Dubai is a jewelled oasis in the desert where homosexuality is illegal, but still evident.

Craic is the Irish word for fun; it’s one you’ll hear often in the Republic of Ireland. The country is undergoing a renaissance, and gay visitors are delighting in Ireland’s newfound openness and internationality.

I’ve had enough body treatments in my life to be unworried about being half naked in front of strangers. However, doing it twice in a weekend is a new sensation.

When is a country pub not a country pub?  When it is the Royal Mail Hotel complex in the verdant hills of Western Victoria’s Grampians region.  

There’s a lot to attract the average lesbian to Daylesford and the ‘twin town’ of Hepburn Springs. As Australia’s ‘spa capital’, there’s the promise of hours of indulgent pampering. Think a nice long soak in a mineral spa, followed by a massage and facial. Bliss.

The country most well-known as the birthplace of Bjork is a seldom-visited island for Australians. But for any traveller on a European jaunt, Iceland is a welcome relief from the ABC tour (another bloody church).

Who could forget the sight of Dolly Diamond sauntering down the main street for Chillout festival but Daylesford is not only about drag queens.

by ROBERT LA BUA

Once one of the wealthiest cities in the world thanks to the trade of henequén (commonly known as sisal in English) in the time before nylon replaced it as the fibre of choice in the world's ropes, Mérida, capital of Yucatán, today is a quiet city with a rich past, a place where history, culture, and the arts are universally revered and passionately supported.

by CATHY ANDERSON

At Noosa Heads, you can take your pick from waves, wildlife or window shopping, all with a hint of celebrity. It’s a busy pocket of the Sunshine Coast which prides itself on its national parks, inviting beaches and European-esque feel. A strange combination of the best nature can offer and man-made holiday luxuries, it attracts more than 1.5 million visitors a year.