With Valentine’s Day coming up, if you are planning to plan to take a romantic trip with your significant other, Caribbean holidays seem to be the first choice for almost everyone.    And it’s not just couples.  Singles are touring for tenderness as well!  Most of us think that the beach is the best setting for a romantic trip and fanning the flames of love.  The clincher is watching a sunset or sunrise over the sands followed by a stroll along that beach.

Year-round sunny weather, stunning sandy beaches, lush tropical scenery, friendly locals and irresistible food and music make Caribbean holidays truly special.  Each island has its own unique atmosphere, cuisine and history.  Jamaica is one of the classic Caribbean destinations.  The home of reggae with a laid-back, friendly population and a great sense of fun make Jamaica ideal for exciting holidays. Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, has also become increasingly popular with Irish travellers.  The American government has already eased travel restrictions for Cuban-Americans and may very well lift them entirely.  Many fear that will change Cuba’s distinctive character for good.

Life has a random edge in Cuba, so sip a rum cocktail and be enchanted by the beautiful colonial buildings and romantically faded grandeur of Havana with some of the best Spanish colonial architecture in the Americas pretty well untouched since they were built!   If it’s just a really laid back Caribbean experience you’re after, try the island’s famed beach destination of Varadero, renowned for its unspoiled white sands and crystal-clear waters.  So if you’re planning a honeymoon between December and May, the Caribbean is an excellent choice.

The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is a unification of seven self-governing states:  Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain and Dubai.   It’s proving to be one of our favourite tourist destinations in the Middle East.  That’s no surprise as Irish travellers choosing Dubai holidays will be flooded with beautiful scenery, stunning hotel and resort complexes, fantastic shopping and lots of options for recreational activities.

Dubai certainly has an exuberant air, once described by the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart as “what happens when Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia have babies”. That’s a bit unfair really!  It may share the same neon aspirations as Vegas, but the architecture in Dubai is definitely more cutting edge and has its own aesthetic of modernity that Nevada lacks.    It depends on your taste of course, but Dubai holidays offer stunning natural and man-made scenery with extravagant entertainment.  Dubai is probably most famous for its artificial islands. The “Palm Dubai” and “The Palms”, shaped like palm trees, and “The World”, consisting of an  archipelago of 300 islands constructed in the shape of the Earth’s continents, are the largest man-made islands ever built  and have been described as  ‘the Eighth Wonder of the World’.

Dubai also provides the ultimate in luxury holidays.  The “Seven Star” Burj al-Arab is the epitome of opulence, standing on its own island.  Nothing prepares you for the interior of the Burj. Every colour and every material known to man seems to have been used in the décor but somehow sheer scale seems to make them fit together!   During the day, the hotel is pristine white, but after dark computer controlled lights means the whole building changes colour.

Dubai holidays would not be complete without a trip to the covered Gold Souk in Deira, Dubai’s most famous gold market and although you shouldn’t expect cheap bargains you will certainly get a piece for far less than the equivalent price back home.  Although the UAE is an Islamic Federal Constitutional Monarchy, it’s always had a very tolerant and relaxed attitude, so entertainment and night life in Dubai includes cinemas, concerts, discotheques as well as live entertainment.  There is also a wide selection of bars and pubs to be found in the major hotels, many of which are so huge that it’s not necessary to venture outside their limits to experience everything the UAE has to offer.

Steve Garley has tried just about everything edible in world cuisine, but even he had a culinary first in the Seychelles…

We decided to try gourmet Creole cooking in the Chez Lamar restaurant in the Banyan Tree. This is one of three restaurants - Au Jardin D’Epices is the fine dining a la carte venue and Saffron is a tasty Thai restaurant.   We sat down to enjoy a “Seychelles Tasting” menu, although their idea of “Tasting” and mine are two different things.  The portions were huge!  We began with octopus in batter, aubergine compote and a whole soft crab that you eat in its entirety.

Second course was a huge piece of lamb, gigantic prawns, some vegetable chutneys, rice and fruit bat curry. Now curried fruit bat is a first for me!  It’s incredibly bony but very tasty although I could not take the” pfaffing around” of getting it off the bone. Definitely a taste experience though, and that’s an accolade  coming from the man who has eaten Pangolin in Guilin, Spiced Sparrow in Beijing, and Sea Slug and Duck’s Bill in Hong Kong.  There is a season for fruit bat, so they are not endangered by the culinary habits of the Seychellois. Nevertheless I think prefer them in the air than in my curry.  The manager returned at the end of the meal to tell us that he had a box full of tiny turtles that had hatched that evening. Slightly concerned, I told him we really were quite full, but there was no need to worry!  These 80 tiny turtle hatchlings weren’t intended as desert but were to be released into the Ocean.  We were taken by buggy to the beach and then escorted them to the water and let them escape.