Rough Guide

Julia Bradbury goes in search of the perfect beach in Thailand, at Ko Phi Phi, and Toby Amies looks at kite surfing and quad biking on the coast of Morocco.

Toby tries to find the best value private paradise in Fiji but has trouble getting as far away from the tourists as possible. He finds a tribal chief and friendly natives on one of the many islands but is disappointed when he discovers they are preparing to entertain the next boatload of 70 tourists. Eventually he finds the deserted desert island of Mono but is he really happy to be all alone...? Julia gets away to Belize in unexplored Central America and samples 2 cultures, the Caribbean influence and ancient Mayan civilisation. She stays in Francis Ford Coppola's luxury hotel, tours the mangrove swamps where she sees exotic birds and rare manatees in their natural habitat and then heads off into the rain forest on foot to explore ancient Mayan ruins with curator, Santiago. A local musician plays a hand-made harp and shows her his homestead. In Valencia Julia gets true value for money with prices at 30% less than the usual Spanish tourist traps, and no British invasion. She stays in a 3-bed hotel with individual "designer" rooms, takes the Cathedral tour for 10 euros to view the Holy Grail, and sees the spectacular festival of fire held between 12-19 March to mark the start of spring. She visits the magnificent aquarium, enjoys the modern futuristic cityscape by day and night and experiences life like a local in the flamenco bars. Julia gives Valencia the thumbs up and awards it the Bradbury star!