The American ‘snowbirds’ have been doing it for years – flocking to sun-kissed Florida to flee harsh winters within the north of the country. And now Britons are following the trend of escaping to warmer climes abroad, especially because the cost-of-living crisis begins to bite.
With long-stay hotel rooms available from as little as £8.89 an evening, it’s actually a way more nice solution to spend hard-earned savings than losing them to hefty household bills…
THE HEAT IS ON IN TENERIFE – FROM £28
Warm welcome: With the rising cost of living in Britain, escaping abroad for a protracted winter sun holiday is a more nice solution to spend hard-earned savings than losing them to hefty household bills. Jet2 Holidays has 55 nights in a self-catering apartment at GF Noelia Hotel in Puerto de la Cruz (pictured), Tenerife, from £30 an evening
Tenerife has top-class beaches galore and lots to explore, including the striking scenery of Mount Teide National Park, while the every day winter temperature ranges from 22C to 26C (71F to 78F).
To benefit from it, a 55-night stay on the cheerful Laguna Park II self-catering apartments on Costa Adeje costs from £1,557pp (£28 an evening) with Manchester flights (jet2holidays.com). Jet2 also has 55 nights in a self-catering apartment at GF Noelia Hotel, with an enthralling rooftop pool, in Puerto de la Cruz, from £1,676pp (£30 an evening) with Stansted flights.
Meanwhile, for 28 nights all-inclusive, Tui is offering Tui Suneo Tamaimo Tropical in Puerto de Santiago from £1,542pp (£55 an evening) with Manchester flights (tui.co.uk). Or it has a 28-night all-inclusive getaway at Bahia Principe Sunlight Tenerife from £1,729pp (£61 an evening).
For something just a little plusher, Landmar Playa La Arena is near the peaceful fishing village of Puerto de Santiago, with an enormous pool, spa and tennis courts. A 27-night stay costs from £1,326pp, 58 nights cost from £2,805pp and 89 nights cost from £4,565pp. Each includes breakfast and Stansted flights, figuring out at about £50 an evening (landmarhotels.com).
TIME TO EXPLORE MALTA – FROM £8.89
The luxurious Xara Palace hotel in the traditional Maltese city of Mdina, pictured, is offering a 60-day stay for £67 an evening
An 88-day stay via British Airways on the smart Solana Hotel & Spa in Mellieha (above), with pools and a spa costs from £1,144pp (£13 an evening) room-only, with flights from Gatwick for bookings made before September 20
Check in for 28 nights at Topaz Hotel, which has a pool, spa and cocktail bar within the resort of Bugibba (above), and pay from £249pp (£8.89 an evening) with Gatwick flights (thomascook.com )
It is not quite as warm in Malta through the winter as in Tenerife, with every day highs of between 16C and 25C (60F and 77F), however it’s an interesting island with much to research.
An 88-day stay on the smart Solana Hotel & Spa in Mellieha, with pools and a spa costs from £1,144pp (£13 an evening) room-only, with flights from Gatwick for bookings made before September 20 (britishairways.com).
Or go half-board for 88 days on the DB Seabank Resort & Spa, which has three pools, from £2,572pp (£29 an evening).
Check in for 28 nights at Topaz Hotel, which has a pool, spa and cocktail bar within the resort of Bugibba, and pay from £249pp (£8.89 an evening) with Gatwick flights (thomascook.com). The travel giant also offers 28 nights all-inclusive on the Cardor Holiday Complex in St Paul’s Bay from £764pp (£27 an evening), also with Gatwick flights. For 60 days on the luxurious Xara Palace, a seventeenth Century palace inside Mdina, it’s £4,077pp (£67 an evening), including Heathrow flights, a wine-tasting, five days’ automobile hire and restaurant discounts (xarapalace.com.mt).
CHILL OUT IN DUBAI – FROM £37
Cover by Hilton Dubai Al Seef, within the old town by Dubai Creek (above), has minimalist rooms and a rooftop pool bar. A 30-night stay is priced from £73 an evening with Emirates Holidays
Dubai offers winter every day highs of as much as 35C (95F), and with theme parks, beaches, massive shopping malls and even an indoor ski slope, there’s plenty to maintain you busy on a protracted getaway.
Cover by Hilton Dubai Al Seef, near the British Embassy within the old town by Dubai Creek, has minimalist rooms and a rooftop pool bar. Stays of 30 nights cost from £2,207pp (£73 an evening), 60 nights from £3,753pp (£62 an evening), and 90 nights from £5,221pp (£58 an evening), all with breakfast included and either Manchester or Heathrow flights (emiratesholidays.com).
Cheaper still, Rove At The Park, near Legoland and Bollywood Parks, has easy rooms for 3 months from £3,384pp (£37 an evening) with Heathrow flights. It has a big outdoor pool and a laundrette – useful for long stays (travelrepublic.co.uk). From Manchester, the worth is £3,545pp (£39 an evening).
Alternatively, three months’ B&B on the Doubletree by Hilton within the neighbouring emirate of Ras Al Khaimah costs from £3,478pp (£39 an evening), complete with a free beach shuttle, pool, spa and gym. Going all-inclusive costs £7,164pp (£79 an evening). B&B on the nearby waterside Hilton Garden Inn, with a lap pool and tennis courts, costs from £4,561pp (£50 an evening). Each hotels include Heathrow flights and transfers (britishairways.com).
