Charming B&B & Café on Lantau

Espace Elastique is a little B&B in Lantau’s Tai O fishing village. It’s not luxury but there’s a hot tub on the rooftop and it’s run by the charming Veronica who speaks more languages than Google. The service is excellent and the setting is chilled, exactly what you want from a weekend get away. Even the idea of staying in a B&B is appealing, avoiding Alfred Hitchcock hotels with mind-bogglingly long corridors of patterned carpets and everlasting doors.

Three Room Lodge Opens in NW Australia

Wild Bush Luxury has unveiled a remote lodge in the Kimberley wilderness of north Western Australia which consists of just three rooms and offers top notch fishing. Kuri Bay is only accessible by helicopter or sea plane and the nearest town is 220km away. The vastness of the landscape is off the scale (the Kimberley is the size of California and has just 30,000 inhabitants) so don’t forget your contact lenses.

Reasonable Travel Around the Region

Staying in a villa is generally more pleasant than staying in a hotel, and with the Asia Villa Guide, it's become a whole lot easier. You can make as much noise as you want in a villa, you have tonnes more space, (some have awesome features like putting greens), and you get all the good bits of a hotel such as the service except it's truly tailored for you. Of course that all depends on staying in the right villa... and not holidaying with friends who recently did some breeding.

All destinations are not created equal.

All Inclusive Week Long Holiday

Flight Centre is giving away a 7-day all inclusive trip to India, which sounds like your anniversary sorted - so long as you keep it on the down low. To try your luck just subscribe a few friends to Flight Centre's newsletter and you'll both be entered. The more people you sign up the better your chances of winning so why not use your pals for your own reward? Utilitarianism is king.

Explore Hidden Hong Kong

Secret Tour HK runs secret tours around Hong Kong that aren’t so secret any more. It’s a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon because your sense of adventure dims the longer you’re here. Expats arrive and go flying out of the blocks, consuming HK’s nooks and crannies at a rate of knots. By year two, however, they live solely in SoHo. And locals can be even less interested if they’ve spent their entire lives in HK.

Camp in Tepees by the Beach

We don't normally like camping. We like white dressing gowns, menus with swirly writing, crisp sheets and people calling you 'Sir' even though you're dressed like an Aussie teenager but sometimes, just sometimes, it's good to get back to basics and the Palm Beach camp site on Lantau is the ideal destination. It doesn't have the beauty of Ham Tin but it's got standing tepees that take you back to the era of Chief Running Water. And it saves you from pitching a tent yourself which is the pits.

Jungle Retreat Full of Adventure

The Sarojin is a small hotel in the Thai jungle that's ideal for couples who like a bit of adventure between their fierce battles with the sun. It's set back from a private beach and there are various things to do in the surrounding area such as quad biking and sailing. You'll be kept busy enough to actually deserve a massage rather than just get one because you can. Not that you need an excuse for a rub down, but it makes it easier when you come to settle up.

Travel Japan’s Ancient Feudal Paths

Walk Japan has been running walking tours for over 20 years but the best of the lot is the historic Nakasendo Way, a guided journey between Kyoto and Edo, modern-day Tokyo. What makes the trip special is the heritage of the route (originally it was only used by feudal lords and their retinues) as well as the historic inns you stay at, some of which have been run by the same family for hundreds of years. They've got the katsu curry down to a T.

Historic Boutique Hotel Opens

One of the biggest Hong Kong tragedies is that its architectural heritage has been lost to modernity, so it's a real treat to announce the re-opening of the 110-year-old Tai O police stations as a boutique hotel. A government investment of HKD66.7 has turned the historic building into a nine suite destination overlooking the South China Sea and it's the type of place you'd expect to see Tintin running around the corner trying to evade capture.

Historic Chinese Boutique Hotel

Jing’s Residence is rooted in Ping Yao’s past and that’s reflected in its historic design. Built 260 years ago, the 17-room hotel was formerly the home of a wealthy Qing dynasty silk merchant but it’s been restored to its former glory by old local craftsmen familiar with traditional construction techniques. We just hope the poor lads weren’t made to do the heavy lifting – but we wouldn’t put it past China.

Niseko is famous for its dining but if you’re skiing at peak times you have to book some restaurants weeks in advance. Reserving the right places can be the key to eating well – and you might want to sink a beer or two while you’re at it.

Hidden Retreat with 15 Villas

We haven't thought much of Thailand for a while, but the Wanakarn, a Relais & Chateaux property in Khao Lak, is a perfect place to get out of Hong Kong. From time to time you need to leave the city, to get away from the slow walkers, to hear silence, to have someone rub unessential oils into your back and tell you how tense you are. It's nice to know someone cares - even if they're being paid for it.

