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Australia has so much luxury to show off, so if you have got a little extra cash to splash here’s a luxury guide to why Australian holidays should be top of your list. 

Sydney – Known throughout the world for its glamour and sophistication with landmarks such as the Opera House and now being even more expensive to live than New York City. There’s a huge amount of choice in Sydney with a number of hotels, restaurants and breathtaking views. The city is shrouded in Luxury however two hotels stand amongst the rest the, Park Hyatt and the Shangri-La. The Park Hyatt is famous for its lavish views of the Sydney Opera House and high tech rooms to match, you won’t be disappointed.If you want to be grand then Shagri-La harbour view room is definitely for you with its 270 degree room allowing you to see unique views of Sydney Harbour.

Sydney offers some of the best Australia tours with experiences like climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge and twilight climb which will certainly make your holiday very special.

Adelaide – The home of the national food and wine festival, Adelaide packs in a lot of culture with some amazing food and drink. This is not Sydney however don’t be mistaken it is not lacking in luxury. The Thorngrove Manor Hotel is fairytale 5 star hotel perfect for a couple interested in sporting a huge selection of local wines. Your stay at this hotel with its castle features will be nothing like you have seen before however it’s not all old you still get 24 hour wireless internet.  With Adelaide being one of the oldest wine regions in Australia a must see is the Bridge Water Mill. You can take the full tour of the vineyards as well as sample the local produce which should be every wine drinkers dream.

If you are more of a shopper then  a trip to Rundle Mall with certainly make your holiday as this shopping centre includes over 600 shops and 3 department stores.

I have been trying to become a qualified diving instructor and have spent the summer in Hurghada. I had the time of my life meeting loads of people and diving, but not enough to get the qualification that I required for my change of career. The good thing was that I receive some great advice and a route to move forward.

One thing that did surprise me was the cost of living during my stay in one of these Red Sea resorts. I has wildly miscalculated the cost, and had run out of money by the end of the third week in Egypt. Thankfully I managed to secure some bar work in one of the many luxury hotels. I also had some promotional work flogging luxury holidays from within a small office, from which I was able to earn a little extra cash. At the end of my five week stay I had a great tan but had not moved that much closer to realising my ambition.

So it was goodbye to luxury Egypt and hello Brighton – the search for an organised diving professional course had begun. The PADI IDC qualification had been recommended to me as the leader in the field fo scuba diving instruction worldwide. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) course is quite complex and involves more than just diving. As well as being good at life saving, you are expected to know about law, business, sales and marketing. There is a diving course in Hurghada, but it likely to be oversubscribed, so advanced booking is advisable. Once qualified as an instructor, you can go to any IDC centre globally and grab yourself a dream job. The type of people who are interested in learning, are exactly as I was before taking the course – keen on doing their open water course.

As the course develops of the coming months, I wil be updating details of my progress to make sure that my ambitions are still on track.

I had had enouth of the routine of office life, with the smell the sounds and the fax machine whirring in the corner. You could describe it as a mid life crisis – you give it any name that you like. The facts spoke for themselves – I was stuck in a rut and exhausting my imagination for a way to change things. As a teenager I used to like diving, but don’t really have any hobbies or interests to use as a career change.

I am certainly no expert scuba specialist, but I did take an introductory course about ten years ago. Once i had done a course in the local swimming pool, I had skills in basic life saving and how to use a snorkel correctly. There was nothing there that was going to make anyone sit up and notice! As a group we did finally do some wreck diving off the south coast at Shoreham. Perfect for building technical knowledge, but I wasn’t able to a see anything out there. The visual results would have been the same as if I had put a bucket on my head whilst swimming in the sea!

i could imagine myself liviing somewhere like Taba or Hurghada, and instructing lovely young ladies in the art of scuba diving. These types of action-based vacations are extremely popular and are reflected in the numbers of people searching for Egypt hotels online.

I have already booked my summer holiday – I will be off to Egypt for up to five weeks with aim of getting on one of the best diving courses in the area. Hurghada hotels are considered to be some of the best in the country, and are generally affordable.

Whilst planning for this trip to Egypt, my over-active imagination had me discovering lost treasures in the Valley of the Kings, and sailing luxury liners on Nile cruises. So much for my fantasies – i first had to become a qualified diving instructor and then I might be able to throw away the fax machine!