Your dream destination, written in the stars

Your travel style The Taurean recipe is simple: good food and indulgent surroundings, preferably at a budget price. Did we mention the food?

Dream destination Burgundy and Champagne, with an itinerary that includes tasting the finest vintages and eating at Michelin-starred restaurants. If someone else is driving, so much the better. If someone else is paying, better yet.

Hotel heaven The lakeside setting is picturesque, the food is stunning but what Taureans will really love about the Lake House in Daylesford, Victoria, is that it's just a short stagger to their suite after dinner.

Ultimate experience Cooking classes at a luxury hotel in Thailand, with chefs on hand to do all the hard work, such as chopping the ingredients.

Travel hell Any kind of health retreat. No meat, alcohol, sugar? No way.

Gemini

Your travel style Travelling with a Gemini is a bit like travelling with a two-year-old. They're into everything, need a new distraction every 10 minutes and yet somehow charm everyone they come into contact with.

Dream destination Even a Gemini can't get bored in New York - between the shopping, the museums and the people-watching, it's endlessly entertaining.

Hotel heaven With 10 fine-dining restaurants, 10 casual restaurants, three pools, a spa and a 12-metre rock-climbing wall, the Venetian in Las Vegas could have been designed expressly to keep Geminis out of trouble.

Ultimate experience A trip through Sri Lanka offers something new every day, from temples to beaches, hill stations to elephant safaris.

Travel hell Walking holidays of any description. Geminis like to travel at the speed of light.

Cancer

Your travel style Cancerians love the comfort of the familiar - it's hard to get them to try a new destination. Once they find a place they like, they tend to stick with it.

Dream destination If you took a statistical sample, you'd probably find a large percentage of Fiji's most dedicated fans are Cancerians. Its draws are a short flight, friendly people and a relaxing tropical setting.

Hotel heaven Once you're checked into the Hyatt Regency Coolum, you never need to leave. With Australia's largest day spa, a PGA golf course, a two-kilometre beach, nine swimming pools, restaurants and activities, it's the perfect place for Cancerians to hole up.

Ultimate experience Cancer is a water sign, so they'll love a yachting holiday along the Croatian coast - not least because they get to sleep in the same bed every night.

Travel hell Cancers aren't good with crowds or all-night party people. Carnival in Rio is best avoided.

Leo

Your travel style Leos want only the best and want to ensure everyone sees them enjoying it. They're the ones who queue for business class looking smug and who drop their Louis Vuitton luggage on your foot at the baggage carousel.

Dream destination Leos don't so much care where they go, as long as they know their hotel is the best in town.

Hotel heaven Venice's Hotel Cipriani ticks every box. There's the mahogany speedboat that takes you there, the luxurious suites with their garden surrounds and the astonishing views as the hotel's shuttle boat pulls up at St Mark's Place. Bliss.

Ultimate experience Every Leo wants to fly first class, at least once in their life.

Travel hell Leos who save their pennies to stay on a private island are inevitably disappointed. It sounds glamorous, until you realise no one knows you're there. So what's the point?

Virgo

Your travel style Everyone loves travelling with a Virgo because they're so organised. They not only know what time the trains leave, they get you to the station with 30 minutes to spare and they've booked all the accommodation in advance. A Virgo's perfect holiday lets them exercise either their body or their mystical side.

Dream destination Germany is the spiritual home of all Virgos. It has romantic castles, world-class museums, beautiful countryside and the trains run on time.

Hotel heaven Virgos love Scandinavian design (all those clean lines), so Stockholm's Nordic Light Hotel fits their aesthetic. The Mood rooms, which come with adjustable coloured lighting, will appeal to their love of the esoteric.

Ultimate experience The trek through the Andes to Machu Picchu feeds Virgos' hunger for both physical and mental challenges: four days of hardcore hiking, followed by the mystical experience of watching dawn break over the ancient Incan citadel.

Travel hell Drop a Virgo in the middle of Delhi or Mumbai, or any Indian city and watch them crumble. The dirt, disorder and general chaos will sear their very soul.

Libra

Your travel style There's no such thing as a Libran backpacker. They like their creature comforts and love to be surrounded by beautiful things. Anything less than four-star accommodation gives them a rash.

Dream destination Vietnam. All those markets filled with beautiful homewares - place mats! lacquerware! paintings! - and all so cheap.

Hotel heaven The Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach. Waking up every morning to the world's most beautiful lagoon? Now that's the Libran idea of a good start to the day.

