Ideas for a December surprise trip within six hours of the UK

[Stokefolk]

my DH has a significant birthday late this year, and I was going to surprise him with a trip to Jordan. He had previously expressed seeing Petra and the Dead Sea. This trip now looks as though it may not be able to take place.

Where else could I take him as a surprise for 4/5 days, in December, no more than 6 hour flight outside of the UK.

Where would you recommend and why?

Id prefer to have a different climate to the UK, so either sun and beaches or snow and cold.

i had been toying with the following ideas
svalbard
amsterdam
cape verde
egypt
morocco

throw your ideas my way!

I'd go to Iceland.

Amsterdam has basically the same climate as the UK, nice town but hardly that special.

My vote would be Iceland or Lapland, there are also tours for adults only.

It's a bit longer than 6 hours but otherwise Caribbean is great in December.

We went to Prague for a big birthday of mine in December. There was snow on the ground and it was really pretty and plenty to see and do. I wouldn't go to the Caribbean for 4-5 days and Lapland is soooo cold, but a lot of people like it. I personally found it too cold.

Another vote for Iceland. Stunning, so many epic tours to do, chance of decent Northern lights and a great city too.

Bear in mind that unless you can leave at stupid o'clock in the morning and come home at a late time, you can knock off almost two days due to the journey and all that entails!

I'd definitely pick a city destination, since it would be Winter in the sun destinations in Europe anyway. Iceland is a good shout, although the cold might be too much depending on how hardy you are!

In order of preference, and ease of access here are my favourites for a short break.

Malaga city. From around the beginning of December on, the city goes all out for Christmas with fantastic lights and decos etc. The atmosphere is great and the food is amazing, shopping terrific and you could take a day trip to Seville and/or Cordoba or Granada. Granada will be very cold too, but the Alhambra is a once in a lifetime thing.

Venice. Need I say more? Magical in Winter and very atmospheric. You could take a day trip to Verona if inclined.

Rome, see above.

Vienna, magical in Winter.

Tops for me though for a Winter break is Malaga. There's always a chance of good weather down there, and if not, it doesn't rain inside a tapas bar 😊

You'd have to go a long way south for sun and beaches in December, so you may have to head north for the snow and cold. We did Iceland in February this year and had great time. The downside of Iceland will be that the hours of daylight in December will be brief. You're looking at about 5 hours of daylight in early December, falling to 4 hours as you near the solstice. On the plus side, conditions should be good for seeing the northern lights.

A couple of years ago we did Copenhagen in February. It's colder there than in the UK but not wildly so. They really know how to do winter there. People still sit outside on pavement cafes in winter as the cafes provide blankets and outdoor heaters.

Tromso. Have been to Iceland in winter and whilst it’s great Tromso just pips it. And we saw the NL every night.

Try and stretch it to a week. As pp has said you’ll lose two days to travel especially with a longish flight. My suggestions are:

Madeira - absolutely beautiful lots of levada walks, breathtaking views. Good food and wine. Sub tropical climate.

Rome - magical at Christmas and loads to see. Good food and wine.

Cape Verde is the last place I would go.

Madeira seems to be having a moment and would be warm but not hot.

Wildcard here... Newfoundland?

Madeira. Pleasant climate, plenty to do, good food, & <4 hours flight.

Iceland, we've just spent easter there, absolutely amazing, crossed two items off our bucket list (northern lights and humpback whales) within 18 hours of landing. 4-5 days is the perfect amount of time, and its only a 2.5 hour flight.

Luxor - if you are London there are direct flights (easyJet and Ryanair). No beaches but Nile river and plenty of sun. And amazing ancient sites.

Luxor/Marrakech/Athens

Had brilliant holidays over Christmas in these places - so much stuff to go and see and the weather is very different to the UK

Morocco would be my pick as the flying time isn’t too bad and it should be pleasantly warm (not necessarily hot though) I liked it for a few days and it’s definitely a different culture. Book a trip into the Atlas Mountains with a guide to explore inland

Helsinki. Lovely in the winter.

There are some fabulous ideas here! Thanks so much! DH has visited Iceland before, though I haven’t. Tromso looks interesting, as does Luxor and the Nile. Thank you!

Egyptair not Ryanair though 🤦‍♀️

I'd go Aurora chasing in northern Finland. Very different from any other 'cold' holiday.

I would say northern lights
too. Anything Northern Europe will be magical.

Iceland is astonishing, but bear in mind that you’ll only get 4-5 hrs daylight a day in December. We went in early November and stayed in Reykavik. We just about had enough daylight to go the Golden Circle tour in daylight.

Marrakech. We went in December and had beautiful blue skies - cold morning and evening but warm in between. You can include a desert trip and Atlas trip if you want variety.

Amsterdam is my favourite place in the world but it’ll be v cold then which isn’t so nice.

Cape Verde is a dire shit hole and don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise. I spent 20 years as a travel agent and the amount of complaints we got from there was 10 times any other country.

Some of the Spanish cities would be good, I'd go with wherever the flights were most convenient/cheapest. Lots of interesting historical stuff, likely good weather, good food/bar scene and the Christmas lights are spectacular, although you'll learn why it's not a good idea to light up a palm tree.

Bologna with a day trip to Venice on the fast train