Beat the squeeze in TOASTY TENERIFE (or sizzling cyprus)
Why not join the ‘snowbirds’ who plan to avoid soaring bills with a long blast of winter sun...from €10 a night?
Is the cost-of-living crisis getting you down as winter looms? You can escape it – by packing up and heading to warmer climes. Americans have been doing this for many years – the so-called ‘snowbirds’ who flock south to Florida for months in the sun – so perhaps we should consider it, too.
With long-stay hotel rooms available from as little as a tenner a night, it’s certainly a much more pleasant way to spend hard-earned savings than blowing them on hefty household bills.
THE HEAT IS ON IN TENERIFE
Tenerife has top-class beaches galore and plenty to explore, including the striking scenery of Mount Teide National Park, while the daily winter temperature ranges from 22C to 26C (71F to 78F).
To make the most of it, a 55-night stay at the cheerful Laguna Park II self-catering apartments on Costa Adeje costs from €1,774pp (€32 a night) with Manchester flights (jet2holidays.com). Jet2 also has 55 nights in a self-catering apartment at GF Noelia Hotel, with a charming rooftop pool, in Puerto de la Cruz, from €1,910pp (€35 a night) with Stansted flights.
Meanwhile, for 28 nights allinclusive, Tui is offering Tui Suneo Tamaimo Tropical in Puerto de
Santiago from €1,757pp (€63 a night) with Manchester flights (tui.co.uk). Or it has a 28-night
all-inclusive getaway at Bahia Principe Sunlight Tenerife from €1,970pp (€70 a night).
For something a little plusher, Landmar Playa La Arena is close to the peaceful fishing village of Puerto de Santiago, with a giant pool, spa and tennis courts. A 27-night stay costs from €1,511pp, 58 nights cost from €3,169pp and 89 nights cost from €5,202pp. Each includes breakfast and Stansted flights, working out at about €57 a night (landmarhotels.com).
TIME TO EXPLORE MALTA
It’s not quite as warm in Malta during the winter as in Tenerife, with daily highs of between 16C and 25C (60F and 77F), but it’s a fascinating island with much to investigate.
An 88-day stay at the smart Solana Hotel & Spa in Mellieha, with pools and a spa costs from €1,144pp (€13 a night) room-only, with flights from Gatwick (british airways.com).
Or go half-board for 88 days at the DB Seabank Resort & Spa, also in Mellieha and with three pools, from €2,879pp (€33 a night).
Check in for 28 nights at Topaz Hotel, which has a pool, spa and cocktail bar in the resort of Bugibba, and pay from €284pp (€10 a night) with Gatwick flights (thomascook.com). The travel giant also offers 28 nights allinclusive at the Cardor Holiday Complex in St Paul’s Bay from €871pp (€31 a night), also with Gatwick flights. Or for 60 days at the luxurious Xara Palace, a 17thCentury palace within Mdina, it’s €4,645pp (€77 a night), including Heathrow flights, a wine-tasting, five days’ car hire and restaurant discounts (xarapalace.com.mt).
CHILLING OUT IN DUBAI
Dubai offers winter daily highs of up to 35C (95F), and with theme parks, beaches, massive shopping malls and even an indoor ski slope, there’s plenty to keep you busy on a long getaway.
Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef in the old town by Dubai Creek, has minimalist rooms and a rooftop pool bar. Stays of 30 nights cost from €2,515pp (€84 a night), 60 nights from €4,267pp (€71 a night), and 90 nights from €5,949pp (€66 a night), all with breakfast included and either Manchester or Heathrow flights (emiratesholidays.com).
Cheaper still, Rove At The Park, close to Legoland and Bollywood Parks, has simple rooms for three months from €3,856pp (€43 a night) with Heathrow flights. It has a large outdoor pool and a laundrette – useful for long stays (travelrepublic.co.uk). From Manchester, the price is €4,039pp (€44 a night).
