Make 2012 the year when you achieve your goals and turn your dreams into reality. From surfing to smallholding, change your life for the better with these 10 ideas for self-improving holidays. Go on, you can do it!
1. Get fit – run a marathon
This is the year you’re going to get fit. But turning off the TV and running once around the park isn’t enough – you’ve got to aim high. Give yourself a real challenge – run a marathon. It may be a bit soon to contemplate the London marathon in March, so how about the Honolulu Marathon in December? 26 miles? Easy. Find flights to Honolulu
2. Learn to cook
Beans on toast just won’t cut it. Impress the ladies (or the men) with your kitchen skills. If you’re a budding Gordon, Heston or Nigella, learn to become a domestic god(dess) on a crash cookery course. Even better, learn in picturesque countryside in a famous foodie destination like Tuscany. Find flights to Florence
3. Learn to surf
If, like us, you were inspired by Garrett McNamara’s stupendous surf on a 90-foot wave in Portugal last year, then learn to ride those tubes for yourself. You’ll be enjoying big wave action for yourself in no time at all if you enrol in asurf school in Cornwall, California or even Costa Rica. Find flights to Santo Domingo
4. Learn the good life – become a smallholder
Leave the rat race far behind. If you dream of chucking in the nine-to-five, master the art of living off the land on asmallholding life course in Devon. Learn how to look after cute farm animals, and how to cook from scratch using fresh, seasonal produce… not that there’s any connection. Find flights to Exeter
5. Find yourself – get high on vines
Definitely don’t try this at home! Maybe enrolling in the gym is a bit easier, but a drastic way to find a new you this New Year is to follow in the footsteps of Bruce Parry and go on an Ayahuasca healing retreat deep in the Amazon jungle. ‘Participants return with a new lease on life, having turned the corner on their problems and found the path leading to their complete health and happiness’, apparently. Find flights to Manaus
6. Learn to sing
Watch out X Factor! If your vocal prowess extends only as far as belting out Wonderwall on the way home from the pub, get your chords in trim with a singing holiday in Havana, Cuba. You could be the next Marcus Collins or Frankie Cocozza. Er, hang on a minute. Find flights to Havana
7. Learn a language
Go local. If your knowledge of the local lingo extends as far as ordering a beer and a couple of other mangled essentials from the phrasebook, how about a language learning holiday? Spanish in Seville? Then you’ll be able to chat up the local talent, among other things. Find out more about learning a language, and find flights to Seville
8. Learn to belly dance
Who could argue that belly dancing is one of life’s essential skills? Learn how to wiggle those hips with more style than your usual uncoordinated floundering on the dancefloor under the expert guidance of Turkish tutors on a belly dancing holiday in Istanbul. Find flights to Istanbul
9. Save the planet
Turtle power! Give something back to the planet on a conservation holiday like being a volunteer on a turtle conservation project in the Maldives. Look after cutesy turtles and spend your free time scuba diving and sunbathing. Doesn’t sound like too much of a chore, does it? Find flights to Male
10. Learn to paint
Easel does it! Brush up on your artistic skills where the light is bright and the sun is shining, helping you to magic up a masterpiece in comfort. Capture the sunset with a sundowner in hand on the Greek island of Santorini, or just pack your charcoals and paint the town red, or green, or… Find flights to Santorini
