Mauritius
Mauritius is renowned for its choice of five-star hotels. But if you fancy a bit more space and privacy, renting a villa is a great alternative. The Villa Book has added a collection of self-catering properties on the island, including Les Quatre Epices on Trou aux Biches on the northwest coast.

Sit on the veranda and admire the sea views, take a dip in the outdoor spa bath, walk along the white sandy beach or use the golf course at nearby Trou aux Biches hotel. A week’s rental of the villa, which sleeps eight, costs £363pp with Villa Book (0845 5002000, www.thevillabook.com). Flights from Heathrow cost from £476pp with British Airways (0870 8509850, www.ba.com).

Florida
Meet Jimmy Neutron and other TV characters at the Nickelodeon Family Suites at Lake Buena Vista. The 777-suite Holiday Inn hotel is a kids’ paradise with a water playground plus poolside activities, a huge games room, free nightly entertainment and themed bedrooms.

Children under 5 eat free (excluding character breakfasts) and there is free transport to Walt Disney World, plus Universal Orlando and Seaworld. Kuoni (01306 747008, www.kuoni.co.uk) is offering sevennight stays from £784 per adult and £744 per child (2-11 years) during January based on four sharing. Return Gatwick flights and room-only accommodation are included.

Tenerife
Forty luxury self-catering villas – all with pools and gardens – have been added to the village-style resort Gran

Bahia Del Duque on the Costa Adeje. The beachfront resort has eight swimming pools, ten bars and ten restaurants, as well as one for villa guests who also have their own butler. Classic Collection Holidays (0870 4020126, www.classiccollectionholidays.co.uk) is offering a week’s stay from £2,511pp in January including flights from Gatwick, private transfers and B&B.

Grenada The spa resort La Source reopens on February 1 after repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Ivan three years ago. The 100-room all-inclusive resort is adding a new beachfront restaurant, a second pool and enlarging the spa bath and will resume free sport and classes.

Diving is free to certified divers and beginners can get tuition. Tennis, golf, badminton, archery and a choice of watersport will also be on offer. Just Grenada (01373 814214, www.justgrenada.co.uk) is offering an all-inclusive week from £1,770pp, including spa treatments, return Gatwick flights and transfers.

South Africa
Fancy hosting a house party at a safari lodge with your own chef and ranger? Cazenove & Loyd (020-7384 2332, www.cazloyd.com) is offering exclusive use of 1933, a four-suite lodge in the Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, near Kruger National Park.

The lodge overlooks the Sabie river and has a children’s dormitory sleeping up to eight, a wine cellar, gym, sauna and pool. Five-night stays cost £2,958pp based on eight adults and eight children sharing the lodge. Return Heathrow flights, domestic flights, transfers and full board are included.

Sri Lanka
Get your adrenalin fix on a white-water rafting trip down the Kaleni river in the rainforest on a new six-day trip with Hayes & Jarvis (0871 6640246, www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk). The holiday includes canoeing along the Dutch Canal and a two-hour elephant ride. Stay in Sigiriya, the high rock fortress, and Kandy, with numerous temples and shrines set around a tranquil lake. Round off the trip with a night at The Beach, a chic oceanfront hotel near Negombo.

The trip costs £989pp, including half-board accommodation in three locations, B&B at The Beach, return flights from Heathrow, tour car with English-speaking guide and a one-way seaplane transfer from Colombo to Sigiriya.

Caribbean
Swap windswept Britain for the warmth of the Windward Isles on a two-week island-hopping trip onboard a new 47ft yacht. By day enjoy professional coaching – beginners are welcome – and in the evenings moor in beautiful lagoons with the option of heading ashore for dinner.

Beginning and ending in Antigua, the holiday includes stops in St Vincent, the Grenadines, St Lucia, Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique. The trip, which runs December to April, costs £1,550pp with Nonstop Sail (01803 833399, www.nonstopsail. com) and includes Royal Yacht Association tuition, full board on the boat, which sleeps seven, and airport transfers. Return Gatwick flights to Antigua cost from £399pp with British Airways (0870 8509850, www.ba.com).

Whitsunday Islands
Watch the sunset over the Whitsunday Islands from the raised deck of your hillside pavilion at Qualia resort on the northernmost tip of Hamilton Island, off Australia’s east coast. Opening this autumn, the secluded resort offers 60 hillside pavilions – some with their own plunge pools – a spa, gym with personal trainer, two pools and the use of your own golf buggy to explore the 30-acre grounds. Take a boat trip for diving or snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef or go swimming off the private beach. Five nights’ full board in a Leeward Pavilion cost £1,523pp with Bridge and Wickers (0207-483 6555, www.bridgeandwickers.co.uk). Flights from Heathrow to Brisbane cost from £657pp.

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