Step back in time at the wartime air-raid shelters and experience the sights and sounds of Britain’s Home Front. Visitors can walk through original tunnels, carefully re-equipped to show what daily life was like during the 1940s, and follow the stories of locals through clear, well-curated displays and an audio guide. First opened in 1939, the shelters were the largest purpose-built civilian air-raid shelters in the country, originally designed for 3,850 people and later expanded during 1940–41 to hold up to 6,500. Cut directly into the sandstone cliffs beneath the town centre, the mile-long network offers a rare look at wartime engineering and civilian life. The site reopened in 1996 as a visitor attraction after restoration by Stockport Council and has since become one of the town’s most important museums. Today, it works as both a memorial and an educational space, giving a direct sense of how communities lived through the air raids.

Just above Tivat, Gornja Lastva is a tiny mountain village that seems to have slipped through the cracks of time. With its old stone houses, narrow cobblestone streets, and stunning views of the Bay of Kotor, it’s one of those places that’s perfect for getting away from the crowds. There’s not much happening here, just a few visitors wandering around the churches, grabbing a coffee at a local café, or chatting with the locals.

In the Avarua district of Rarotonga, you can see (even just from the shore) the sunken wreck of the SS Matai. This cargo ship, which sank in 1916 while transporting cars from the United States to New Zealand, has become a preferred spot for divers and is celebrated for its historical significance and the vibrant marine life that surrounds it.

Getting to Tortuga Bay involves a hike of about one hour, but the effort is greatly rewarded by a pristine shoreline and spectacular white sand beach. You can try some surfing in the gentle breaks, snorkel in the lagoons to admire colourful reef fish, white-tip sharks, rays and sea turtles, or simply relax on the sand alongside marine iguanas and sally lightfoot crabs.