Archives for December 2023

As soon as the festive season is over, the TV ads start encouraging people to book their annual holidays. So far, so good. I would also urge you to book early and pay a deposit to secure your 2024 holidays. But if this is all feeling a bit deja vu, here are a few ideas to get you excited about travelling again, about looking forward to a new adventure, somewhere different.

January is always a bit flat. How about heading to the Hagar Mountains in Ras Al Khaimah? This tiny emirate, about 45 minutes from Dubai, will surprise you. With five-star hotels and white sand beaches it is already a winner, but add a 1.75-mile zip line, a balloon flight over the mountains, a thrilling toboggan ride, nature reserves and excellent food and you can see why this is a great choice.

Only one more sleep till Christmas now and you may have already had your fill of TV ads, Christmas music in shops and Christmas meals with the office or groups of friends. The Christmas build-up seems to come earlier and earlier these days. What can we learn from all this?

Well, as avid travellers, we could jump on the bandwagon and start thinking about Christmas 24? Have I gone mad? No, in fact, many of the world’s most desired resorts and villas get booked up a year in advance by repeat customers. As soon as they leave the resort for home, clients secure it for the following year. This is why some places never seem to be available over the festive period! Well, two can play at that game! Don’t forget that you can secure your booking with a deposit now and then you have about ten months till you need to pay the balance.

In addition, flights go on sale in early January, and you may never see these sale prices again. More than ever before, these genuine sale fares are to be snapped up. It is no longer a case of hedging your bets and waiting to see if prices come down later in the year. I’m prepared to stick my neck out and say that they will only go up.

By the time you read this, we will be counting down the days till Christmas and most of us will have our decorations up and arrangements made for the big day.

But there may also be some of you out there whose plans have suddenly changed or who have decided you want to do something different over the festive season.

Availability will be tight, but I am hopeful I will be able to find you something last minute. If you can’t stand the cold and desperately seek some sun and warmth, we could look at the Caribbean, the Maldives, the Canaries, the Middle East, or the Far East.