Langebaan, South Africa

Once the home to the largest whaling station in the southern hemisphere, and for a while Cape Town's long-haul passenger flight terminus (when seaplanes from Europe touched down on the lagoon during World War II), LANGEBAAN now sells itself as the gateway to the West Coast National Park, though it has become depressingly overdeveloped it and if you're after a small-town west-coast experience, avoid it in favour of Paternoster. The only reason to stay here is if you want to spend time in West Coast National Park itself, where there is almost zero accommodation. On the other hand, if you're into windsurfing, kitesurfing or sailing and have been wondering how to harness the big southeasterly summer winds, the excellent conditions here mean Langebaan could be just your thing. Right off the beach the water is flat, the sailing winds – as the ragged flags above the centre testify – anywhere from fresh to fearsome and, unless you catch a fast-running tide out towards the Atlantic, it's all reasonably safe.