Anticipation is a delicious and under-appreciated element of travel. The longer you spend enjoying the prospect of a holiday, the better. But sometimes you may be seized with a desire to get away at short notice – particularly if the festive pressure is building up. Emotional and financial investment in December travel can be huge. Accordingly, my mission this week has been to track down the best travel deals for a late escape. You can still get away at a reasonable price this side of Christmas. The cheapest flight-plus-accommodation deal I have found for a week, flying away on 24 December, is just £180 per person in a four-star hotel. Per hour, that's basically one guinea (ask an elderly relative). Spoiler alert: the deal, from easyJet Holidays, may not be the trip of your dreams. You fly on 24 December from Birmingham all the way to, er, Glasgow, and check in at the Doubletree by Hilton on the northern edge of the city centre. That's about 200 miles closer to the North Pole than the West Midlands. And you will be flying back just as Scotland's Hogmanay celebrations get under way on 31 December. If a southbound trip is more enticing, British Airways Holidays has a three-night Yuletide break on the Côte d'Azur, out on Christmas Eve and back on 27 December, for £191 per person. This includes flights from London Heathrow to Nice and a stay at the three-star So'Co boutique property (which describes itself as "a subtle blend of vintage and contemporary") and 63kg of baggage (physical, not emotional). When you arrive you will also discover the UK is an outlier in locking down on 25 December. Plenty of trains shuttle up and down the Riviera, allowing you to visit Antibes and Cannes on Christmas Day should whim or appetite take you there. The best airfare bargain for the last week of the year, though, is Jet2 from Edinburgh to Lanzarote for an absurdly low £92 return, flying out on Christmas Eve and back to the Scottish capital on New Year's Eve (probably crossing flightpaths with those folks who opted for the Birmingham to Glasgow adventure). How can a 3,900-mile round trip on a quality airline be so darned cheap? Because accommodation on the islands is in short supply, and therefore demand for seat-only deals is weak. This could be the year for Christmas camping in the Canaries. If you're not in the market for travelling over Christmas, why not gift yourself the gift of insight instead with a subscription to Independent Premium. Our new offer – exclusive to newsletter readers – is just £20 for a year and grants you full access to Premium news analysis, advert-free reading across The Independent and more. You can redeem the offer here, but be quick, the deal is only valid until 1 January. |
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Under pressure? Yule be happy to escape abroad |
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| Whether you're after brisk fell walks or lazy days at the pub, these are the spots to book. Read more. |
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| When his therapist suggested he seek out spiritual solace, Justin Gaynor booked a one-way ticket to Goa. Read more. |
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| Expect adventure-themed cabins and enchanted entertainment aboard this magical vessel. Read more. |
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The top five destinations from the UK in terms of sheer number of flights over the festive season: where do you think they are? I asked around The Independent office. The responses seemed subconsciously to reveal where my colleagues would love to wake up on Christmas morning: "Cape Town! Dubai! Singapore! Barbados! Orlando!" Some lucky travellers will export themselves to those sunspots over the coming days. But in terms of departing flights from UK airports, none of them registers. I asked the aviation data analysts at Cirium for their top five – and the average number of planes scheduled to take off from British airports to those destinations each day over the next two weeks. In fifth place, Tenerife, with 46 outbound daily flights from the UK. The biggest Canary Island is halfway to the Equator. Conveniently for midwinter, it offers an immediate upgrade of daylight, warmth and spirits. Tenerife is also home to Spain's highest mountain, Teide – and a prototype for the New World in the shape of La Laguna. That beautiful town is the closest you can get to a corner of Havana without crossing the entire Atlantic.
Fourth position: Paris CDG, not just because of its status as capital of the world's most popular country (by tourist arrivals) but also because lots of Brits change planes en route even more exotic locations. Each day 51 flights depart from the UK to Continental Europe's top hub. In third, Geneva is the main arrival point for skiers in the French as well as the Swiss Alps – which explains the 58 daily arrivals from Britain.
Second place, with 91 daily departures, is Dublin. Those planes will be extra-busy due to the current closure of the ferry link from Holyhead. Some passengers will pay handsomely to reach the Irish capital. Today, one Ryanair flight from Gatwick to Dublin is selling at £522, while the teatime departure on British Airways from Heathrow has one seat left at £660. The number one destination, though, is Amsterdam with a remarkable 102 flights a day. I adore the Dutch capital for its beauty on a human scale. Plus long-haul connections to all those sunny places on my colleagues' lists.
Whatever dreams you are chasing this Christmas, I hope you reach your destination. |
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No1 Lounges: Providers of premium airport lounges |
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Capital gains in Australia |
The capitals of South Australia and the Northern Territory have won better international connections. Emirates has just reinstated the Dubai-Adelaide link, competing with Qatar Airways between the Gulf and the South Australian capital. And from March 2025, Qantas will reconnect Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory, with Singapore. The daily route, in competition with Singapore Airlines, will improve access to the celebrated Mindil Beach (above). A year from now, Australia's national capital Canberra reclaims a place on the international airline map. On 1 December 2025, Qatar Airways reinstates daily flights to the Australian capital from Doha – offering connections from London Heathrow and Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. But the flights will make a dog-leg, stopping first in Melbourne. Passengers must get off the plane to go through Australian immigration, before reboarding for the 300-mile onward flight to Canberra. The total journey time from Doha is scheduled as 16h 20m eastbound, an hour longer westbound
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Attractions open on Christmas Day |
Many European tourist attractions are open (though sometimes with reduced hours) on 25 December. They include the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House in Amsterdam; the Abba Museum in Stockholm, and Disneyland Paris. For animal attractions, you can choose between Lisbon Aquarium and Prague Zoo. And if you are heading out in the UK, all 664 Wetherspoons pubs will be open – but only those at airports will serve food. |
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Now the World Cup qualifying draw has been made, do you have any recommendations for England fans travelling to Belgrade, Tirana, Riga and Andorra? |
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England has been joined by Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in Group K of the absurdly complex qualifying stage for the 2026 World Cup. Thomas Tuchel's boys will be playing in a series of fascinating locations. Fans can expand the travel rewards and reduce the costs by taking an unusual way in to each host city. The Serbian capital, Belgrade, has a spectacular setting at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. The best approach is from Budapest (travel slowly south by rail on the route of the Orient Express) or from Timisoara in the far west of Romania. I have some previous experience of Albania v England in Tirana, since I organised a trip for Crawley Town FC supporters to the World Cup qualifier in 1989. Now, as then, I recommend flying to Podgorica in Montenegro and travelling by bus across the mountains to the Albanian capital.
The Latvian capital, Riga, is a likeable city, but it is best combined with the jewel of the Baltic republics, Tallinn. Fly in to the Estonian capital. Then, take a bus south to Riga, but return via the pretty border town of Valga and the cultural hub of Tartu.
Mighty Andorra, 1,000m up in the Pyrenees, is most usually approached from Toulouse in the north or Barcelona to the south. Make a surprise advance on the tiny mountain principality by flying to Carcassonne, travelling across to the handsome town of Foix and then taking a train to Latour-de-Carol; from here, you can get a bus or, more excitingly, hike over a Pyrenean pass to Andorra. |
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| Indulge your love of wine and travel with this Lonely Planet book – packed with weekend getaway ideas and now only £16. |
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