Short haul long weekend destinations

[littlemisssunshine247]

DP has a few days holiday to use before Christmas and we'd like to go somewhere short haul for 2/3 days.

Considering Tromso in Norway for the Northern Lights, husky sledging etc.

Any other suggestions? It will be us and DSS16 so something interesting/cool/unusual for him would be good. Budget probably £500pp.

The Icehotel in Northern Sweden was amazing. Sleeping in a room sculpted from ice. Snowmobile trips. Sauna. Reindeer. Might be a bit budget busting but deffo appeal to a teenager

My OH and DD doing Iceland - I'm off to Gdansk 3 days in Poland for Christmas markets and some history - DD also doing 3 days in moroccos - all well under £500 each (well under £200 in most cases)

Thanks @Hobbesmanc I'll have a look at that

@grimupnorthnot Iceland's definitely on the research list and will add Poland. We went to Morocco earlier this year and the airport arrivals queue was insane so it's been vetoed

We've just got back from Marrakesh and I agree. That airport is another circle of Hell. Would put me off a weekend break.

Gothenberg, Sweden is always delightful to visit in December.

Malaga, very easy to get too, great museums and food. More than likely clear blue skies and you can sit outside...

We did Krakow a few years ago, from Tuesday to Saturday and we loved it! The Atrium Hotel is amazing and only a 5 minute walk from the main square. There is plenty to see and do, lots of trams to get to various places. It's a beautiful place.

Added to the list as I've never considered it. Thank you.

Thanks @MoonWoman69 and @BigDahliaFan

I am going to Prague soon. I think it would be good just before Christmas.

Are you near London? You can avoid flying altogether and spend a few days in Paris or Brussels by Eurostar. Or even a city that is another short train ride away.

Budapest ( especially at Christmas).
Den Haag
Rotterdam

Ice hotel is absolutely fabulous, but it's not budget friendly and they are all 2 person rooms so you'd have to take 2 rooms which increases the cost. Also the activities like dog sledding and snow mobile trips are not cheap. Maybe within budget if you just do 1 night. We did Gdansk last December and that was very affordable, and lovely. I reckon somewhere with festive Christmas markets is a good call.

About an hour from London but it would be doable

Liking the idea of Christmas markets

If you want a relaxed Christmas market you'd be hard to be Bratislava

I wouldn't bother sleeping in the ice hotel in Sweden, we just visited for the day. We got the bus rather than do expensive tours. There was a reindeer place just a bit further on I seem to recall where we went in with them and fed them and then had reindeer stew! We stayed in Kiruna and you could see the Northern lights from the town while we were there. We also went husky sledging. It was an amazing holiday. Lapland is very expensive though and 2/3 days including travel in very short.

You might be better off going somewhere for a Christmas market. Copenhagen might work well as it's small and has the Tivoli gardens Christmas market. We also did a segway tour which was a lot of fun.

So if you like the idea of Christmas markets, again Gothenburg - there is a theme park there called Liseberg, that in mid November through December opens with a Christmas theme - they have Christmas market stalls, and over a million lights decorating the park, restaurants, bars and ice shows and a skating rink.

Another option would be to fly to Basel Mulhouse airport and you have the choice of the huge selection of Christmas Market locations around the city of Basel to wander around, have a gluhwein at a restaurant or bar on the Rhein, book into a chalet for unlimited fondue or raclette at Sandoase, or Baccarat which is such a lovely Christmas experience..

www.sandoase.ch/winterdorf
baracca-zermatt.ch/bs/

There's also a tonne of amazing museums - art, pharmacy, natural history etc.

www.tinguely.ch/en.html

Free transport around the city when you book into a hotel too.

www.basel.com/EN

Also accessible from Basel Airport is the town of Colmar, which has a beautiful Christmas Market, and Strasbourg (you can fly indirectly with Ryanair) on a larger scale. www.christmas.alsace/strasbourg-christmas-market/

Krakow is amazing at that time of year. Perhaps a trip to Auschwitz would be educational and interesting for DSS. In fact a lot of things to do which are interesting. Eating out is super cheap as well.

Budapest is very cool for a teenager. Take them to a ruin bar for a drink (obviously non alcoholic but they can still.enjoy the ambience), shabby dilapidated cold war buildings decorated with street art and graffiti. Plus next door to the main ruin bar is Karavan where you can get street food. The large outdoor thermal bath is also a very cool and unique experience for both adults and teens, and a night river trip to see the amazing architecture illuminated is a must too.

Cyprus
https://www.donthibernate.co.uk/winter-weekend-in-cyprus/

I’ve enjoyed long winter weekends in Prague, Berlin, Paris, Budapest and Stockholm.