These luxe last-minute trips go all out for Christmas
If the prospect of peeling potatoes – or prawns – has lost its appeal, it’s not too late to make other plans for Christmas.
Travelling offers a chance to swap the usual festive arrangements for something less demanding. And leaving the country needn’t mean leaving Christmas behind. You can still embrace old traditions, invent new ones or simply let somebody else take care of the hosting.
If you’ve always dreamt of a white Christmas, the traditional northern hemisphere festivities await on APT’s Magnificent Europe cruises, which travel between Amsterdam and Budapest along the Rhine, Main and Danube, passing through historic cities and towns that don’t do Christmas-lite.
If it’s decorations, markets and centuries-old rituals you’re after, this is a rather luxurious portal to the mother lode. Tootle along the river in sublime comfort aboard APT’s luxury river ships, admiring the twinkling lights, then immerse yourself in places that epitomise the yuletide spirit.
Some departures encompass Christmas Day itself. On the Christmas and New Year’s Eve sailing, Christmas Eve is spent in Bamberg, Christmas Day in Nuremberg and Boxing Day in Regensburg, with festive dining and celebrations aboard.
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Alternatively, incorporate a river cruise into a longer European holiday, spending Christmas in a favourite city before or after the voyage. The cruises particularly appeal to couples and adults travelling together.
For a Christmas with considerably less need for winter woollies, try the Maldives.
At JA Manafaru, a private island resort in the northernmost reaches of the archipelago that caters for families and no-kids travellers alike, a 19-day program includes a Christmas Eve beachfront gala dinner and bonfire, Christmas Day brunch with Santa appearing on the shore, and a Gatsby-inspired New Year’s Eve celebration. Younger guests have treasure hunts, creative workshops, pool parties and festive films to keep them busy. The resort’s 84 villas and residences all have private pools.
Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort on Viti Levu’s Coral Coast always combines local traditions with family fun, but Christmas is an especially big occasion.
Christmas Eve brings carols by candlelight with a village choir, while Christmas Day begins with a church service before Santa makes his grand entrance on the beach. A giant gingerbread house is cracked open on the beachfront lawn, and families gather for a festive buffet or sunset dinner.
Complimentary children’s clubs, activities for teenagers and a nanny service for younger guests mean parents might even find some time to themselves.
If you’d rather Christmas itself were a more low-key affair, Sri Panwa in Phuket offers a more relaxed approach, with panoramic Andaman Sea views and a six-course celebration dinner at Baba Poolclub on December 24 and 25.
Here, there’s no need to organise your day around a packed calendar of festive activities. Spend the day enjoying the resort’s pools, restaurants and spectacular oceanfront setting, then dress up for dinner. The serious partying can wait until New Year’s Eve, when silver-themed celebrations spread across the resort’s venues, with sunset drinks, a gala dinner, live entertainment and a countdown to the new year.
Wherever you choose to celebrate, at least someone else is doing the dishes – and the peeling.
See aptouring.com; jaresortshotels.com; outrigger.com; sripanwa.com
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