Your-hols.com founders Trisha Harbord and James Ellis recently joined top travel writers to reveal their favourite holiday hotspots.
The pair joined some 100 other travel scribes, editors and TV presenters – including Ben Fogle and Simon Calder – to answer a series of questions from holidays inspirations site 101holidays.co.uk.
The survey came up with some interesting findings from the professionals. Key points were:
- France was voted best country, followed by India and Italy.
- New York topped the city rankings, followed by London and Paris.
- Krabi in Thailand (above) was voted best beach resort in the world, with Holkham on the North Norfolk Coast named best beach in the UK.
- Thailand was the country with most ‘best beach’ votes.
- Cornwall had most ‘best beach’ votes in the UK.
- London is the favourite UK destination, followed by Edinburgh and the Hebrides.
- Las Vegas is the destination the writers would least like to revisit, followed by Qatar and Dubai.
The full results can be found at www.101holidays.co.uk/survey/ but if you want to know our choices, read on:
Trish’s answers
How many years you’ve been travel writing / editing: 20
Please name a favourite country: India
Please name a favourite beach resort: Jakes Treasure Beach, Jamaica
Please name a favourite beach in the UK: Skegness, Lincs
What is your favourite city? Venice
What is your favourite UK destination? Lake District
If you could fly anywhere (for free) in 2014, where would you go? New Zealand
If you had to pay for one proper holiday in 2014, where would you go and what would you do? On a luxury African safari
What one destination would you never return to? Gibraltar
Your favourite airline – Virgin Atlantic
James’s answers
How many years you’ve been travel writing / editing: 15
Please name a favourite country: Greece/Sri Lanka (can’t decide)
Please name a favourite beach resort: Antiparos (Greece)
Please name a favourite beach in the UK: Holkham, Norfolk
What is your favourite city? New York
What is your favourite UK destination? Yorkshire Dales (above)
If you could fly anywhere (for free) in 2014, where would you go? Brazil
If you had to pay for one proper holiday in 2014, where would you go and what would you do? World Cup in Brazil
What one destination would you never return to? Dubai
Your favourite airline Virgin Atlantic
Mark wondered if anyone else was going public, and it seemed easier to paste under here…
* Your job title: Freelance travel journalist
* How many years you’ve been travel writing / editing: 12 in total, seven as freelance.
* Please name a favourite country: Australia
* Please name a favourite beach resort: I’m not really a beach person, so I’m going to cheat and say Sydney/ Cape Town.
* Please name a favourite beach in the UK: I don’t have one.
* What is your favourite city? Berlin/ Chicago/ Sydney/ Cape Town. Different reasons for each.
* What is your favourite UK destination? Edinburgh.
* If you could fly anywhere (for free) in 2014, where would you go? Tuvalu. I don’t need to have logic behind this, do I?
* If you had to pay for one proper holiday in 2014, where would you go and what would you do? It’d be the US, and a road trip – probably the Seattle to San Francisco stretch of the West Coast.
* What one destination would you never return to? I never say never. But you’d have to give me exceptionally good reasons/ a lot of money to go back to Dallas or Durban.
* Your favourite airline: No one in particular, but Etihad, Emirates and Cathay Pacific are consistently good.