EGYPT
El Alamein, another sea
This is the name of a small place not far from Alexandria. Cairo is also relatively close, so for those who choose this resort for a winter beach holiday, there are ample opportunities to tour the surrounding area, including along a motorway. Including to the great pyramids or to Luxor.
What's new. Egypt is firmly associated in the minds of tourists with the Red Sea, but El Alamein is on the Mediterranean, where tour operators still offer few packages. Yet it is in summer that Egypt's weather conditions favor the Mediterranean. The climate in Alexandria is milder than on the Red Sea, and the daytime temperature is slightly lower. Alexandria is said to have few hotels, but right now several new hotel complexes are being prepared to open there.
While relaxing in El Alamein, a tourist gets the opportunity to feel the country better than at traditional Egyptian resorts. Local hotels are located not only along the sea, but also further inland, in oasis parks. Alexandria is the most Europeanized Egyptian resort. The Egyptians themselves often call Alexandria the "Egyptian Petersburg". It is also home to the summer residences of high-ranking local government officials.
* The average cost of a seven-day stay in a five-star hotel is $945.
MOROCCO
Thematic tour "Belt of Cities"
This is a combined program consisting of beach and sightseeing parts. In the countries of the Arab East, such programs are not unusual, because the countless ancient monuments there do not allow the vacation to be confined to the boring pattern of "hotel – beach – hotel again". But it all comes down to the sightseeing component itself. While vacationing in Morocco at one of the seaside resorts, for example in Agadir, tourists can buy excursions and visit nearby cities with their attractions: the colorful imperial capitals of the past, Fez, Marrakesh, Rabat, Meknes. Or go to the south of the country, which is not as popular with tourists, but can boast no fewer unique ancient structures, as well as access to the Sahara Desert.
What's new. The compilers of Moroccan programs realized that this country is too vast and the potential of "sightseeing" is too great to be used in one-off excursions. It is much more convenient for culturally minded tourists to devote part of their vacation to a sequential trip around the country. And then come to the coast to calmly, without distraction, relax on the Atlantic or the Mediterranean Sea.
It is better to choose programs that offer the cultural part first, and then the beach part. Otherwise, the vacation may seem tiring.
* Expect to pay $1,200 per week per person.
TUNISIA
Quiet Sedria
This resort area of Tunisia combines comfortable beach holidays and unlimited opportunities for educational tourism. The fact is that Sedria is a 15-minute drive from the city of Tunis and a little further from Hammamet. This location makes it possible to combine recreation with interesting sightseeing programs in both cities.
What's new. Compared with the popular Sousse, Djerba and other Tunisian rivieras, Sedria is distinguished by its seclusion, and there are few hotels here. You can spend your vacation on almost deserted beaches in complete peace and quiet - if, of course, that is what you want.
Here, as at other Tunisian resorts, you can take a course in one of the most popular wellness methods - thalassotherapy. Moreover, it is in the hotels of Sedria that the greatest variety is practiced in combining thalassotherapy with other healing complexes.
* A standard seven-day package to a 4* hotel costs from $400, and a thalassotherapy course will cost an additional $300-350.
GREECE
Kos Island - a pristine corner
Kos is a small island in the Dodecanese archipelago. The Greeks are especially proud of it: flamingos fly here for the winter, and this, besides being a beautiful sight, is also an indicator of one hundred percent ecological purity. Kos's resort merits are expressed in kilometers of sandy beaches that turn into dunes, fruit orchards, pine groves, beautiful ancient ruins and fortresses, and ancient towns that have remained intact. In addition, the island was lucky to become the birthplace of Hippocrates, so it is only natural to take care of visitors' health here. For example, the island has a cult of the bicycle, and there are even more bike paths than pedestrian paths.
What's new. Europeans have been coming to Kos for about twenty years now, and it has long been a center of world tourism. Kos is intended for those who do not like to sit still, but rather strive to discover new things and are not afraid to travel independently through unfamiliar places - for example, across all the islands of the Dodecanese archipelago.
Not far from the island is the southwestern coast of Turkey, which can be reached in half an hour by a boat styled like an ancient sailing ship, and you can even fish on the way.
* From $1,300 for the flight and a week's stay in a four-star hotel.
SPAIN
Chiclana - the birth of glamour
Chiclana is a small town on the Mediterranean coast in the province of Cádiz. As a resort, it has long been in good demand among Europeans who are not too demanding about the surroundings. Chiclana has always been considered a quiet, purely family place where people came to lie on the wild beach in the shade of the rocks and stroll through the surrounding orange groves. Simply a Spanish paradise for residents of northern megacities.
What's new. Recently, Chiclana has been turning into a major tourist center with all the ensuing consequences. An amusement park, a golf club, and a whole range of nightclubs are opening here. You'll have to forget about peace and quiet, but this will clearly appeal to those who like to party to their heart's content. In addition, the town is gradually attracting more and more windsurfing enthusiasts - experts have suddenly discovered that the conditions here are ideal for this sport.
