2008 - WHAT A VERY GOOD YEAR IT WILL BE

THIS IS SURE to be Northern Ireland's best-ever year for travel and leisure, thanks to (a) the ever-expanding choice of national and international destinations available direct from Belfast; (b) the unprecedented bargains to be had worldwide due to our favourable dollar exchange rate; and (c) the urgent need to get up and out of the house before fuel hits £5 a litre!

In this, my annual selection of TREW'S TRAVELS TOP TIPS published to coincide with HolidayWorld, I'm pointing out the best of everything connected with touring around and having fun. I'm covering up-and-coming destinations like Israel , Castle Leslie and South Wales, as well as stalwarts like Paris, Edinburgh and Cornwall.

These recommendations are based on my most pleasant personal experiences of the past year or so. Regular readers of Trew's Travels will already be familiar with some of my favourites but there are some surprises in store as well.

Best-value destination in the world

AMERICA is still the biggest bargain destination for 2008, thanks to a finger lickin' exchange rate. Nearly two bucks to the pound! No wonder I am flying with Continental, my Worldwide Airline of the Year, to spend a coupla weeks in the winter warmth of New Mexico later this month.

This means that the Sheraton Hotel at Newark International Airport - which would have cost me £120 just two years ago for the necessary overnight stay before my flight to Albuquerque - is going to be just £94. Similarly, on my last big trip to California in 2006, the expensive seafood platter I enjoyed at Malibu Beach would only cost the same as two fish suppers in Belfast's Harry Ramsden's, which I again nominate as My Local Chippie of the Year.

As for my shopping list, the latest iPod is going to cost me less than half the UK price, and the cowboy boots I've always hankered after are now just about affordable. Having said that, I had intended to buy a new Apple Mac laptop in the USA, but was put off for technical and warranty reasons.

Anyway, there was an offer on Amazon.co.uk before Christmas for the very MacBook I wanted, which is why this is the first TREW'S TRAVELS in world history to have been compiled on a gorgeous white 13inch widescreen MacBook . I'm sure you have already noticed the improvement in clarity and colour…

Magnifique! Paris is the greatest city break

PARIS was my home for a whole month in the past year, and I fell passionately in love with almost everything about her - even Disneyland which I once vowed never to visit (see below).

Thanks to improved connections from Belfast - notably the new direct daily service that Flybe's local Sales Manager Ken Harrower is proudly promoting - this promises to be a Parisian love affair that will endure year after year until I'm too decrepit to enjoy the world's finest cuisine, museums and shopping.

I was going to mention the world's most beguiling women, too, but at my age that would be regarded here (but not in France) as vulgar 'dirty old man' sexism. In Paris it is common to see men and women of a certain age in the company of much younger lovers.

Parisian women of all ages have a 'je ne sais quoi' that I have only ever seen matched in Milan where presenting 'una bella figura' is equally important. You hardly ever see fat Parisians, even though the streets are full of pastry shops brimming with cream-cakes, bakeries smelling of fresh-baked baguettes, cheese-mongers with a hundred different types to choose from and chocolatiers displaying a million calories per metre.

After 30 holiday trips to every region of France, eating and drinking alongside its citizens, I still do not know why the French are so much fitter than us. The only drunks I saw during my four weeks living the life of a typical Parisian were a couple of sad street-people and a whole lot of English Rugby World Cup fans. However, France has still to catch up with us on putting a ban on public smoking .

Yes, La Vie Parisienne was very much to my liking except for their regular one-day transport stoppages that last three whole days and cause traffic congestion ALMOST as bad as a lorry breaking down on Belfast's West Link!

One of the strikes occurred just after I had just spent 16 Euros renewing my weekly NAVIGO travel card which allows unlimited use of public transport throughout the city and suburbs.

I made up for the three lost days by going on a full-day excursion to the beautifully refurbished Bercy Village, a complex of buzzy restaurants, bars and boutiques housed in old wine-shipping warehouses along the Seine.

The following day, I went to AUVERS-SUR-OISE where many of my favourite Impressionist painters lived. This is also where the greatest of them, Vincent van Gogh, died in a room which I visited alone. This unintended pilgrimage turned out to be among the most moving spiritual experiences of my career as a travel journalist. Please go there and say bonjour to the helpful guide of the Maison de Van Gogh, Maryvonne Grandfils.

All of the above would not have been achieved so well, had it not been for the fact that we had the freedom and home-comforts associated with living in a lovely apartment instead of staying in an hotel.

Thanks again to www.PerfectlyParis.com the website where we found our nicely-furnished two bedroom flat. Director Gail Boisclair was so impressed by my subsequent coverage of her splendid service as published here in the autumn, that she has created live links from her website to www.nitravelnews.com. Start clicking now!

Best European family attraction

DISNEYLAND PARIS was not on my Must-Do Programme when we went to stay in the French Capital. I had not been invited by Disney Corporation to the Press Opening years ago, and was still in a huff about it.

