Winter sun

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Hi

The wife and I are considering going away for a week after Xmas this year. We did a search for winter sun and these destinations came up.

Caribbean
Miami
Thailand
Canary islands
Dubai

Obviously the further we go the more expensive it will be.

Does anyone have any recommendations on the above destinations or any others. We are looking for a beach holiday, so the weather will be important. We don't really have a budget, but ideally we wouldn't want to spend much over £1000 pp.

Thanks

Adam

[a311]

Does your 1k budget just cover flights and accommodation or is that ‘all in’ with food etc etc?

If the latter you may struggle those in your list apart from the Canary’s and you could possibly snag a week to one of the cheaper Caribbean destinations for a week AI. Then again minus the Canary’s all those places have pretty ideal weather at that time of year, Caribbean is nice as the humidity and rainfall is low same for Miami.

Canary’s at that time of year is hit and miss, I’d expect at best warm weather rather than hot, but it is the closest/cheapest option. Egypt maybe worth considering, I’ve been at that time of year, again hit and miss the week I was there it was warm but very windy down on the beach, apparently the week before it was much hotter.

Also consider The Gambia and Kenya both will be hot.

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Thanks
We wouldn't be looking for AI. So the £1000 would just be for flights and accommodation.

I would rather pay a bit more for better weather, so if the canaries is a bit hit or miss its probably not worth the risk.

Anyone's experiences of these destinations from late December would be halepful.

Adam

[a311]

Sounds like somewhere in the Carribean would suit then as none of the the others are big on AI if anyhwere will actually to do it at all. Also consider India, The Gambia (Not huge on AI but there are some) and Kenya both will be hot as opposed to warm.

[miln0039]

The Caribbean is great. I went to Barbados last December and stayed at the Waves in Prospect on the west coast - it was FANTASTIC. The weather then was right and the end of rainy season and getting into the peak season. Average temperatures then were around 28oC, little rainfall and great sea temperature.

We went all inclusive. I know you've said you don't fancy it, but it was my first time going AI and I was impressed for the week whilst we were there. You can also get some great deals through Virign and British Airways when booking the flights and hotel at the same time! I know that the closer you get to when you go, the better the deals available will be - and at that time of year there will always be something.

I spoke to some people who were out there for 8 nights, 4 star, AI who booked through Virgin about a month before they travelled and it cost them c.£800 each. So the deals are there to be had.

Tips include though - make sure the hotel is on the west coast if you go for one of the Windward Islands (the east is spectacular but BIG seas, so good for surfers only!); make sure you pick a hotel which has multiple restaurants if going AI - variety is a winner!

[LuS1fer]

Kerala in Southern India. They are building more luxury hotels by the day and have spectacular scenery. The bonus is that the costs once you are there are very cheap compared to the US or Europe though they are wise to keeping tourists in the hotel's grip so they don't realise how much cheaper things are outside...

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That sounds like a great deal. We went to the Caribbean January 2011 and the weather was great. And if we could go for around £800 pp that would be fantastic. Will have to hold out and get a last minute deal.

Thanks for that. And will bear in mind your tips!

[Targarama]

Muscat, Oman.

Chedi (modernist)
Shangri-la (posh)
Grand Hyatt (my favourite)

The end.