In Bretagne (Brittany) which is my little corner of France (purported to be the most visited region for French holiday makers) and rather like living on a model farm, there are a number of excellent golf courses. When combined with neighbouring Normandy, the area has over 80 golf courses.
Normandy includes gems such as Barriere Deauville (a host to the Open de France on 2 occasions), Etretat and Champ de Bataille. Brittany’s golfing menu includes Dinard, Val Andre and St Malo all of which combine to making the whole region an extremely popular destination for visiting golfers from the Europe and the UK and Ireland.
A number of tour companies service the region including Your Golf Travel and Brittany Ferries. The Brittany Ferries golf desk offers excellent value ferry / drive / stay and play packages and manages trips from over 12 000 golfers per annum from the UK alone. If you are based in the UK and want to have a golf break in France and combine this with a family vacation, to take in some of ‘la belle vie’, then this region has much to offer. With the feeling that on many flights you will be overweight carrying a spare toothbrush, the ferry and drive option takes away the need to hire clubs at each course and the costs of car hire.
As this region also plays host to a number of stages of the Tour De France, with careful planning this major event can be included into a visit, as can using your core holiday package with Brittany Ferries as a base from which to extend the trip, either to visit places within the region or to travel further afield.
Coming Soon! Destination Golf Southern Africa & Indian Ocean Islands. The phrase ‘a World in one country’ has been applied so many times that it has now lost its real impact in descriptive terms.
However if the criteria were beaches, cultural variety, natural wildlife, a colourful history, spectacular scenery, modern convenience and beautiful beaches then South Africa surely qualifies.
If the only criteria are sunny weather and blue skies then South Africa is a vacation paradise.
If you then add in over 450 golf courses to the country’s myriad attractions which range from big game to even bigger big beaches, both on the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coastlines, the region offers the ideal mix of elements for a perfect family vacation.
Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands are a long haul destination (10.5 hours or thereabouts on a direct flight from London to Johannesburg) but with the advantage of a minimal time difference no time is wasted recovering from the effects of jet lag once you are there. The range of excellent and well-priced (especially given the exchange rates) accommodation options in every region means that any golfer can turn a golf safari into a family vacation that will have something for everyone and not still break the bank!
If you would like to see more of South Africa’s golf courses please go to Destination Golf’s partner’s website at www.golfvistasa.com