Short Term Holiday Leases

We’ve featured a few holiday sites which promote peoples’ homes for short term stays but Flat-Club brings something new to the table. You can search for destinations or lease your flat within your online social network which means you don’t have to worry about people with odd fetishes staying in your home. Even better, you can stay in a nice place without having to use a UV semen light on arrival.

Striking Eco Resort Opens

Naked Stables Private Reserve is a new retreat that’s opened two and a half hours from Shanghai. It’s set on a nature reserve, and although there’s something unpleasant about promoting greenness as a commercial quality, it’s eco-friendly. You can enjoy everything from hiking to horse riding but who does activities on holiday? White dressing gowns and baths longer than episodes of The Wire. That’s holisitic.

Indestructible Map Arrives in HK

Crumpled City maps look like they’re made from ordinary paper but they’re virtually indestructible and they’ve arrived in Hong Kong. It’s a perfect tool to give to visitors because if they manage to hold on to it, you know you’ll be able to give it to your next set of guests. Whether it’s been used in a T8, black rain or Lockhart Road after the 7s – it’ll survive the onslaught of Hong Kong.

Only Glacier Climbing Course in Himalayas

Summit Climb offers the only glacier climbing course in the Himalayas. They don’t have a big market but they’ve got a willing one. There are plenty of things we attempt unprepared but climbing the Himalayas isn’t one of them. Unless we want to be the inspiration for a B-list film involving an unexpected change of weather, dwindling supplies and a man battling with the memory of his dead father.

Retro Villa with Driving Range in Kep

Villa Romonea is located in Kep, Cambodia, and has all sorts of cool features including a six hole golf driving range. How many times have you wanted to smack a few balls after a couple of drinks? It's the type of lifestyle that makes us love the Entourage boys but curse our luck. We watch them living the dream while we’re stuck on a grey sofa with dirty laundry to do.

From Welcome Beyond

Welcome Beyond is a travel website built around a unique collection of hotels and homes. It goes further than similar services we’ve written about before simply because their standard is better. The quality of destinations is so high you wouldn’t feel out of place wearing white linen and listening to Michael Bolton.

Charitable Trekking

OneSeedExpeditions organizes trekking holidays to Nepal while also investing a chunk of its revenues into local female entrepreneurship. On both counts (trekking and charity) it’s a great way to feel good about yourself without having to take Prozac or do actual charity work.

Have a Beer in Space

The world’s first ‘beer in space’ flights are being planned by pub crawl operator Thirsty Swagman - and guess where the company’s based? Australia. It’ll do wonders for the national stereotype. Take an amazing adventure in its own right – travelling to space no less – and the Australians have a default mechanism to make it their own. Adding a beer.

Manly Adventures Around the World

The Adventurists offers a selection of the heartiest adventures on the planet, from the legendary Mongolian Rally to the eagerly awaited Rickshaw Run South East Asia. These expeditions are as manly as they come, providing a stern test of driving, engineering prowess, map reading, Bear-Grylls-I-Can-Eat-Anything-Attitude and an unshakable digestive tract.

Extraordinary Antarctic Expeditions

Adventure Network International (ANI) offers unique expeditions to the Antarctic and there are few men who wouldn’t want to do a trip like that. Sure, it’d be colder than a four-time divorcee pursuing legal proceedings against you for infidelity but it would be the experience of a life time.

Stonking Photo Tours Round Burma & Bhutan

Global Travel Photography offers photo tours to a variety of destinations including Burma and Bhutan. If you’re one of those travellers who spends the majority of your holiday snapping away then it’s an ideal option - except for your poor friends who’ll have to sit through your PowerPoint presentation upon your return.

Luxury Driving Holidays in China

Former race car driver Peter Schindler has launched ‘On The Road in China’, offering extensive driving itineraries through some of China's most beautiful scenery.
If you've always avoided driving in the Mainland because you’re concerned with playing Russian road trip roulette, you’ll be pleased to hear road fatalities have come down 30 percent in recent years. We’re not going to tell you what the figures were though.

Wacky Hong Kong Treasure Hunts

Urban Discovery runs a series of treasure hunts in Hong Kong where teams compete against each other while exploring some of the most obscure parts of the city. If you’re a big fan of organised fun – whether pub crawls, amateur Come Dine with Me or family Pictionary at Christmas – this is the Saturday for you.

We went to Taipei's snake alley to try the legendary snake shots of blood, bile and venom but we just couldn’t stomach it... and it wasn’t the drinks that put us off.