Dear Emma,
I can't face another family Christmas at home. Where could we go, and is it
possible at this late stage to create a family holiday over at least some of
the Christmas period? I am open-minded about location. The family enjoys
beach and skiing as well as possibly a cultural visit. My main challenge is
finding something that meets the needs of my 15-year-old daughter and my
5-year-old son. How to bridge the gap? The budget is about £2,000 and we
have tried Mark Warner, but are tired of the formula. Lisa Robinson, via
email
Family travel expert Emma Mahony (middle in picture above right) responds:
Of the Sunday Times 15 Christmas
and New Year Breaks featured on Sunday 4 November, there are three that
fit your bill . Two are city breaks - one to Rome for traditional markets at
the Piazza Navona and to hear the Pope's Christmas message, staying at the
four-star Hotel Nazionale for three nights from £335
including flights.
Or go ice-skating at the Rockefeller Center and keep your teenage daughter
happy shopping with a package to New York
, departing 23 December from £659. For something more romantic, the walled
city of Carcassonne in France, the largest medievel citadel in Europe has
the sumptuous Hotel del Cite built in to its walls.
It's Christmas package includes a gala dinner and a classical concert on
Christmas Eve and there is always plenty of wandering minstrels and
entertainment drawn to this mystical place for teenage people-watching. The three-night
package for two people is £935, not including flights with Ryanair.
If you want to head North to the snow, a tour operator called Travel
Mood has some interesting packages with a trip-of-a-lifetime twist. You
could head up to Iceland on their Seriously Super Jeep trip from December
23rd to 26th to see the Northern Lights and spend Christmas Dog sledding or
Skiddooing in the snow from £535 for adults, £475 for children.
Or the Winter Wilderness adventure in Norway is a 5-dat trip from December
23rd, costing £649 for adults, £569 for children. Or an 8-daty Family skiing
package to Bulgaria over Christmas, leaving December 22 will cost only a
little more at £729 for adults and £509 for children.
These packages aren't on their website so call 0800 2989811 to find out more.
If you are prepared to book independently, and call up a few operators for
last-minute deals, our budget hunter Sean Newson locates the
best tour operators for ski holidays with your kind of budget
For more luxurious beach deals, currently being reduced at short notice, see
the Sunday Times December's
best deals. Many of these are long-haul, so perhaps not ideal with a
little one, but call if any catch your imagination. For shorter haul and
guaranteed sun, you are looking at Madeira or Egypt with 4 to 5 hour
flights.
Madeira has some elegant hotels such as the Choupana Hills Resort and Spa,
described by writer Chris Haslam as "a distinctly Asian-looking
collection of temples to self-indulgence that somehow suit their lush,
jungle-like setting high above Funchal. Designed by Kerry Hill, it’s all Zen
this and feng shui that, with trickling water, wind chimes and fat little
buddhas peeping out of the undergrowth. You can get a week’s R&R
from £885, with Classic Collection Holidays (0870 402 0126, www.classic-collection.co.uk).
Alternatively, in Egypt near Hurghada, there is plenty of snorkelling and
guaranteed sun. Chris Haslam recommends the following operators that should
offer deals in your bracket. The twist In Marsa Alam, at the wild southern
end of the riviera, try the vast Port Ghalib resort: three five-star hotels,
set around the second-largest sea-water swimming pool in the world.
Built by the company behind South Africa’s Sun City, it’s new this winter, so
likely to be a little rough around the edges, but deals are to be had.
Thomas Cook (0870 750 5711, www.thomascook.com)
has a week in the five-star Sahara Sun Oasis from £599.
Happy Hunting, and here's hoping you get some ho-ho-ho this Christmas.
I am taking my husband and 2 daughters (both in late 20s) to Northern Ireland between Christmas and the New Year to do some bonding. The idea was to explore the coastline and glens, in the quiet of winter, and sit by log fires in local inns in the evening. Now I am panicing. I have booked the flights, but I can't find anywhere to stay that fits the bill and that won't make my daughters feel like they've been hoodwinked into a 1950's short break. Am I looking in the wrong places? I have spent hours on-line. Please help.
Linda Muller, Penryn Cornwall, England