If your trip to the Dordogne does however involve children, you may be less inclined to spend your days exploring the natural beauty of this awe-inspiring region. To help entertain the children during your stay, we have located three great educational activities for children in the Dordognecan do whilst the adults can take in the sheer beauty of the region in a more relaxing manner.

Art Workshop at the Zigou Studio, Bergerac

For all young budding artists out there, there is no place quite as artistically inspiring as the Dordogne. Capitalise on this natural inspiration and enrol you children at the Art Workshop held at Zigou Studio in Bergerac. Small classes and private lessons run on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, with both French and English speaking tutors. The Art Workshop is available for children aged 3 – 16 and focuses on drawing, painting, collage and modelling.

For more information on the Art Workshop in Bergerac call 06 81 52 38 78

Garden Workshop

You only have to look at the vast amount of immaculately kept gardens brimming with colour and life to realise that there is a huge emphasis on gardening in the Dordogne. Why not let your youngsters experience, play and learn about gardening in the spectacular surroundings of the Jardin Botanique de la Bastide in Bordeaux. The Garden Workshop is open for children aged 8 – 12 and is held every Wednesday afternoon.

Ring 05 56 52 18 77 for more information on Bordeaux’s Garden Workshop.

Science Workshop

Children have a natural fascination with science, hence the popularity of the Science Workshops held at Cap Sciences in Bordeaux. Each Wednesday afternoon a different scientific theme is run at the workshop that never fails to captivate children’s naturally inquisitive minds. The workshops are available to children aged 8 – 14.

For more information ring 05 56 01 07 07.

For the perfect child friendly villa in the Dordogne, how about La Maison Fleurie (pictured)? With a pool, swings and table tennis available, the kids will be more than happy here!

If you are on the look-out for a great new camera to accompany you on your impending holiday, take a look at one of the best luxury villa rental websites Vintage Travel’s top three cameras for a holiday abroad.

IXUS 220 HS

With an optional waterproof case, the IXUS 220 HS enables you to explore underwater photography on your holiday. With a ‘Smart Auto’ function, the camera detects 32 different scenes including Beach and Sunset enabling users to take quality photos specifically designed for capturing shots on the beach as well as those beautiful sunsets we are likely to witness on holiday. With a stainless steel chassis the 220 HS is likely to withstand some more ‘extreme’ conditions than it is perhaps used to, such as exposure to water, dust and high temperatures, and will be a stylish accessory for your well-deserved holiday in the sun.

Panasonic DMC-FT10

This compact digital camera weighs just 157g and measures just 21.6mm and therefore can fit easily into your beach bag and will not weigh you down. The Panasonic DMC-FT10 is shockproof, waterproof and dustproof and will therefore be able to survive the dust of Spain, endure the penetrating beats of a club in Kavos and will live to see another day after being taken for a ride on a banana boat in Malta. And costing a modest £159.95, the Panasonic DMC-FT10 will not break you pre-holiday budget.

TX-10 Cybershot

This stylish camera is available in five different colours and would be a trendy accessory on your summer holiday. The TX-10 Cybershot takes 16-megapixel photographs and shoots HD videos, thus allowing your precious holiday memories to be captured in high-definition videos – perfect to help you overcome those post-holiday blues. Similar to the DMC-FT10, the TX-10 Cybershot is dustproof, waterproof and shockproof, meaning it should be able to handle all the potential damaging features a summer holiday may throw at it.

That’s the camera sorted, now all you need is somewhere to go. For one of the best luxury villa rental websites, come and have a look at Vintag Travel’s stunning portfolio of properties.

If you want to improve your holiday snaps then read on, as our five tips for taking great holiday photos may help you in your quest to produce a David Bailey-esque summer holiday album.

1. Use the flash outdoors

Many people solely associate a flash with dimly lit areas and indoor shooting. A flash however should not be confined to ‘light-starved’ settings, and even in bright sunlight, a flash can even out contrasts and fill in the shadows, creating a more ‘masterful’ photograph.

2. Don’t use the flash indoors

Whilst it can be advantageous to use your flash outdoors, it can be equally as beneficial to not use the flash indoors, particularly in well-lit hotel rooms and apartments on holiday where there is plenty of natural daylight. If you are shooting a subject indoors, make sure you are between the subject and the main source of light, namely a door or a window, as including a door or window in the composition will throw off your exposure meter.

