Escape
Win a trip for two to Antarctica!
Snap-happy readers who enter our monthly online photography competition have the chance to win an amazing prize this year, a Quark Expeditions (quarkexpeditions.com) 20-day trip to Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falklands, worth more than £20,000. The trip starts and ends in Ushuaia, Argentina (flights included) and will take place in 2013, dates TBC. See ivebeenthere.co.uk for full terms and conditions.
Tweet ur trip
Weird drinks
• I drank liquidised sheep brains in south-east Asia. Chickeny taste. @BiscuitGirl786
• Zulu beer in KwaZulu-Natal. It's brewed by women who spit in it to start the fermentation ... @lucapir
• Oyster mojito in Abu Dhabi. Not good. Fermented horse milk in Kazakhstan. Worse. @MegaHeid
Lots of you tweeted us with your weird drinks travellers' tales – see our pick of the best here on Storify
Next week: holiday rip-offs. Tweet us @GuardianTravel #TravelCorkboard
What's new?
Summer holiday
I-escape has launched a new collection of five gorgeous places to stay in Corsica, at i-escape.com/corsica/boutique-hotels. All are stylish and in stunning locations, including the hip Hotel Artemisia in the mountain village of Bastelica, which has doubles from €80 a night.
Screen break
The Oscar-nominated The Descendants, starring George Clooney and on UK release this weekend, is set in Hawaii and showcases the gorgeous beaches and mountain landscapes of Oahu and Kauai. If seeing it brings on the wanderlust, Bon Voyage (0800 316 3012, bon-voyage.co.uk/spotlights) has a 10-day trip with five nights on each island from £1,655pp, including flights from Manchester or Heathrow, transfers and room-only hotel.
Flights
BA (0844 493 0787, britishairways.com) is launching a new daily flight from Heathrow to Bologna, one of Italy's most gorgeous cities, with some of its most fantastic food, commencing 29 April, with returns from £144. Packages including two nights in a hotel cost from £199.
UK music festival
After a 20-year absence, the International Festival of Country Music returns to London on 26 February, at Wembley Arena. See Reba McEntire, Lonestar, Ricky Skaggs and more for £53. Tickets from ticketmaster.co.uk
Snow watch
Check out the Ski Club GB's snow watch page, skiclub.co.uk, and you'll see there's barely a major resort that isn't having a great season. The States' resorts have 1-2m compared to 3-4m in many European resorts, but there's powder all over. Canada is similar – it had a snowy weekend last week – and those who go off heli-skiing in the Skeena Mountains will be treated to a humongous 7m.
Travel trash
Patriotic paddlers and future Olympic hopefuls should don one of these Union Jack swimming nappies by Splash About, available from splashabout.com for £12.99. Go on, Brit some ass!
Cheap date
For a Hard Day's Night on a budget, Generator Hostels – the chain that creates funky places for those strapped for cash – has opened its sixth hostel in Hamburg, in the Klockmann House where the Beatles recorded in the early 60s. In January and February beds are from just €10, after which dorm beds are €15, double and single rooms €27.50pp.
• generatorhostels.com
Where's hot now
Cape Verde (25C)
The sun shines from November to May in the Cape Verde islands, 570km off the west coast of Africa. As well as white sands and clear waters, high winds mean great windsurfing, and the volcanic landscape is spectacular terrain for adventurous hikers. Thomson (thomson.co.uk) has return flights from Manchester for around £503, or from Gatwick for around £533 in early February.
