So here we are on the cusp of winter again with a drab summer behind us and several months of short nights and dreary days ahead. Who wouldn’t want to escape? Our natural instinct is to crave warmth and sunshine – to feel the heat in our bones and the sun on our faces - but travelling in the winter months can be as much about the colder destinations as the hotter ones. Some places, in fact, do winter almost better than summer and while not necessarily firing up our levels of vitamin D, provide instead a new perspective on travel in January and February. What follows, therefore, is an overview of ideas of where you might go in the two grisliest months of the year, both hot and cold (and a little bit in between) to bolster you through to the start of spring.
Let’s face it, far flung, long-haul trips take careful organising and budgeting and, consequently, are not the sort of holiday one might plan last minute. That’s not to say, though, one can’t start planning now for a winter trip to South America. Chile would be top of my personal hit list where the country’s geography is perfectly honed for adventure, quite aside from offering some of the most remarkable landscapes on the planet and some of the best hotels and lodges in the world. Seek advice from a reputable tour operator, try journeylatinamerica.com, who can help advise on building a first-class itinerary, whether it’s to pack in the Atacama Desert, the beaches of Easter Island, the famous wineries, the Chilean Lake District or the spectacular Torres del Paine National Park.
India, another great choice for January and February, is similarly long on opportunity. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, however, unless you have plenty of time to spare. Rajasthan tends to be the first-timers port of call but if Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer have been ticked off your list, consider heading south to Kerala, where the landscape, the cuisine and the pace of life are entirely different to the north. Explore the inland waterways on a rice barge, walk in the tea plantations of the Western Ghats, hang out on a beach on the Malabar coast, or retreat to a specialist yoga and ayurveda hideaway. Try greavesindia.co.uk for advice.
Bucket lists vary from person to person but most, I would hazard a guess, have Angkor Wat somewhere on theirs. If they don’t, they should. This iconic Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Siem Reap is the world’s largest religious monument and one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. The first two months of the year, during the dry season, are a great time to visit Cambodia when a trip to Angkor Wat can be neatly combined with other Cambodian sites or dovetailed as part of a wider trip taking in Thailand or Vietnam. Audley Travel are experts in the area.
On the African continent, South Africa and Kenya are winter staples for British visitors, drawn there by the winning combination of safari and beach and the promise of minimal jetlag. Should you want to think outside the box, take a look at Sao Tomé and Principe, the tiny equatorial African nation in the Gulf of Guinea consisting of two main islands and an archipelago of rocky islets. Some call it the Galapagos of Africa as there are said to be more endemic species per square kilometre on these islands than anywhere else in the world. Principe in particular is a paradise of pristine, tropical rainforest encircled by a coastline of golden sand. It's more of a bother trying to get there – generally via Lisbon – but Cazenove+Loyd can help get you out.
Beach life to many of course means Caribbean. January and February are peak times to go but for good reason as these are the dry, less humid months. Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia and Grenada are long established favourites for ease of access from the UK, but it is worth considering some of the lesser-known islands which require an onward flight. St Kitts and Nevis are, in my book, under sung heroes for winter sunshine. Both islands offer a less commercial, more authentic side to Caribbean life with good sporting opportunities for hiking, diving, snorkelling and golf. The islands are just 10 minutes apart by boat, so it is easy to flit between the two either as a twin-centre stay or for day trips. There are a couple of big brand hotels on the two islands but the handful of historic, pastel-coloured plantation houses, converted into hotels, are the more characterful places to stay. expressionsholidays.co.uk
We all know the adage ‘Paris in the spring’ but one should never overlook a city break in January or February. This is often the best time to avoid queues for major tourist sites, get better deals on accommodation and, quite possibly, have surprisingly good weather. Marrakech and Istanbul are two great choices for clear warm days with chilly nights. Cairo, likewise, which some might hesitate to have on a wish list right now, but the long-awaited new Grand Egyptian Museum has opened at last. Two great European winter beauties are Prague, particularly if you are lucky enough to see it in the snow. Stay at Nerudova 211 and be sure to book one the frescoed suites), and Venice, more beautiful than ever in the crisp, clear light of winter. Stay at Palazzo Keller, a restored 15th. Century palace just a few steps from Piazza San Marco).
The advantage of the latter, unbeknownst to many, is the brilliant bus service linking Venice to the ski resort of Cortina in the Dolomites – a mere 2.5-hour road trip between the two. This makes for a perfect winter combination of city and mountains, maximising time spent abroad.
And thus I circle back to all those fabulous destinations which lend themselves brilliantly to a winter adventure – without the downhill skis. First up is Iceland, where a landscape of volcanoes, fjords, hot springs and waterfalls is all the more dramatic in the clutches of snow and ice. Original Travel (originaltravel.co.uk) has a great eight-day, self-drive winter trip on the south coast which includes winter kayaking, snowmobiling, hiking and a Jeep tour through Thorsmork Canyon. Second up, is Norway which offers a host of winter experiences from dog-sledding, snow-shoeing and whale watching to Northern Lights spotting, ice canyoning and ski touring. Best to leave a Norwegian winter holiday until the mid-February at the earliest as daylight hours are limited. Inntravel has a good range of winter breaks in Norway and elsewhere in Europe’s snowy parts.
