Fancy a weekend break in Mexico?
Sally Peck understands the rising popularity of short holidays to long-haul destinations
Not long after we landed in Dubai last December, my seven-year-old daughter and I were standing in a crowd gathered on the creek shoreline, mesmerised by a spinning Egyptian dancer. As he whirled to pulsing music, his swirling skirts bright with the glow of hundreds of small lights, I marvelled at how, with one overnight flight, we’d been transported to another world – and just for the weekend, too.
The promise of a spot of sun in the English winter seemed a handsome reward for a six-hour sleep on a plane (an hour less than the overnight sleeper to Scotland). We’d arrive on Friday morning and be back at home by bedtime on Sunday evening.
This isn’t your granny’s idea of a weekend break. It isn’t even Bridget Jones’s; she went to Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire with that dastardly Daniel Cleaver. But the “long-haul short break” is on the rise. No longer the preserve of oligarchs with private jets, bite-sized breaks are booming among the middle-classes, according to a new report from Thomas Cook.
According to the operator, this rise in short-break bookings beyond the European Union may have its roots in Brexit, thanks to the strength of the euro against the pound since the 2016 referendum. But, in the era of Instagrammable life adventures, it may also tap into a very British desire to make the most of one’s annual leave from work.
Thomas Cook reports that, at the start of 2019, three-night trips to Las Vegas increased by a third compared with the previous year, while the operator has also seen a surge in demand for short breaks to New York, San Francisco, Cape Town and
Mexico. Of course, part of what keeps these long-haul holidays (relatively) cheap is the operator’s “economy light fares”, off-season long-haul flights for roughly the same price as short-haul in the summer months.
Introduced in October, the fares do not include any hold luggage – so if you’re going to Vegas for three nights, you’re not only sharing a room, you’re probably also sharing a carry-on suitcase. Happily, with temperatures already nudging 30C in the desert city, you won’t need too many clothes.
Still, it’s not hard to see the appeal. In the same way that Eurostar made supper in Paris and bedtime in London a not-entirely absurd prospect, low-cost long-haul paves the way for a complete change in scene.
If you’re willing to put your environmental concerns aside – aviation already accounts for an estimated two per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, before you start swapping European city breaks for something longer-haul – the brutal truth is that there are only two ways to make these short breaks work.
‘Nothing can go wrong: there can be no strikes, inclement weather or head colds’
First, nothing can go wrong: there can be no strikes, inclement weather, head colds or childcare snafus. Secondly, unless you are superhuman – or a teenager – you must sleep. If you do not sleep well on aeroplanes, some people recommend melatonin or the purchase of the sort of painkiller-sleep aids you can buy over the counter in the United States but not here. In my experience, the best way to ensure sleep on an aeroplane is to fly business class or above, because you are not a Transformer toy and need to stretch out to sleep. On a recent two-night work trip to New York City, premium economy afforded me a good night’s kip on either side, so I arrived wellrested and ready to explore. But my own non-work budget does not run to anything beyond economy. (It’s worth using Avios points to upgrade yourself, if you can.)
Used judiciously, the long-haul mini-break can deliver a blast of culture, a jolt of sunshine and a taste of something completely different for those whose palates have long tired of the Eiffel Tower, Sagrada Familia and Brandenburg Gate.
There was much in Dubai that my daughter and I didn’t love – the beach, for one. But in our 50-hour trip, we met some wonderful people; the greatest charm of this emirate lies in the fact that, more than anywhere else, it is an international crossroads. It was on our way to the Burj Surj at the Wild Wadi Waterpark that we met a charming Kenyan family. As we queued together, an amiable Uzbekistani lifeguard, after asking where we were from, led us all in a rousing version of the Swahili song Jambo bwana, a family favourite.
Globalisation is bad. And globalisation is great. For that moment, in the sunshine in Dubai, we felt lucky to meet our new friends, happy for a break from the winter. But Cabo for 48 hours? A 12-hour flight to Mauritius for a two-night stay? You have to draw the line somewhere. I’d rather chance the English weather.