Flying Floyd

23/12/2021

Bali is up one place in our top 10 and Kuoni customers still favour an Ubud and beach combination to experience two sides of the island. Bali is great to visit during our summer months and peak wedding season, so it’s a top choice for honeymooners. Kuoni’s experts have also seen an interest in Singapore and Bali twin-centres.

Kuoni has added new destinations such as Lovina in the north of Bali, offering a less-commercialised experience of black sand beaches, local fishing communities and wild dolphin watching. Kuoni has also added new hotels in Lombok and the Gili Islands, which include the brand new pool villas at The Kayana Lombok; and The Royal Santrian Luxury Beach Villas in Bali will be exclusive to Kuoni guests in the UK from April 2020.

23/12/2021

Italy has jumped up one place in our top 10 and we still expect to see the usual lift in late bookings as we head into the spring and summer months. Puglia holidays are up, for both touring and single-centre holidays, with Kuoni’s Highlights of Puglia tour the most popular for 2020. Despite Brexit uncertainty, escorted touring in Italy is up +14%. While demand for the traditional favourites of Sicily, Sardinia and Tuscany remain strong, it’s Puglia that’s seen the most noticeable rise.

Kuoni has also added new hotels to its 2020 line-up, including Masseria Il Melograno in Monopoli, a converted ancient farmhouse with 1000-year-old olive trees, offering authentic cooking classes. Kalidria Hotel & Thalasso SPA in Castellaneta Marina is also new to Kuoni. It is set on a long beach edged with pinewood trees and features an incredible 3500sqm Thalasso Spa. Increasing demand from customers for 4.5* and 5* hotels has led to Kuoni adding six new hotels to its Italy portfolio for 2020.

23/12/2021

Forward 2020 bookings for the USA are down, possibly affected by USA’s political backdrop and the weakness of the pound. However, it still remains a hugely strong destination for Kuoni and holds firm in the top 10. A shining light is tailor-made road trips, which are taking a bigger share of Kuoni’s USA bookings due to focused marketing efforts – including a ‘Great American Road Trips’ stand at BBC Countryfile Live, featuring a Mustang. California is Kuoni’s top-selling self-drive destination, followed by New England.

Road trips will continue to be a focus in 2020 for Kuoni. The company will promote popular driving destinations such as California and New England, alongside less well-known routes in Oregon and the Carolinas, both of which are now served by a new British Airways direct flight. Opening up new areas ensures travellers have more choice: Times Square or a boutique hotel in a quiet residential area of Brooklyn; the Napa Valley or Oregon’s wineries, craft breweries and field-to-fork dining scene.

23/12/2021

After years of declining numbers, Vietnam is trending again and is Kuoni’s top-selling escorted touring destination for 2020, overtaking India. The most popular tour is Highlights of Vietnam, which includes an overnight cruise in Halong Bay and spending time with a local family in one of the city’s ancient garden houses. River cruises are gaining in popularity and the Mekong Discovery itinerary is the top choice for Kuoni customers, offering them the chance to explore Angkor Wat and cruise along the Mekong River.

As with Thailand, Kuoni has seen a shift in customers asking for itineraries with three or more destinations – a hot choice being Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and a beach stay. Customers are going for a similar duration as the traditional twin-centre, but packing more into their holiday time. Kuoni added Phú Quoc island in 2018 and the region has become more popular than Halong Bay with Kuoni customers. From Bangkok, the incredible white sand beaches can be reached by a direct Bangkok Airways flight, a similar flight time to the Bangkok-Phuket route, giving a fresh Thailand and Vietnam twin option.

23/12/2021

Antigua enters our top 10 for 2020. Virgin Atlantic is adding flights into Antigua from June 2020, increasing its service from three to four times a week. More flight availability means Antigua is looking great value for money. This year, Kuoni has added two new hotels for customers. The first is Hammock Cove Antigua, a collection of brand new ultra-modern villas, each with a plunge pool and personalised cocktail counter on your veranda. Kuoni has also added the Royalton Antigua Resort & Spa, featuring the island’s first-ever overwater bungalows.