3. Capture reflections

From the moon reflecting on the sea to the sunset casting a hazy pink hue on the horizon, your summer holiday is likely to be full of reflections. Keep your eye out for interesting splashes of colour, as capturing reflections often makes great photos.

4. Get up close

Photos that comprise of a subject that dominates the photograph and is impossible to miss often make great photos. If your baby’s face is covered in ice-cream or your partner is snoring away on the beach, remember to get up close, as these pictures are often the best.

5. Shoot first ask questions later

The beauty about digital photography is that, unlike film photography, you can take as many pictures as you want. Take advantage of this ‘infinite’ component of modern digital photography by snapping away as much as you want. The more photographs you have of your holiday, the more it will keep the memory alive.

For the more ‘budget conscious’ travellers, we have uncovered three activities in Monaco for under 30 euros.

Le Loga Restaurant’s ‘from 14 euro meals’

Located on the stunning Boulevard des Moulins, in the heart of Monaco, the fashionable and classy Le Loga Restaurant is offering menus starting at 14 euros.

Although it offers ‘value for money’ – a concept normally alien in Monaco – Le Loga does not compromise style and taste. This popular restaurant is somewhere between being a contemporary brasserie and a traditional restaurant, which boasts a classic dining room and a stylish open air terrace.

For more information on Le Loga, visit the website.

Monaco Dance Forum 2011

From July 8 – July 10 2011, the globally recognised contemporary choreographer, Carolyn Carlson, and iconic figure in the world of equestrian art, Bartabas, will be collaborating to bring visitors of Monaco the ‘We Were Horses Show’.

Held in the Chapiteau de Fontvieille on the Avenue des Ligures, ‘We Were Horses’ promises to be a stunning visual performance of dance and equestrian art, what’s more, tickets cost from just 24 euros.

To snatch up a ticket for what promises to be a remarkable show for a remarkably reasonable price, click here.

Café Llorca’s ‘20 euro lunches’

Another exquisite eatery selling incredibly inexpensive lunches, is Café Llorca, located on Avenue Princesse Grace, in the heart of the stylish French Riviera town.

Every day Café Llorca is offering two lunch deals for just 20 euros. The meal includes the main dish of the day and a glass of wine or ½ a litre of mineral water.

The restaurant also offers a daily 22 euro meal that includes the a starter of the day, a main course of the day and a glass of wine or ½ a litre of mineral water – Not bad for one of the most expensive cities in the world!

Prepare your family for their hiking adventure

Preparation, like most things in life, is the secret to a successful hiking holiday. Research the destination and area you will be walking in by searching local maps, park websites, guidebooks and libraries for information about the area.

Involving your children in the research can be a good way to get them involved and rouse up excitement for their holiday – If they need it that is!

Once you have researched the area you can chose the most suitable trails for children.

Also check out how close the nearest restaurants and shops are, as there is nothing worse than arriving at a destination with hungry children only to find there are no shops in a 20 miles radius!

Bring the right gear

If you are hiking with children remember to take clothes and accessories to cater for all types of weather. Remember to pack sunhats and sun cream, as well as rain macs and wellies. Taking insect repellent and cream is also advisable if you are spending long hours in the outdoors with children.

Take plenty of water

Children become dehydrated more quickly than adults, even if they are not doing any walking and are being carried in a backpack! Make sure you take plenty of water on your daily hiking expeditions, and stop regularly to give your children sips of water.

Start early in the day

The temperatures are obviously lower early in the morning and as a result it is advantageous to start your day’s hiking earlier rather than later. Try to avoid the harsh midday heat, particularly if you are hiking in a hot country. Try and develop some kind of routine on your holiday as children, generally, thrive on routine. Get up at a similar time each day, have a hearty breakfast and then start hiking, before that sun gets too high!

Let your child take the lead

Children love being given responsibility and therefore letting them ‘take the lead’ on the trial will make them feel important and could help to avoid the ‘Dad I want to be carried’ scenario! Obviously do not let your child get too far in front as it is easy to become lost on many hiking trials.

