Winter sun: Alternative South American beaches

With the weather on the wrong side of brisk, it's the perfect time to escape to South America's lesser-known beaches. From tropical Brazil to leisurely-paced Uruguay, find sunshine, sand and plenty of much-needed space.

Argentina: Pinamar and Cariló

Forget the kiss-me-quick city Mar del Plata and its faded glory days, and head to Pinamar and Cariló - two glamorous yet low-key small resorts on the Atlantic coast, 340km (211 miles) south of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. Luxurious homes exist harmoniously within the 90-year-old pine forest, and these two towns, with Mar de Ostende and Valeria del Mar nestling between them, spring to life in the summer months with local tourists filling hotel rooms and renting out private homes.

Kite surfing and beach parties

Pinamar, the larger of the pair, is home to dozens of beach clubs dotted along 8km (5 miles) of dunes, allowing you to claim plenty of grain space. Kite surfing has taken off in the past few years but you can also try your hand at sand boarding, surfing, horse riding and deep sea fishing, or even rent a 4x4 and head north to tackle the dunes yourself. Although temperatures cool in the evenings, after-beach parties around a crackling campfire are de rigueur.

Sand dunes and spas

Cariló (which means ‘green sand dune' in the Indian Mapuche language) meanwhile, boasts 300m- (984ft-) wide dunes (which Francis Ford Coppola used as a setting for The Hamptons in 2009 film Tetro) and hotels with fabulous spa facilities. The emphasis is on couples and families being pampered to the max, then heading off to their Italian Riviera-style beach tent to while away the sunny hours in the 30-degree heat, cool cocktail in one hand, magazine in the other.

Uruguay: Punta del Diablo

It's worth dropping into the ritzy Punta del Este for a 24-hour Eurotrash explosion, if only to say you've seen the thoroughly ostentatious display of enormous yachts, surgically enhanced bodies and large twinkling jewels. But, for rest and relaxation, head for the lazy fishing village of Punta del Diablo - 298km (185 miles) from Uruguay's capital city Montevideo - a beachside spot so laidback, that it's practically buried in the sand.

Peace and quiet

Punta del Diablo prides itself on not having any hotels - lodgings are simple two or three-roomed cabins - and just nine restaurants and bars open their doors; be sure to tuck into a super-fresh shark steak caught from the local waters. Sun worshippers and surfers mingle on the main beach, which sweeps along in front of the town centre, but venturing north or south will guarantee extra seclusion. While a stay in Punta del Diablo is one of meandering coastal walks coupled with lashings of peace and quiet, more and more cabañas are springing up, meaning its off-the-beaten-track days are numbered, albeit at an unhurried Uruguayan pace.

Brazil: Trancoso

While Copacabana is an obvious Brazilian hotspot, the hill-top town of Trancoso in the southern part of Bahia state is a beachside beauty which has so far avoided the jostling crowds and tacky tourist attractions of the country's more publicised coastal strips. This tropical destination is surrounded by cocoa tree plantations; vegetation lines the coast, and the clear, warm waters and small waves lapping at the feet of this fishing town are perfect for swimming and snorkelling (though a less than ideal spot for surfers) and the pristine white beach is a regular spot for yoga and meditation.

Hammocks and chocolate

Although there are some boutique hotels offering holistic treatments, the genuine Trancoso vibe is about pitching up a hammock (buy one on the beach), and soaking up this town's relaxed spirit while gently rocking yourself off for a snooze. For trinkets and handmade gifts, head to main square Quadrado Historico, but do look out for ‘Peixe Frito' or ‘Fried Fish', a friendly chocolate seller called Lincoln who can be found plying his delicious, locally made wares on the beach. Trancoso provides an excellent base from which to explore other places such as Praia do Espelho, considered the most beautiful beach in Bahia; Caraíva, a native Indian village hidden in a nature reserve, and only accessible by canoe; or Itacaré for those in need of a surf fix.

Chile: Valparaíso and Viña del Mar

From fishing coves to the crazy cable cars whisking you up the steeply inclined 100m (328ft) hill to reach town, Valparaíso blends quaint painted houses with its busy fishing port, as well as narrow passages and European mansions. Hills provide a pretty backdrop to the cobbled alleyways and sandy architecture of this attractive town - a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2003 - and the harbour is a lovely bird watching spot.

Powerful surf and pristine parks

North of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar is a true Pacific beach experience: the waters are cool and the surf powerful enough to often warrant a red flag, so let loose your inner child, and splash around in the shallows before returning to the tufty dense sands which resemble static curling waves. Known as the Garden City, Viña del Mar is located 120km (75 miles) west of capital city Santiago, and boasts villas, three castles, pristine parks and hosts the International Song Festival every February. For more basking in the sun and frolicking in the sand, wind you way back down the coast to secluded Reñaca, an hour south of Viña del Mar, where you can certainly claim the beach as your own for the day.

