December is the ideal time to sidestep the hectic holiday season by taking a holiday of your own. Escape your regularly scheduled life in the first half of the month and take advantage of lower prices and crowds, or postpone your travel joy (for just a couple of weeks) to join in sparkling seasonal celebrations around the world.
Scroll down to find a globe’s worth of exciting spots to keep those winter blues far, far away this December.
As always, check for travel restrictions and closures before planning your trip.
Basel, Switzerland
Embrace Basel’s holiday spirit with a scarf and a smile. Until Christmas Eve, the Old Town in this fairy-tale city on the Rhine twinkles with 180 Christmas market stalls and rustic-wood mini-chalets with roofs as white as winter snow.
Climb to the top of adjacent Basel Cathedral to see the shimmering sea of lights below — including a huge Christmas tree trimmed with famed Johann Wanner ornaments — and add your holiday hopes and dreams to the Basel Wish Book. Temperatures hover in the low 40s, but you can rely on Swiss hot chocolate and fondue to keep you warm and cozy.
Palm Springs, California
When it’s freezing almost everywhere else in America, take heart: December in the Coachella Valley is sunny and breezy, with high temperatures generally in the low 70s. Hike the two-mile Palm Canyon Trail to see the world’s largest fan palm oasis, survey snow-topped mountains from the Aerial Tramway, and feel the glow of the Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade.
At night, cozy up by a fire pit — available to both hotel guests and bar patrons at either the Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel or The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa — then lean back and be dazzled by a desert sky full of stars.
Whistler, British Columbia
The December slopes at Whistler Blackcomb are generally packed with dry powder and lighter crowds than in January, so you can ski, snowboard and snowmobile to your heart’s content. Or explore more level terrain while cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or dog-sledding — and take a deep breath of the cool, crisp Canadian air.
Trinidad & Tobago
In this dual-island nation in the southernmost Caribbean, December’s soft afternoon rains bring lush greenery and lower room prices. With spicy and flavorful cuisine, slinky calypso music and pristine beaches set the spicy scene on both islands, but Trinidad is also known for its jungles, waterfalls and tar-bottomed lake. Smaller, less populated Tobago is famed for its forest reserve full of hummingbirds.
Guayaquil and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
On Ecuador’s desert coast, December brings warmer temps (averaging 85 degrees), with a mix of sun, drizzle and calm breezes. Giant Galapagos tortoises begin to hatch on seven of the Galapagos’ legendary islands, and visibility is excellent for snorkeling.
Come New Year’s Eve, locals in the port city of Guayaquil take to the streets for a giant party with music and a fireworks show, as well as the effigy-burning of famous figures. Men dress in drag to symbolize the “widow of the old year,” and you’re likely to see someone running down the street with an empty suitcase, inviting future travels.
Hong Kong
The dry season in Hong Kong begins in mid-December, with clear skies and temps in the 60s, so you can ditch that winter coat for a light sweater. For the holidays, the city drapes itself in a solar system’s worth of Christmas lights, and shopping avenues are stocked with, well, everything.
Eat your way around the world at the massive Hong Kong Food Festival. Then ring in the New Year with glittering fireworks over Victoria Harbour.
Bhutan’s Paro Valley
The lovely Paro Valley offers fresh, clean air and sunny skies in December, while average temps of 40 degrees ensure lighter crowds. You’ll feel transported upon seeing Himalayan peaks tower above emerald-green rice paddies, brushy bamboo forests and ornate riverside fortresses.
If you visit only one magnificent cliffside monastery here, make it Gangtey, where black-necked cranes gather along their winter migration from Tibet.
Adelaide and the Barossa Valley, South Australia
December is the start of summer Down Under, but the state capital of Adelaide celebrates the Christmas season with fabulous light displays all over town, such as Illuminate Adelaide and the Lights of Lobethal.
And while December is cold and rainy in the Northern Hemisphere’s wine regions, in Australia’s Barossa Valley — home to more than 180 wineries — you’ll find rolling vineyards of leafy, old-growth grapevines bathed in warm sunshine.
Accra, Ghana
For one late-December day, Afrochella takes over the Ghanian capital’s 7,000-seat El Wak Stadium with a Millennial-focused celebration of African culture, music, art, fashion and foods (such as fermented-corn banku and spicy-tomato jollof rice).
Temps in this dry season can hit the mid-90s, so suit up in a light, custom-tailored outfit of colorful kente cloth and hit the city’s huge Makola Market, a slew of fascinating historic museums and lively waterfront cafés along Labadi Beach.
By Melanie Wynne For Marriot Bonvoy
