From the Caribbean to the Pacific and the Middle East to southeast Asia, SANDRA O'CONNELLhas ideas for escaping the cold and damp – including, right, over Christmas
ANY DAY NOW the Government will see the light and make winter-sun holidays tax deductible. It makes sense. Just think of the physical-health benefits of a burst of golden sunshine in the darkest days of the year, not to mention the mental-health benefits of avoiding the economic doom and gloom, even briefly. It’s surely going to be in Brian Lenihan’s Budget on Wednesday. After all, there’s a strong argument for saying we’d be back on the road to recovery more quickly with the kind of morale boost that only beaches and balmy breezes can give you. Here’s hoping. In the meantime we’ve drawn up 10 of the best winter-sun options around.
1- Canny Caribbean Caribbean holidays don't have to cost an arm and a leg if you choose the right destination. Until recently travellers largely overlooked the Dominican Republic in favour of its more celebrity-friendly neighbours. Yet it has everything the rest of us would want from an island paradise – powder-soft sands, turquoise waters and winter temperatures tipping 30 degrees – for a fraction of what you'd pay elsewhere. When it comes to all-inclusive packages the value is particularly good. There's plenty to see outside your gated resort, too, including Altos de Chavón, a re-created 16th-century village, or, for the real thing, the lively colonial capital, Santo Domingo. Or just fly and flop somewhere along the 30km of palm-fringed white-sand beaches of Punta Cana, the island's Coconut Coast.
- A seven-day all-inclusive stay in a superior room at the four-star Allegro Playa Dorada hotel, departing December 8th-17th, costs €999 per person sharing with Tropical Sky. tropicalsky.ie
2- Egyptian wonder While the folks back home wade through puddles you could be swimming through shoals of multicoloured fish in one of the world's greatest dive spots (not to mention winter-sun destinations). Red Sea riviera resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada combine luxury hotels, decent nightlife and great golf courses with spectacular marine and desert national parks. If you have the energy to get off your sunbed, the water sports are fabulous, with windsurfers vying for space with waterskiers and sea-kayakers. You don't even need to dive to appreciate it here. The reefs are so shallow and the currents so mild that you can explore the marine life wearing only a mask. Well, not only a mask. You'll need your cossie, too. Daytime temperatures average 20 to 25 degrees, and nights are cool enough to remind you what you've escaped back home.
- Two weeks' bed and breakfast at the Tropicana Tivoli hotel in Sharm el Sheikh costs from €632pps in January with Falcon Travel. Half board is an extra €150pps. falconholidays.ie
3- Tropical Hawaii Temperatures on this Pacific Ocean hot spot hover at a balmy 25 degrees all winter (and 29 in summer), so there's no such thing as out of season. Famous for its surfing – and for local boy made good Barack Obama – it also has spectacular interiors that will wow Irish visitors. Actually an archipelago of volcanic islands, including Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Big Island, Hawaii is a paradise of mountains, waterfalls and lush forests. Back at the coast the surftastic beaches offer a good chance of spotting a humpback whale: Hawaii is the winter home to 4,000 of the gentle giants.
- Five nights at the three-star Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, on Oahu, followed by five nights at the three-star Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, on Maui, costs from €1,999pps with Aloha Holidays. Book by next Wednesday. aloha holidays.ie
4- Celtic Canaries The Canary Islands are a home from home for many an Irish holidaymaker, offering the twin attractions of value and sunshine. Those who love Gran Canaria wouldn't go anywhere else. Those who haven't tried it might like to think again. Far from being just one long beach, the island is a continent in miniature, with surprising contrasts in landscape that range from deep ravines to mountain peaks. And while most of us associate Gran Canaria only with dunes, the northern part of the island is carpeted in green pines and lush sugar-cane and banana plantations.
- Seven nights' self-catering at the Corona Blanca Apartments in Playa del Inglés costs from €289pps, departing on January 16th. sunholidays.ie
5- Tunisian tonic The north African sun spot frequently nets you five-star service at prices you'd expect to pay for a three-star property on the other side of the Med. Then there's 1,000km of coastline to choose from, with sandy beaches and sparkling sea. Stay by the coast with a book or a board, hit the golf courses or venture inland to the towns and villages that fringe the Sahara Desert. Hammamet, the country's most- established tourist resort, is presided over by a 15th-century fortress whose inner walls contain a hive of medina activity. The rest of the town is a maze of narrow streets crammed with shops gradually thinning to sympathetically developed low-rise hotel developments, with many of the best surrounded by gorgeous gardens.
