If it's tranquillity you're searching for when booking a room at Kempinski's Aegean Sea oasis, on the Turkish coast near glamorous Bodrum, then you've come to the right place. With the introduction of a new 'Silent Beach', hidden on its own private boat-less bay, the resort welcomes adult guests to lie back and soak up the sound of tranquility. Should your idea of ultimate peace include a cold cocktail or a massage by one of the expert therapists from the hotel's Six Senses Spa, simply push the call button on your sunshade and listen to the waves while your order arrives.

Many travellers, rather than clinging to the familiar anywhere they go, desire to immerse themselves in the new, the foreign, the unfamiliar. Instead of checking into generic chain hotels, eating bland food cooked for an unadventurous palate, and seeing the sights on well-trodden tourist paths, they seek out the local, unusual and challenging.

Any other year, Queen's Day in Amsterdam is a giant party that sees virtually every man, woman and child take to the streets, squares and canals to pay tribute to their well-loved monarch. Any other year, Koninginnedag events would include a boat parade, free open air concerts and late-night partying all over the city. But 2013 is not any year – since Queen Beatrix announced earlier this year that she would step down from the throne.