Winter sun in the school holidays

[LaserShark]

I’m browsing winter sun holidays that would have to take place either the last week of the Christmas holidays (so, back to school on Monday 6 January) or the February half term.

My dream would be the Caribbean but we haven’t got £10,000+ to spend! I’m thinking more like £4,000 - is that really feasible?

We don’t need loads of activities, kids are 9 and 5 years old but very happy with a beach and a pool though they love a kids’ club as well.

I’m totally clueless as usually we would do an all inclusive Greek summer holiday which is really easy to find but am already dreading the dark days of winter and feeling like a sunshine boost would be better for us in December or February than August!

Winter sun in really nice places is high season. So inevitably prices are high. Especially if it takes in New Year which your dates do.

What about a city holiday? Marrakesh or Cairo or Red Sea would be doable and in budget.

£4K for a weeks break over New Year as you say OP in the Caribbean from the quick look I’ve had doesn’t look do-able unfortunately. I’ve just had a look at Mexico at the Riviera del Maya to see if that would come in budget as it fits the beach, hot weather brief. We stayed in Cozumel (island off the coast) which wouldn’t but you could get a week for the 4 of you leaving on the 29th of December in Cancun from £950 if you look at Travelsupermaket.com. On the plus side it’ll be about 24 degrees, the resorts look decent, the beaches nice & there are Mayan ruins & old cities nearish by. On the flipside, I’ve only driven through it but Cancun is a bit built up with hotels and it’s a fair way to go for a week. Depends on what you want though & if that sun, sea, beach & pool it’s worth looking at?

When I used to live in Dubai (which I wouldn’t particularly recommend!) we used to spend our Christmas in Fujairah, a neighbouring Emirate which would come in under your £4K budget, has similar temps to Mexico (average 24 degrees) and has mountains, great beaches and would be less flight time. It’s far less built up than Dubai & if you hire a jeep for a day you can explore wadis, old hill forts & mangroves. It’s not as lively as Dubai but a lot more attractive and fits your brief. A week with flights is about £900 pp at a decent hotel flying out on the 29th - try m.awayholidays.co.uk

Not been to Cairo but Egypt as PP has said has a lot of deals and could be interesting? Marrakech is a very vibrant, colourful & completely mad city! We had our first 3 nights in a Riad in the Medina & I found the Medina hard work with our then 6 year old - half the place isn’t on a map, there are few pavements & a constant stream of bikes and the odd donkey cart to pull your kid out of the way off. There are lots of big AI places on the outskirts which are very child orientated & cheap which would be a better bet. It’ll only be about 20 degrees on average though in December so depends on how hardy your kids are about colder pools!

Thanks for so many ideas! I might be being a bit ambitious. I just had a bad bout of low mood last February and I think it was linked to the dark days - or at least they didn’t help. I feel like an injection of sunshine might ward it off a bit - but not sure it’s ideal with young children on our budget!

Maybe look at the Canaries? Not been but friends of ours regularly go AI to Grand Canaria over the New Year. Not quite the Caribbean i know but shorter flight, sunshine, palm trees around the pool and probably well within budget? Just a thought anyway!

Not Egypt, it remains unstable politically.

I would look at the Canary Islands.

Maybe one of the cheaper Caribbean destinations might come in under budget? Somewhere like Dominican Republic?

I’m thinking the Canaries is most likely - thanks!

We did the Gambia in Feb and it was great as hot but no jet lag. We had to take anti-malarial drugs though.

Is India an option?