Somewhere nice to spend a few weeks at Christmas

[Clariman]

I'm looking for recommendations for somewhere nice to go for a holiday in and around Christmas. Mrs C wouldn't do cruises, so that's not an option.

We're not keen on paying over the odds for a mega Christmas event - its the location and holiday experience we'd be looking for rather than "Christmas". It just so happens that the Christmas period fits in well with other things, so we may have no choice about paying for it.

Preferably outside Europe (but not necessarily) with decent weather.

Any countries, areas, hotels or rentals that you'd really recommend? We still haven't done South Africa yet so maybe Christmas would be a good time?

Thanks
Clariman

[didds]

My expereinces are from the mid 90s so take that as a caveat

I've spent Xmases in the south pacific (Vanuatu), New Zealand and Australia. The weather was great for the first and last but I'm afraid poured with rain all day in NZ (Keri-Keri, up north). The rest of the weather around that time was otherwise really nice, but NZ I would approach as a milder version of British expectations for the same season. Australia was super - just what you'd expect... sunshine and hot. Vanuatu was tropical paradise stuff.

As for "what would you do" - aside from the obvious tourist type stuff, Vanuatu was pretty quiet (I was in Port Vila, on the main island); I spent it with some scuba diving orientated ex-pats I met but I don't know what else there may be to do on your own. Australia was easy - in Sydney we just went to the beach with everybody else! The second xmas I spent in Oz I was with a friend in Queensland - xmas dinner was a roasted chicken from a chicken shop that was open in the morning!

In particular what struck me (positively) about Xmas in Sydney was how basically it was more like a bank holiday weekend rather than the potentially long drawn out affair it is here in the UK... so life pretty much went on as normal except for Xmas day and to some extent Boxing day, so if you are there as a tourist, you shouldn't be faced with everything being half or fully shut for the periods surrounding xmas day.

As I said though... caveat is that this was over 20 years ago now.

The other really super xmas holiday we had was with our very young children at the time when we went on a father xmas lapland holiday over Christmas itself. But that may not fit your bill of "decent weather", dependent on what exactly "decent" means The weather was fine in Finland north of the arctic circle, but that means lots of snow, ice and very low temperatures (-32 degrees C on Xmas day when i went skidooing!). I guess you may have to borrow some children to take with you - and of course also breaks your "big event" criteria

didds

[Lootman]

In my view, Christmas is something to be avoided at all costs. I therefore recommend any non-Christian country, preferably with better weather than the UK but then that hardly narrows the choice.

Failing that, and following my wife's lead, have a Jewish Christmas: Chinese food and a movie. So I will second Singapore and raise you Hong Kong.

[UncleEbenezer]

In my view, Christmas is something to be avoided at all costs. I therefore recommend any non-Christian country, preferably with better weather than the UK but then that hardly narrows the choice.

Agree about avoiding the season of humbug. But the correlation with christian countries is not entirely reliable. On the one hand, you could find someone has laid on a lavish christmas specially for the tourists. Or on the other hand, a christian country can be more bearable than Blighty.

Italy was a blessed relief. While they certainly do christmas (with real animals in the manger scenes), it doesn't go on and on for months like here. So when it does come sometime in December, it's almost something to enjoy.

[Slarti]

How about Bermuda?

They do say its better in Bermuda


Slarti

[DiamondEcho]

Singapore is $$$ at the best of times, Xmas is going to be worse still (I lived there for several years, over three expat household relocations). You might consider it a starched SE Asian equivalent of Monaco, on several levels. The average visitor, historically, was a stop-over visitor spending an average 2.x days there, there really isn't much else to do, it's anodyne, very expensive and 'Asia-lite'.
As for Xmas itself, be aware this opens up destination to wealthy Americans using up their short holiday entitlements. And they tend to book well ahead. So anywhere with decent facilities in say the Pacific Ocean area, Fiji, Tonga etc, will likely be $$$.
I'd be inclined to go to Malaysia, but choose carefully between the east and west coasts on the peninsular depending on the timing [vs the seasonal monsoon]. Combining some action, like KL, together with a good island, low-key, like Tioman or one of the Perhentian islands could work. You can't rush it too much out there, the travel connections take time... Or Bangkok, KL + a Malaysian island. Phuket in Thailand is pretty wrecked these days IMO/E.
Borneo is also amazing, just a few hour connection on from Singapore. Easy to combine great beaches etc with colonial history, jungle etc. Kuching in Sarawak is memorable, perhaps like Singapore was 50 years ago.
South Africa - yep I'm still pondering that one, have friends there, and still have yet to get there - sometime soon [Take good advice for visiting there, it's not the simplest destination. One friend there still sleeps with a 9mm under her pillow, and she's a respectable lass].

[UncleEbenezer]

Singapore is $$$ at the best of times

Really? My recollection was quite the opposite: very reasonable accommodation, and incredibly cheap though utterly delicious food. And some good fun. OK, the price has probably doubled when measured in the disappearing UK£, but still very reasonable.

Though there were a couple of tourist-trap streets downtown that would indeed meet the $$$ description. And where you could forego the delicious food in favour of a burger. From memory, something named for Raffles. Just avoid.

