Our goal is to provide information on places of interest for the gourmet traveller, including wine shops, rustic and cutting edge restaurants, wine hotels and charming inns, and a multitude of other places to visit such as castles, palaces, spas, cultural monuments and places of superb natural beauty. We also list information on wine and culinary tours for each country.



Australia
Australia offers both the gourmet traveller and adventurer a tremendous amount of activities. If you love diving, the Great Barrier Reef is quite literally the best place on earth to go. As well as the wonders of the world's longest coral reef, the coastline has spectacular stretches of sea-carved cliffs, sheltered bays where whales give birth, splendid beaches and a wealth of marine life. If you love wine, Australia is a fabulous destination, with plenty of wine tourism infrastructure- wineries with tasting rooms open to the public, charming small hotels in wine country, and established wine routes. For seeing some of the mind boggling Australian wildlife, the Kakadu National Park is worth a visit. This park seems like paradise with its lily-covered wetlands, grassy plains, coastal mangrove swamps, and eucalyptus forests. Animals you can see include Kangaroos, Dingoes, Frill-necked Lizards, Cockatoos, Hooded Parrots, Black Wallaroos, Oenpelli Pythons and Giant Cave Geckos, yikes!


Bali
Bali has been described as "one big sculpture". Verdant terraces, scultured a thousand years ago, are still planted, and lovingly cared for by hand. Visit some of Bali's most sacred and picturesque temples, or take a city or shopping tour... Bali's most photographed temple sits in a west coats bay chosen by Hindu Priests nearly 1,000 years ago. Tanah Lot Sea Temple is one of the splendid temples in Bali. Perching atop an enormous rock, it is completely surrounded by the waters of the Indian Ocean during high tide. Don't miss this opportunity to watch the sunset over this temple.

France
France is home to some of the most beautiful countryside and architecture in the world. What could be lovelier than travelling along the beautiful French Atlantic coastline, visiting the chateaux of the Loire valley, or wine tasting your way through the world’s most famous wineries? For foodies and gourmet tourists, Burgundy has some of the best food and wine on the planet. The French Pyrenees are a great place to visit if you like medieval villages, charming small hotels and "Gites", rustic cooking and stunning scenery. Bordeaux is home to wonderful wineries with an established infrastructure for wine tourists, and some sweet little villages. Provence boasts gorgeous lavender fields and Cathar castles, with many old villas transformed into beautiful restaurants and hotels. Brittany has unpredictable weather but is worth a visit to see the sand dunes, the virgin beaches, the fortress castles and to taste the freshly caught seafood. And then there's Paris..


Italy
What a divine country! From the medieval hill-topped towns and vineyards of Tuscany, to the Greek ruins and virgin beaches of Sicily, to the "Citta d'Arte" (Art Towns) of Florence, Venice and Rome, to the Alpine scenery and charming villages of the Dolomites, to the Truffles and Barolo of Piedmont, to the fabulous Mediterranean coastline of Liguria (from Cinque Terre to Portofino), Italy is quite simply wonderful for food, wine, and art loving tourists. Wine lovers can visit ancient cellars in gorgeous "Terra di Vini" throughout Italy. For those who think that Italian food is homogenous, they will be pleasantly surprised with the amount of regional diversity in cuisine. For those who studied art in college, seeing the works of Botticelli, Michelangelo and Da Vinci in person is fantastic. While the main cities can be over touristy, the villages offer an authentic glimpse into "La Dolce Vita".

New Zealand
If you want an idea of how spectacular the scenery in New Zealand is, simply go watch the recent "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to get an idea. The landscapes are unbelievable with snow capped mountains, impossibly turquoise lakes, deep valleys covered in wild flowers, glacial fjords...it really does seem like the country is home to "Middle Earth". New Zealand is equally interesting for "outdoor" types to food and wine lovers. If you like active sports, there are a multitude of well-organized activities like Hot Air Ballooning, Sky Diving, Kayaking, River Rafting, even Bungee Jumping. If you are going on vacation to relax, there are some of the most beautiful spa resorts and thermal springs in the world, including the wonderfully named "Hells Gate Thermal Reserve" in Rotorua. Wine Tasting has become very popular, and since most of the wineries are boutique wineries (as opposed to huge producers), visiting them is very personal and intimate, with the owners often showing you around the vineyards.

South Africa
The three highlights in this wonderful country have got to be Capetown, the Wine Country and the Safari Parks. There aren't many places in the world where in one week you can sip vintage wine in stunning, colonial style wineries, see some lions, and stay at some of the best hotels in the world. The most famous nature reserve has got to be Kruger National Park, which covers around 2-million hectares (the size of the whole of Wales) and is famous for being home to "the big five": lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant. You can also see hippos, giraffes, gazelle, red lynx or caracal, and the very bizarre looking aardvarks. In Capetown, you can eat fresh seafood right on the gorgeous port with the backdrop of the impressive table Mountains (and they literally look like a giant table), drink Pinotage or Chenin Blanc, and stay in some fabulous, charming small hotels. From Capetown, it's a short skip to wine country, where many of the wineries have their tasting rooms open to the public and you can even stay at some of them.

Australia - Bali - France - Italy - New Zeland - South Africa - Cooking Tours - Food and Wine Tours - Shopping Tours - Spa Vacations

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During this time of price volatility in the travel, tour and cruise industry, please be advised the pricing can fluctuate within the same day. All of our promotions are subject to change without notice. As a result, prices will not be guaranteed until booked. In compiling the data for this website, we have endeavored to be accurate and not exaggerate the benefits of any of the properties in any way. However, we depend on property representatives for the bulk of the information regarding bedding and guest amenities. Occasionally, information supplied to us is inaccurate or changes occur during the course of the year. Therefore, McCoy Enterprises cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies this page may contain. © 1996-2006, McCoy Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

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