to guard against the threat of invading Frenchmen, No Man’s Fort has since undergone a spit and polish, opening its doors to guests in .
Gone are the days when 70 soldiers would hole up within its granite walls – now the structure boasts 23 luxurious bedrooms, as well as a wine bar, rooftop hot tubs and a spa centre offering signature salt treatments.
What to do while you’re at sea all day? Eat like a trooper, of course. When you’re not supping on mackerel caught from below or toasting the monarchy with a flagon of rum, take to the water for a sea-kayaking session or show off your military prowess in an on-board battle of laser tag.
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