Chocolate holidays

Melting moments

Top up your tan on a luxury Caribbean cruise with a difference. It's not cheap, but Regent Seven Seas Cruises' annual one-week Spotlight on Chocolate is every chocoholics dream.

Between excursions from ports such as laid-back Key West and bustling Cozumel, there are cookery demonstrations from guest chefs, lectures on every aspect of chocolate-making and plenty of chances to treat your taste buds to everything chocolatey.

Perfect for: mums and daughters.
The facts: The next cruise departs 1 December from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and costs from £1385 [$2695] including meals, drinks and tips. Book at www.rssc.com. Flights are not included; expect to pay from £399 return with Zoom Airways (www.flyzoom.com).

Sweet dreams

Sleep in a hotel with a difference in the historic Italian town of Perugia, home of Baci chocolates. At the three-star Etruscan Chocohotel everything, even the names of the rooms, has an unmistakeable theme.

The menu in the restaurant includes dishes such as rabbit with pistachios and chocolate; the lobby shop has an international selection along with non-fattening options such as cocoa-scented shampoo; and each room has a Chocodesk filled with sweet treats. If you can tear yourself away, the town is beautiful and well worth exploring.

Perfect for: couples.
The facts: Doubles at the Chocohotel cost from £36 a night and can be booked at www.chocohotel.it. The nearest airports are Pisa, Florence and Rome.

Just the ticket

Take a scenic train ride with a helping of chocolate through the picturesque Swiss countryside. The Swiss Chocolate Train - a first-class-only excursion train - leaves from Montreux, stopping at Gruyeres for an excursion to a cheese factory and the local castle.

From there it continues to Broc, home of the Cailler-Nestle chocolate factory, where you can watch the production line, have a tasting and stock up on chocolate at factory prices to nibble on the way back to Montreux.

Perfect for: older families.
The facts: The Chocolate Train runs every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from June to October (Mon-Fri Jul-Aug). Tickets cost £50 and can be booked through the Switzerland Travel Centre on 00800 100 200 30, or at www.myswitzerland.com

Say spaaaah!

Pamper yourself with a luxurious break at the Vineyard at Stockcross. This five-star hotel near Newbury boasts a small but sleek spa with some tempting treatments.

The ChocoTherapy Facial starts with a spoonful of homemade vanilla, coconut and chocolate mousse followed by a back massage and skin cleansing with chocolate and vanilla milkshake foam.

After an exfoliating grape and lavender honey face mask, with a side order of honey and lavender chocolate, there's a tiramisu serum and an anti-ageing milk chocolate mask, washed down by more homemade chocolate.

Perfect for: friends, honeymoons.
The facts: The ChocoTherapy Facial costs £90. Doubles cost from £275 a night, B&B. Call 01635 528770 or visit www.the-vineyard.co.uk