Unusual holiday destinations

The travel media clamber every year to find the next destination. THE next place to holiday. What’s too cool when not at school. We always have our eye on countries, regions, islands and highlands which are new and unusual because they have made their mark in the responsible travel movement. They are different and unusual because they are putting a cap on the mass tourism maelstrom. Or they are starting out in a destination that is new to the ever growing world of tourism, and are striving to do so in a way that respects local culture, supports community income and offers exciting experiences like nowhere else.

Unusual holiday destinations all have a few things in common, however. They go off the tourist trail, beyond the mass tourism machine and into places that take us out of our comfort zones. Such as spending the nights in Indian homestays, pushing ourselves up mountains on bikes in order to have the most memorable lunch ever, or trekking through the Atlas Mountains with nomads as they lead their families and livestock up to higher pastures for the summer. Here's a few suggestions for unusual holiday destinations to whet your appetite.

Best known as the last bastion of Eastern Bloc communism, Albania remained firmly closed to outsiders until very recently. An era of isolation has preserved a hodgepodge of Ottoman minarets, abandoned bunkers, mosques, the tumbling hillside of houses in Berat and the crumbling remains of the great Greek, Roman and Byzantine empires. Lace up your walking boots to hike Albania’s very own Alps, evocatively named the ‘Accursed Mountains’.

Best time to go: April to June and September to October
Our top selling trip: Albania holidays, small group tour
See all our trips: Albania holidays
Read more: Albania travel guide

Colombia is a little piece of every part of South America, from the cowboy film landscapes of red rock Tatacoa Desert, to the Andes and the palm fringed beaches of Tayrona National Park. Forget fears of cartels, Colombia is better known these days for its best drug: coffee. Travel with a local guide for an insightful tour of Bogota's beating heart, the colonial city of Cartagena and modern Medellin.

Best time to go: July to September
Our top selling trip: Colombia tailor made holiday
See all our trips: Colombia holidays
Read more: Colombia travel guide

Like a desert oasis, abundant with natural beauty, Oman is the antithesis to UAE’s unbridled opulence. Fertile fruit orchards fill markets with apricots and pomegranates, water-filled wadis (ravines) promise serene wild swimming and green turtles breach turquoise waters to lay eggs on the beaches. Spend your nights under Arabian skies with a Bedouin tribe, or try a thrilling desert drive through the rippled dunes of the Wahiba Sands.

Best time to go: October to March
Our top selling trip: Oman small group tour
See all our trips: Oman holidays
Read more: Oman travel guide

A landlocked country surrounded by landlocked countries; in Uzbekistan the desert is never very far away. Here, ships in the sand guard the graveyards of former seas, desert castles stand deserted and yurts are still made from camel hair. Alright, the cuisine is divisive at best, but it's balanced out by the grand cities of Samarkand, Khiva and ancient Kesh and the illustrious Silk Road.

Best time to go: March to September
Our top selling trip: The Silk Road small group tour
See all our trips: Uzbekistan holidays
Read more: Uzbekistan travel guide