Cosmopolitan UK – September 2019

REETHIBEACH

RESORT,MALDIVES

Thoughtyouhadtobe

a honeymoonertovisit

theMaldives?Nope.The

IndianOceanarchipelago

is keentoappealtomore

thanjustcouples,with

resortssuchasReethiBeach

offeringsingletravellersa 25%discount.

Soyougettodoallthecoolstuff

(watersports,spa,liebya pool)forless.

Win.From£1,499forsevennights;

Premierholidays.co.uk

ELEPHANT

ENCOUNTER,

THAILAND

Channelyourinner

Attenboroughand

studyelephantsonan

expeditionthatwilltake

youdeepintotropical

highlandsin theshadowof

Thailand’stallestpeak,DoiInthanon.

Plus,workonbiodiversitymonitoring

andconservation.Nine-dayexpedition,

£1,690;Biosphere-expeditions.org

OURRETREAT,IBIZA

There’syoga,Pilates,

meditation,wellness

workshopsand

oceansidefitnessonthe

menuatOurRetreat,

alongsidefreshorganic

mealsandvillaswith

privatepools.Gruelling

hoursofexerciseandlimit

calorieintakethisis not.YES.From£1,450

perweek,allinclusive;Ourretreat.co.uk

BIKEPACKING,UK

KittedoutbyPannier.cc,you’llcycle

in a groupintothebeautifulPeak

DistrictNationalPark.At

basecamp,sitarounda

campfirewithnewfound

friendsbeforebiking

backin themorning.

PeaklandWeekender

£189pp,includingbike;

Beyonk.com

if you don’t

want to get

knocked out

during a bumpy

game drive, som

hardy sports bra

vital. It’s import

however, to acceptthatyou’llrarely

feel properly clean. Your feetwill

be perpetually dusty and you’ll

accumulate half a nationalpark

under your nails on a dailybasis.

It’s all part of the experience,soeat

whatever’s put on your plate,turn

off your emails and just embrace

the beauty of the wild.

A huge highlight of thistripwas

the optional activities, butit’sa good

idea to plan them out beforehand

and set aside money for them– most

things aren’t included andwill

require cash rather than card.(Besure

to have local currency on you:dollars

for Zimbabwe and Rand forSouth

Africa.) There’s everythingfrom

canoe trails and white-waterrafting

to gorge swings (exactly whatit

sounds like) and rhinocerostreks.

Here, you’ll spend the daytracking

rhinos and then end witha visitto

a local village to meet thecommunity

From£700ppfora nine-dayEssential

AfricanSafari,includingeightnights’

camping,mostmealsandsome

activities;Intrepidtravel.com

GETTHERE ✈

MORESOLO

ESCAPES

YOU’LLWANT

4 TOBOOKNOW

Quite the spot

MAIN

PHOTOGRAPH

ROCCO

BIZZARRI.

ADDITIONAL

PHOTOGRAPHS

KRISHNA

ADITHYA,

CINDY

GIOVAGNOLI,

DAMIEN

RAGGATT,

STEFANO

SCATA.

*ACCORDING TO AN ANNUAL TRAVEL REPORT PUBLISHED BY ABTA IN OCTOBER 2018

and their very enthusiastic chief.

A sunset cruise on the Zambezi river

costs about £33 for a two-hour trip

and that includes all the drinks you

could want and some local nibbles.

The views are stunning, but the real

highlight is seeing hippos popping

their heads out of the water to yawn.

I should have been born a hippo:

they like their own space and

sunburn easily. Relatable.

But the main focus of the trip

is the game drives: four-hour-long

excursions through the parks while

trying to spot animals. Everyone

wants to see the Big Five – lion,

leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and

buffalo – but there’s so much

more to look out for as

well. We were lucky

enough to see a family

of hyenas playing by

the side of the road.

You have the same

guides with you

throughout the trip,

usually one driver and

one leader, depending

on how big your group is. They

are extremely knowledgeable, so

make the most of having them there

and ask questions. But it isn’t just

game drives and animals that make

this trip so special, it’s the people,

too. Around the campfire each night,

everyone shares a hot meal and a

few beers, and swaps stories. You’ll

leave with a more open and enriched

view of humanity and a refreshed

sense of positivity. There is something

unifying and equalising about

going alone. Everyone pitches in

and helps each other out. We may

have started out as six strangers,

but we became a family. I’d do it

all over again in a heartbeat. ◆

COSMOPOLITAN · 131