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New Year Breaks & Christmas breaks in Mediterannean
Christmas Holidays
British families are prepared to fly up to four hours to escape the gloom of a British midwinter so holiday breaks to eastern Mediterranean countries are growing in popularity. Countries ready to welcome Brits for a midwinter break include Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Greece and Turkey which all have excellent accommodation, colourful Yuletide festivals and the seasonal chance to let your hair down.
Turkey and Croatia are in their infancy as popular destinations where villas and apartments can be rented but more holidaymakers are opting for them. Croatia in particular is well endowed with properties to rent and only 13 per cent of its bed stock is in hotels. Italy and the Mediterranean island of Cyprus have established markets with properties available year round.
While nowhere in Europe has guaranteed weather some warmer climates can be found where eastern Europe rubs shoulders with the Middle East and Asia. Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, for example, can have many sunny days in winter and temperatures averaging 13C. Cyprus is the hottest, driest island in the Mediterranean and enjoys more sunshine than most – typically 340 days of sunshine annually. December and January are the rainy season but temperatures are better than the UK can offer us.
Christmas is celebrated very differently in some eastern Mediterranean countries and sometimes not at all. Some branches of the Christian church put Christmas Day at January 6 while the Islamic Faith in Turkey, for example, does not recognise Christmas as the time of the birth of Jesus.
In the eastern Med some restaurants catering for tourists may have Christmas menus but self caterers will need to get their own ingredients in for Christmas dinner although the traditional desserts on offer may be very different.
In Greece nut cookies dusted with powdered sugar or fried dough cookies dipped in honey could replace Christmas pudding as we know it in Britain.
Eastern Mediterranean breaks for Christmas & New Year
Christmas in Croatia
Croatia’s Adriatic coastline, stretching from Kvarner Gulf in the north to the spectacular and historic city of Dubrovnik, boasts more than 1,000 islands and many beaches to explore. Inland offers hills, mountains and forests to tramp briskly through on those chillier winter days.
Christmas in Cyprus
Cyprus is very familiar territory for British holidaymakers who love the beaches, blue seas and consistent sun where, even in winter, temperatures barely drop below 20C. Added advantages are that English is widely spoken, cars are driven on the left and there is loads of quality accommodation. The spectacular Troodos Mountains in the heart of the island are ideal for active breaks such as cycling and hiking and in winter downhill skiing is available.
Christmas in Italy
In Italy, the Tuscany region is rated among the most beautiful and varied regions. Many Britons own or rent property there as well as in Umbria and the countryside and mountains of Abruzzo. A winter break here means families are handily placed for visiting some of the most famous art and architectural works in the world in Florence, Pisa or Rome.
Top historic Roman-era attractions are the Forum, Circus Maximus and the Colosseum. The Vatican is a special place to attend a Christmas service.
Northern Italy is home to the southern Alps and the Dolomite mountains where there is a huge range of skiing and snowboarding resorts. Among them are Cervinia, Courmayeur and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Northern Italy also boasts a Lake District providing some interesting bars and restaurants and spectacular walking country around lakes Garda, Orta, Maggiore and Como. Although a little chillier in the northern half of Italy during winter, there are some great beaches and the further south one stays, the warmer and sunnier the winter climate becomes.
Christmas in Greece
Greece is unique in that it has more than 2,000 sunshine islands providing a tremendous choice of holidays. There are comfortable and well-equipped villas and apartments right across the island ranges which include the Ionians, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the North East Aegean and the Sporades groups.
Christmas in Turkey
Turkey, which is geographically in Asia, may not appear as Christmas-orientated as the European countries which are majority Christian but it has arrived as a firm favourite with British holidaymakers. Although the hot and humid conditions of the summer will be missing, winter temperatures on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts mean the beaches are still good for walking off the Christmas and New Year excesses.
Top resort names are Izmir, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Marmaris and Antalya. Many of these and other, smaller coastal towns have developed most of the activities and facilities that rival Mediterranean sunshine destinations such as Spain and Portugal offer. Winter also means more time to explore the country’s many historic sights and to discover the growing number of golf courses in Turkey.
An added bonus for families heading to Turkey has been the lira exchange rate against the pound which has meant more spending money when Britons get there.
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