OLD AND NEW CYPRUS – FROM £17
Easy charms: Olympic Holidays offers 28 nights from £17 an evening at Leonidas Village (above) in Cyprus, which has self-catering apartments set around a pool
Cyprus is a great selection for a protracted getaway due to so many interesting cities and ancient sites to go to on low cost local buses. And with temperatures from 17C to 27C (62F to 80F) between October and April, you may expect pleasantly warm days as you accomplish that.
A 53-night B&B stay at Paphos Gardens Holiday Resort, a contemporary hotel with an enormous pool that’s inside easy walking distance of a beach, costs from £1,151pp (£21 an evening); for all-inclusive it’s £2,295pp (£43 an evening). Each of those offers include Stansted flights (jet2holidays.com).
One other possibility, also from Jet2, is 53 nights’ B&B near Limassol’s old town at the brilliant and breezy Kapetanios Hotel from £1,270pp (£23 an evening).
For more of a hideaway, the straightforward but charming Leonidas Village self-catering houses, set around just a little pool, are within the quiet village of Goudi, not removed from Paphos. For 28 nights the worth is from £499pp (£17 an evening) with flights from Stansted (olympicholidays.com). Olympic also offers 28 nights from £1,033pp (£36 an evening) on the restful Kotzias Beach self-catering apartments in a quiet spot by Pissouri Bay, with a pool and a close-by beach. Flights from Edinburgh.
LAZY DAYS IN LANZAROTE – FROM £23
Unwind on the self-catering Tabaiba Apartments within the resort town of Costa Teguise, pictured, on Lanzarote’s north-east coast from £23 an evening with Jet2 Holidays
Expect temperatures of 21C to 27C (70F to 80F) over the winter. There’s an enormous 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 within the resort town of Costa Teguise on the north-east coast cost from £1,279pp for 55 nights (£23 an evening) with Glasgow, Stansted or East Midland flights and transfers (jet2holidays.com).
Or try the smart Cinco Plaza Apartments in the center of Puerto del Carmen, each with a good-sized balcony and lots of facing a big central pool, which Tui is offering from £887pp for 28 nights (£31 an evening) with Gatwick flights (tui.co.uk). Tui also has 28 nights all-inclusive at Tui Suneo El Trebol in Costa Teguise from £1,283pp (£45 an evening) with Gatwick flights.
CUT COSTAS IN SPAIN – FROM £15
Jet2 Holidays is offering 52 nights in Benidorm (pictured), staying on the ‘basic but reasonably sized’ Alpha Apartments, from £15 an evening
Night temperatures along the costas of the south of Spain can dip as little as 5C (41F) in winter, however the every day highs are 17C to 25C (62F to 77F). While the massive resorts and towns – Benidorm, Alicante, Malaga, Torremolinos – are well-known and residential to many Brits, it’s price trying Nerja on a fairly coastline 35 miles east of Malaga.
A 52-night B&B stay at Hotel Toboso Chaparil costs from £956pp (£18 an evening) with Stansted flights – rooms are small (as is the pool) however the lounge area and terrace are nice, and the old town is close by (jet2holidays.com).
The firm can also be offering 52 nights in Benidorm, staying at the fundamental but reasonably sized Alpha Apartments in the center of the high-rises, from £822pp (£15 an evening) with Manchester flights.
Or how about two months in a contemporary mobile home on the Alannia Costa Blanca Resort, which costs from £1,470 (£24 an evening), with access to indoor and outdoor pools, a gym, sauna and steam room? The mobile homes include two or three bedrooms, satellite TV and terraces, and all electricity and gas is included (europarcs.com). Flights to the closest airport, Alicante, cost from £45 return (easyjet.com).
MOROCCO MAKES SENSE – FROM £9
Agadir in Morocco (pictured) is a great option for those in the hunt for sunnier climes because it has great beaches and is ‘noticeably warmer’ than Marrakech during winter. Thomas Cook is charging just £255pp for 28 nights (£9 an evening), with Gatwick flights, staying on the Bahia City Hotel
Temperatures can drop in Marrakech during winter, but aim further south and Agadir, a significant ocean-front city with great beaches, is noticeably warmer.
Thomas Cook is charging just £255pp for 28 nights (£9 an evening), with Gatwick flights, staying on the Bahia City Hotel. Rooms are small, as is the pool (thomascook.com).
Splash out a couple of kilos more for 28 nights on the more modern Hamilton Agadir, also with a pool, from £354pp (£12 an evening).
ESSENTIAL CHECKS TO DO BEFORE BOOKING YOUR LONG-STAY GETAWAY
- All the time check the room basis – the associated fee difference between room-only and all-inclusive shall be huge.
- If you happen to go for a self-catering apartment, check what the kitchen is like. For long stays, you won’t be pleased if there’s only a microwave.
- Don’t book a spot that’s too distant – it’s a lot better to at the very least be on the sting of a town with restaurant options, supermarkets, laundrettes and so forth, then you definitely don’t rely entirely in your hotel.
- Take into consideration what activities can be found for exercise: mountaineering trails, swimming, parks.
- Of the foremost tour operators, Jet2 Holidays, Thomas Cook and British Airways Holidays are likely to have the perfect deals.
- Also consider online self-catering apartment options offered by Airbnb (airbnb.co.uk) or Vrbo (vrbo.com) – and buy flights individually.
- Most significantly: you should remember the rule that Britons can now stay within the EU for under 90 days in any 180-day period and not using a visa. See the section ‘Visiting the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein’ at gov.uk.