Then, when my family came to stay in our Parisian apartment for a week, the infamous transport strike forced us to drive them in our car 40 km to the place. We wisely left at dawn, to avoid what turned out to be the biggest Paris traffic jam since the barricades went up during the French Revolution (it was still gridlocked on our return trip which took four hours!).

Once we arrived at the Disney carpark (the size of Co Armagh) I decided, what the heck, I'll go in and see what all the fuss was about. It was 8am. I needed a cup of coffee and a pee (not necessarily in that order).

WOW! At 45 Euros, this turned out not only to be the most expensive pee in a lifetime of spending a penny, but also one of the most entertaining experiences of my French odyssey. We left to family to enjoy the scary white-knuckle rides of Disneyland Park and opted for the more mature pleasures of WALT DISNEY STUDIOS.

The Studios complex of 14 different full-scale attractions takes a whole day to explore and experience; my favourites were the ingenious Cinemagique where a real actor gets involved in some famous movie moments; the Motors Stunt Show, a live-action spectacle with unbelievably dangerous blazes and crashes; and the Studio Tram Tour which starts off as a serene backlot trip around some dusty props from movies I'd never heard of and climaxes - without warning - in the tram getting blown up, flooded, and set on fire. What an amazing example of the Disney Imagineers work!

Best of all, believe it or not, is the food. Avoid the scores of tacky fast-food outlets and opt for a meal in the 'Rendez-Vous des Stars' where the all-you-care-to-eat hot and cold buffet is the best I have ever seen in any Visitor Attraction anywhere in the world. A whole brigade of chefs ensured that everything was frest and perfect. At 25 Euros per adult it sounds expensive but turned out to be one of the best meals we had for the price in Paris. Bon appetit!

In total contrast for an excursion, but equally pleasurable, was the day we spent in and around MONET'S GARDEN at GIVERNY an hour outside Paris . I raved about my enchantment in these pages last monet - sorry, month.

Wettest adventure of a lifetime

ANYBODY LOOKING for the sort of experience that you can talk about for the rest of your life should follow in my flipper-steps and go Dancing with Dolphins in 2008.

Eilat at the southernmost tip of Israel is the Red Sea Resort which has everything you would expect to find in a world-class winter-sun resort - cloudless skies, superb de luxe hotels, cosmopolitan cuisine, exemplary service and so on.

What all the other resorts don't offer is the opportunity to go snorkelling with wild dolphins in a lagoon which is next door to some of the world's most beautiful coral reefs.

This time last year , during a trewly brilliant winter break, I spent almost an hour in the company of the 10-strong family of gentle, inquisitive creatures which choose to make DOLPHIN REEF their home. I've been talking about it ever since, although I must admit that the DVD of my dive has not made the Top Ten Chart…even in my own home!

Learn more at www.dolphinreef.co.il. I promise, Eilat is-raeli great!

Best weekend breaks down south

FOR A WONDERFUL WEEKEND south of the Border go no further than the two miles from Caledon, Co Tyrone, to CASTLE LESLIE at Glaslough, Co Monaghan. It's here that Sammi Leslie and her famous Uncle Jack, Sir John Leslie (90 this year) have envisioned and created a trewly amazing combination of world-class sporting activities next door to a hedonistic heaven.

What used to be a run-down Anglo-Irish 1,000 acre estate has been transformed into a complex comprising: Ireland's first Luxury Residential Membership Club in the Castle itself; a 35-room luxury Hunting Lodge hotel and Victorian Spa; an impressive state-of-the-art Equestrian Centre; a Cookery School run by my friend and favourite chef, Noel McMeel; plus new 4-star self-catering Cottages in Ireland's Best Kept Village of Glaslough.

I've travelled thousands of miles along almost every scenic road from West Cork to our own Causeway Coast in search of the Perfect Irish Weekend Break, so it was brilliant to find an hotel which ticks all the boxes , located just over an hour's drive from Belfast.

For around £60 pp you can enjoy B&B in the HUNTING LODGE. For a few euros more you can sup a refreshment in the cosy bar and have a McMeel-inspired brasserie meal. All of these facilities have been tastefully added onto an ancient building which has retained much of its original character.

Rooms are not numbered, but bear the names of Castle Leslie horses, so you have to say 'Tumbleweed' or 'Napoleon' instead of 'Room 123' when reporting for breakfast, which is the sort of thing that probably appeals to the many Americans who come here on horsey holidays.

Rooms are really spacious, many with views over the swanky stables of the Equestrian Centre and the woodlands beyond.( The horses are housed almost as comfortably as the guests, but I noted during my tour under the supervision of international horsewoman Julie Sargeant that the stables are NOT named after guests...)

I had a memorable half-day's fishing for pike in the company of George Watson, hooking and returning more big fish than I have caught in years.

Email: info@castleleslie.com. Tel: 00353-47-88100 Reservations can be made through the informative website www.castleleslie.com

Marlfield House for that Blue Book style

LOOKING for excellence of a less energetic kind a bit further afield? I strongly recommend MARLFIELD HOUSE just outside Gorey in Co Wexford. It's one of the stalwarts of Ireland's Blue Book, the 'bible' for those in search of luxurious Country House Hotels and top-class restaurants.

