PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK


DESTINATIONS STOPOVERS MIDDLE EAST


FAR LEFT: Souk Waqif, Doha


LEFT: Shangri- La Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi


BELOW: Grand Mosque, Muscat


SAMPLE PRODUCT


Gold Medal can twin three nights in a Deluxe Souk View room at the four-star Al Seef Hotel by Jumeirah


(room-only) with a week half-board at the five-star Radisson Blu Azuri, Mauritius, from £1,199 per person, including Emirates flights from Gatwick. Valid for travel between May 7 and June 18, 2019. goldmedal.co.uk


Premier Holidays offers a 13-night Qatar and


Thailand holiday from £1,729 per person with


three nights at Al Najada Doha Hotel by Tivoli, three nights in Bangkok and seven nights in Krabi. Price based on travel between May 16 and July 12, 2019, with flights from Heathrow and private transfers. trade.


premierholidays. co.uk


centres add a slice of modernity. Upsell: The marble-covered Royal Opera House is an architectural feat, while the Grand Mosque, Sultan’s Palace and Mutrah Corniche – a stretch of latticed buildings and mosques – bring cultural types flocking. Viator offers a city tour of the key highlights, as well as various day-long excursions outside the city, including adventures in the desert, visits to the historic Nizwa forts, and trekking in the Wadi Shab, a gorge between cliffs filled with iridescent pools, cascading waterfalls and stepped plantations (from £95 for the latter). Where to stay: Suggest Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, for a luxury pad in the centre of the action, complete with a Six Senses Spa and sandwiched between the sea and the Al Hajar mountains.


◗ ABU DHABI Why: Combining the glitz of Dubai with the authenticity of less-developed destinations, Abu Dhabi is a hub for culture as much as it is family adventure, and the product offering is growing by the day. Upsell: Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld and the recently opened Warner Bros


60travelweekly.co.uk29 November 2018


Visit Wadi Shab, a gorge between cliffs filled with iridescent pools and cascading waterfalls


World Abu Dhabi make Yas Island the city’s adventure playground, while elsewhere there’s the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a £1 billion complex set on Saadiyat Island; the Heritage Village, a reconstruction of traditional desert life filled with craft workshops; and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a sprawling mass of white-and-gold domes set above glossy mosaic floors. Do Something Different offers tickets to all of the parks, with prices for Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi from £64. Where to stay: Caribtours recommends the Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat al Beri, centrally located on a stretch of white sand along the Grand Canal and offering pick-me-up treatments for those going long-haul at its signature spa.


◗ DOHA Why: All eyes will soon be on Doha, with the 2022 World Cup on the horizon, but for now it remains relatively undiscovered. “It’s not somewhere that immediately springs to mind so it’s unaffected by tourism and maintains its traditional Arabic roots,” says Nikki Hain, Premier Holidays’ Middle East product manager. Upsell: Highlights include Souk Waqif, a vibrant, 19th-century market filled with spices, shisha, galleries and souvenir shops; the Museum of Islamic Art, a striking behemoth home to historic artworks; and Katara, a cultural village filled with theatres, galleries, food stalls and a beach. Outside the city there’s Khor Al Adaid, an inland sea and nature reserve on the Qatari border, where the water laps onto rolling desert dunes. Viator offers small-group tours out from the city in a 4x4 to see it, from £46. Where to stay: For an authentic experience, Premier Holidays recommends Souq Waqif Hotels by Tivoli, a string of boutiques housed in traditional Qatari buildings and set in the heart of the bustling marketplace – twin it with Thailand for the ultimate city-plus-beach break.


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