Monday, February 15, 2016 METRO 29

EscapeYour urbangu

ide

Travel | Culture | Adventure

The Hot List: Page 32 »

The hotel whereyour moggie can

relax on the ‘catio’

kittybreaks

HHHooottt---tttooo---tttrrrooottt

Get off the beaten track as luxury backpacker destinations open upremote paradises in Costa Rica, Uruguay, Brazil and beyond, says Richard Mellor

his ’n’ hers beach shorts

Playa Santa Teresa Costa Rica‘Up at sunrise. Surfed for two hours.Guided yoga. Meditated. Mangosalad for lunch. More yoga. Ziplined.Hot-stone massage. Hammock. Fishtacos for dinner. Cocktail. Bed.’ This ispresumably how most diary entriesread at Florblanca, a luxury retreaton the jungly Nicoya peninsula inCosta Rica, to where British Airwayswill fly direct from April. Overlookingplaya Santa Teresa’s renowned surf,Florblanca’s temptations also includefishing and horse-riding excursions,a pool, a spa perched over the seaand secluded rainforest villas withoutdoor bathrooms and the morning’smonkey chatter for alarm clocks.

Jacada Travel (jacadatravel.com)has six nights’ B&B, including fiveat Florblanca, from £2,485pp with

flights and all transfers

Continued: Page 30 »

Hackett tropicalvolley shorts

£31.48,countryattire.com

Alpinestarsblue Quest shorts

£50,alpinestars.com

Run Awaybeach shorts

£42,roxy-uk.co.uk

Roxy That’s aLap shorts,

£35, roxy-uk.co.uk Grinder pattern

boardshort£44.99, oneill.com

Saturdays SurfNYC shorts

£60, mrporter.com

30 METROMonday, February 15, 2016

Escape Travel | Culture | Adventure

Backwaters: Paddling the lagoons of El Almejal on Colombia’s relatively unexplored Pacific coast

Hard to get to, a struggle to leave

Cabo PolonioUruguayUrUgUay’s coastline works likethis: the further north-east yougo, the wilder it becomes. Foryears, the limit was José Ignacio,a fishing village turned chichihaunt of supermodels andshakira thanks to starkly chicboutique hotels such as BahiaVik. But a new road bridgeover Laguna garzon has nowopened up the country’sundeveloped atlanticreaches, including theagro-tourism ranch ofEstancia El Charabon.The area is characterisedby off-grid hamlets, epicbeaches, endless dunesand more sea lions thanhumans. The coolestspot is Cabo Polonio: anoceanfront hamlet with anedge-of-the-world vibe.

Journey Latin America(journeylatinamerica.

co.uk) has seven nights’B&B in Uruguay – with two

nights at Estancia El Charabon andthree at Bahia Vik – from £3,057pp,including flights to Montevideo via

Madrid and private transfers.

Jericoacoara BrazilLocated in Brazil’s tropical north-east, ‘Jeri’ has been a backpackerfave for yonks. Not only does it tickevery beach-town box – whitesand, aquamarine waters, coconutpalms, colonial buildings, cocktailshacks – but the surroundingdunes make that pesky outsideworld seem lifetimes away. evenbetter is the emerald Sunset,

RealWorld (realworldholidays.co.uk) has nine

nights’ B&B – including sixat a Jericoacoara Eco-Hotelwith hammocks, a pool anda spa – from £1,495pp with

private transfers.Flights from £480pp

(flytap.com).

Barra de SantiagoEl SalvadorFoLLowIng its civil war, Elsalvador is tempting visitorsall over again. Most go forancient Mayan ruins or colonialtowns but the dinky Centralamerican country’s Pacificseaboard is equally worthinvestigating. In particularBarra de santiago, a wispyestuary and protected reserveframed by broccoli-colouredhills and a wall of volcanoesstretching to guatemala. There’sprecious little here – a few foodshacks, some coconut trees,miles of beach, two luxuryboutique hotels. Life is innocentttlllyyysimple. surfers surf, batheeerrrsssbathe, couples stroll theeedark sand. snoozers lollll inhammocks, newly hatccchedsea turtles scurry for ttthewater every novembeeer,kayakers navigate narrrrowmangrove channels annnd thedays drift slowly by.

Central Americaaa Revealed(centralamericarevvvealed.co.uk)has ten nights’ B&BBB – five daysguided touring, theeen five days

at Barra de Santiiiaaago – from£1,947pp with flights, tttrrraaansfers,

excursions and actiiivvviiitttiiieeesss...

Playa El Almejal ColombiaWhiLe its caribbean side hasbecome better-known over recentyears, colombia’s wild Pacificcoast is still largely unexplored,even by adventurous travellers.the few who do make it findsand, superb surfing, waterfalls,thermal pools and some of Southamerica’s best dolphin and

whale-watching. take el almejalwhich, despite sounding like alegendary hitman, is in fact a1.5mile-long beach known forscuttling ghost crabs andincredible sunsets. Behind,thatched lodges sit at the jungle’sedge, serving fried plantain andchilled bottles of aguila beer.inlllaaannnd are birdwatching trails andcanoeeeable swamps. there are noroads ––– the nearest paved affair issome 9000 miles away – but withnew flighhhts from Medellin to BahiaSolano’sss teeny jungle airport,visiting is heaps easier.

RealllWorld (realworldholidays.co.uk) has nine nights’ B&B –

including five at EcolodgeEl AAAlmejal, which has private

cabins and a pool – from£1,250pp with transfers,

whale-watching and toursin Bogota. Flights from

£450 (avianca.com)

» Continued from Page 29

a meteorological show in whicthe sun turns bright green upohitting the horizon. So why doso few wealthy visitors come?Simple: the nearest airport isa five-hour drive alonglargely unpaved roads. UntilJuly that is, when a new oneopens within 20 miles.

Off the beaten track:The ramshackleparadise of CaboPolonio in Uruguay

Ripped: Surfing the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica Blue: Ocean views at Jericoacoara Eco-Hotel

gchon

o?

Remote: Emerald waters of Jericoacoara in Brazil

Diddy: Baby turtlesin El Salvador

Off

ERS

BASE

dO

NiN

fORm

ATiO

NPR

Ovid

EdAT

Tim

EO

fPR

ESS.

mET

ROiS

NOT

RESP

ON

SiBl

EfO

RAN

yPR

iCE

CHAN

gES

OR

REST

RiCT

iON

SO

NAv

AilA

Bili

Ty.