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Naples (For Pompeii & Capri), Italy

Naples is Italy’s most red-blooded city. This is the place where the pizza is so good people don’t wait for their slices at restaurant tables, they order it to-go from street side windows. And it’s the city where the soundtrack is the beeping of moped horns. For all its joy de vive, you wouldn’t know Naples is actually one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world. The city centre is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it’s dripping with ancient architecture, cathedrals and churches.

• Visit the time-frozen cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, whose citizens were stopped in their tracks by the famous eruptions of 79 AD.
• Teeter on the brink of Mount Vesuvius, the only active volcano you can climb in Europe.

To visit:

Corfu Town, Greece

Awash with colourful flowers, Corfu is big on beauty. It’s known as the Emerald Isle, and its golden beaches, lush green landscape and colourful villages will have you constantly reaching for your camera.

• Soak up the views at Bella Vista, Corfu’s most famous lookout point. From here, you can peer over sleepy seaside villages like Paleokastritsa, and the island’s entire west coast.
• In Corfu Town itself, stand in the shadow of two gigantic fortresses. See the 16th-century church of Ayios Spyridhon. And then wander round the interesting archaeological museum.
• Relax on the shimmering sands of Glyfada beach, one of the most popular sunning spots on the island. Top up your tan. Take a dip in the crystal waters. Or simply laze beneath a hot sun.

To visit:

Palma, Spain

Palma. Think leafy boulevards that echo with the stilettos of stylish shoppers. Tiny tapas bars tucked down narrow sidestreets. Architectural gold hidden in the historic quarter. With its trademark cathedral dominating the skyline, cosmopolitan Palma never fails to impress.

• Spend some time exploring the city, clicking snaps of the 14th-century Bellver Castle, browsing the boutiques and tasting tapas in the authentic bars that barnacle the backstreets
• Love to shop? Then make a beeline for Inca, the island’s biggest street market, which opens every Thursday.
• Don’t miss out on one last amazing view when you leave the city. When the ship departs after dark, make sure you’re out on deck to enjoy the unforgettable sight of Palma Cathedral magically lit up.

To visit:

Malaga, Spain

Set on the sun-drenched Costa del Sol, Malaga is a Moorish delight. During the Arab occupation of Spain, the city was the principal port of the Moorish kingdom of Granada. So what does that mean for you? It means the city of Granada and its striking Alhambra Palace are just a short drive away. Prepare to be blown away.

• See Malaga’s 16th-century cathedral. It’s known as ‘La Manquita’ or ‘one-armed woman’ because lack of funds meant only one of the two planned towers was completed.
• Take in the views from the Alhambra Palace in Granada. This pink-gold, Arabian-style building sits on a hilltop, surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
• The caves in Nerja, an elegant old town on the edge of a cliff, are among the largest and most spectacular in Europe.

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Montego Bay, Jamaica

Jamaica’s bubbly side is on show in Montego Bay. This lively north-coast town has a strip full of reggae bars and Caribbean restaurants, and you can dip in and out for rum cocktails and jerk chicken. Montego Bay’s biggest pull, though, is its coastline. The shores here are bracketed by clear blue waves and coconut palms.

• Rose Hall is one of the island’s first plantation houses, and locals swear it’s haunted by its former owner, the infamous White Witch. If you’d rather avoid the ghosts, head to the Greenwood Great House instead. It’s the former home of poet Elizabeth Barrett Brown’s ancestors.
• The Dunn’s River Falls are Jamaica’s number one attraction. The waterfalls here are terraced, like a giant flight of steps, and the safest way to get to the top is by holding the hands of fellow tourists and walking as a human chain.
• The Crocodile Nursery in Montego Bay makes for a great day out. The reptiles range in age from hatchlings to 5-year-olds, and the highlight of the day is feeding time, when you can watch the babies enjoying their lunch.

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Bridgetown, Barbados

A hypnotic calypso isle, Barbados is the ultimate Caribbean dream. And at just 21 miles by 14 miles, the island really is your oyster. Of course, it’s most famous for its palm-fringed beaches, but there’s more than talcum powder sands here. We’re talking a duty-free shopping scene and sights that are second to none. In a coconut shell, it’s the small island with a big fan base.

• Take a tram ride through a labyrinth of underground caverns at Harrison’s Cave in St Thomas. A natural phenomenon that has to be seen to be believed, it’s all sparkling streams, playful waterfalls and stalactites and stalagmites that shimmer in shady tunnels.
• Go snorkelling in search of hawksbill and green turtles. Once endangered because of over-fishing, these creatures are now protected and monitored throughout the island.
• Take it easy on Carlisle Beach, one of the island’s best stretches of sand. Or, if you’re feeling energetic, slip on a pair of flippers and propel your way past the underwater shipwrecks just off the shore.
• The Atlantis Submarine lets you scuba dive without getting wet. As this underwater ship descends into the ocean, you can look out the portholes for tropical fish and sea turtles.

