Spy's the limit

Think Bond and you think exotic locations, lavish hotels and glamorous sidekicks. Daniel Craig’s second Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, is out, so why not take inspiration, grab your own Pussy Galore and head off for a 007-style break?

You could stay at the newly renovated, five-star Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel (www.fontainebleaumiamibeach.com), where Bond and Goldfinger sat beside the pool for a heated game of gin rummy. Three nights in Miami with Virgin Holidays, including flights and car hire, from £722 (0844 557 3875; www.virginholidays.com).

Or you could visit the stunning Villa del Balbianello on the island of Comacina overlooking Lake Como, outside which Craig’s Bond recuperated after being tortured by Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. Letting company www.holidaylets.net (020 7108 1133) has a luxury two-bed apartment, Apartamento Comacina, overlooking the villa and just a short boat ride away.

Further afield there’s Nassau Paradise Island (020 8878 5596; www.nassauparadiseisland.com) in the Bahamas, where you can book into either the British Colonial Hilton, star of Thunderball and Never Say Never Again (in both movies Sean Connery was served shaken Martinis in the bar), or the One & Only Ocean Club, where Bond demonstrated how not to be a valet attendant in Casino Royale and staged his tense game of poker with baddie Dimitrius.

There’s even Phang Nga Bay in Thailand, otherwise known as James Bond Island, Scaramanga’s paradise hideout in The Man with the Golden Gun. Rayavadee (+ (66) 2301 1850; www.rayavadee.com) is a nearby luxury resort set within similarly spectacular scenery, hidden among lush palm trees and coconut groves. A day boat tour of private Phang Nga Bay is £46.

The fantastical floating island home of Maud Adams’ double agent Octopussy (the one that Roger Moore sneaked onto, disguised as a submerged alligator) was, in fact, the Taj Palace Hotel in Udaipur. India specialist Indus Tours (020 89017320; www.industours.co.uk) offers a luxury lake-view room with breakfast, from £360/room/night (based on two sharing).

Or you could try the championship golf course at Stoke Park (01753 717172; www.stokeparkclub.com) in Buckinghamshire, scene of the legendary game between Connery’s Bond and Goldfinger (in which Bond nearly loses his head to Odd Job’s bowler). One-night golf breaks are priced from £230 per person.

You could even recreate the epic ski sequence starring Telly Savalas’ Blofelt in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service at the Schilthorn in Murren, Switzerland. Book lunch at Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant that starred as Blofelt’s headquarters. Inghams (020 8780 4447; www.inghams.co.uk) offers seven nights on a half-board basis at the 3* Hotel Edelweiss, including flights and transfers, from £533 per person.

Or try re-enacting the stunning 750ft bungee jump from the pre-credits sequence of Goldeneye at the Verzasca Dam on Lake Locarno near the Swiss/Italian border. Daredevil travel company Black Tomato (020 7610 9008; www.blacktomato.co.uk) does a two-night stay, including flights, transfers and jump, from £599pp.

Travelsphere (0800 19 14 18; www.travelsphere.co.uk) has also put together packages to locations showcased in the new Quantum of Solace. These include the Palio in Sienna (there’s a dramatic sequence shot at the city’s famous horse-race), the floating stage of the Bregenz festival hall in Austria (across which Bond dramatically chases his adversaries, disturbing a lavish performance of Puccini’s Tosca) and other prominent destinations in Chile, Panama and Spain.
Alternatively, the stylish Well House in Cornwall (0845 458 1108; www.wellhouse.co.uk) is offering an, ahem, Double O Heaven three-night exclusive break, which includes the loan of a gleaming silver Aston Martin DB6 plus half-day speedboat cruise. Just get a friend to hire one too, and you can stage your very own boat chase.

Finally, you might just fancy a few nights at Goldeneye (+1 876 946 1958; www.goldeneyehotel.com) itself, the stunning Jamaican retreat of Bond creator Ian Fleming. Sit at his typewriter and imagine him styling his latest villain, or swim at the nearby beach where Ursula Andress so memorably emerged from the sea in Dr No.

By Belinda Archer