Where to go

🐬 Amazon adventures | 🏞 Japan’s camino | ⛵️ Manda Bay

19 April 2024

Luxury

For adventurous types who still like a touch of luxury, exploring the Amazon and Tapajós rivers by boat is just the ticket, says the FT. Kaiara runs five-day cruises aboard the Tupaiú, a wooden-hulled, eight-passenger yacht brimming with simple comforts and charm. There are no piranhas in these waters, making river swimming possible, but there are rare pink dolphins that play around the hull. The rainforest itself is a place of “awe and amazement”, best explored with local guides, while the shoreline is dotted with “dazzling” white sand beaches – perfect for dinners under the stars. Kaiara offers a week-long tailor-made trip to the Brazilian Amazon, including five nights aboard a private yacht, from £3,800pp, kaiara.com.

Alternative

Extremadura isn’t yet on Spain’s tourist trail, says The Times, and all the better for it. The “oft-overlooked” western region is something of a historical conundrum, where “extraordinary grandeur sits side by side with rural tranquillity and genuine wilderness”. The larger towns, Plasencia and Caceres, are charming: the former a “whirl of mansions and palaces” built with conquistador booty; the latter an art museum hub. Further out in the rolling agricultural countryside, highlights include Monfrague National Park and the winding Tagus river. EasyJet flies from London Gatwick to Madrid from £43.99 pp, easyjet.com 

Adventure

On the Shikoku Henro, one of the longest pilgrim routes in Japan, “there are many ancient customs but few hard-and-fast rules”, says National Geographic. The 700-mile circuit crosses all four prefectures of Shikoku, Japan’s fourth largest island, and links 88 temples, where visitors are invited to pay their respects. Dubbed Japan’s Camino de Santiago, the route takes around six weeks to complete on foot, but many visitors do sections by train, bike and car. They are rewarded with hilltop shrines, “expansive coastal views” and a unique view into Japan’s ancient culture. For more information visit 88shikokuhenro.com

Hotel

Most people associate trips to Kenya with safari, says The New York Times, but Manda Island off the eastern coast “has a whole different vibe”. The place to stay is the “posh rustic resort” Manda Bay. Its private thatched roof bungalows – complete with wooden bed swings on their porches – line a vast sandy beach, perfect for sunbathing or just “watching the world go by”. There are snorkelling trips to nearby reefs, fishing expeditions, and the option to voyage around the “mangrove-studded archipelago” aboard a Dhow – a kind of traditional wooden yacht that has sailed the Indian Ocean for thousands of years. Rooms from £270pp per night, mandabay.com 

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