Luxury train tour, Maharajahs’ Express, INDIA

Politician, broadcaster and speaker Michael Portillo is going to lead the 18 December departure of India’s most luxurious train. The seven-night Celestial India itinerary will start in Delhi and travel through Agra, Gwalior, Khajuraho, Bandhavgarh National Park, Varanasi and Lucknow before returning to Delhi. Excursions will include champagne and high tea atop the Taj Khema with views over the Taj Mahal; a visit to the magnificent temples at Khajuraho; a safari drive in Bandhavgarh National Park and a boat ride on the Ganges at Varanasi.

The seven-night journey costs from £4,019 per person (www.maharajasexpress.com), or a nine-night trip with Ampersand Travel, which includes a night’s B&B at either side plus flights and transfers, costs from £4,885 per person (website: www.ampersandtravel.com, tel: +44 (0) 20 7289 6100)

Atlantic allure, Oitavos, PORTUGAL

The Oitavos is a new five-star luxury hotel in Portugal. Located just 20 minutes west of Lisbon, over looking the West Atlantic coastline, the contemporary designed hotel is set within the Sintra Cascais National Park. Designed with sleek lines and elegantly simple interiors, the hotel embraces rather than competes with its natural surroundings. The ultimate destination for leisure and business travellers, the hotel offers numerous dining experiences, a full-service spa and conference facilities. Set within the Quinta da Marinha Original Estate, the exceptional sporting resort boasts a leading equestrian centre, health and racket club and the Oitavos Dunes golf course, ranked 88th on GOLF Magazine’s 2009 Top 100 Courses in the World.

Bed and breakfast packages start from €475 per room, including a two-night stay in a double superior room and daily buffet breakfast (website: www.theoitavos.com).

Pacific paradise, Imanta Resort, MEXICO

Imanta opened in March 2010 on the Pacific side of Mexico, and is finally giving the country's Caribbean coast a run for its money. Situated in a breathtaking location at the north of Banderas Bay, where the Sierra de Vallejo Biosphere Reserve meets the Pacific Ocean, Imanta combines scenic beauty, exclusivity and style with exceptional service and comfort. With just seven rooms, which include two three-bedroom Casonas and five onebedroom Casas, guests have two miles of beach and 250 hectares of protected forest virtually to themselves.

Price from £3,825 per person, which includes seven nights in an Ocean Casa including breakfast, airport transfers and return flights to Puerto Vallarta with Continental (website: www.exsus.com, tel: +44 (0) 20 7337 9010).

Bee-keeping, The Scarlet Hotel, UK

The Scarlet hotel – sitting on the cliff-tops of Mawgan Porth, north Cornwall – has introduced beekeeping courses. Expert bee-keeper, Henry J Kendall of the Cornwall Bee-Keeping Society, will lead three-day courses on the old and new methods of bee keeping and marketing the honey and the wax, while spending plenty of time working with the bees.

A three-day course costs £150 and rooms are available from £90 per person, bed and breakfast (website: www.scarlethotel.co.uk, tel: +44 (0) 1637 861 800).

Townhouse retreat, Jardin Escondido, ARGENTINA

Award-winning film director Francis Ford Coppola, one of the world’s most celebrated filmmakers, has added his main abode Jardin Escondido in the quirky Palermo Soho neighbourhood of Buenos Aires to his impressive hotel collection. Regarded by Hollywood’s Vincent Gallo and Willem Dafoe as a true oasis of tranquillity, Jardin Escondido is a fabulous six-bedroom townhouse, now available to the public. Guests can either book individual rooms or rent the whole property for groups. From the wine library with on-call sommelier and wine supplied from Coppola’s own vineyard, and his studio where he finished writing his most recent film ‘Tetro’, to the estate’s three ‘hidden gardens’, where residents can plunge into the solar-heated swimming pool or do as Coppola does and grill up a sizzling barbecue in the garden’s outdoor kitchen, Jardin Escondido is a spectacular boho retreat.

Exsus offer a seven-night package at Jardin Escondido from £1,875 per person, based on four people taking two rooms on the downstairs floor of the house. Price includes international flights and airport transfers (website: www.exsus.com, tel: +44 (0) 20 7337 9010).

Boho Beirut, Le Gray, LEBANON

The Lebanese capital’s first design hotel, with its de Jaumont yellow-stone façade, is the perfect base from which to explore this fascinating city. Scottish hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray Le Gray of One Aldwych fame defied civil unrest and a war with Israel to create a hotel that is now an integral part of the upmarket Solidere district, once a battleground. An interesting point of call is Beirut’s Farmer’s Market, which is healing old wounds. At night, be sure to have cocktails at BarThreeSixty, with its gorgeous interiors by Mary Fox Linton.

Opening rates start at $315 (£192) per double room (website: www.legray.com, tel: +961 197 1111).

Heli skiing, Puma Lodge, CHILE

Set to open in time for the South American 2011 ski season, Puma Lodge will be Chile’s first heli ski lodge and will also operate during the summer seasons as the only heli hiking operation in Latin America. Located in a remote and stunning area of the central Andes, the eco-designed lodge is only 90 minutes drive south of Santiago International Airport. The spectacular terrain is naturally bound by some of Chile’s tallest peaks, granting it more consistent and abundant snow conditions, as well as a considerably longer ski season than any other heli ski operation in the southern hemisphere. The lodge will accommodate a maximum of 24 guests and will include a wine cave with an independent tasting room, a library, a boutique ski shop and underfloor heating throughout. Puma Lodge will also boast a spa complete with a fully equipped gym, dedicated yoga room and an outdoor pool, allowing it to be a specialist health retreat during the shoulder seasons.

Exsus offers a seven-night package at Puma Lodge from £8,189 per person. Price includes six nights full board at Puma Lodge, six days private heli skiing with a IAGM qualified professional mountain guide, one night at the Ritz Carlton, Santiago, international flights and all private transfers. Price is based on four people travelling (website: www.exsus.com, tel: +44 (0) 20 7337 9010).