Insider tip: Although January and February indicate high season across the region, prices do drop substantially in November and March, as do visitor numbers, guaranteeing more sand for your pound.

Author: Sorrel Moseley-Williams

Egypt holidays: Diving in Sharm el-Sheikh

Escape Britain’s cold snap and take the plunge in the Red Sea on a diving holiday. It’s guaranteed to have you hooked, as Heidi Fuller-love discovers.

As the closest tropical waters to Europe, the Red Sea is a mecca for those seeking a diving holiday. Fed by the Indian Ocean and hemmed in by the Sahara desert, Ras Mohammed National Park accessible from Sharm el-Sheikh boasts some of the world's best dive sites.

Consider the stats and you can see why. Created in 1983, this vast marine reserve teems with more than 1,200 species of fish, as well as turtles, manta rays and sharks. This is partially due to the fact the Red Sea is fringed by 2,000km (1,240 miles) of coral reefs.

With water temperatures rarely sliding below 20°C (68°F) and plenty of value-for-money hotel packages available, Sharm el-Sheikh offers a fantastic, affordable, year-round dive destination.

Choose a learn-to-dive course

Recently commended by judges in Virgin Holidays' prestigious Responsible Tourism Awards, I headed for the Camel Dive Club in the buzzing Sharm el-Sheikh resort of Na'ama Bay, one of the Red Sea's best established diving centres.

Checking into the club's 48-room hotel, I discovered a lobby cluttered with gas bottles and diving masks. The following morning when I flung open the double doors of my room, I was greeted by the sight of learner divers flopping around in the club's specially designed pool.

Your first plunge

If you want to learn to dive, but still want time to explore the sights around Sharm el-Sheikh too, opt for a two-day learner course costing around €199 (£176).

Joining a group of five other students, our first lesson involved learning underwater sign language gestures and basic diving know-how before we headed for the pool.

Kitted out in skin-tight wetsuits, masks, fins and an unwieldy weight belt, we practised breathing through our regulators, then plunged into the water one by one and sank to the bottom.

It took a while to adapt to the bizarre sensation of seeing the world through several metres of water, but we soon felt confident enough to master the tricky art of emptying water from our masks, which can happen during a leakage, without returning to the surface.

Next we practised controlling our diving buoyancy. Lying on the bottom of pool face downwards, we slowly added air to our BCDs (Buoyancy Control Devices) until we began to float.

Gathering up our gear, we set out for Na'ama Bay, a 2km (1.2-mile) stretch of beach strewn with suntanned bodies, where a special area penned off for novice divers proved ideal for practising the skills we had learnt in the swimming pool.

On the final day, a boat puttered us out to a dive site called Near Garden for our first real experience of the deep blue. The spectacular explosion of colour beneath the waves as we dived down to a maximum depth of 12m (39ft) was dazzling.

Surrounded by shoals of striped anemone fish, we watched bulging-eyed puffer fish fossicking amongst vividly coloured corals, whilst blue-spotted stingrays stirred up sand on the seabed far below.

At first it was difficult not to panic at the sight of shadowy, shark-like forms shifting in the deeper gloom ahead of us, but we soon got used to being the smaller fish in this very big pond. It was eye-boggling. By the time I returned to the surface, I was hooked.

In and around Sharm el-Sheikh

Sharm el-Sheikh might be a diver's mecca, but there's plenty to do and see above water too.

Thrill-seekers can enjoy a 4-wheel drive tour though Lawrence of Arabia scenery to visit St Catherine's, a stunning 6th-century cliff-top monastery, where it is believed God dictated his Ten Commandments to Moses.

Closer to home, the streets behind Na'ama Bay are a labyrinth of bazaars selling perfumed spices, chic clothes and cheap tat, which morph at sunset into open-air cafés where you can sit on cosy cushions puffing a shisha pipe, or drinking reasonably priced beer, wine or cocktails.

Stroll to the waterfront and you'll find dozens of smart restaurants serving everything from Russian to Thai cuisine. For a cheaper dining option, head inland to Abou El Sid, an inexpensive eatery above the Hard Rock Café where you can sample creamy spinach and chicken molokheya soup, lentils, rice and chickpeas koushari and other sumptuous Egyptian specialties.

If you're still looking for some action, make a beeline for King of Bahrain Street. Along this busy artery lined with trendy pubs and clubs, Pacha, where David Guetta, Sarah Main and other international celebrity DJs regularly come to spin their cutting-edge sounds, is definitely the pick-of-the-crop for late-night revellers.