To visit:

Las Palmas, Spain

Golden dunes drenched in year-round sunshine. Rugged mountains hiding pretty whitewashed villages. Bays and coves linked together like a magnificent sandy necklace. Nature’s been kind to Gran Canaria so little surprise it lures sun-worshippers back year after year.

• Take a trip to the Bandama crater. Standing over 3,000ft high, it’s one of the few inhabited volcanic craters in the world.
• Discover the island’s cosmopolitan capital, Las Palmas, where chic boutiques and tempting tapas bars are tucked in among some breathtaking architecture. In the old town, or Veguetta district, you’ll come across the Christopher Columbus Museum, which is well worth a visit, too.
• Feast your eyes on the incredible wind-sculpted sand dunes of Maspalomas. Then pick a patch of sand and soak up the sun.

To visit:

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

Santa Cruz is one of the Canary Islands’ biggest hitters. It shares its capital city title with Las Palmas, on the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria, and more than lives up to the role. In the space of just a few streets, the bustling port area melts into an inviting old town. A century-spanning mix of church towers and hotels peeks above the rooftops, and the whole town’s backed by the silhouette of a mountain range. You’ll find one of the Canary Islands’ most futuristic buildings by the harbour – the Auditorio de Tenerife, which looks like an edgier version of the Sydney Opera House. At the more historic end of the scale is the Basilica of Candelaria, which is dedicated to the patron saint of the Canary Islands. Further afield, you’ll find beaches hugging the south coast and the mighty Mount Teide rising up in the island’s centre.

• You’ll have to travel to Hawaii to see a volcano that’s taller than Mount Teide. Tenerife’s snow-capped giant is the third highest in the world, when you measure from the ocean floor. Head to the national park that surrounds it, and you can explore the wildlife-lined walking trails.
• Take a drive through the Orotava Valley, stopping at the Humboldt viewpoint. There’s a bronze statue of the naturalist it’s named after – look over his shoulder, and you’ll be treated to panoramic views of the island’s vineyards and banana plantations.

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Dubrovnik, Croatia

Ancient city walls. Higgledy-piggledy red rooftops. Cobbled streets worn by time. That’s Dubrovnik, a heart-stealing city that you just know you’re going to love the moment you arrive.

• Check out the 17th-century cathedral in the old town, with its striking gold and silver ruins. Then make tracks for Rector’s Palace, the former residence of Dubrovnik’s Republic Rector. It houses an impressive collection of artefacts and furniture.
• Leave the city behind and set sail for the nearby Elaphite Islands. All pine forests, beaches and olive groves, this trio offer up plenty in the way of Kodak-worthy scenery.

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Langkawi, Malaysia

There’s a paradisal quality to Langkawi, which is anchored off the west coast of Malaysia, in the Andaman Sea. Things are pretty laidback in the island’s premier town, Kuah, which has a waterfront that’s home to family-run shops and rustic bars, plus a huge statue of a swooping red eagle. In the north, you can take boat trips into vast cave networks, and the centre of the island’s dominated by rice paddies and the tree-draped Gunung Raya Mountain. Sleepy fishing villages are dotted around the unspoiled coastline, with meringue-white beaches punched between them.

• If you’ve got a head for heights, take the Langkawi Cable Car to the top of the Gunung Machinchang Mountain. Soak up the views from the peak and the Langkawi Sky Bridge. This suspended walkway curves high above the leafy canopy, and offers the best panoramas of the island.
• Tanjung Rhu delivers one of the best sunbathing scenes in Langkawi. Rocky islands out to sea are like a scaled-down version of Vietnam’s Halong Bay, and you can explore limestone caves and mangroves when you’re not on the pale sands.
• At Telaga Tujuh Waterfalls, you’ll be able to dip your toe in Langkawi’s top-rated natural attraction. The name translates as ‘Seven Wells’, but what you get is a series of pools and channels with waterfalls trickling between them.

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Laem Chabang (for Bangkok), Thailand

Laem Chabang’s sat on the southern coastline, overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, and is home to the country’s largest port. A gateway to the Chonburi Province, it’s got party-hard Pattaya as a neighbour, and connects to Bangkok – the capital – via an eight-lane motorway. On the horizon, you’ll be able to see the island of Ko Sichang. This tropical spot lines up the postcard-worthy, white-sand-and-blue-sea combo that Thailand’s become famous for.

• Bangkok’s an hour and a half’s drive from Laem Chabang, and is stacked with must-sees. In between the Wat Arun temple and the Grand Palace, you’ll see a buzzing street food scene and long-tail boats lazing down the river.
• Visit the Harbour Mall – it’s seven storeys high, and houses shops, restaurants, an ice rink, and an adventure zone under its roof. You’ll find it a 10-minute drive from the cruise terminal.
• Make tracks to Pattaya. Laem Chabang’s lively neighbour has a reputation as something of a wild child. But look beneath the exterior, and you’ll find the city’s mix of golden-sand beaches, plus-sized shopping centres, and attractions like the Sanctuary of Truth.

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