Where to go on holiday in January 2016

Smoking the Fool is part of the Haxey Hood tradition

Christopher Furlong / Thinkstock

For beach bums...

Short haul: Porto Santo, Portugal 

If you want to treat your pallid skin to some sun and wander upon sandy shores this winter, but can’t face going long haul, ponder Porto Santo.

One of the lesser-known islands in the Madeira archipelago, this balmy bolthole is crowd-free and clement come January – and the flight takes just three hours from chilly London.

Lauded for its beaches, Christopher Columbus used the pint-sized island as a hideaway between voyages and his stone house is a museum today. That’s about it for attractions, but then you don’t come here for culture.

If it's good enough for Columbus, it's good enough for us
Francisco LeitA#o / Thinkstock

Long haul: Puerto Rico

The Caribbean shores of Puerto Rico are now just a (reasonably priced) flight away from Britain thanks to… Bruce Forsythe, actually.

Well, sort of. The veteran TV host and his Puerto Rican wife helped launch the UK’s only direct service to the island this month (operated by low-cost carrier, Norwegian, not Brucey), opening up the Caribbean’s beaches and salsa scene to British tourists.

As well as sashaying between beach bars, holidaymakers can kick back on Puerto Rico’s gold star shores – Mar Chiquita, Luquillo and Flamenco are about as good as beaches get –, trek through the jungle and dive on coral reefs.

These shores are now just a direct flight away from the UK
Creative Commons / Raul Colon

For culture vultures…

Short haul: Burghead, Scotland

Does your New Year’s Eve never seem to go to plan? Ever found yourself drunkenly crumpled in a corner or unknowingly twisting tongues with an attractive relative? Well, this year, grant yourself a second bite of the cherry.

In Burghead, a pretty 17th-century fishing village in Northern Scotland, people celebrate New Year’s Eve twice, with a second celebration on 11 January – the last day of the year according to the Julian calendar.

The town sways in drunken merriment during the Burning of the Clavie festival, which culminates in a spectacular bonfire on the ramparts of an ancient hill fort.

Picking up the bonfire's embers is said to bring good luck
Creative Commons / Elizabeth Oliver

Long haul: Brisbane, Australia

As the mercury bubbles towards the 30°C (86°F) mark on Australia’s east coast, Brisbane is at its most vibrant, with locals sunning themselves on South Bank’s Street Beach, sauntering round the Museum of Modern Art or sampling the surf at Noosa, a short drive away.

But of course, there’s one attraction that steals the headlines each January: the city’s annual Cockroach Races. Throughout the day, cockroaches compete across a variety of courses with cash prizes for those finishing first, second and third.

Participants are encouraged to rear their own roach, but a house stable is on offer where running roaches can be purchased for $5.

City beaches, surf and cockroaches, the ideal combination?
Thinkstock / Bozidar Jokanovic / Brians 101 / Will Luo

For thrill-seekers…

Short haul: Haxey, Lincolnshire

England couldn’t even pivot the pool stage of the Rugby World Cup, so how they’d fare in the village of Haxey, Lincolnshire on 6 January doesn’t bear brooding about.

For over 700 years, it has hosted the game of Haxey Hood. The rules are simple: following a few hours of free beer in the village pubs, a rolled up Hessian sack is launched into the air before a sway (similar to a rugby scrum) of players surrounds it in an attempt to walk the sack to one of four local boozers.

Anyone can take part and it all ends with more free beer once the sack makes it into the hands of one of the four landlords. What’s not to – hic – love?

The Fool holds the Haxey Hood ahead of the contest
Christopher Furlong / Thinkstock

Long haul: Mera Peak, Nepal

The gruelling, 17-day ascent to Nepal’s 6,476m-high (21,247ft) Mera Peak is not for the faint-hearted. In fact, the peu difficile climb, which presents a panorama of five of the six highest mountains on Earth, requires ice axe and crampon experience, plus the willing to scramble ice-covered scree and snowy rocks.

Following last year’s earthquakes and prolonged, overcautious travel advice, uptake for Nepalese holidays has been sluggish. However, with the Mera Peak route given the all-clear, and Exodus donating £100 from every trekker to locals in need, January’s hike could be the most rewarding ever.

Mera Peak offers a panorama of the world's highest mountains
Zzvet / Thinkstock

Enjoyed this? Then have a read of these:
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