US

New York has some fabulous hotels. Only snag is one night tends to blow the budget for the entire weekend. Step up newyorkproperties.co.uk, which offers Manhattan apartments to rent from £23pppn in a four-person apartment.

India

Jewel in the Crown Holidays (01293 533338, jewelholidays.com) has introduced three biking trips in Goa, Kerala and the Himalayas. Packages cost from £799pp for land arrangements or from £1,199pp inc Gatwick flights, bike hire and medical and mechanical back up.

Africa

New safari and ski outfit Baobab Expeditions (baobabexpeditions.com) offers as much adventure as a traditional overlanding trip in a shared giant truck but with smaller, smarter vehicles. The expeditions are pricey but you can bring the cost down to about €1,700 for 12 days (excl flights) by opting for campsites instead of luxury lodges (the customised vehicles have surprisingly roomy rooftop tents).

Worldwide

Hot on the heels of dosomethingdifferent.com, a website offering pre-bookable activities and excursions, comes another site aimed at adventurous travellers. Whydontyou.com goes live on October 2 and features hundreds of breaks from three days' mountaineering in Ecuador (from £215) to a 15-day rafting expedition down India's Brahmaputra river (£2,555).