North Africa: Five short break ideas

Culture, history and bucketloads of charm – North Africa is ideal for a short break. Dinah Hatch looks at destinations in Egypt, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia

With its great beaches, dramatic desert landscapes and an abundance of major historical and cultural sites to explore, North Africa is an ideal choice for a short break. Here’s a taste of what the region has to offer.

Egypt: Alexandria

If you’ve been to Egypt before, chances are you went to Cairo. However, far fewer tourists make the journey to this city.

Named after Alexandria the Great, it is the setting for Anthony and Cleopatra’s love affair. The city is packed with history and culture and was once the ancient seat of learning with the world’s first library.

Don’t miss the citadel at Fort Qaitbey with its Roman and Napoleonic sea battle artefacts; the remains of Pharos, the legendary 125-metre lighthouse that was one
of the Seven Wonders of the World; Abu El Abbas El-Mursi Mosque; and the catacomb of Kom El-Shuqafa dating back to the first century AD. Their depth and beauty defy belief.

Sample product:Longwood Holidays offers four nights’ bed and breakfast at the five-star Renaissance in Alexandria on from £735. Price includes return flights from Heathrow, transfers and all taxes and surcharges (020 8418 2500).

Morocco: Marrakesh

Marrakesh is an old favourite but your client will be hard-pressed to find anywhere quite so fantastically different from the UK within a four-hour flight.
 
Take a city tour to check out the stylish tiled courtyards, the stunning houses that bring the past to life, the mosque, the Saadian Tombs and Bahia Palace, and stop off for a spot of shopping in the bargain-laden souk. At dusk, Djemaa El Fna square turns into a rich theatre of sights and sounds with storytellers, acrobats and snake charmers.

The city also has some great places to stay. Check out the Riad Noga for its updated charm, La Sultana for its great spa treatments and Les Jardins de la Koutoubia for its family-friendliness.

Sample package:Cadogan Holidays offers three nights at Les Jardins de la Koutoubia in Marrakesh in a double room on a bed-and-breakfast basis from £397 per person twin-share (£794 per couple) in November. The price includes flights from Gatwick to Marrakesh with easyJet and transfers (023 8082 8313).

Tunisia: Hammamet

Those in the know in the spa world rate Tunisia and its upmarket hotels as second only to France for thalassotherapy treatments – but with more reasonable prices.

Don’t miss the wonderful 15th century fort, fortified walls and buzzing medina of Hammamet and the miles of fine sandy beaches, many of which will be deserted.

Take a trip to Tunis, an hour and a half by train, and experience the sights and sounds of the capital before taking a taxi to the fabulous Bardo Museum. This houses some of the best mosaic collections in the world, plus antiquities from the prehistoric, Carthaginian, Roman, Christian and Islamic eras.

Sample package:First Choice offers seven nights’ all-inclusive at the four-sun Iberostar Phenicia from £440 per adult, twin-share, departing Bristol on November 9 (0871 200 4455).

Libya: Tripoli and the Libyan coast

Once the southern outpost of the Roman Empire, this area is home to some of the most fascinating ancient ruined cities in the world, and the likelihood is you’ll have them pretty much to yourself as tourism is still in its infancy here.

Don’t miss taking a wander around the medina in the old town in Tripoli, soaking up the mix of Levantine, Italian and African influences. Other highlights include the vast theatre in the ancient trading post of Sabrath and a trip to Leptis Magna, considered to be the best preserved Roman city in the world, and the ancient sites at Cyrene and Ptolemais.

Sample product: Explore offers a five-day group tour to Tripoli, Sabratha, Oea and Leptis Magna departing on November 14 from £669 per person including flights from Gatwick, all transportation, bed-and-breakfast accommodation, one other meal, local payment and guiding (0844 499 0904).

Sahara trip: Round trip from Jerba

These days you can experience the wildness of the desert in complete luxury – think comfortable four-wheel drives, five-star hotels and luxury tented camps – so you get to take in the thickets of date palms, the salt lake, the botanical gardens and the cave dwellings without enduring the hardships of the desert.

Don’t miss taking a camel ride to the oasis of Ksar Ghilane, where the Tunisian Sahara turns into dunes, and feast your eyes on the shimmering Chott El Jerid salt lake and the timeless old Berber towns such as the troglodyte village of Chenini.

Sample product:Wigmore Holidays offers three nights at the five-star Radisson SAS Resort and Thalasso on a bed-and-breakfast basis and one night’s half-board at the Pansea tented camp with air-conditioned tents and en suite facilities.

The package costs £765 per person twin-share for travel between November 1 and December 10, including return scheduled flights from Gatwick or Heathrow and all transfers (020 7836 4999).