What a joy it was to visit it recently and find that it is going from strength to splendid strength under the Bowe family. I had a chat with Mary Bowe, one of the doyennes ( along with Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe) of country house style and cuisine. She's a charming hostess, but her perfectionism prompts her to straighten table-linen and tidiy up flower arrangements as she chats to the regulars.

During the filming of 'Saving Private Ryan' on location nearby ( the Wexford Slobs playing the part of D-Day Normandy Beaches) superstars like Tom Hanks and Steven Speilberg stayed at Marlfield with their families for weeks.I bet they did not get any better treatment than my wife and I received during our latest delightful stay.

Email: info@marlfieldhouse.ie Tel: 053 942 1124. Website www.marlfieldhouse.com

Great day's trout fishing for novices

ESKRAGH LOUGH is only mile off the M1 at Dungannon, yet it is one of the most serene and scenic fishing lakes in the whole of Ireland.

It's a 'put and take' lake where a couple of mates - or even a married couple - can go fly-fishing or spinning for rainbow trout from a motor-boat for the price of a night out in a pub.

I recommend it highly for the excellence of its facilities and high standards of maintenance. More importantly - the fish are usually co-operative and act according to the advice of the expert who is always there! Check out www.eskraghloughfishery.com ; Tel: 07836 540157.

Best of British

1: Surprising Cardiff

REGULAR READERS of Trew's Travels already know that I believe the best places for family holidays on the British mainland are Cornwall and - more surprisingly - Cardiff.

With my usual uncanny ability to stumble upon the best holiday weather, I booked what turned out to be a sun-drenched pre-Easter week 2007 in a family cottage near the Welsh capital. What a delight!

It's hard to believe that in the washout holiday seasons of 2007 that we were sunbathing and swimming in April in the private pool of HAFOD LODGE, one of the best self-catering establishments you are ever likely to encounter in a month of Welsh Methodist Sundays.

Just 15 minutes from Cardiff in one direction, and 20 minutes to the resorts of the South Wales Heritage Coast in the other - not to mention the verdant Vale of Glamorgan on your doorstep - this was the ideal base for our party of six.

The enterprising and affable owner, Dave Edwards operates other luxury properties in Wales and abroad."Our aim is to provide good-value luxury holiday retreats with character -- at affordable rates, all year round," Dave told me .

Hafod Lodge is the flagship of the company's Welsh properties, but there are some very tasty places to rent in destinations like Mallorca, Bulgaria and the West Indies . See his full portfolio at www.fore-corners.co.uk. While you are online, click on www.nitravelnews.com/news-stories/trews-travels and follow the link to 'New' South Wales.

Best of British

2: Cornish Coastal Gems

CORNWALL is England's most popular holiday county for a whole host of reasons. Last summer I took advantage of the latest reason - the introduction of Flybe's new Belfast-Newquay direct service which eliminated the lengthy expedition that used to be involved.

Frankly, it's worth the effort to get to Cornwall by whatever means available because this is an absolutely brilliant holiday playground that was an eye-opener to me. The EDEN PROJECT is deservedly recognised as the UK's most popular 'green' attraction and exceeded our expectations.

We spent the best two weeks late June we began a memorable summer holiday touring some of Cornwall's finest family hotels which I can enthusiastically recommend:

PRIMROSE VALLEY HOTEL is a short dander from the golden sands of Porthminster Beach, one of the many treasures of St.Ives which has become my favourite British seaside resort. Tell Andrew Biss that I sent you and ,no doubt, he will give you an eco-friendly goodie bag and the best available room upgrade! Tel:01736 794939 Email:info@primroseonline.co.uk; www.primroseonline.co.uk.

Rick Stein's SEAFOOD RESTAURANT in Padstow has lovely spacious B&B rooms above the plaice where Rick's expanding empire began. Tel: 01841 532700 for reservations or check out the huge website www.rickstein.com for other options. If you are lucky enough to get a room, go to the Lobster Hatchery on the quay and ask how Lobby, the wee lobster we adopted last June, is doing.

BOSCUNDEL MANOR Hotel & Spa, near St Austell has all the amenities of an excellent country house - indoor and outdoor pools, croquet lawn, glorious gardens. Lovely food in somewhat formal surroundings. Tel: 01726 813557 email:stay@boscundlemanor.co.uk www.boscundlemanor.co.uk

MULLION COVE Hotel is on a dramatic headland overlooking a picturesque harbour near The Lizard. Give my regards to Lorraine, the friendliest receptionist I have encountered in years. Great garden pool. Tel: 01326 240328, email: mullioncove@btinternet.com, www.mullioncove.com

SANDS RESORT near Porth Beach on the Airport side of Newquay is absolutely perfect for families. We loved the fantastic range of free activities (including a delightful par 3 golf course); good-value food and happy holiday atmosphere. Tel:01637 872864 Email: reception@sandsresort.co.uk, www.sandsresort.co.uk.