09/12/2021

Lombok
An increasingly popular alternative to overly commercial Bali, Lombok and its offshore coral-ringed Gili Islands are tropical paradises. Here, you can enjoy all the appeal of Bali before tourism took over – surfing hotspots, uncrowded beaches, and magical waterfalls tucked within steamy jungles, of which Tiu Kelep Waterfall tops the list without question.

Backpackers head to Lombok in search of adventure. This is likely because its volcano-topped jungle provides for a great trek surrounded by unforgettable scenery. If you’re planning on hiking the Gunung Rinjani volcano and its photogenic crater lake, make sure you’re fit and have booked with a reputable guide – it’s by no means a walk in the park!

09/12/2021

Bali
One of the most visited and dreamed-of destinations on the modern traveler bucket list, Bali is a kaleidoscope of beautiful beaches, volcanic hills, lush rice paddies, and thousands upon thousands of Indonesian temples. It’s celebrated for its laidback atmosphere that’s attracted backpackers, surfers, and yogis for years, who have come in search of finding their Zen in this tropical paradise.

Nicknamed the ‘Island of the Gods,’ Bali is deeply rooted in the spiritual, with endless Hindu temples boasting colorful architecture all of their own – particularly in Ubud, Bali’s spiritual capital. Yet all of Bali’s wonders have not gone unnoticed, and the island can get uncomfortably packed during the tourist season around August. If possible, school holidays are best avoided too.

Spend your days relaxing on some of Bali’s best beaches and diving in the Coral Triangle with its endless array of magical marine life. But the best part about Bali is just as much about doing a little as a lot. Read your book in a hammock, watch the sun go down, and feel the island’s slow, laidback vibe step up the pace at one of the many animated beachfront bars.

08/12/2021

Banaue
The rice terraces of Banaue are one of the most striking things to see in the Philippines. The emerald-green terraces are an agricultural wonder in this area. Your most impressive view of the terraces is at sunrise, when clouds and fog lift off the mountain to reveal the intricate landscape of the terraces.

The Batad Rice Terraces and the Bangaan Rice Terraces are protected UNESCO World Heritage sites. For a deeper taste of this region, take a stroll through the Banaue Ethnic Village or the Hiwang Village to mingle with the indigenous people who farm the rice terraces.

08/12/2021

Rotorua
Rotorua is known as the thermal wonderland of New Zealand. There are numerous geysers and hot springs in and around the city. Many of these are in parks and reserves.

Natural eruptions of steam, hot water and mud occasionally occur in new locations. Nearby Wai-O-Tapu is also a popular place to visit with many hot springs noted for their colorful appearance, in addition to the Lady Knox Geyser.

26/11/2021

While wading through the long weeks of lockdown in the waters around Kota Kinabalu, we anchored off the idyllic island of Sepanggar. As usual, the buildings were deserted, there were tourist boats marooned in the sheltered bay and solitary men in beaten up fishing canoes quietly retrieved their small nets.

26/11/2021

That’s what we were told when we first moved onto SY Esper. So for years we hoisted our various tenders (from plastic inflatable to folding Portabote and smart Tinker sailing dinghy) up and over the guard rail to be stored on deck where they got in the way.

26/11/2021

If you’ve ever had any connection with boats, you’ll know that one of the biggest issues with living on one is the constant equipment failure. It’s the inevitable consequence of living in the corrosive marine environment

26/11/2021

One of the biggest estuaries is where the Tuaran River hits the South China Sea around 15nm from Kota Kinabalu. We were on the lookout as usual, but we’d never seen the sea this colour before. The line between the sea and the river run off was so sharp it could have been drawn with a pencil.

26/11/2021

The sails are out and we are sailing and cruising west coast Sabah again!

Sailing days have been few and far between since you-know-what happened… and we are having a great time playing around in the blue, blue water.

26/11/2021