Sweeping scenery is as much a feature of James Bond films as fast cars and slinky women. From the tip of the Schilthorn in Switzerland to that beach in Jamaica where Ursula Andress emerged from the sea, iconic backdrops play a leading role in the fantasy.
If you like holidays shaken, sexy and full throttle, you will love these.
SKYFALL Location: Shanghai
Bond thunders on to our screens with the 23rd film, starring Daniel Craig and Berenice Marlohe. The film crew had special permission to take to the skies by helicopter to shoot this dynamic city.
HOW TO DO IT: Virgin Holidays (0844 557 3859, virginholidays.co.uk) has five nights room only in Shanghai, including flights from Heathrow, accommodation at the 4V+ Sofitel Hyland with transfers included, from £909 (Dh5,371). Prices are based on departures on January 21, 2013.
CASINO ROYALE Paradise Island, Bahamas
Exclusive One&Only Ocean Club is where Bond sights his enemy’s girlfriend, Solange, galloping her white horse along the even whiter sand. Daniel Craig, in his first outing as Bond, seduces her — naturally.
HOW TO DO IT: Carrier (0161 492 1354, carrier.co.uk) has seven nights B&B at One&Only Ocean Club from £2,210 per person — saving up to £500 per couple. Includes flights from London and private transfers. Based on November 27 departure.
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN Phang Nga Bay, Thailand
Bond jets in over Phang Nga Bay en route to Scaramanga’s island hideaway on Ko Tapu. He finds the baddie’s solar power plant cunningly hidden in the rocks, calmly destroys his aircraft. After that it’s time for lunch and then a duel on the beach. Phew!
HOW TO DO IT: Ampersand Travel (020 7289 6100, ampersandtravel.com) has seven nights at Six Senses in Phang Nga Bay from £1,745 per person sharing a Hideaway pool villa. Includes breakfast and economy return flights to Phuket with Qatar Airways.
OCTOPUSSY Udaipur, India
Trust Bond to fetch up at this majestic spot — even if he arrives disguised as a crocodile in the movie. Before long he’s happily ensconced in the famous palace that seems to hover over the lake.
For him, there’s good news in the form of attractive women to seduce, but bad news when he meets the villain of the piece, the mysterious Octopussy.
For the rest of us, this magical city is simply too wonderful to miss.
HOW TO DO IT: Cox & Kings (0845 564 1985, coxandkings.co.uk) has a 12-day/ten-night Princely India tour visiting Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur from £3,245 per peron, including a two-night stay at the Taj Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur, flights with Virgin Atlantic, private transfers, excursions and accommodation with breakfast.
MOONRAKER Rio de Janeiro
No one can forget the legendary scene where Bond takes on metal-mouth Jaws on top of two cable cars high above Rio’s Guanabara Bay. He makes a slinky escape with Bond girl Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles). Rio is a hot ticket. And undoubtedly an exhilarating ride.
HOW TO DO IT: British Airways (0844 493 0758, ba.com/riode janeiro) has five nights at the four star JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro from £1,689 per person, based on departures from January 11 to June 30, 2013. Price includes return BA flights from Heathrow and accommodation only.
ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE Schilthorn, Switzerland
The aluminium-covered revolving restaurant Piz Gloria on this 2,970 metre mountain (the highest in the Bernese pre-Alps) is the lair of Bond’s arch-nemesis, Blofeld.
The secret agent speeds down the mountain in a spectacular chase, filmed by the fashion mogul Willy Bogner.
HOW TO DO IT: Swish Gstaad Palace (00 33 748 50 00, palace.ch) has double rooms from £508 per room per night. Price includes half-board, all taxes and service.
DR NO Jamaica
Laughing Waters beach is manna for Bond fans. Honey Rider (played by pin-up Ursula Andress) emerges from the sea with a knife tucked into her swimwear and walks into cinematic history, with “the Most Inspirational Bikini Moment” of all time.
Ian Fleming wrote more than a dozen Bond novels in Jamaica and you can stay in GoldenEye, his holiday home. It has been spruced up to meet the demands of the 21st century’s rich travellers.
HOW TO DO IT: Carrier (0161 492 1354, carrier.co.uk) has seven nights for the price of five at GoldenEye, including breakfast for £2,390 per person based on departures on December 7, 2012. Save up to £960 per couple. Price includes Virgin Atlantic flights from Gatwick.
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE Istanbul
The splendid Hagia Sophia is a fitting meeting point for Bond to nab secret blueprints from sassy Soviet Embassy clerk Tatiana Romanova. The rest of us can see the city’s buildings, built by Emperor Justinian in AD 532, by guided tour.
HOW TO DO IT: Stay three nights B&B at the Ciragan Palace from £1,300 per person including flights, transfers and a private half-day guide (0208 605 3500, exclusive escapes.co.uk).
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE Himeji Castle, Japan
What a place for a ninja training camp. Tiger Tanaka, Bond’s Japanese secret service ally, certainly had a sense of style. Tanaka’s private transportation hub was filmed at the Tokyo Metro’s Nakano-shimbashi Station, and Hotel New Otani in Tokyo served as the exterior for Osato Chemicals .
HOW TO DO IT: Virgin Holidays Worldwide Journeys (0844 225 1235, virginholidaysjourneys.co.uk) offers an 11-day Japan’s Golden Route tour from £3,195 per person. Price includes Virgin Atlantic return flights from London, accommodation and sightseeing of Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Nara and Tokyo. Prices are based on two adults travelling and sharing on a mixed-board basis with transfers and guides. Prices apply to selected departures in 2012.
GOLDFINGER Miami
Fontainebleau Hotel Miami Beach is famously hip. A fitting place then for our special agent to be knocked out by his enemy Oddjob. He wakes up to find the body of his latest girlfriend immersed from head to toe in gold paint. Slick!
HOW TO DO IT: Hayes & Jarvis (0844 415 1918, hayesandjarvis.com) has a five-night stay in the five-star Trump International Beach Resort for £995 per person (saving £169 per person). On the exclusive Sunny Isles enclave, the well-equipped resort is only minutes from Miami Beach. Departing on November 14, the offer includes room-only accommodation and return flights with British Airways.
— Daily Mail