Make walking fun

To keep morale up it is important to make your hiking ventures fun. Play games with your children as you walk, such as ‘I Spy’ and name the wildlife. Talk to your children about the local history and wildlife; let your holiday be an educational one as well as a fun one!

Given this surge in popularity, we feel a blog post dedicated to the five best travel apps available would make an interesting, or if not important, read.

Everytrail

Download Everytrail to your iPhone and you can immediately start plotting walks, cycling, skiing and even kayaking routes anywhere in the world. Users can attach photos and keep and log of the routes they have accomplished and then show them off to friends via Facebook and Twitter – perfect for the adventure traveller.

iPlane Pro

The days of having to leave your drink in the airport bar, wearily walk over to the departure board and squint up at the screen to find still no information about your flight has been displayed, are numbered, thanks to the iPlane Pro app. Install this little beauty and you will receive up-to-date information about the status of your flight, including gate numbers, meaning you can sit back and relax at the airport.

Translator

With 53 different dictionaries and phrasebooks conveniently located on your iPhone, you will never have to take a dictionary abroad with you again, giving you more room and weight on those stingy luggage restrictions. Pronunciation also accompanies the written translations, meaning you will walk off the plane with similar language skills as a local!

Touchnote Postcards

Desperately searching for a shop that sells postcards and then being face with the even more difficult task of finding a post box when you are in the back and beyond so that your loved-ones back home will receive their annual postcard from you is an affliction of the past, if you download the Touchnote Postcards app to your iPhone. Simply take a photograph, attach a note and an address and the Touchnote Postcard team will create a real-life postcard and send it to the address provided.

UrbanSpoon

Download this ultra-innovative app, shake your iPhone, watch the spin like a slot machine, and ‘hey presto’ your iPhone screen is engulfed by a ‘best of’ restaurant guide of the town where you are located – Does technology come much better than this?

Travelling can be a stressful experience in normal situations, let alone with an awkward and bulky golf bag, numerous golf balls and barrage of golf clubs in tow.

There are several steps you can take to make travelling with your golfing repertoire as stress free as possible. Here’s how.

1) Buy yourself a decent golf bag with wheels. A good, sturdy but lightweight case will, not only protect your clubs, but will make wheeling it around the airport and in and out of taxis and hotels easier.

2) Endeavour to only take half of your golf set with you. If you feel you can manage with half a set, it will give you more room in the car and less weight to carry around.

3) Hire a car that has enough room for your golf set. There is nothing worse than arriving at your hire car only to find it does not have sufficient room for your golf accessories. Plan ahead and make sure you book a hire car with plenty of room.

4) Many insurance companies do not cover sporting items such as golf clubs and will not automatically insure you for loss or damage to such items or injuries you may sustain whilst on the golf course. Ensure that your travel insurance includes golf cover, if not, get covered.

5) Many golf resorts abroad will not allow you to play in any footwear other than golf shoes. To be on the safe side, always pack your golf shoes in your suitcase.

6) Many sites also insist on seeing a handicap certificate. It is advisable to either check with the resort whether you will require one or not or just take a handicap certificate with you. They can be obtained from your club handicap secretary for no charge.

Understanding a local menu can prove fairly difficult, even if you consider yourself ‘competent’ in the language.

Words describing dishes and food have a tendency to not have been entered into the dictionary, making a puzzled tourist’s task of translating a menu, pretty nigh impossible.

In the towns and villages of Provence, tourists are faced with two dilemmas – trying to dissect and understand a menu before they give their order to the waiter, but first choosing which, of the many delightfully quirky yet wonderful ‘off the beaten track’ restaurants, to eat in.

Maussane-les-Alpilles in the Valley of Baux

Serving traditional Provencal cuisine at Maussane-les-Alpilles in the Valley of Baux, the restaurant Avi Prouvencau, with its rustic charm and rustic dishes, is a wise dining choice if you are in the area. Its ‘Pieds et Paquets – lambs feet and tripe packages – is a particularly delicious dish, if you are not squeamish about eating such components of an animal.

Chez Freddy Plage de l’Estaque

‘Panisses’ are literally chick-pea flour fries and are a regular feature of dishes in Provence. Chez Freddy Plage de l’Estaque is a small but delightful kiosk on the beach promenade in Estaque and has a reputation of serving the best panisses in the whole of Provence.