[supremetwo]

http://www.visitmalta.com/en/christmas

[roger4]

Try Southern India or Sri Lanka or The Maldives or The Seychelles.

[Slarti]

Cabo Verde Just off west Africa, no longer part of Portugal

http://www.capeverde.com/


Slarti

[dspp]

This may give some ideas - http://www.girlahead.com/ Enjoy ! dspp

[DiamondEcho]

Singapore is $$$ at the best of times

Really? My recollection was quite the opposite: very reasonable accommodation, and incredibly cheap though utterly delicious food. And some good fun. OK, the price has probably doubled when measured in the disappearing UK£, but still very reasonable.
Though there were a couple of tourist-trap streets downtown that would indeed meet the $$$ description. And where you could forego the delicious food in favour of a burger. From memory, something named for Raffles. Just avoid.

March 2017 - 'The world's 20 most expensive cities (budget travellers beware). Singapore 1st - The world's most expensive city for the fourth year in a row.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/galle ... rld/city1/

April 2017 - 'For the fourth year in a row, Singapore is the most expensive city in the world. That's according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey, newly released for 2017.'
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/11/the-10- ... orld-.html

'Very reasonable accommodation' and Singapore together form an oxymoron to me, and I did live there for several years, on and off between 1994 and 2015. I can't imagine where you stayed or what your budget was. I first visited in 1989 and stayed in a doss-house back-packer place by Dhoby Ghaut [nr. Orchard Road], but even then it was expensive compared to the rest of SE Asia. Similar to Hong Kong in the late 80s, anything affordable for a back-packer'ish kind of place was a true hovel, yet still expensive. [6 strangers sharing a room and a bathroom, etc].

Food can be cheap in Singapore if you eat like a local, venture out to the suburban 'food courts', or shop at the the suburban 'wet markets' and cook it yourself at home (or more likely for a local have your 3rd-world 'maid' cook it for you).

There used to be a couple of good food-courts/'hawker centres' right on Orchard Road itself [early 90s] but sadly they're long gone, the land is all primo-$ condos now.

My wife just walked in to see what I'm up to, and I explained I was chatting with a Brit who thinks SG has 'very reasonable accommodation, and incredibly cheap ... food'. She gave me a 'well that's surprising!' look - she's Singaporean by the way

[DiamondEcho]

Re: other opinions above.
Yep, we just came back from Malta 2 weeks ago. Had a great time, more interesting and engaging than expected. Good F+B and reasonable prices too.
Muscat, and more broadly Oman, yes that's another to-do on my list. I've only heard good things over recent years, in stark contrast to several other 'headline' M-E destinations.

[UncleEbenezer]

'Very reasonable accommodation' and Singapore together form an oxymoron to me,

My recollection is 10/night for a hotel in the Chinatown area. I cant recollect for sure whether that 10 was £ or Singapore $.

I also recollect meals for prices starting at under £1 for an amazingly delicious cooked breakfast, and just a few quid for a fantastic evening meal.

I was helped there by being met and shown around on my first day by a Singapore colleague, who both found me the hotel and showed me how to eat like a local. She also explained I could pay an awful lot more for a lesser meal if I went to tourist places.

[mswjr]

California?
Just in case you haven't been, December/ January is a good time to go.

Fly to LA, leave via San Fran.

Normally low- mid 20s on the beach, LA area (Santa Monica, Venice Beach etc), whale watching, with Universal studios/ Hollywood/ Disney and all that if you want it, with skiing up in the hills- Bear Mountain, Mammoth.
Rent a soft top Mustang, drive up the coast road through Monterey to San Francisco.

[redsturgeon]

California?
Rent a soft top Mustang, drive up the coast road through Monterey to San Francisco.

Unfortunately that road is closed.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local ... 08569.html

John

[mswjr]

California?
Rent a soft top Mustang, drive up the coast road through Monterey to San Francisco.

Unfortunately that road is closed.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local ... 08569.html

John

Where there's a will..

https://www.bloggeratlarge.com/bucket-l ... ancisco-2/

[redsturgeon]

California?
Rent a soft top Mustang, drive up the coast road through Monterey to San Francisco.

Unfortunately that road is closed.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local ... 08569.html

John

Where there's a will..

https://www.bloggeratlarge.com/bucket-l ... ancisco-2/

You can actually hike around the closed section now, so if you arranged with a friend to drive south while you dove north, you could hike around the closed section and swap cars.

John

[mswjr]

One could always start in San Fran then go South to LA. Time it right, and it could allow a visit to the Rose Bowl game, Pasadena, normally Jan 1st.
I would defy anyone not to be impressed by the experience, whatever preconceptions of American culture may be lurking.

[77ss]

Any countries, areas, hotels or rentals that you'd really recommend? We still haven't done South Africa yet so maybe Christmas would be a good time?

Thanks
Clariman

It's been a long time since I spent Xmas in the UK.

I had a good time in the Cape one year - the weather was fine.

Other interesting places where the weather has been fine over Xmas for me include Cuba, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma......

Lots of choice - it really depends on what you like to do on holiday. I tour, rather than stay put.