to ask for your winter sun holiday suggestions for depressed anxious friend?

[DorothyParkersCat]

Friend has had a really rough time at work and personally recently. She really needs a break and I think she is severely stressed and probably depressed.

She has booked out a two week break from work in a weeks time. She told me that she'd love to go somewhere sunny and lie in the sun but that the stress of getting somewhere sunny (a long flight and transfer time) is just so overwhelming and makes her want to cry she thinks she'll just stay at home.

I think that having a get away from it all break is just what she needs but I'm no expert on winter sun.

Has anyone got any suggestions of somewhere that is guaranteed sun, not too much hassle to get to and not too far?

Dubai and UAE are out as she finds all the culture/arrests too stressful to contemplate.
I'd suggested Maldives and she thought this looked great in terms of what she wanted - sun and relaxing -but was put off by the long flight + need to transfer to islands.
I'd also suggested Canaray islands but I don't think weather is guaranteed sun.
Cancun and Cape Verde were "too resorty" and big resorts/too many people are also anxiety making.

I'm at a loss really.

Has anyone got any suggestions for a guaranteed sun winter sun holiday that is fairly stress free to get to and would offer relaxation?

Gran Canaria lovely this time of year I have bee. November & December last few years it's lovely weather. Cyprus will be too cold now I used to live there & its not warm enough now.

We had a lovely holiday in Crete back in the late spring, at one of the resorts in the middle of an olive grove in the mountains near Heraklion. It was half-board, they had five different pools of different sizes, the food was lovely with very decent choices and there was a nice spa attached. If you wanted to eat at lunch time there was a nice bar/cafe attached to one of the pools with very good prices and large portions.

And the staff were fabulous. There was also a free bus every day down to the beach and back in time for tea if you wanted it. It was about four hours from the West Country and then we were picked up by a taxi shuttle minibus thing on arrival. We felt very safe and cared for throughout.

It does start to get a bit chillier in December, though, but it really did help us. We'd had a very rough year and it was just what we needed.

Tenerife is also on our list of places to visit at some point, possibly after Christmas.

I stayed at the lopesan Baobob in Gran Canaria a few weeks ago
Beautiful hotel with a jungle type theme
In the upmarket part of GC with lovely beaches and restaurants within 5 mins
The rooms in the hotel are beautiful as well

South Tenerife was lovely and warm when I was there in December. Lanzarote is very windy - I've been there several times at different times of year. January was the worst, we had to buy warmer clothes. Woolly jumpers etc.

I've only been to Tenerife once though so maybe it gets cold and wet there too.

Mauritius!

@CoffeeRunner

Thank you for this
I would just like to add if your friend is a mentally vulnerable (anxiety, depression etc.), single lady please steer her away from Gambia.

I totally agree. My friend is in exactly that place and vulnerable to these sort of men.

Thank you for the suggestions.

I'd already suggested Cape verde which she didn't like the idea of as it looks too big resorts only type places. I think Cyprus and Crete will be too cold for what she wants.

I'd thought really she needs to go somewhere more longhaul and was looking for ideas for an easy long haul so not too far and with limited transfer time and a relaxing atmosphere

Thailand may work for her and I'll suggest that

Last minute Caribbean cruise. There are places for November still available.

I was in Lisbon in December a few years ago and, while chilly in the evenings, it was warm enough to sit outside cafes in a light jumper in the daytime. It's a lovely city, very beautiful and friendly, and easy to get out to the coast by train too.

Or Morocco? Probably more likely to be consistently sunny, although again it is chilly in the evenings.

She was definite about wanting to just lie in the sun with a book and I get that - if you are feeling down a good dose of sun is cheering. I don't think Lisbon would allow that it's way too cold for that.

Are cruises stressful? I guess they might be if its big.

Don't go to Italy. Its currently snowing in the north, and torrential rain everywhere else.

Caribbean is fab, and direct flights to most places. Would highly recommend St Lucia

I think some people will find cruises stressful, others will not. It really depends on your friend. She might like that she can travel without any effort or organisation on her part or she may hate the idea of being stuck in a boat with people.

I would be tempted to put a range of options in front of her from totally laid back e.g. A Thai beach holiday to a bit more organised like a cruise and see what she likes.

I’ve just come back from Cyprus and its currently in the 70s temp.

Dubai is easy, and if she stays in the business district it has nice hotels and is quite. I felt very safe there.

However it doesn’t sound like she wants to go and it’s more your idea than hers.

She was definite about wanting to just lie in the sun with a book and I get that - if you are feeling down a good dose of sun is cheering. I don't think Lisbon would allow that it's way too cold for that.
Ah, OK, sorry, hadn't appreciated that. I guess it has to be long-haul then, or medium-haul at least.

I would avoid India, Turkey or North Africa as there can be quite a lot of hard sell if you go out in the touristy areas ( I have travelled on my own in India and Turkey and DH is North African). I don’t think your friend would want to deal with that.

unhelpfully this thread is now making me want to go on holiday. Really quite badly.

Miami

St. Lucia or Barbados. Direct flight of about 8 hours from London. Guaranteed sunlight with temperatures averaging 24°C - 30°C.

Both locations are generally safe for tourists and have lovely beaches.

The Canaries are guaranteed sun, and pretty warm right through the winter. Not too far either. Lanzarote is very windy so I'd give it a miss in winter. Gran Canaria (south side - north can be rainy) is good, or Tenerife.

A very peaceful safe place without tourist hordes is Puerto Mogan in Gran Canaria. No late-night noise or rowdies. It is popular with middle aged and elderly people who like to lie in the sun and go to cafes. Not much to see and do aside from boat trips out from the harbour, or taking a local bus up into the mountains if your friend feels a bit more adventurous, but it sounds like it could suit her mood.

I was in Antalya, Turkey a couple of weeks ago and it was 28 - 35 degrees every day. Glorious.

The flight is 4.5 hours and the resort wasn't too busy.

Gran Canaria - especially the south west coast - will be lovely, about 22° at the moment, and only four hours away!

Canaries sounds ideal for her actually sunny and short flight. Good work MN team. Thank you everyone for all your ideas.

Tenerife. 4 hours flight time, warm, lots of nice all inclusive places where she can relax. Some very touristy areas but you can find culture too. It'll be warmer and less windy in the south. Very safe for a single woman, locals are generally very friendly. (My parents live there)

How about a small non resort hotel in the Caribbean?

Any particular hotel recommendations @charm8ed?