Ski & save into 17
SEE in the New Year in the Austrian Alps and get a massive £900 off an eight-night ski holiday in StAnton. The stay at the Chalet Hotel Rosanna – including meals and wine at dinner – costs from £699pp instead of £1,599, based on two sharing. Price includes Gatwick to Friedrichshafen return flights, plus transfers, on December 31. igluski.com or call 0203 811 6381. WHEN all the excitement and frenzy of Christmas is done and dusted, you’ll be in need of a holiday escape to look forward to. Here, Andrew Eames picks out some of the best...
Marrakech for £142
YOU GO: Very few holidays are as irresistibly inexpensive as this short all-inclusive break in exotic Morocco, the unhurried North African nation with a French accent. YOU GET: Marrakech is one of the world’s most visually appealing cities, with an ancient narrow-laned medina at its core, complete with a labyrinth of a souq, set against the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains. Its famous square, the theatrical Jemaa El Fna, is full of snakecharmers and musicians by day, and turns into a giant open-air restaurant by night. YOU PAY: £142pp for four nights, including flights, accommodation and food and drink in the Aqua Mirage Club at Oulad Ikhia (free shuttle). Departing London Stansted on February 6, 2017. See teletextholidays.co.uk.
Val D’Isere for £249
YOU GO: The French ski resort of Val D’Isere is enormously popular with the British, who love its extensive slopes and lively apres ski opportunities. It‘s not usually this cheap. YOU GET: The Val has a huge ski area and the charm of an alpine village, plus state-of-the-art facilities, including ski lifts with heated seats. If you can travel in January and can gather four other like-minded individuals, then you can take advantage of a £240 discount on the value-formoney, three-star Val D’Isere Centre Studios. Space is tight though, so you’ll want to be out as much as possible, either skiing or partying. YOU PAY: £249pp for a week, including return flights from London Gatwick to Chambery, accommodation and transfers, departing on January 14, 2017. See inghams.co.uk.
French camping for £380
YOU GO: With half-term falling at the end of May, this is a real chance to take the family away for a first taste of summer freedom. YOU GET: Camping La Croix du Vieux Pont is a fine example of what the French do best: a bells-and-whistles campsite with all the necessary lakes, pools and slides, but this is one you don’t have to plough across France to get to, because it’s at Berny Riviere in Picardy, north east of Paris. That means easy access too the big city and of course to Disneyland. YOU PAY: £380 (£180 discount) for a week in a two-bedroom safari tent with decking. Ideal for budgetconscious families. See venueholidays.com.
Penang for £525
YOU GO: What could be better than a week on an island in Southeast Asia, where the sea is warm, the beaches are good, the food is amazing and the culture incredibly rich? YOU GET: Thanks to a Malaysia Airlines s sale, you can have all the above for less than the normal cost of a flight ticket. Several destinations on the network are on offer (eg Langkawi and Phuket), but Penang is the best deal. The beach may not be as good as Langkawi, but the food and the proximity to vibrant island capital Georgetown, with its Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures, make this break a winner. YOU PAY: £525pp for flights, transfers and seven nights’ B&B in a three-star hotel on the beach for departures in May and June. See trailfinders.com.
LuxuryL Egypt for £619
YOUY GO: The Foreign Office advises against t travel to parts of Egypt, but not to the Red Sea coast, with its glorious climate and fabulous undersea life. YOUY GET: Soma Bay is a cluster of recently-built, f famous-brand hotels around a bay on the Red Sea, but still within driving distance of Luxor and the Nile Valley for excursions. You’d never normally get to stay in somewhere as swish as this for such a decent price, but the security situation elsewhere in the country has kept rates very low. YOUY PAY: £619pp for seven nights’ B&B in the Soma Bay Kempinski, including flights and transfers via Hurghada. holiday-designers.com.