Somewhere warm and sunny for Christmas??

[Gary Stockton]

Got some time off over year-end and don't want to sit in rainy cold Edinburgh.

Anyone got some suggestions on where to go that's not too far (e.g. Cape Town), not too expensive (flying to Cape Town) and will be warm and sunny over that period.

I've had Gran Canaria suggested - that's sort of max distance I think. Any thoughts on that as a destination? Egypt also comes to mind Or Florida??

We'll probably have to fly to wherever coz I don't have days and days unfortunately.

Cheers

 

[warrenpfo]

How about South Spain or Portugal or Turkey. You can drive if you want and should be able to get some nice weather unless you looking for Cape Town temps but not the distance.

Kenya???

 

[Gary Stockton]

Cheers Warren - temps a tad low in Algarve (17) and pretty wet. I guess that's the Med winter for you.

Haven't checked Turkey (Christmas Turkey ) so will have a look.

 

[Olazz]

How about the UAE... Dubai? Not too far and good Xmas temps.

 

[Gary Stockton]

Yep on the list - not Dubai but Qatar perhaps?

 

[Mark N]

well I have to suggest Uganda of course!!! Simple flight from Heathrow, Christmas is hot (but not tooooo hot) and dry and the cream on the cake is TONS OF LANDCRUISERS
Safari Parks, mountains, crater lakes, gorillas you name it its got it!!!

errr right, well I'll see you over Christmas then

Mark

 

[fridayman]

For the last few years we have been going for a top up of Sun each January. It used to be places like India, Australia, etc... but with the little one now, the flight distance became a factor. So this year we went to Tenerife. I was very sceptical at first, "isn't Tenerife for pissed up 18-30's?" Package holiday!? We stayed at the Sensatori (Thompson) which is a higher end package resort, and if you just want to chill out I can highly recommend this for a week or two. We had a great time. Do drive up and go see the top of the volcano. There are some awesome moonscapes up there.

 

[Paul]

I have a spare room!

 

[Paul_Humphreys]

If you go to Gran Canaria, let me know. We might be heading that way. Or maybe Tenerife .

A lot depends on what you want? Cape Verde is meant to be nice.

 

[ram]

Hey Mark
where abouts are you in uganda? i grew up in a plantation 18 mile from kampala on masaka rd.

left in 72,well when got 90 days to get out

 

[Mark N]

ram - I live in Kampala but work about half way out on entebbe road at our airfield in Kajjansi.
That would have been a rough time in 72 - wouldn't want to have been around then myself! Have you ever been back to visit?
Mark

Hey Mark
where abouts are you in uganda? i grew up in a plantation 18 mile from kampala on masaka rd.

left in 72,well when got 90 days to get out

 

[ram]

Hi Mark i haven't been back since,was supposed to go last month but some thing came up so i,ve put the plan on back burner, hopefully next year if everything works out.

As for it being rough sure it was a bit hair raising as a 15yr old living on my own in kawempe working in a suitcase factory for 350 shilling pm, i hear you cant even buy a loaf of bread for that money now. Occasionally i used to commute back and forth to kampala to watch a movie or to see friends,in those days it was mostly 7 seater Peugeots 405s or 504s running as share taxis and in the last couple of months i got pulled out by my long hair through the windows of this a couple of times by the military, they gave me couple of slaps beat up the taxi driver and basically helped them selves to my watch and my wallet while pressing the barrel of machine gun. Yeh it was a bit rough at times but what can you do that's life

 

[Mark N]

Ram,

Not a nice experience! Hardly see any peugeots now - all the matatus are toyota hiaces now. If you come next year be sure to look me up!

Ok hijack over...

 

[Andrew Prince]

Yep on the list - not Dubai but Qatar perhaps?

If you're considering the Middle East, then Oman is a must-do! Muscat is a stunning mixture of old architecture and reasonable 21st century infrastructure, the country-side is amazing, people are super-friendly (something that a Qatari is unlikely ever to be accused of...) There is a great dive resort (well, it looks nice - I didn't dive there) not far out of Muscat and the drive there is truly breathtaking over the mountains.
You can also fly to Salalah and tour around the country-side there a bit.
There are 5* hotels too.

Doha has improved beyond all recognition over the past few years, but is a very "antiseptic" environment - glitzy malls and new hotels, but no vibe. And the hotels are very pricey. I still think Dubai is probably a better bet than Doha for a holiday, plus you can pick up spares for Crispin's new barbie while you're there!
If Oman doesn't grab your fancy, Abu Dhabi is probably the best of the Arab Gulf modern cities.

Another option, now that you've got me thinking, is Jordan - Aqaba and the Dead Sea are novel places to visit and still relatively unspoilt.

Cheers,