The Gambia had previously been described to me as a “Marmite” destination (you will either love it or hate it!) and at the end of October I joined Monarch on the 6 hour flight to find out. Courtesy of The Gambia Experience, I spent four nights at the Kairaba Hotel in Kololi.

My arrival at Banjul airport was met with eager porters to assist with my luggage in reward for a tip despite the 10 second walk to the air conditioned minibus. The transfer to the hotel was only 20 minutes so it did not take long to check-in at the Kairaba.

Our trip began with a pretty good service economy class with Royal Jordanian. Flying time is approx 5 hours, so making it an ideal destination for those not liking long flights to somewhere just that bit different.

With only three full days in Jordan we made the most of this time by first starting off with a relaxing float in the Dead Sea. A really strange feeling just floating without any effort, then coating ourselves in the local Dead Sea mud and allowing that to dry before washing off in the sea. Claims have been made that women end up looking 5 years younger – I am still checking the mirror!