Midwinter "sun" holidays

fricatus

I've never been to any of the sun destinations in the middle of winter, but we're thinking of going somewhere like the Algarve just after Christmas. We're not all that bothered if it's not warm or even sunny, since the main thing we're after is a bit of a getaway/relaxation. However if it's just going to be seven days of rain, we might as well stay at home.

One thing we were thinking is that apartments in sun locations might not have any heating, for obvious reasons, and therefore might be very unpleasant at night, or if there's a day of rain.

What are people's experiences of this type of holiday? Any recommendations of particularly good places, or places to steer clear of?

Indestructable

Best chance of sun in the Winter months will be any of the Canary Islands. I'd have a look there, some lovely towns and resorts.

We went to Fuertaventura last November and it was scorching the entire tip. Nights were pleasantly cool.

Tigerandahalf

Would you consider a city break to the south of Spain. Somewhere like Seville would give you a lot of options. Fairly good weather plus the vibe of a city.

I would say most resort type places would be fairly quiet and a lot of the restaurants might be closed.

A lot more to do in a city if it is raining too.

Edit - return flight direct to Seville in early January for about 85eur pp.

TheMercenary

Has anyone been to Almeria in November/December? Does it get reasonable weather?

Jayop

Agree on the Canaries. Lanzarote or any of the others would be lovely and not too expensive to get to either.

Amirani

Morocco a reasonable option to look into also. Marrakesh is worth seeing and it is possible to have a relaxing trip there.

skywanderer

Amirani wrote: »

Morocco a reasonable option to look into also. Marrakesh is worth seeing and it is possible to have a relaxing trip there.

Yes a country run by Islamists where woman are leered at and considered fair game to sexual harassment or worse. Nobody should be visiting a country in the Islamic World at the moment if they consider security, safety and respect to be on their priority list.

elastico

skywanderer wrote: »

Yes a country run by Islamists where woman are leered at and considered fair game to sexual harassment or worse. Nobody should be visiting a country in the Islamic World at the moment if they consider security, safety and respect to be on their priority list.

Better chance of being shot in Dublin than Morocco I'd wager!

Cakerbaker

skywanderer wrote: »

Yes a country run by Islamists where woman are leered at and considered fair game to sexual harassment or worse. Nobody should be visiting a country in the Islamic World at the moment if they consider security, safety and respect to be on their priority list.

My Mam and 2 of my aunts went to Marakesh for a long weekend earlier this year and had a brilliant time. Had no hassle as 3 women on their own! You've to be careful about being ripped off by taxis etc (bargain your fare before you get in) but that's the same for any tourists there, male or female!

fricatus

Has anyone had problems with the accommodation being cold? I'd imagine that hotel rooms in resorts don't have heating, because it would be a total waste most of the year, and therefore in winter it would get very cold at night.

Is that something that happens, or am I just being overly cautious/pessimistic?

moc moc a moc

elastico wrote: »

Better chance of being shot in Dublin than Morocco I'd wager!

:rolleyes:

stargazer 68

fricatus wrote: »

Has anyone had problems with the accommodation being cold? I'd imagine that hotel rooms in resorts don't have heating, because it would be a total waste most of the year, and therefore in winter it would get very cold at night.

Is that something that happens, or am I just being overly cautious/pessimistic?

Never noticed it to be honest. We have stayed at the Green Golf Bungalows in Gran Canaria a couple of times in October and have never noticed the apartment being cold.

Unshelved

Stayed in Lanzarote in December a few years ago and while the days were pleasantly warm - warm enough for the beach - our apartment was freezing at night. Now the place we stayed in was a cheap as chips - and you get what you pay for - but I have memories of getting up in the middle of the night and covering the bed with newspaper to stay warm!

Portugal can be quite chilly in wintertime too - make sure wherever you are staying has heating!

grimm2005

Went to Albufeira in the Algarve a few years back at the start of December. It was a pleasant trip, nice and warm during the day (shorts and t-shirt weather without the sun burn) with very minimal rain, just the one short shower on one of the days. Having said that, not an awful lot to do, most of the excursions/activities are off for the winter, there are are a few that run but only if they get the minimum numbers and they aren't available every day. Some restaurants and bars are open but not the majority.

If you want a quiet holiday where you can flake out and not be under pressure to do much and still have some sun then it's ideal but if you're the type that wants to have a packed week, I wouldn't recommend it. On the plus side, it's extremely cheap, we paid about €100 each for flights and hotel and a 3 course meal in most of the open restaurants was about €10 - 15.

BailMeOut

are the pools in Lanzarote warm enough for the kids too swim in early January? Looking at a getaway first week of Jan and kids are at a age were holiday are all about swimming all day.

Amirani

moc moc a moc wrote: »

:rolleyes:

He's pretty much correct. Morrocco's murder rate according is 1 per 100,000 people, same as Ireland.

However, Dublin definitely has a higher concentration of gun crime than the rest of the country. Within Morrocco though, the highest concentrations would be in Casablanca and border regions. Marrakech and the likes of Agadir are very safe.

So your rolleyes looks pretty fecking stupid to be honest.

appfry

Ive been to Marrakech several times and I feel a lot safer walking around there than I do walking around in Dublin city center.