waters

DURING these cold, dreary months, I can’t get enough of the exotic escapism so many TV shows provide. 

Death In Paradise? I’d risk my life to be on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe right now. 

The Good Ship Murder? Pfft, it’s not real killing, so get me on that cruise liner. 

And all I could think while watching Channel 5 drama The Sunshine Murders was, “Yes, I need to know who the culprit is, but would you look at that sunset!”. 

Sure, Nina Wadia’s character was whacked with a cricket bat off a cliff, but did you see that stunning white sand she landed on?  

The slaying took a back seat as I was seduced by the sights, scenery and shoreline. 

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So, lucky me, because I’ve been dispatched — with the cast — to the five-star Asimina Suites in Paphos, the hotel where the main characters stayed during their filming in Cyprus.

I hoped to see for myself why, of all the luxurious locations to pick from, this was such a killer setting. 

For starters, if you’re going to have “Sunshine” in a show’s title, it needs to be guaranteed. And 340 days of sun a year is as close as you can ask for.

Just ten miles from Paphos airport, which is a four-hour flight from London, the hotel overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. 

The water is Caribbean-like in colour and comfort — 24C in October means I can enjoy a sunrise swim without my nether regions feeling like they’ve just met a grisly end. 

It’s the ideal way to work up an appetite before turning cereal killer and slaughtering a mammoth breakfast buffet. 

The Asimina is a luxurious, adults-only (16+) resort, and my accommodation had a balcony, king-sized bed, en suite shower and bath, living area, two TVs, espresso machine and mini bar.  

With 111 suites — some with swim-up pools — four spacious bars and four restaurants, it never feels crowded.

Star of the show is the beachside, fine-dining-quality Kymata restaurant. Trust me when I say the food here is so good, you’ll be in mourning for your beach body. 

Ease the overindulgence guilt by chasing an ace at the onsite tennis court, visiting the decent-sized gym or joining the joggers on the beautiful coastal path. 

The Asimina takes a particular pride in its swanky alcohol offerings and it holds complimentary gin tastings and cocktail-making classes.  

With live music every evening and themed nights with the likes of Elvis tribute acts, there’s no shortage of entertainment, either. 

But it’s all geared to pure tranquillity. 

The heaven-sent Elixir Spa offers a variety of massages. 

And you can kill time in the free-to-use sauna, steam bath and heated indoor pool. 

The real gem is the hospitality, though. I’ve never met such attentive staff. 

There are B&B, half-board and full-board options, but the Ultra All-Inclusive means as soon as your glass is empty, it is quickly topped up. 

From the beachside cabanas to the poolside sunbeds, everywhere is peaceful. Everything and everyone is relaxed.  

Even the breakwaters in the bay mean the waves only very gently lap at the shore. 

But between the bliss of annihilating the cocktail menu, you can’t come to this Unesco World Heritage city without digging into its history.

The concierge can arrange taxis to the Archaeological Park, Paphos Castle and the Tombs of the Kings. 

And because Paphos was named European Capital of Culture in 2017, huge investment has brought an alluring contrast of modern alongside historical. 

The charming Paphos Old Town is a hub for shopping and dining; contemporary restaurants and bars sit comfortably beside authentic Mediterranean tavernas. 

Swim naked 

When you enter any of the homely eateries, you’re treated like royalty and served mouth-watering meze with mind-blowing meat platters. 

It was a revelation to me just how good the wine is in Cyprus. Take my word for it and head into the peaks of the Troodos Mountains for a tour of the modern Oenou Yi Winery. 

Sipping their rosé while looking out across the vast vineyards is as good as it gets. 

And you can’t go to Cyprus without seeing Aphrodite’s Rock. 

Legend has it that if you swim naked around it three times during a full moon, you’ll have eternal youth. 

But I hadn’t necked enough rosé for that. An eye-opening fact I learnt is that Cyprus is a hidden gem for golf.

The island boasts four sensational courses, with Elea Golf Club’s Par-71, overlooking the Mediterranean, designed by golfing legend Nick Faldo. 

And here’s something you won’t get in the Algarve — book for the right time of year (January to March), and you can go skiing up Mount Olympus in the morning, tee off at lunchtime, then sunbathe on the beach at sunset. 

The curtain comes down on my idyllic island break over dinner with The Sunshine Murders stars Peter Andre, Emily Corcoran and Dora Chrysikou. 

It’s clear — OK, Peter’s biased as his ­parents are Cypriot — that they’ve been just as wowed by Cyprus and the Asimina Suites as I have. 

Emily said: “The locations are very important in television and particularly in cosy crime. They almost become a character in the show. 

“We needed to find somewhere that gave that really great level of escapism for the audience, and we definitely found that.” 