Ultimate experience Deep down, every Libran likes to imagine they're a princess (or a prince). Spoil them at an ultra-luxurious retreat such as Qualia on Hamilton Island and you'll have them eating out of your hand.

Travel hell Anywhere in the Middle East. Librans just want people to get on. They'll think they can solve the Arab-Israeli conflict in a day and be deeply wounded if people won't listen to their sensible advice.

Scorpio

Your travel style Scorpios like to push things to their limits and relish extreme environments.

Dream destination Many find St Petersburg's mix of old-school elegance and crumbling decay slightly melancholy but Scorpios find it romantic.

Hotel heaven A hotel in the middle of a harsh Chilean desert, five hours by road from the nearest airport, won't appeal to everyone. However, Scorpios will love Hotel de Larache's combination of searing landscape and funky architecture.

Ultimate experience Scorpios will be fascinated by the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, where self-imposed isolation has ensured the country's culture has remained strong.

Travel hell Scorpios love to immerse themselves in a destination, to uncover its secrets slowly. A three-countries-in-a-week itinerary will leave them frustrated and fuming.

Sagittarius

Your travel style Sagittarians live for new adventures. If it's unconventional, they'll give it a go.

Dream destination Sagittarians will adore everything about Korea - the big-city buzz of Seoul, the chance to get naked with strangers in a bathhouse and the opportunity to try culinary delights such as live baby octopus.

Hotel heaven Sagittarians love to make an entrance and there's nowhere better than at the Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman, where guests can paraglide to the hotel.

Ultimate experience No Sagittarian ever entirely grows up and their inner child will be thrilled to perch on the rim of Vanuatu's Yasur volcano watching the lava come shooting towards them. Knowing there are no safety rails adds to the thrill.

Travel hell A package tour where you're stuck with the same people for weeks on end is torture for Sagittarians, particularly since they're prone to putting their foot in it. Nothing's worse than inadvertently insulting someone then having to see them at breakfast for the next 10 days.

Capricorn

Your travel style Capricorns love quality and exclusivity. Anything boutique or bespoke will float their boat.

Dream destination Capricorns often travel with an empty suitcase for the purchases they know they're going to make, so any city with superb shopping - Milan, Paris, London - hits the spot.

Hotel heaven Capricorns feel at home in the mountains (it's a goat thing) but the chalet look is not their style. That's why they'll love the Cambrian, which combines a Swiss alpine location with sleekly modern interiors.

Ultimate experience Capricorns adore feeling good and being good at the same time. Gaia Retreat and Spa in the Byron Bay hinterland, where you can improve your health while also pampering yourself, is a perfect getaway.

Travel hell Airline baggage restrictions. How are you supposed to get your shopping home?

Aquarius

Your travel style Aquarians aren't fazed by travel setbacks: they love anything unusual or unexpected.

Dream destination Whether it's walking through unspoilt jungle in search of a rare bird of paradise or trading stories with tribespeople who live as their ancestors did, Aquarians will relish the endless adventures available in Papua New Guinea.

Hotel heaven Berlin's Propeller Island Hotel has what may be the most unusual rooms in the world, from a vampire room complete with coffins to a technicolour "jail cell" from which guests are encouraged to "escape" in the morning by punching a hole through a false wall.

Ultimate experience Swimming with whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef will send Aquarians into raptures.

Travel hell A cookie-cutter hotel featuring hundreds of plain-white-box rooms.

Pisces

Your travel style Mystical, romantic and slightly out of touch with the real world, Pisceans may not be big on practicalities ("Passport? Did someone tell me I have to bring my passport?") but they're great at setting up those romantic moments.

Dream destination Europe in winter isn't a destination that appeals to everyone but snow-flecked squares, Christmas markets and a warming cup of mulled wine will make a Piscean smile.

Hotel heaven On a jungle island off the coast off Borneo, Gayana Eco Resort appeals with its mix of pampering (over-water villas, spa) and ecology (the hotel has its own marine research centre).

Ultimate experience Days spent walking through magnificent scenery; nights curled up in front of a campfire with a loved one, plus Tasmania's best wines served with dinner; the Bay of Fires walk includes some of a Piscean's favourite things.

Travel hell A little communing with nature is fine but don't drag a Piscean along on a serious trek. They'll pack all the wrong things and will find the whole walking-not-washing vibe downright offensive.