For me, however, the best attractions lay under the sea. With natural wonders like the coral wall at Shark Reef and a graveyard of stricken wrecks like the Thistlegorm still waiting to be discovered, I know I'll be back for another diving holiday in the Red Sea next year.

Insider tip: There's plenty to freak out novice divers in the marine-rich waters off Sharm-El-Sheikh, but as as long as you don't touch anything, the danger is minimal.

Camel Dive Club, Sharm el-Sheikh
Website: www.cameldive.com
A half-day try-out diving session costs around €35 (£31).
A four-day Padi Open Water dive course costs €320 (£282).
A week's stay in a double/twin room at the Camel Hotel, plus three days guided diving, starts from €264 (£233) per person.

Sharm Excursions
Website: www.sharmexcursions.com
Price of a day-long tour to St Catherine's monastery and Dahab from £28.

Author: Heidi Fuller-love

Snowboarding in Whistler

Canada falls under the spotlight next month when it hosts the 2010 Winter Olympics. After learning to snowboard in the country a decade ago, Susie Henderson returns to Whistler Blackcomb to find out if she's still got the right moves.

A shaky start

I cautiously edged my snowboard a few more feet down the slope, scraping twigs and rocks exposed by the spring thaw. 'In the Spirit' was a steep gladed trail (where the trees had been thinned out a little) and had seemed the perfect challenge on the last day of my holiday in Whistler. After all, wasn't I supposed to be moving off the dreaded intermediate plateau?

The board's nose snagged yet another tree trunk, catapulting me head first. I looked left and right, wondering what had happened to the route. One skier had sashayed past me several minutes before, but this no longer looked like the official run. A stream was gushing to my left beneath the snow and I suspected I needed to be on the other side. How was I going to get out of this?

Returning to Whistler

Ten years previously I had spent a winter season in Whistler and learned to snowboard. My boyfriend (now husband) persuaded me to buy a cut-price sparkly tangerine board and I signed up for a lesson. That evening, I wondered if I would ever be able to move my stomach muscles again.

Several more lessons and 50 odd days of riding later however, I had reached a reasonable level of snowboarding and could confidently cover a good portion of the mountains. But then I found a 'proper' job in the UK and had to be thankful for a week's snowboarding each year. My progression halted.

Would a return to Whistler give me the push I needed to ride outside my comfort zone? Would I ever join the young guns in the terrain park or my husband (no young gun, though he'd like to think so) on the double black runs?

Challenging slopes

Whistler Blackcomb will certainly give even the most experienced skier or boarder a run for their money. The resort boasts two mountains, over 200 runs, five terrain parks, a whopping 3,307 hectares (8,171 acres) of terrain and 38 lifts. The newest, the Peak 2 Peak gondola, opened in December 2008 and straddles the valley between Whistler and Blackcomb, dangling at a terrifying (and record-breaking) 436m (1,427ft) above the ground at one point.

With an average annual snowfall of 10m (33ft), the resort is a good bet for powder. At the start of the 2009/10 season, Whistler received a record 560cm (220 inches) of white stuff in November alone, making for an epic snow base.

Refresher lessons

I decided a refresher lesson was the best course of action and joined a one-day summit ride session. Other options include private lessons, supergroup lessons (three students maximum) or two-day women-only Roxy All Star snowboard camps.

Whistler Blackcomb prides itself on its international staff and you're as likely to hear a 'G'day mate', as a 'Hey dude'. My snowboard instructor, Sig, hailed from the New Zealand resort of Turoa and was about to complete his second season in Whistler.

My classmates were made up of a retired Canadian who split his time between Vancouver and Whistler, three 30-somethings living in Dubai, but originally from South Africa and Scotland, a Cambridge chemistry lecturer and an electrical engineer from Derby. I'd picked up a few bad habits over the years and it was good to revise basic technique. 'Make the shape of a house with your legs,' Sig urged. 'No A-frames!' To encourage us to relax our limbs, he suggested we 'ride like Thunderbird puppets'.

Building confidence

Once we'd ironed out some niggles and begun to snowboard with a little more fluidity, he taught us to ride fakie (where you lead with the opposite foot from normal). I had previously tried this a few times on my own, but had never committed. Sig yelling instructions at me ('hump and dump' are the body positions to remember) gave me the impetus I needed to complete a few turns instead of giving up.

In the afternoon we tried out some hits (small jumps) at the side of the runs. Let's just say Shaun White isn't quaking in his boots after my performance.

Over the next few days, I practised and improved my technique, but despite my husband's best efforts, steered clear of steeps and terrain parks (even the Terrain Garden, which a three-year-old could cope with).

Back to the piste

Which takes me back to my final day on that black tree run. Alone. On the wrong side of the stream.

