Winter Sun: Where You Should Jet Off To When Summer Ends
The end of August is approaching, which means that summer is drawing to an end. The evenings are already getting darker, and back to school displays are popping up in shops all over the place. As you deliberate between identical pairs of grey school trousers and argue with your six-year-old about why the durable pencil case is a better idea than the extraordinarily fluffy one, you may start to drift off and dream about the possibilities of a winter break. Here are some ideas about where you could go, and what you could do.
What About Winter Sports?
If you don’t mind the cold too much, you could try out some winter sports. Skiing is the kind of activity that you’ll end up loving for the rest of your life - and admittedly it’s a pretty expensive addiction, but it’s also a whole lot of fun. If you have kids, you’ll find that they pick up skiing and snowboarding pretty quickly and zip past you, but your own skills will develop faster than you may realise. If you’re an active, sporty person then skiing will be perfect for you, and even if you’re the sort of person who loves rollercoasters, the adrenaline of whizzing down a mountainside will make it a holiday to remember. Even if you go to a ski resort and find out that you aren’t really cut out for the slopes, don’t worry - there are lots of other activities to do during the day like ice skating, relaxing in a hot tub and enjoying a glass of mulled wine in front of a roaring fire, before an evening full of great food and wine as you find out what the apres-ski life is really all about. From France to Switzerland to Italy, Europe boasts some of the world’s most gorgeous mountains and ski resorts, but you can also cross the Atlantic to go to America too. Vermont may be icy cold but the snow is beautiful and the skies are blue, and you could also fit in a trip to New York - who doesn’t want to skate at the Rockefeller Centre over winter and see the big Christmas tree there? Similarly, Colorado is famously excellent for winter sports - and Aspen is also packed with celebrities, from Gigi Hadid to Elton John.
Take A Cruise
If you want a holiday to remember for the rest of your life, there are few things you can do that are better than a cruise. First and foremost, there are about a thousand options to choose from: you might want to cruise around the Bahamas and get an incredible tan, you might want to take in some European cities, or you might want to explore the Norwegian fjords - the options are endless and no matter what you choose, it’ll be a welcome and beautiful break from the miserable, grey British winter. There are a lot of cruise options on www.bolsovercruiseclub.com if it sounds like the sort of thing that might appeal to you. What’s more, there are outings arranged for every port that you dock in, and the cruise ship itself will be full of fun and entertainment, from professional theatre shows to rows of shops with gorgeous wares to pools to rock climbing walls. It’s the perfect trip for any family who wants to chill out together and have a great time.
A Cheap And Cheerful Beach Break
During the winter, when it isn’t quite raining but constantly threatening, and when you seem to have constantly just stepped in a puddle, and when everyone you meet seems to have the sniffles, all you really want to do is to get away to somewhere sunny. Sometimes it feels as though all you need is some vitamin D and all will be right in your world again. But that doesn’t mean that you want to break the bank. Luckily, there are some places that won’t quite break the bank. If you want to go long-haul without paying the sort of prices commanded by Thailand and the Caribbean, Mexico is a great alternative option. There are also plenty of places closer to Europe - the Canary Islands will provide pleasantly warm temperatures for less than four hours on a plane, while Cyprus will give you springlike weather while it’s winter over in the UK. If you want to go further afield, why not try Cape Verde? You’ll get gloriously turquoise waters, temperatures in the mid twenties, and beaches with powdery white sand.
Winter doesn’t have to be cold, grey and boring - jet off on a trip or a cruise and you’ll lose those bad weather blues in no time.