ferry from Piraeus, Leros has largely “slipped under the holiday radar”, says Richard Eilers in The Guardian. Yet it has all the things you dream of from a Greek island – “fishing villages, tavernas, ruins” – as well as a fascinating collection of relics from the 20th century. There are derelict military buildings adorned with “amazing murals painted by bored squaddies”, a labyrinth of tunnels and, off the coast, the wrecks of ships and warplanes that are now dive sites. Before the War, Mussolini held political prisoners in prisons and mental hospitals on the island which have now “sadly” been repurposed as refugee camps. All this makes it a bit “unusual” as a tourist destination, but its other bonuses for visitors include “fantastic walks” in all directions, leading to “attractive little beaches” where you can swim in clear waters observed only by inquisitive goats. Bianco Boutique Hotel
(www.biancohotel.gr) has doubles from s55.
Chasing dinosaurs and pirates in Hawaii Even first-time visitors to Kualoa Ranch’s “primeval” landscape may have a sense of déjà vu, says James Litston in The Independent. The only thing missing on this 4,000-acre estate is a “stampede of dinosaurs”. For it was in this verdant valley, on
the Hawaiian island of Oahu, that Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park was filmed. But it is not the only film to have been made here – Oahu is a dream destination for “film buffs” anxious to view
locations for Pirates of the Caribbean and Jumanji, among other blockbusters. Visitors can take
tours to a “giant reptilian footprint” from Godzilla, as well as a giant bone yard that featured in Kong:
Skull Island. The jungle-filled compound from Jurassic World is one of the highlights: it was from
here that the “fearsome Indominus rex” escaped. Close inspection reveals vast claw marks in fake
concrete made of “surprisingly flimsy” plywood. For a “real-life” Jurassic moment, head to Turtle Bay to snorkel alongside turtles – our “living” and rather less alarming dinosaurs. Bon Voyage (has seven-night packages from £2,684pp. Hunting for Heidi in the Alps Translated into 50 languages, Johanna Spyri’s Heidi has conveyed the Alps’ “magical qualities” to millions of people since it came
out in 1881, says Tom Robbins in the FT. Life has changed, but the Swiss still cling to the dream of this pastoral idyll, and each summer they flock here from the cities to “help scythe the hay or repair the fences”, staying in chalets “handed down through extended families”. Now visitors can rent these, thanks to the tourist board’s new “Airbnb for mountain huts”. More than 300 dwellings that “count their age in centuries, not decades” are listed, located in forest glades, villages or on hillsides. Mayen à Madeleine, above Les Haudères, is traditional on the outside, with a “slick, modern and minimal” interior, and an outdoor hot tub from which you can gaze at the high peaks.
