Amazing Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is approx. 7.5-hour direct flight from Heathrow. A lovely great alternative trip from Dubai or even a stopover to the Far East or Australia/New Zealand.

I travelled on Etihad Airways direct to Abu Dhabi, visited the 5* Anantara Eastern Mangroves, which is situated approximately 10 mins away from the airport, 10 mins from city and souks. The owners also planted 100.000 trees in the mangrove and so the view from the hotel is very green and lush. The hotel is very well situated for both business and leisure purposes.

Then we proceeded to the super luxury Anantara Qasr Al Sarab, where the lastest Starwars movie has been filmed, ready for release in December 2015. QAS is approx. 2 hour drive from the airport of from Eastern Mangroves. A fabulous top of the range 5* property, we drove at least 25 minutes into the desert from the main road to finally find the entrance of the hotel. The rooms are beautiful, the air is drier hence it feels much more comfortable. At 46 degrees c in June, it was hot but we still managed to have a great time in the pool. QAS also offers lots of activites such as dune bashing, archery, spas, hammam, a proper ice room spa.

Food is incredibly good at both properties. I highly recommend both properties.

Just returned from a fantastic 2-week family cruise on P&O Ventura. We departed from Southampton at the end of July to cruise the Eastern Med. Crossing the Bay of Biscaye was good with plenty to do on our sea days. Our cruise visited Vigo, Alicante, Barcelona, Genoa, Rome, Cartagena and Gibralta.

Our favourite port was Cartagena which is within walking distance from the ship and is full of history and ‘tapas bars’. Excellent onboard food and I would recommend the specialist dining options Sindhu, Epicurian and Beach House. My daughter who is 17 enjoyed meeting new friends in the Teen Club, and we all enjoyed the onboard entertainment. Back home and already planning our cruise next summer with P&O.