Gawd bless Kate: long spring breaks

Easter and the royal wedding bank holiday mean an 11-day holiday is possible with just three days off work. From Cornwall to the Caribbean, we pick great ways to make the most of it Thanks to a late Easter, the extra royal wedding bank holiday on 29 April and May Day all falling in neat succession, many Brits can take an 11-day break – from Good Friday (22 April) to Monday 2 May – by only taking three days off work. So how best to use them? We’ve shopped around for cheap flights and late deals so you can make the most of the bank holiday bonanza. And we’ve thrown in some shorter breaks and trips in the school holidays too. INDEPENDENT TRIPS Food and fun, Marseille Marseille is perhaps the least French of French cities, with its North African culture and cuisine mixing with the traditional. By day you can explore art galleries, the food markets and the old port, then take a boat trip out to the beaches of the Iles du Frioul. Le Souk (98 quai du Port) does tajines well, or to experience modern Marseille’s foodie scene, try Le Moment on place Sadi Carnot (+33 4 9152 4749, lemoment-marseille.com ), and don’t miss the 1950s-style Le Crystal bar on the Vieux Port. The New Hotel of Marseille (+33 4 9131 5315, new-hotel.com ) is a funky design hotel with rooms available over Easter from €135 a night. Fly from Gatwick on Sunday 24 April for £72, returning Saturday 30 April for £68 (£140 total) with Easyjet ( easyjet.com ). Family beach boutique, Algarve Sagres in the Algarve is a lively town with excellent fish restaurants, near several pretty beaches, some of which (Praia do Tonel) are good for surfing. Lovely hotel Memmo Baleeira (+351 282 624212, memmohotels.com ) still has availability. Here minimalism meets pop art, and there are fantastic sea views. There’s a pool too, and a spa. A seven-night stay in its duplex suite from 19-26 April costs £1,120 B&B (£280 per person) based on four sharing through i-escape.com . Fly to Faro with Ryanair ( ryanair.com ) or Easyjet ( easyjet.com ) from Stansted from about £124pp, or from Glasgow, Bournemouth, East Midlands or Gatwick for the same or less. Clubbing and kayaking, Estonia If you’re looking for an unusual adventure that won’t cost the earth, try Estonia. Fly to Tallinn for a day or two exploring the pretty turreted Old Town, interesting nightlife and perhaps stay in Olevi Residence (+372 6 277650, olevi.ee ), in a 14th-century building in the Old Town, which offers three nights for around €165 for two people. Then drive out to Soomaa national park, known as the “Land of Bogs” (it’s a far more magical place than the name would suggest). There you can hire a traditional dugout canoe to explore, or go horse-riding, cycling or hiking. Eight nights’ half-board at Põnka Puhketalu (+372 52 26 909, ponkaland.com ), an Estonian farmhouse close to the park, costs from £204pp. Ryanair ( ryanair.com ) flights to Tallinn from Luton, departing on 22 April and returning on 1 May, currently cost about £160. Beachside bliss, Brazil Now that the carnival is over, Brazil is all about blissed-out relaxation, and nowhere offers it like Bahia, on the north-eastern coast, land of beaches and bars. Hotel Anima is a simple but stylish retreat on the island of Tinharé, right by a palm-fringed beach, with pool and sundeck. A nine-night stay with breakfast from 22 April–2 May costs £426pp, based on two sharing through i-escape.com . Fly with TAP ( flytap.com ) from Heathrow to Salvador, currently around £900 return. Then from Salvador port it’s a two-hour boat trip to Morro de Sao Paulo on Tinharé. Orthodox Easter, Rhodes This year Greek Orthodox Easter coincides with Christian Easter, on 24 April. At this time there will be many ceremonies and events: the locals will eat tsoureki – sweet braided bread, and spit-roasted lamb, and there will be parties and boiled egg-fight games. There are lots of characterful hotels in Rhodes Town, or head slightly out of town to the K Boutique Hotel (+30 22 410 96980, kboutiquehotel.com ), which has a candlelit pool, outdoor pool and spa, and still has availability, with doubles from €810 for eight nights. Fly on Ryanair’s ( ryanair.com ) new route from London to Rhodes, currently £77pp one way departing Thursday 21 or Saturday 23 April, returning for £67pp on Thursday 28 or Saturday 30 April, (£144 total). Flights from Liverpool (on Mondays and Thursdays only) cost about £112 return. Culture and adventure, Bulgaria There’s a lot more to Bulgaria than low prices. The capital city, Sofia, has a fascinating history as an arts and crafts centre. Invading Ottomans filled it with stunning mosques, fountains and hammams, and there is plenty to entertain a city-breaker on a budget. After seeing the churches and museums, take a day trip to the Iskar Gorge for a picnic before clambering over rocks and into caves; another day hike Vitosha mountain, then look around Bankya, a small city below Lyulin mountain, famous for its natural spa. The luxurious Kempinski Hotel Zografski ( kempinski.com ) has four restaurants and a spa, and rooms from €55 a night during the Easter period. Fly from London with Easyjet ( easyjet.com ) on Saturday 23 April for £87 one way (or Sunday 24 for £64) and return on 1 May for £148 (or £116 on Thursday 28 April) so £235pp return. Or from Manchester on Saturday 23 April for £61, returning on Saturday 30 April for £146, so £207 return. Costa del Sol, Spain The south of Spain may be a popular choice, but there are still flights available for Easter. From Malaga you can play it by ear and set off by bus or car to explore the coastal towns such as playboy central Puerto Banus and windsurfers’ favourite Tarifa, then perhaps get the ferry over to Tangier, Morocco, from there. Easyjet ( easyjet.com ) flies from Glasgow to Malaga, departing Friday 22 April for £104pp and returning on Sunday 1 May for £100 (total £204pp return). Or fly from Luton on Friday 22 April for £98 and return on Monday 2 May for £121 (total £218pp return). PACKAGES Simple life, Zakynthos, Greece Limni Keri on the Ionian island of Zakynthos is a small seaside village surrounded by olive groves and vineyards (fact: not all Greek wine is rough!), near a beach and a harbour, where you can arrange boat trips to sea caves and other islands. Here Sunvil Holidays (020-8568 4499, sunvil.co.uk ) has a special deal to the Markella Apartments, set in gardens with a swimming pool, so a 10-night stay departing 21 April costs from £733pp (based on four sharing), including self-catering accommodation, return flights (from Gatwick with Easyjet) and transfers. Bargain beaches, Mallorca A 10-night self-catering trip to Alcudia in Mallorca, with Jet2 Holidays (0800 408 5599, jet2holidays.com ), costs £367pp departing from Leeds Bradford on 22 April, and staying in an apartment at the three-star BelleVue Club, with eight pools to choose from. The BelleVue Club is 10 minutes from the historic town centre, with its ruins and markets. The long sandy beach is 800m away. Boat trips can be arranged to Formentor for snorkelling and great

Posted by on March 11, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.