Alternatively, three months’ B&B at the Doubletree by Hilton in the neighbouring emirate of Ras Al Khaimah costs from €3,963pp (€44 a night), complete with a free beach shuttle, pool, spa and gym. Going all-inclusive costs €8,163pp (€91 a night). B&B at the nearby waterside Hilton Garden Inn, with a lap pool and tennis courts, costs from €5,197pp (€57 a night). Both hotels include Heathrow flights and transfers (britishairways.com).
OLD AND NEW CYPRUS
Cyprus is a good choice for a long getaway thanks to so many interesting cities and ancient sites to visit on cheap local buses. And with temperatures from 17C to 27C (62F to 80F) between October and April, you can expect pleasantly warm days as you do so.
A 53-night B&B stay at Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort, a modern hotel with a huge pool that’s within easy walking distance of a beach, costs from €1,311pp (€25 a night); for all-inclusive it’s €2,615pp (€49 a night). Both of these offers include Stansted flights (jet2holidays.com).
Another possibility, also from Jet2, is 53 nights’ B&B near Limassol’s old town at the bright and breezy Kapetanios Hotel from €1,447pp (€27 a night).
For more of a hideaway, the simple but charming Leonidas Village self-catering houses, set around a little pool, are in the quiet village of Goudi, not far from Paphos.
For 28 nights the price is from €569pp (€20 a night) with flights from Stansted (olympicholidays. com).
Olympic also offers 28 nights from €1,177pp (€42 a night) at the restful Kotzias Beach self-catering apartments in a quiet spot by
Pissouri Bay, with a pool and a nearby beach. Flights from Edinburgh.
LAZY DAYS IN LANZAROTE
Expect temperatures of 21C to 27C (70F to 80F) over the winter. There’s a huge amount to see and do, from exploring the peaceful volcanic interior to going to the San Bartolome market.
Set around a courtyard with a pool, the self-catering Tabaiba Apartments in the resort town of Costa Teguise on the northeast coast cost from €1,457pp for 55 nights (€26 a night) with Glasgow, Stansted or East Midland flights and transfers (jet2holidays.com).
Or try the smart Cinco Plaza Apartments in the heart of Puerto del Carmen, each with a goodsized balcony and many facing a large central pool, which Tui is offering from €1,010pp for 28 nights (€36 a night) with Gatwick flights (tui.co.uk). Tui also has 28 nights all-inclusive at Tui Suneo El Trebol in Costa Teguise from €1,461pp (€52 a night) with Gatwick flights.
CUT COSTAS IN SPAIN
Night temperatures along the costas of the south of Spain can dip as low as 5C (41F) in winter, but the daily highs are 17C to 25C (62F to 77F). While the big resorts and towns – Benidorm, Alicante, Malaga, Torremolinos – are wellknown holiday spots, it’s worth trying Nerja on a pretty coastline 56km east of Malaga.
A 52-night B&B stay at Hotel Toboso Chaparil costs from €1,089pp (€20 a night) with Stansted flights – rooms are small (as is the pool) but the lounge area and terrace are pleasant, and the old town is close by (jet2holidays. com).
The firm is also offering 52 nights in Benidorm, staying at the basic but reasonably sized Alpha Apartments in the heart of the highrises, from €936pp (€18 a night) with Manchester flights.
Or how about two months in a modern mobile home at the Alannia Costa Blanca Resort, which costs from €1,674 (€28 a night), with access to indoor and outdoor pools, a gym, sauna and steam room? The mobile homes come with two or three bedrooms, satellite TV and terraces, and all electricity and gas is included (europarcs.com). Flights to the nearest airport, Alicante, cost from €51 return (easyjet.com).
MOROCCO MAKES SENSE
Temperatures can drop in Marrakech during winter, but aim further south and Agadir, a major oceanfront city with great beaches, is noticeably warmer.
Thomas Cook is charging just €2,905pp for 28 nights (€104 a night), with Gatwick flights, staying at the Bahir City Hotel.Rooms are small, as is the pool (thomascook.com).
Splash out a bit more for 28 nights at the more modern Hamilton Agadir, also with a pool, from €3,820pp (€136 a night).