I made the error of taking off my board. Within seconds I was up to my thighs in snow and my right foot was jammed. 'Help!' I cried feebly. The adrenaline was pumping and I hacked the snow around my foot with the snowboard and strapped back in. I took a deep breath, bombed across the snow, directly over the stream and eventually found my way back to the piste.

Was this what escaping the intermediate plateau was all about?

The trouble with being a 30-something mum instead of a young gun is that I'm secretly quite happy playing it safe. Why would I want to subject myself to the terror of a cliff-like couloir when there's a perfectly good blue run to cruise?

Whistler's incredible mountains and top-notch teaching staff give you the chance to work on and improve your skills. If you want to take it to the next level, there's every opportunity to do so.

But if the intermediate plateau's your territory, join me on 'Cruiser'. I'll leave the 'Couloir Extreme' run to the experts.

* Read more about the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Further information

Getting there: Air Canada and British Airways run direct flights from London Heathrow to Vancouver. Pacific Coach operates a coach from Vancouver Airport to Whistler.

Book a lesson: A one-day summit ride session with Whistler Blackcomb costs C$99 (£60).

Where to stay: The Delta Whistler Village Suites has both rooms and one- and two-bedroom suites.

Tourist information: Tourism Whistler or Tourism BC.

Author: Susie Henderson

India: Off the beaten track

With just 10 months to go before India hosts the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Emma Field escapes the country's well-trodden tourist hotspots to discover more about the nation’s favourite brew: tea.

Verdant Assam is to tea what Venice is to canals, Paris is to fashion and Colombia to cocaine. Assam is one of only two areas in the world with its own native tea bush and is the world's second-largest producer of tea. I chose to immerse myself in Assamese tea lore in Dibrugarh, which boasts the coveted title of Tea Capital of Assam as well as a new airport. It's a world away from India's popular tourist trails so don't expect to see many other foreigners during your stay. You can expect, however, to thoroughly impress your friends with your adventurous spirit and new-found knowledge.

Tea plantations

The British established the first Indian tea plantations in Assam over 150 years ago. It is an indescribably pleasant experience to wander through the tea plantations as the trees casts dappled shadows across the bushes, learning about the tea-making process as it's going on around you.

The tea pluckers, wearing broad, pointed straw hats, work two shifts a day, each plucking around 20kg of tea leaves which they carry in a bundle on their heads to the weighing machine. They pluck the tea bushes on a weekly rotation - if the young leaves are left any longer, the taste of the tea is affected.

From the tea plantation, the lesson in tea production proceeds to the factory where a roll call of machinery that wouldn't be out of place in Bertha rolls, sorts and grades the tea before it is sent off to auction. Well-known brands such as Lipton and Tetley then buy the stuff from different growers to blend the tea you and I know and love.

How to taste tea

Naturally, the only way to follow a tour of a tea plantation and factory is with a tea tasting. The manager of the tea estate personally conducts tea tasting sessions every day - he tests each batch produced in the factory, which means tasting tea up to four times a day.

He does it by adding 100ml of boiling water to three grams of tea. After covering and letting it brew for five minutes, he separate the leaves and pours the liquid into a large cup to cool. Observing the infusion (the brewed tea leaves) is critical: the brighter the leaves, the better the tea.

After adding two teaspoons of milk, he inspects the liquor (the tea itself) to ensure the colour is bright and golden. Finally, he tastes the tea by slurping it to allow the flavour to spread across his tongue. A good cup of tea is brisk, refreshing and smooth rather than flat.

Following his example, I tasted tea of different ages, comparing the various cups. The younger tea clearly tasted fresher and was livelier and brighter.

Where to stay

I stayed in Chowkidinghee Chang Bungalow, which, like all chang bungalows in Assam, was built raised on stilts to allow the colonial gent to mount his elephant with ease - no tiresome ladder or ungainly scrambling required. The height also made it harder for man-eating beasts to creep up on the bungalows' two-footed occupants.

Nowadays there's not much need for either protection from tigers or elephant riding, although Michael Palin did visit Chowkindinghee's sister bungalow, Mancotta, to see the plantations from the grand height of an elephant's back as he toured the area for his Himalaya TV series. The bungalow has been restored and inside, it eerily resembles a rustic English cottage with sofas, polished wooden floors and a fireplace, though with temperatures during my visit hitting 38ºC, I failed to see the appeal of a roaring log fire.

The view from the bungalow's delightful veranda tells a very different story. Instead of quaint English countryside, the bungalow is surrounded by a well-kept hedge that, by night, exotically flickers with fireflies and, beyond that, tea plantations.

Insider tip to Assam: The ultimate cup of tea is made from leaves plucked in May, June and July, at the height of the growing season.

* Indus Tours and Purvi Discovery offer a nine day, full board package from £82pp per night (based on two sharing), including a tea plantation tour and other activities.

Author: Emma Field