Words by: Kirsten JonesSATURDAY MAGAZINE 67TRAVEL
BARGAIN BREAKS
Find your island in the sun
Jamaica
WHY: Tune in to
Caribbean time in the
birthplace of reggae
music. Sip a rum
punch on the beach,
grab a snorkel and
go offshore, or hike
to the top of the
beautiful Blue
Mountain Peak.
HOW: Teletext Holidays (0203 0011 273,
teletextholidays.co.uk) has seven nights
all-inclusive at the three-star Fun Holiday
Beach Resort for £676 per person, flying
from Manchester on November 13.Malta
WHY: Sail in bright
blue lagoons, relax
on a sunlounger or
explore the Megalithic
Temples of Malta
on this short-haul
sunshine break.
HOW: Travel
Republic (020 8974
7200, travelrepublic.
co.uk) has seven
nights at the four-star
Solana Hotel & Spa, room only, from
£560 per person, flying from Birmingham
on September 17.Cyprus
WHY: Visit historic
Paphos to see
ancient tombs in its
Archaeological Park
and watch the sunset
at Aphrodite’s Rock,
where the Greek
goddess of love and
beauty was born.
HOW: Sovereign Luxury Travel (01923
832459, sovereign.com) is offering seven
nights at the five-star Annabelle in a Terrace
Garden View Room, half-board, from £625
per person, flying from London Gatwick
with easyJet on December 8. Call to book.two-person vehicle that provides a fun (and
eco-friendly) way of getting around the island.
We used ours to go in search of beautiful
beaches – our favourite being windswept,
white-sand Elbow Beach – and to visit the
quaint former capital, St George’s.
This is where the first English settlers, led by
Sir George Somers, landed in 1609 after their
ship was wrecked at a nearby reef. It was the
first permanent settlement in Bermuda and is
now a World Heritage site, with museums,
shops and galleries.
From there, we took the 15-minute drive
over to Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve, on
Bermuda’s southeastern tip. This secluded area
was off-limits for decades – the US military
occupied it and built a battery during the
Second World War, and in the 1960s NASA
operated a space-tracking station here. It was
reopened to the public in 2011.
We climbed the wildlife observation tower
to enjoy beautiful views of the island, before
laying down our towels on one of the cedar
tree-fringed white-sand bays.
Fantastic beaches can also be found on the
southern side of Bermuda, and this is where
you’ll find its distinctive pink-sand ones. The
most famous is Horseshoe Bay, in the parish of
Southampton. It’s often crowded but, at one
and a half miles long, you’ll be able to find a
quieter spot if you just keep walking.
We marvelled at its vivid sand as we passed
by en route to a different hotel for the second
half of our trip, The Reefs. The 61-room, family
run property surely has one of the best spots
on Bermuda, its low-rise cottages hugging the
cliffs and looking over its own private
pink-white sandy beach below. Our guest
room, like all rooms here, had a balcony with
incredible views over the ocean, and this
spectacular outlook continued at its three
restaurants: Aqua Terra, Clubhouse Bar and
Lounge, and Coconuts, next to the beach.
We spent our first couple of days shuttling
between our balcony, sunbeds, the restaurants
and La Serena Spa, before venturing out.
Luckily, there’s a regular bus service right
outside the hotel and we hopped on one to
nearby Warwick Long Bay, which is lapped by
the most vivid turquoise water.
It’s also worth taking the bus in the opposite
direction to the restaurants and shops at
historic Royal Naval Dockyard and to
Somerset Bridge Watersports, where we signed
up for an exhilarating jet-ski tour. We spied
turtles in the water near Ely’s Harbour and our
guide pointed out numerous sights, including
the late David Bowie’s beachside cottage.
Then it was back to The Reefs for the weekly
beach barbecue, where we watched the sunset.
It’s not hard to imagine why the British chose
to settle here all those years ago. Given half the
chance, I’d never have left either.WAY TO GO Prestige Holidays (01425
480400, prestigeholidays.co.uk) has a seven-
night Bermuda break, including return British
Airways flights from Gatwick to Bermuda
(departing on November 7), private transfers,
four nights at Rosedon Hotel in a superior
room followed by three nights at The Reefs in
a poolside room from £2,919 per person on a
B&B basis. Hire a Twizy from Current Vehicles
(currentvehicles.com) from £80 per day.Horseshoe Bay
Rosedon HotelBERMUDACUBAFLORIDA