TUI BLUE

TUI BLUE Bahari Zanzibar

TUI BLUE Bahari is a polished garden resort on Zanzibar's north-east coast, for couples and families who want strong service and several pools. The beach is the backdrop rather than the swim. It is about 50 minutes from the airport, on the Kiwengwa and Pwani Mchangani strand, with 207 rooms, three pools, five restaurants and three bars. The beach is beautiful and the swimming is tidal, which is the east coast's standing condition. Guests praise the friendly, attentive staff, the gardens and the direct beach setting, the spacious rooms and the clean grounds, the included dining variety and the relaxed pace. The complaints are the tide, which limits swimming at low water, extras that sit outside the plan, beach vendors who interrupt a quiet walk, and buffet repetition on longer stays. The thing people wish they had known is that the resort sells both all-inclusive and half board, so the plan has to be chosen deliberately. The all-inclusive plan covers the buffet and the Green and Grill, Andiamo and Tastes of Asia restaurants, the beach barbecue, a minibar refilled daily with alcohol, soft drinks and water, and the playroom for children from age four; the Breeze seafood and candlelight dinners, some cocktails, spa treatments and the airport transfer of about 80 US dollars each way are extra. The Junior Suite at 50 square metres with a sea view is the room worth the step up. Anyone who wants a beach that swims at every hour should look to the north tip of the island.

TUI BLUE Adriatic Beach

TUI BLUE Makarska

TUI BLUE Kalamota Island

TUI BLUE Kalamota Island is an adults-only resort on a car-free island off Dubrovnik, reached only by boat. It has 144 rooms across eight villas, one pool with a jacuzzi, three restaurants and three bars, on Kolocep, where there are no cars and the resort is effectively the island. The crossing from Dubrovnik takes about half an hour, and the airport is an hour beyond that. Guests praise the quiet of a car-free island, the sea views and the sheltered cove, and the friendly service and adults-only calm. The complaints are access that depends on boats, little to do on the island next to a mainland base, and food variety that thins over a longer stay. The thing people wish they had known is that the coves are natural, rocky or pebbly rather than soft sand, and that the quiet is the product rather than a side effect. The plan covers the buffet at The Restaurant, the food at The Bay and the weekly gala and theme dinners, with a selection of drinks including cocktails, and Wi-Fi throughout; the Culinarium a la carte is not confirmed as included, spa treatments are charged, the paddleboard and kayak hire and the diving are extra, and the boat transfer is not part of the rate. Confirm the boat times before your arrival day, because they decide it. The 30-square-metre Junior Suite with a sea view is the room worth the step up, and the hillside rooms are the ones to avoid if stairs are a problem. Children are not admitted, and anyone who wants Dubrovnik on the doorstep should stay in the city.

TUI BLUE Atlantica Crete

A friendly seaside all-inclusive on Crete's north coast, multiple pools and waterslides for the kids, a PADI dive center for the divers, and Greek cooking workshops for everyone else. Four-star and family-priced, it's an easy, good-value Greek-island week. Best May through September.