Not far from the coast is the island of Sancti Petri with a castle built in the 18th century. This is a landmark that must not be missed.
* On average $690 per week's stay in a three-star hotel, slightly less in a motel.
THAILAND
From the Beach - to the Farm
In some Thai provinces, they came up with a tourist attraction called "visit a farm." The Thais decided that tourists who love this country but have had their fill of all the typical vacation pastimes should be offered something exotic. Namely, to swap the beachside "do-nothing" for working days with the chance to immerse themselves in local village life.
What's new. Rural tourism has been practiced for a long time in various parts of the planet and is not in itself extraordinary. However, local tour operators approached this issue from an unexpected angle. No village shacks, no rice planting knee-deep in water, and no other peasant hardships. The Thais reasoned as follows: mostly respectable, well-to-do citizens come to the country, who need comfort above all, even against a backdrop of exoticism. Therefore, hotels, restaurants, and even shops have opened on the territory of some farms. And if you wish, in your spare time you can, for example, milk cows, graze them, churn butter…
In Thailand, the concept of "farm" can have various meanings: oyster plantations, "state farms" for breeding crocodiles, and pearl-growing enterprises. Not all agricultural farms are ready to offer such a holiday.
* Slightly more expensive than regular beach tours to this country - from $1,000.
CHINA
"End of the World"
Weihai is a resort on the coast of the Yellow Sea, consisting of a large number of islets and bays and full of South Chinese exoticism. It got the name "End of the World" thanks to the natural park of the same name located here, which, among other things, is a monument of ancient culture. Weihai is also famous for its modern safari park located in the mountains. True, wild animals do not roam freely here, but are kept in enclosures over which walkways for tourists are laid. From them you can not only watch the predators, but also feed them.
What's new. Weihai is the first Chinese state ecological reserve that has been turned into a resort. From the reserve, it has picturesque sea islands, sandbars, and reefs. From the resort, it has beaches and thermal springs, whose water is especially effective in treating cardiovascular diseases and stress.
Travel agencies often combine a holiday in Weihai with an excursion or shopping program in Dalian, or Northern Hong Kong, a city of unique architectural ensembles in Chinese, European, American, and Japanese styles. Also located here is the huge water park Water Paradise.
* On average, a ten-day holiday costs $1,200 per person.
ERITREA
Unknown Africa
Eritrea is a small region on the southwestern coast of the Red Sea, split off from Ethiopia, which, oddly enough, has a certain connection with Russia. It is said that Pushkin's great-grandfather, General Hannibal, was born here. They even plan to open a corresponding museum in the former Ethiopian province and erect a monument to Alexander Sergeevich, which would be a unique precedent, since there have been no monuments to Pushkin in Africa yet.
What's new. This year, Eritrea is just beginning to be actively "promoted" on our tourist market, but European tourists already know it quite well as a rapidly developing beach resort and an open-air museum. Arabic and colonial monuments of antiquity have been preserved here, including the oldest mosque in Africa. Also here is the oldest operating port - Massawa, which for many years was the capital of the coastal region. Interestingly, for more than a century, Eritrea was like a magnet for Turks, Italians, and Egyptians, and as a result, the city absorbed a little from each culture and turned into a truly unique multicultural region.
A holiday here is interesting mainly for diving enthusiasts. In Eritrea, on the Dahlak Archipelago, dozens of diving centers have been opened and exciting dive routes have been developed - up to descending to the sides of sunken ancient ships and walking through underwater caves. The uniqueness of diving is also enhanced by the fact that it is here, in the southern part of the Red Sea, that the main concentrations of corals are located. And the farther from the well-known resorts, the greater the chance of encountering unique underwater objects and pristine fauna. Coral reefs that have been virtually untouched by human hands still survive in the vicinity of Eritrea.
* The average cost of an 11-day tour package is from $2,315.
NEW GUINEA
The World's Best Diving
The splendor of the underwater world opening off the shores of these islands amazes everyone, even seasoned divers. The New Guinea bays abound with coral reefs and are ideal for spearfishing, as they are inhabited by the most exotic marine creatures - here there are butterflyfish, clownfish, hammerhead sharks, sergeant fish, and hundreds of turtle species. Moreover, these waters have preserved many shipwrecks that were unlucky in their attempts to discover new lands in olden times. However, diving is not the only entertainment here; tourists can ride around the islands, see volcanoes and waterfalls, and also admire whales from the shore.
What is new. The direction itself is unusual, not yet widespread even among independent travelers. The stay there cannot be called a typical beach holiday. Rather, it is classified as an exotic trip.
By the way, "Novye Izvestia" advises to note that the Indian Ocean in this region is not the Red Sea. There are plenty of... sharks here.
* Up to $4.000 for 10 days, excluding airfare costs.