Lou Fassum in Grasse

‘Fassum’ is stuffed cabbage, is truly French and truly tasty. As its name suggests ‘Lou Fassum’ in Grasse, is a fantastic restaurant to sample this delicious local dish. Described as being “absolutely divine” and “typically Grassiose”, with its views stretching over to the Esterel and the ocean, Lou Fassum’s position and ambience is as inspiring as its food.

Foougassettes Venturini in Grasse

If your taste buds crave ‘sweeter’ tastes, then sampling the fougassettes and Echaudes – dessert breads – at Foougassettes Venturini in Grasse, has to be high on your priorities during your holiday in the south of France.

Authentic French delicacies and a devotion to customer care are at the heart of Fougassettes Venturini, and with their products being described as the “purest spirit of tradition”, a visit is imperative.

This Greek Fest 2011 begins with a colourful and vibrant graffiti festival in which artists from every corner of Greece arrive to boast their graffiti skills. Treasure hunts, theatre, dance performances and fancy dress balls follow the graffiti fest, before a huge open-air party takes place on Shrove Tuesday. On the festival’s penultimate day, live sketches are performed in the streets of Rethymno and a rehearsal to the Grand Parade takes place.

On the day of the Grand Parade the whole of Rethymno explodes with music, costumes and mayhem. A procession consisting of beautifully ornate floats, extravagant costumes and masks, makes its way through the town. The celebrations are not confined to Rethymno itself and are spread into the surrounding villages, where traditional games and activities such as flying kites take place.

The Rethymno Carnival is a fantastic time to visit this beautifully old and quaint Cretan town, which is one of the best-preserved towns of the Renaissance. Combining Renaissance-style Venetician architecture, with the oriental features of the Turkish period, Rethymno is architecturally stunning. Its Venetician harbour is lined with fishing boats and pretty tavernas serving fresh and delicious seafood. Rethymno’s beaches are calm and clean, with many sandy coves to explore surrounded by wild landscapes and huge and dramatic cliffs.

Its hot and sunny climate, stunning scenery, sandy beaches, delicious and fresh cuisine and stunning architecture means the town of Rethymno is a popular tourist destination, especially in the summer months. Although with relatively mild winters, if you fancy escaping the appalling British weather, then take a trip to Rethymno in January or February to witness the town’s legendary carnival.

Visit www.carnival-in-rethymnon-crete-greece.com for more information and photographs of this vivacious Greek event.

Looking for a luxury villa in Crete?

Wanting to lessen the burden and the belief that foreigners feel they will have little option than return ‘home’ if they become ill, is Madrugada, a palliative care association based in the Algarve.

Whilst charity shops may line the high streets in the UK and are almost as common as clothes shops, bakeries and grocers, abroad charity shops are significantly less familiar. In fact when have you ever seen a shop dedicated to raising money for charity in the likes of Greece, Spain and Portugal? Although in the latter country, the picture regarding charity shops – or lack of them – may be changing, thanks to the pioneering charity, Madrugada.

Madrugada is a relatively new project concentrating on providing care and support for people living with terminal illnesses in the Lagos municipality of the Algarve. Following the success of Madrugada’s pilot charity shop in Praia da Luz, a string of new charity shops are planned to be opened throughout the Lagos region in 2011. The charity shop in Praia da Luz has been extremely successful in raising money to helping seriously ill people in the region. Madrugada’s fundraising events have also been very successful in helping raise money to provide for the previously virtually un-catered for services.

Although Madrugada’s services are far from limited to expatriates and are intended for the whole of the Lagos community. To continue its efforts to assist, encourage and advise people living with life-threatening diseases such as cancer, Madrugada’s founder Alison Blair, is appealing for new members.

“Not everybody is able to go to charity or fundraising events, so the association is therefore looking for “Armchair Members”: people who pay an annual membership fee and can rest assured knowing they’ve made a contribution, but can then do as much or as little more as they like,” said Alison Blair.

It has been estimated that in order to achieve its aims, the target Madrugada requires is 245,000 euros. If you are interested in becoming part of such a worthy and pioneering project, taking place in one of the most architecturally and culturally stunning municipalities of the Algarve visit: www.madrugada-portugal.com