Christmas holiday abroad

[tinkerbell2 10]

can anyone recommend any where hot to go at christmas please ?? we are wanting really nice beaches and guaranteed good weather ,we have 3 children 2 teenagers and a 3 yr old but all are happy with beaches .need to escape the drizzle of the uk! thankyou in advance

[xfox3x 10]

Canary Islands are great. I've been in November and January and it's still been hot.

[jinnertomcat 10]

Cuba - loved it when we went for Christmas

[xfox3x 10]

Cuba - loved it when we went for Christmas

 

We're thinking of going to Cuba (not at Christmas because we're not allowed to book Christmas off) ...when's the best time to go and can you recommend a resort? Thanks

[xfox3x 10]

:blush:Sorry didn't mean to hijack your thread!

[tinkerbell2 10]

lol thats fine someone recommended cuba to us too

[Charlottef24 10]

If you are looking for an All Inclusive, Cuba is really good value, just be aware of whereabouts on the island you are staying in relation to your tour operator E.G. Virgin only fly into Havana meaning it would be at least an hour and a half to Varadero on the north side of the island where a lot of the hotels are based or something daft like 4 hours to Guardalavaca on the south. I've noticed Thomas Cook have some good deals on the internet at the mo. Dominican Republic is also really reasonably priced compared to a lot of the other Caribbean islands, I can't remember the exact name of the hotel but there's one called something like Ocean and Sands at Punta Cana that has all sorts on for kids including a bowling alley.

If you are looking to rent an apartment or something like that I would recommend South Beach/Miami Beach at Miami or Key Biscayne. The beach is nice, weather will still be warm around that time. There are quite a lot of things to do/see around Miami for families aside the beach/hotel pool- there's a aquarium place with killer whale and dolphin, not as big as Seaworld but still good, swimming with dolphins, day trips to the Everglades where you can do airboat rides and look for alligators/crocs, loads of water sports and boat trips etc.

[Charlottef24 10]

Xfox3X forgot to say I think hurricane season for Cuba is May-November but double check on Google. I went in August and we were ok on the hurricane front but every day come late afternoon-early evening there was an absolutely huge thunder storm and rained for hours. I went to a little island off the bottom of Cuba called Cayo Largo which is also a nature reserve with lots of rare turtles. The beaches were lovely but the sea was a bit rough for my liking. I also went to Havana for a few days which I would highly recommend, we stayed in a colonial style hotel called the Inglaterra which was in the old town and within walking distance of the main sites though unfortunately had no swimming pool. I think most people go to Varadero for AI holidays in Cuba and I would certainly consider taking my own family there. I am led to believe the area caters for tourists and the hotels have decent facilities there. Before you book out just make sure you have a look at what people have said on Trip Advisor, not sure what the situation is now but a few years ago most people complained about the food at the hotels. Havana is within driving distance of Varadero so you can go on a day trip unlike the place where I stayed at where we had to fly on a little Cuban plane. If you do consider Havana or trips outside the resort just be aware Cubans don't have a lot and we got a lot of kids asking us for things, it didn't really bother me and it certainly wasn't pestering on the level I've received in Egypt or Turkey.

[notts_phil 10]

Go to Australia cairns/barrier reef, great beaches nice n hot to.

[callippo 10]

Canaries are good because the weather is OK but it's not too far - only 4.5 hours.

 

Australia is too far for 2 weeks. Central America is closer, so is south east Asia, only two hours further. Thailand, the weather is perfect around Christmas time - not too hot, and it is virtually guaranteed not to rain. Also plenty of tourist infrastructure to amuse the kids. Trouble is around that time of year, Christmas, your flights are expensive.

[feline01 10]

Did you decide where to go for Christmas.

We are going to Lanzarote

[tinkerbell2 10]

Hi, I was so undecided on where to go so decided to save a little longer and just booked yesterday to go to Florida next year I'm so excited, thanks to everyone for your advice. Looks like I'm braving the Sheffield winter afterall bbbrrrrrrrrrr.