BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS

 

BRING BACK MORE FROM YOUR HOLIDAY THAN JUST A TAN

 

LEARN TO BECOME A SUPERSTAR DJ

 

If you fancy your chances on the ones and twos, learn to spin discs at the Scratch Academy in New York. A five-day beginners’ course teaches mixing, blending, scratching and beat making.

Courses cost £145 per person (www.scratch.com). Flights with Virgin Atlantic start from £288 (0870 574 7747 or www.virginatlantic.com). Rooms at Chelsea Lodge cost £69 a night (www.chelsealodge.com).

 

LEARN TO STRICTLY COME DANCE

 

If you fancy a bit of salsa, Strictly-style, then hotfoot it to Santa Teresa, Brazil, for a learn-to-dance holiday with an ethical twist. Lessons combine with volunteering on charity projects like Make Favela Art, a shanty town regeneration programme.

A Latin Body Movement trip costs from £1,699 per person including flights, 14 nights’ B&B, and a Portuguese lesson (020 8877 1630 or www.jingandoholidays.com).

 

LEARN TO BE THE NEXT KEIRA KNIGHTLEY

 

If you’ve always fancied seeing your name in lights, combining an acting course with a holiday in the sunny South of France could be your first step. You’ll get to grips with script reading and role play – and if you’re lucky, a dishy Brad-a-like.

French House Party runs five-day courses (March to October) in the Languedoc. Five days’ full-board costs £750 per person (01299 896819 or www.french houseparty.co.uk).

 

LEARN TO WRITE A NOVEL

 

Instead of ploughing through a novel on your holidays, why not write one? Jump on the erotic fiction bandwagon and take a course in writing saucy stories with Mitzi Szereto, who wrote the critically acclaimed Erotic Fairy Tales: A Romp Through The Classics.

Mitzi’s erotic fiction course costs £75 (September 19 to 21) at The Grange by the Sea, Shanklin, Isle of Wight (www.thegrangebythesea.com). A twin room costs £48 per person, per night, including breakfast.

 

LEARN TO MAKE YOUR OWN PERFUME

 

Keep up with Kylie, Beyoncé et al by creating your very own scent on a perfume-making holiday in Scotland. With help from George Dodd, whose nose is hired by top perfume labels, you’ll learn to sniff your way through various essential oils and develop your own fragrance, all in pretty Scottish scenery.

Aroma Sciences courses cost £50 (01445 731618 or www.aromasciences.com). Poolewe Hotel offers double rooms for £40 a night (01445 781241 or www.poolewehotel.co.uk).

 

LEARN TO SAIL

 

Do you envy the A-listers on their swanky yachting holidays? Even if you don’t know your port from your starboard, Sunvil holidays specialise in learn-to-sail weeks in the Ionian Sea around the Greek island of Lefkas. Beginners work towards a crew certificate, while more experienced sailers can learn to skipper.

Live-Aboard packages cost from £599 per person, per week based on two sharing a cabin including return flights, transfers, and tuition (020 8758 4780 or www.sunvilsailing.co.uk).

 

LEARN TO BE A PHOTO PRO

 

Bring back some holiday snaps your friends will be impressed with, and while you’re there take in the stunning sights and sounds of the Abruzzo Mountains in Italy, dubbed the forgotten Tuscany.

Prices on a four-night holiday to Abruzzo cost £749 per person this includes the best in local food and drink, expert tuition, luxury accommodation, local guides and all excursions. Plus you’ll get discounts on photographic prints when you get home. Visits in May, July and September and they also offer trips to Marrakech. Visit www.point101.com/holidays or call 0207 241 1113

 

LEARN TO BE A SURF CHICK

 

Ever wondered what it would be like to surf? Well on this Girls Only Surf and Pilates holiday you will be doing it for real by the end, guaranteed!

Locations include Morocco, West Africa or Northern Spain and prices for a full board surfing package start from £199 per week which includes accommodation, Airport transfers, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Surf Coaching, Pilates lessons and a surf DVD. Visit www.errantsurf.com or call 0870 334 1711 for more.

 

LEARN TO BE A COWGIRL

 

It’s time to don your checked shirt, some extra tight skinny jeans and play cowgirl for a week. A week at Ranch America will have you lassoing with the best of them. Wagon rides and cowboy cookouts all add to the cowgirl experience and when you really can’t feel your legs anymore there’s a pool and hot tub for easing those achy limbs.

A standard double room costs from £1759 for 7 nights including flights, transfers, all food and soft drinks and most ranch activities. Visit www.ranchamerica.co.uk/hotels/Goosewing-Ranch or call 0870 499 0689 for more.

 

LEARN TO BE A WINE CONNOISSEUR

 

Struggle to tell the difference between your Pinot from your Chardonnay? Well with a wine learning holiday you’ll be an expert in no time. But if you fancy something a bit more showbiz, book yourself on a champagne tour. Arblaster & Clarke offer Champagne breaks to the Champagne region of France where you’ll get to test up to 25 different champagnes.

Three-day tours start from £325 per person including all travel, accommodation, meals and champagne!
For more information visit www.winetours.co.uk or call 01730 263111

 

BEFORE YOU BOOK...

* Find out who else is on your course. You don’t want to end up with the Blue Rinse Brigade.
* Check for hidden costs (meals, transfers, etc.) so you don’t go over budget.
* Swot up on your subject. Ask the operator about books or websites which could give you a head start.

 

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MAY RETURN TO OZ!, GOING FOR A SONG, GET CARRIE-D AWAY, SUNSET STRIP

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MARCH GO IT ALONE, GIRL, BLING & BUY IN DUBAI, BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS, COOL CRUISES, FLIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION

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Words: Gemma Dawson. Photography: PhotoLibrary, PA, Landmark, Scope, Retna.
All prices correct at time of going to press.