Winter Getaways
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009
by Mark Bartley
Popular destinations for Europeans during the winter include long haul trips to Australia or New Ze
The British winter can be a long drawn-out affair. As soon as the clocks change back from daylight saving the days seem much shorter and the evenings suddenly feel less welcoming and cooler. With less leisure time during the week to enjoy sporting activities, the weekends become more important and unfortunately the British weather isn't always the best. Other alternatives include winter sun breaks to the African countries of Senegal and The Gambia. For those with enough money there are other options like The Maldives, Thailand, Bali or the Caribbean Islands.
The island of Curacao is the preferred destination of many Dutch tourists and has a perfect climate for November and December visits. The daytime temperature there regularly sits between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius and the lowest daytime November temperature has never dropped below 20 degrees Celsius. The island is part of the group known as the ABC islands; Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao and is the largest of Netherlands Antilles group. Remote, private beaches are what people enjoy most on Curacao and there are plenty of those archetypal "desert island" vistas that one sess so often in travel brochures.
Of course a bright, breezy winter's day has its attractions and wrapping up warm for a walk in the countryside before retiring for a tasy lunch and a warming brew by the fire in a favourite pub would be perfect for many. However idyllic British winter days don't always arrive on cue for various reasons. For many families the chores and routines of home life are difficult to break free from and only a trip abroad can deliver the rest and relaxation many desire. Also sunny winter days are not as frequent as many would hope. More typical are wet, rainy days or grey, cloudy skies that seem to envelope the countryside and dampen any enthusiasm to go outdoors and have some fun.
That is why the run up to Christmas is a very busy time on the travel scene. Come mid-November many people have had their fill of the dreary British weather and start to look into the possibilities of a winter sun break. The typical winter break is not usually an lengthy one. In most cases a week is long enough, but the next choices to be made are about the cost and whether one opts for a winter sports holiday or a warmer climate offering higher temperatures, sunshine and minimal chance of rain.
To guarantee that summer feel, you really need to travel to a region that is in the middle of its own summer season and for the British traveller that normally means places like Australia, Africa or Mexico and or one of the tropical island choices.
For many, a trip to those places would require spening quite a bit of money and merit a trip longer than mreely a week. That is why the European resorts of Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria and the desert resorts of Sharm and Dubai are much more popular.
The November weather in the Canaries is a much safer bet than somewhere like Southern France, Mallorca or Ibiza. Certainly those places do have their fair share of balmy winter days, but you could equally be unlucky enough to be landed with a week of rain and blustery winds. For less risk head further east to somewhere like Cyprus or dive deeper south to Tenerife, Fuerteventura or Lanzarote. These islands are almost fully booked over the Christmas period with travellers seeking a warmer festive period, unaffected by the commercial excesses of the typical British Christmas.
Another choice is one of the Greek islands that seem over-run during the height of the summer, yet take on a peaceful calm come Autumn time. Your choice of Greek island should be made very carefully though as some tend to shut down completely once the summer tourists have departed. That's the time when the restaurant and hotel owners take their own holidays. An island like Santorini with its beautiful hillside towns of pure white buildings can be difficult to enjoy when shared with thousands of others, but in the relative calm of a warm Autumn day, the place takes on a peaceful atmosphere where even the most stressed visitors cannot fail to start chilling out.
A spot of warm winter sunshine is something many spend their precious holidays searching for. Mark Bartley offers some advice and recommendations like opting for one of the many cheap flights to Fuerteventura or any of the other Canary Islands.
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