Advantages: the real africa, hardly a tourist destination Disadvantages: political and ethnical instability, rough travelling
This is a country that had it all, a nice export of cocoa beans, some gold, plenty of timber, enough space, stability, you name it! And then it happened, de world market for cocoa-beans collapsed and Coted'Ivoire, the example for the west-African country, began to fade, then there were elections, and then a coup, and then an uprising, another uprising and now it's on the brink of civil war.
Still, if you speak French, it's a great country to live in, it's got some nice dense primary forest, lively cities, beautifull markets, miles and miles of deserted beaches, hillcountry, savanna's, desert, and maybe the nicest, most hospitable people of Africa.
If you respect the local habits, women wearing skirts and man wearing trousers, asking if permitted before grabbing your digicam etc, there is not a lot you can do wrong here! Only in ...
Advantages: More affordable thank you think !! Disadvantages: Not many I can think of
The CoteD'Azur is the term that refers to the French Riviera and encompasses - among others - the three cities Nice, Cannes, and Monaco. The latter is a "Principality", which is self-governed and sovereign from the rest of France.
The area is served by Nice CoteD'Azur International Airport, which is approximately 2 hours flight from the UK. Although, this is slightly dependent upon the airport you depart from. Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, and Stansted would all fall into this travel category, where as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester would all be closer to 2 ½ hours travel time.
Due to the close proximity of the three cities mentioned, I have never been to this region of France without visiting all three together!! Although, of the 3, Nice is probably the city I have spent the least amount of time, maybe because it is located in ...
Advantages: Every advantage a hotel could have Disadvantages: none!
I never thought I would one day actually stay in a Hotel in Nice, France. It's not that I do not go regularly to France, quite on contrary, I just never saw anything special about this city. For me, Nice was just the airport or gateway to the world of Cannes, Antibes, Cap Ferrat, and off course, the stunning Monte Carlo. I found it much more interesting to re-discover the sandy shores of Cannes or the minimalist chic style of St Tropez, or the extravagant Moneguesque nightlife. The idea of this chilled out beach was not very appealing when compared to its neighbouring tourist hotspots.
Being the self-titled "holiday booking disaster" that I am, I offcourse leave everything to the week previous to my departure and, therefore, must content myself with whatever is available. This vicious cicle seems to happen year-after-year of CoteD ...