- Two weeks' half-board at the Sol Azur Beach Congress Hotel, in Hammamet, departing January 2nd, costs €689 per person, based on two sharing, with Panorama Holidays. panorama holidays.ie
6- Morocco rocks Surprisingly close yet a world away, Morocco offers a traditional beach holiday tinged with more than a hint of the exotic. Not too hot – winter temperatures are typically in the mid to high teens – but warm enough to give your face a rest from all the winter clenching that goes on back home. The best known of its resorts is Agadir, set on 10km of sandy beach and with a new three-kilometre promenade perfect for an evening stroll. There's also the ancient fortified port town of Essaouira, whose ramparted medina has been attracting artists from around the world for generations. No trip to the country would be complete without at least one trip to Marrakesh to see the most famous square in Morocco, Djemaa el Fna, come alive at dusk with fortune tellers, musicians and food vendors.
- A week at Residence Intouriste Aparthotel, a three-star property 900m from the beach in Agadir, costs €464pps with Sunway, departing January 9th. sunway.ie
7- Designer Dubai It isn't just the sun that brings people to Dubai: it's also the shopping, from designer labels to gold jewellery. It's by no means a cheap destination, but if you don't have the spends to hit the malls you can still take in the Disneyesque quality of a gleaming city built – okay, half built – in the desert, with indoor ski slopes lined with real snow. Then just watch the rest of them cavort their way through water sports, water parks, sand surfing and golf and just soak it all up quietly at hotels that know the meaning of service, happy in the knowledge that you're under blue skies enjoying temperatures that sit comfortably in the low 20s.
- Five days' BB at the five-star Jebel Ali Hotel, in 50 hectares of gardens 35km from the city, costs €1,256, including flights, between January and March next year. sunway.ie
8- Inimitable India This month and next are the best time to visit the balmy backwaters of Kerala, at the southwestern tip of India, as the rains have finished, the breezes are refreshing and temperatures average 25 degrees. Despite the fact that every teenager you know will have backpacked it, probably alone, the best way to explore is by guided tour. Sunway has one that takes in the region's main city, Cochin, before moving out into tea plantations, spice gardens, tiger reserves and houseboat sailing trips. Fuelling your journey is all that coconut-based Keralan cuisine.
- Sunway's 14-day tour costs from €1,689, including Etihad flights via Abu Dhabi. sunway.ie
9- Terrific Thailand Sun-kissed resorts from Phuket to Koh Samui have their best weather during our winter, with almost no rain and temperatures in the low 30s. It isn't just the climate that's sunny: Thais are renowned for their warmth and friendliness. Established resorts are expensive, but up-and-coming ones such as Trang, the Phi Phi islands and Khao Lak – still trying to get their tourism industry back on its feet after the tsunami of 2004 – offer good value and beautiful scenery.
- Twohigs has an offer of three nights at the five-star Amari Watergate hotel, in Bangkok, followed by seven nights at the five-star Sarojin resort, in Khao Lak, for €1,579pps, a saving of €734 per couple on the brochure price. Book by January 31st for travel completed before March 31st. twohigs.com
10- Sunshine state For fun in the sun, nothing beats Florida, theme-park capital of the world. From Walt Disney World and Universal Studios to Kennedy Space Center, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, it's as if the entire state were given over to your entertainment. Winter temperatures dip to a toasty 20 degrees. The exchange rate is tempting, too, with €1 bagging you $1.50 and both hotels and airlines offering cracking deals to boost flagging sales.
- Seven nights' bed and breakfast at Days Inn Suites, beside Universal Studios, starts at €409, based on two adults and two children sharing, departing on January 14th. american holidays.ie
Where to look for Christmas breaks
It’s easy to guess what the travel industry is hoping for this Christmas: an increase in numbers heading away for the festivities.
