Dream islands & beaches

• 1 Pimalai, luxury and leisure in a jungle setting
  Imagine an idyllic island with lush greenery, the scent of exotic plants floating on the warm evening air and the clear waters of the Andaman Sea lapping a curve of pale golden sand. That's exactly what...

• 2 A paradise for winter
  They say that the beaches of Punta Cana, stretching for over 50 kilometres along the east coast of the island of La Hispaniola, are the best beaches in the world. With their white sands, warm turquoise...

• 3 Luxury ahoy! - the ultimate in superyachts
  The first of these magnificent yachts is called The Streets of Monaco, a luxury 155-metre vessel with capacity for 16 passengers and 70 crew. The name is completely accurate, as the design recreates the...

• 4 The Canaries – a perfect place for Christmas
  Over four million Brits prefer to celebrate Christmas abroad. Some of them choose snowy ski resorts in the Alps and Pyrenees, but many are looking to add a little sunshine to the last week of the year....

• 5 Indigo Pearl Resort: industrial chic in an exotic Thai setting
  The modern architecture of the resort is carefully designed so it never rises higher than the palm trees that surround it and skilfully integrates the tin-mining heritage of the island with evocative...

• 6 Puerto Rico: more than just rum
  It's not just Johnny Depp who has found Puerto Rico the perfect location: from the classic 1963 Lord of the Flies, to the up-coming Treasure Island starring Eddie Izzard as Long John Silver, the cluster...

• 7 Parrot Cay – 1,000 unspoiled acres in the Caribbean
  The Turks and Caicos comprise eight main islands and over 40 smaller cays, of which Parrot Cay is one. International flights can take you to the archipelago's main island, Providenciales, known locally...

• 8 Costa Rica: a rainbow in shades of green
  That fact that 25% of Costa Rica is classified as a protected area – a proportion no other country can boast – says a lot about the country's wealth of flora and fauna and the generosity of...

• 9 The Tubkaak: eco-design and romance
  With just 42 charming and original rooms, the exquisite good taste and refinement without ostentation of Tubkaak provides the perfect place to savour the luxury of simplicity. Personalised service and...

• 10 Crete: where myth and history meet
  To discover Crete is to discover the foundations of our civilisation: the island is like a dream that has been dreamed down through the centuries and that promises to continue for centuries to come....

• 11 Treasure islands in the Andaman Sea
  Unlike Phang Nga Bay and the paradisiacal island of Phuket – the two best known and most popular tourist destinations in the Andaman Sea – these secret islands have managed to jealously guard...

• 12 The sheer beauty of the French 'fjords'
  With its steep-walled inlets, known locally as calanques, the stretch of coastline between Marseilles and Cassis is one of the most rugged landscapes of the whole of the Mediterranean. The spectacular,...

• 13 Portofino, the height of Italian chic
  The earth tones of rusty browns, oranges and terracotta of the simple facades curving round the fishing port could almost be mistaken for a medieval painting were it not for the mega-yachts that bring...

• 14 Sun, sand and... lava, in Tenerife
  In Tenerife, a land of carnival, unique history and natural wonders, a diverse landscape surrounds the volcanic mass of Mount Teide. There are volcanic beaches and fine sand beaches, waters where you can...

• 15 Magical Mediterranean islands
  Brac (Croatia) 
 Zlatni Rat – the 'golden cape' – near Bol is probably Croatia's finest beach. The beautiful horn of pale sand juts into the sea, extending for nearly half a mile, and is...

• 16 The secrets of Santorini
  The Phoenicians knew it as Kalliste – “the beautiful” – even without the pretty whitewashed villages that now dot the island's dark volcanic cliffs, adding to its picturesque charm....

• 17 The southeastern tip of Spain
  You may experience a kind of deja vu as you roam around the rugged landscapes of Cabo de Gata-Nijar on the coast of Almeria in southern Spain. This is hardly surprising, as it has featured in TV series,...

• 18 Panama, a land of abundance
  Panama owes its existence to the canal, which has marked the life and politics of the country since it seceded from Colombia in 1903, and which remains today one of its greatest assets. There's no ...

• 19 Puerto Vallarta, a Pacific paradise
  Archaeological evidence suggests that the area was settled two and a half thousand years ago, but it's only since the Sixties that Puerto Vallarta has become more widely known outside Mexico. Famed for...

• 20 The wild beauty of the Costa Brava
  This rugged Mediterranean shore in the north of Spain, almost on the French border, offers travellers the pleasure of discovering unexpected coves and pristine beaches along the craggy coastline that...