Thankfully, Emily, who also writes the show, has plans for a second series. 

That is dead-good news, because I could murder a sequel to this trip. 

YOU may not have heard of this island before with its pearly white sand beaches and luxury resorts, but it’s worth having it on your radar.

With expansion of its airport and a potential new airline on the way – this small but beautiful destination could well become a new haven for British holidaymakers.

The island called Phu Quoc sits off the southwestern coast of Vietnam and is known for having an incredible coastline as well as dense jungle.

It’s small at just 574 km² and is roughly the same size as the Isle of Man.

Phu Quoc’s nickname is ‘Pearl Island’, which is partly to do with how the destination looks with its beautiful white sand beaches.

But it’s also because the island has a history of natural pearl production and today is a major centre for pearl farming.

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On the island, visitors will find most resorts on the southwest coast, as more than half of Phu Quoc is a National Park with mountains, jungle and lots of wildlife.

The island has gained recognition for its beauty in previous years.

In 2024, Phu Quoc was named the World’s Leading Nature Island Destination by the World Travel Awards.

And in July 2024, the island was voted world’s second most beautiful island by Travel+Leisure.

Duong Dong is the biggest town; here there are lots of markets and where you’ll find most of the hotels.

The island is home to the Hon Thom Cable Car which holds the Guinness World Record for the longest non-stop three-rope cable car system.

It spans 7,899.9 meters which is almost five miles and connects Phu Quoc island to the neighbouring Hon Thom island.

On the way, visitors will travel over both Hon Dua and Hon Roi islands – but the journey in total takes just 15 minutes each way.

Other popular spots on the island include the Suoi Tranh Waterfall and there a plenty of incredible beaches.

One being Starfish Beach where through the clear water you can spot little starfish.

On the southern part of Long Beach (Bai Truong), north of Dat Do Beach in An Thoi, and near Rach Vem Beach there are bioluminescent plankton meaning that the waters light up and even glow at night.

The biggest expense for Brits would be flights, as some stays as good as 3-star accommodation cost as little as £9 a night.

Currently, the best way for Brits to get to Phu Quoc would be to fly from the UK to Ho Chi Minh City.

Then take a domestic flight which takes just one hour, and there are as many as 20 non-stop flights a day.

Other routes include those from Hanoi, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Visitors from the likes of Seoul, Malaysia and Singapore can also fly directly to the island.

And a boost from the SUN Group, which operates the airport at Phu Quoc could see it become a popular holiday island much like Indonesia’s Bali or Phuket in Thailand.

In the coming years, the SUN Group hopes to launch a new airline which won’t compete with existing routes, but will maximise its domestic routes and eventually could launch more international journeys later on.

The new airline’s fleet intends to grow from eight aircraft by the end of 2025 to 100 by 2030, including long-haul.

The demand for flights to Phu Quoc is growing as in the first nine months of 2025, Phu Quoc welcomed over 1.2million international visitors which is a 65.8 per cent increase year-on-year.

Currently, the airport is undergoing a huge expansion at the cost of £1.5billion in order to increase its capacity to 18million passengers each year by 2027.

A second runway is also being constructed, and by 2050, the airport will be expected to take around 50million passengers annually.

For more on Asia, TUI is set to open two new hotels in destinations that are set to be big with Brits.

And the often-forgotten country named the world’s cheapest place to travel this year with £5 hotels and 80p beers.

One woman who travelled with Nat Geo on The Infinate Explorer was surprised by Vietnam…

Hannah Fry’s new series, The Infinite Explorer, sees her take a different approach to travel, looking at quirks of history and geography behind the locations of some of the world’s lesser-visited spots.

But one of the places she went to were first-time visits for her – and one spot that particularly impressed her was Vietnam. She told Sun Travel: “I wasn’t expecting to like Vietnam as much as I did. In my head, I haven’t really updated my opinion of it from like watching war movies, to be honest.

“So I think I was expecting somewhere that was really poor, that was like struggling quite a lot and actually, that’s not what you find.

“Once you get there, there’s like skyscrapers and really posh hotels.

“There’s bustling tourism. I was really surprised by how quickly they’ve managed to kind of turn the story around from what it was in the past.

“It’s an amazing country, really beautiful, and the people were so like almost ridiculously friendly.”

Hannah also ventured to South Korea’s largest island, Jeju.

Talking about it, Hannah explained: “Jeju is absolutely stunning. Imagine Thailand, right? That’s what Jeju is like.

“It’s where all of the Koreans go on holiday, so it’s full of really fancy hotels. It’s got a proper jungle, rainforests, and lush greenery.

“There are unbelievably beautiful white sandy beaches – it’s stunning. Like paradise vibes, and with good Wi-Fi.”