“My instinct is that a large swathe of people will think it is a fine idea to leave the country this Christmas,” says Simon Nugent of the Irish Travel Agents Association. “I’d expect all available seats to be sold, with people travelling getting good deals.” Despite the pressure on flights at this time of the year from what the industry terms VFR – visiting friends and relatives – there are still Christmas deals around, even in perennially popular winter-sun destinations such as Lanzarote.
Joe Walsh Tours (joewalshtours.ie) has seven-night family holidays at the El Dorado Apartments, in the Lanzarote resort of Puerto del Carmen, over Christmas. Flights leave a fortnight today and return on St Stephen’s Day. The week costs €1,886 for two adults and two children, or €399 per person if two share.
Sunway (sunway.ie) also has offers in Lanzarote, with a week’s stay at the two-star Bitacora Club apartments, also in Puerto del Carmen, leaving on December 20th, for €469 per adult, €245 off the brochure price. Or opt for the three-star Oasis Duna apartments, on quieter Fuerteventura, departing on December 19th for €570 per adult, a discount of €180.
If self-catering isn’t quite the escape you were looking for, Joe Walsh Tours has a half-board family week in Tunisia, at Hotel Sahara Beach in Skanes, for €1,436 for a family of four.
If you’re happy to turn the temperature down a bit, check out the Mediterranean island of Malta, which averages 15 degrees in December. Concorde (concordetravel.ie) has some hotel deals that could still tip the scale in its favour as a Christmas option. These include a week’s half-board stay at the four-star Hotel Fortina, on St Julian’s Bay, for €578. Or stay BB at the nearby Radisson Blu resort for €541. Departure is on December 21st. Prices include flights and a Christmas Eve gala dinner.
If you prefer snow to sun for Christmas, Crystal Ski (crystalski.ie) has a three-star chalet option in Brides-les-Bains, connected to the renowned Three Valleys ski spot. Leaving a fortnight today and returning on St Stephen’s Day, it costs €399 per person, based on four sharing.
Topflight (topflight.ie) has value, too, with flights on the same date to the Italian ski resort of Livigno, staying self-catering in a studio apartment for €379 based on three sharing or €399 based on four sharing a one-bedroom apartment.
Austrian Christmases are straight off the chocolate box, and Topflight has self-catering in Lermoos for €439 or BB at a pension in the Austrian resort of Soll for €419.
And if you're not so keen on the sun
Back home, Irish hotels are feeling the pinch, too, with Christmas bookings down between 7 and 10 per cent compared with last year.
And we’re spending less when we stay: the sector’s overall income has fallen by up to 30 per cent. The result is better value than ever. “Christmas in hotels tends to appeal to older couples without family commitments, and that market should hold reasonably well, particularly as there is some great value to be had this year,” says John Power of the Irish Hotels Federation.
Ballymascanlon House Hotel (ballymascanlon.com), for example, just outside Dundalk, has a festive family programme running from Christmas Eve to St Stephen’s Day, fuelled by log fires, mince pies and mulled wine. There’ll be carol singers, Christmas films and big breakfasts followed by country walks. Christmas Day lunch is a four-course affair, accompanied by a string trio and followed by a visit from Santa. Three nights’ BB, including dinners and lunches, costs €550 per adult, with reductions for children.
For a capital Christmas, the Shelbourne (theshelbourne.ie), in Dublin, has a two-night package, including Christmas lunch, running from December 23rd to 27th. Including a visit from Santa, it costs €359 for grown-ups and €200 for children sharing with them.
If you’re one of the lucky few to remain unruffled by recession, celebrate your possibly unique good fortune by heading to gorgeous Ashford Castle (ashford.ie), in Cong, Co Mayo. Its festive programme begins on Christmas Eve with mulled wine and mince pies, swiftly followed by afternoon tea, a cocktail reception and dinner. There’ll be variations on the drill for the next three days, not forgetting Christmas lunch. There are carols here, too, and jazz, walking tours and golf, plus yet another appearance from the man in red.
How does he do it? And the price: €3,500 per room. It’s like the ghost of Christmas past.
Please bear in mind that all deals are subject to availability
