We chose Seychelles primarily for its snorkelling, and boy did we go snorkelling! I spent so much time face down in the water that my back is still two shades darker than my face.

We did most of the snorkelling in the bay of Anse Petite Cour on Praslin, straight off the beach of La Reserve hotel. The bay offers calm water and plenty of fish including the beautiful but very defensive Picasso Triggerfish, the spectacular but poisonous Lionfish, Porcupinefish, various species of Butterflyfish and Angel fish, Surgeonfish, Parrotfish, Trumpetfish and many, many more.

We also snorkelled for a few hours off Anse Source D’Argent on La Digue and off a small beach cove at the Hilton Northolme on Mahe. The water at Anse Source D’Argent was a bit cloudy on the day we visited La Digue, so we didn’t see as great a variety of fish as we saw at Anse Petite Cour on Praslin. The beach itself was gorgeous though.

The water at Hilton Northolme was very choppy when we were there, quite low visibility and only suitable for strong swimmers on that particular day. I found the highest concentration of fish around a group of large rocks situated a good distance off the beach, where a massive group of squid nearly spooked my snorkel mask off my face, as they swam across my path.

We found the best snorkelling, though, around Felicite and Isle Coco. We saw the same species of fish as we had seen at Anse Petite Cour, but at a much higher density. I caught a brief glimpse of a ray as it was swimming away from me at Coco island, where we also got to see a sea turtle.

I’ve extracted a few stills from our snorkelling videos, see below. The videos were shot with a dodgy point-and-shoot through an Aquapac, so please excuse the poor quality. I’ll try to put together a small compilation video over the next couple of weeks, so you can get a better feel of the snorkelling opportunities on Seychelles.

As the landscape turns to heathland and the road becomes narrower and narrower, you’d be forgiven in thinking that you’ve taken the wrong turn. But the remoteness of Hjerl Hede supports the mental image of stepping back in time.

Its modern entrance aside, the open-air museum is a historic record of the buildings, craft, trade and type of life you may have encountered in a typical Danish village between the years 1500 – 1900.

I’ve enjoyed visits to Hjerl Hede at different times of the year, but I’d particularly recommend a visit on one of their enactment days, when the museum comes alive with people dressed in old costumes performing some of the many activities that would have taken place in a Danish village. As a child I particularly enjoyed the enactment at The Stone Age settlement and in the grocer’s shop.

With more than 50 different buildings, including a school, a baker, an inn, a dairy, a forge, farms and mills, set in beautiful, rural surroundings complete with sheep, goats and geese, Hjerl Hede should have enough to keep all ages entertained and is the perfect place to let your children take charge of your holiday.

A few more photos of Hjerl Hede are available on our Hjerl Hede photo page and you can get more information about the open-air museum on the official Hjerl Hede website.

It consists of no more than sand and shingle and yet Grenen, the northern tip of Jutland in Denmark, is a very popular destination for both international and domestic tourists.

While the tip of Grenen is not strictly speaking the northernmost point of Denmark, it is often regarded as such. Being able to stand at the very point where both Denmark and the European continent are perceived to end has made Grenen a must see for many visitors to Denmark.

The very tip of Grenen is also perceived as the point where the two straits, the Skagerak and Kattegat, meet. This meeting is evident to the naked eye, in particular in stormy weather, as waves coming from either side crash against each other.

The meeting of the two straits makes the currents around Grenen extremely dangerous and absolutely no bathing is allowed.

The currents and the hundreds of cubic metres of sediment transported annually from the west coast of Denmark constantly change the shape of Grenen, sometimes from day to day.

While sediment is added on the northern side, the eastern side of Grenen is in constant danger of erosion. To combat this erosion u-shaped wave breakers, as seen on the photo above,  have been built from some of the sediment deposited on the northern side.

When we visited Grenen in May we took the tractor-driven Sandormen (Danish for sandworm) from the car park to the very tip, because we were in the company of someone who had difficulty walking. But if you’re able to, I’d highly recommend walking out there. I would estimate the walk from the car park to the tip of Grenen to take between 15-30 minutes.

For a good view of Grenen and the u-shaped wave breakers on the eastern side, I’d also recommend a visit to the top of Skagen Lighthouse (Skagen Fyr in Danish, or Det Grå Fyr). The 46-metre tall lighthouse was built in 1858, and we enjoyed some fantastic views from there.

A few more photos of Grenen and Skagen Lighthouse are available on our Grenen and Skagen Lighthouse photo page.

Containing about 4 million cubic metres of sand and travelling at an average speed of around 15 metres a year in a north-easterly direction, Råbjerg Mile is one of Europe’s largest migrating sand dunes. (source: Råbjerg Mile brochure in Danish (PDF))

Råbjerg Mile is located in North Jutland, Denmark, between Frederikshavn and Skagen, an area where most wandering sand dunes have been stopped in their tracks by dune plantations established by the Danish government in the late 19th century. Råbjerg Mile, however, was put under a conservation act and left to travel, in order for migration dunes not to become extinct.

When I visited Råbjerg Mile, or Milen as it is locally known, in May, I only stayed for a short while. But ideally, I would recommend that you take your time exploring the 1000m x 1000m dune, particularly if you bring children. With its highest point at 40 metres above sea-level, who can resist rolling down the dune?

A few more photos are available on our Råbjerg Mile photo page.