The festive season offers travellers a chance to step away from familiar routines and turn a holiday into something memorable. For some, that means a traditional country-house Christmas, complete with roaring fires, seasonal dining and winter walks. For others, it is an opportunity to trade cold weather for an African safari, explore the Arctic beneath the polar night or welcome the New Year in one of Europe's historic cities.
Across destinations ranging from Namibia and Tanzania to Norway, Scotland, Wales and Italy, hotels and specialist operators are preparing experiences that combine accommodation with seasonal celebrations, local culture and distinctive surroundings. Whether the priority is a family adventure, a romantic winter escape or a celebratory break to welcome 2027, these festive stays offer inspiration for the holiday season.
Christmas escapes
Festive family adventures at Mokuti Etosha, Namibia
Celebrate the festive season at Mokuti Etosha with a special offer designed to make every moment memorable, including a delicious three-course dinner, a hearty breakfast, an exhilarating game drive and an entertaining snake show, the perfect way for families to experience the magic of Etosha together. Just 40 metres from Etosha National Park's Von Lindequist Gate, Mokuti Etosha offers families a luxurious base for game drives and wildlife encounters. The 114-room lodge welcomes children of all ages with flexible accommodation, child-friendly menus and immersive activities designed to nurture a love of adventure from the earliest years. For those seeking added privacy, the new Ombala Presidential Suite, a standalone villa with its own pool, offers a more exclusive escape over the festive period. Younger guests can join gentle guided nature walks within the lodge grounds, storytelling evenings and stargazing sessions that deepen their connection with the natural world
How to book: Rates for Mokuti Etosha start from £300 per person, DBB on a nightly basis. Rates for the Ombala Presidential Suite start from £703. For more information, please visit https://www.ol-leisure.com/
A quintessentially English Christmas at Ellenborough Park, the Cotswolds
For those looking to embrace a quintessentially British Christmas, Ellenborough Park offers a festive country house escape in 90 acres of private parkland at the foot of Cleeve Hill, overlooking the Cotswolds and Cheltenham Racecourse. Dating back more than 500 years, the restored manor combines Tudor character with five star comforts, coming to life at Christmas with roaring fires, candlelit interiors and elegant decorations. Guests can enjoy festive afternoon tea beside the fire, take peaceful walks across the estate, unwind in the spa or explore a programme of seasonal experiences including Christmas Wonderland, Santa’s celebrations and a Chocolate Christmas Tree Workshop. Private festive dining is also available, while those staying over Christmas can enjoy a three-night festive package featuring champagne and canapés, Christmas Day lunch, carols in the Old Chapel and time to relax by the heated outdoor pool or explore Cleeve Hill. The celebrations continue through Twixmas and into New Year's Eve, with candlelit dining, live music and fireworks overlooking the racecourse providing a suitably grand welcome to 2027.
How to book: For more information about Christmas at Ellenborough Park, please visit https://ellenboroughpark.com/
Christmas in the Serengeti at Enduata Camps, Tanzania
For those looking to do Christmas differently this year, Enduata Camps’ Wild Wakati Camp offers the chance to swap frosty mornings and crowded high streets for warm sunshine, vast green plains and the sounds of the African wilderness. Set in the heart of the Serengeti, the intimate camp has just ten luxury canvas tents, offering an immersive festive escape surrounded by nature. November and December bring the short rainy season, transforming the landscape into lush green scenery, with excellent wildlife viewing and fewer crowds as animals return towards the eastern and southern Serengeti. Days can be spent on guided game drives in search of lions, elephants and giraffes, before returning for leisurely meals beneath the African sky, with Champagne and special celebrations available for Christmas Day. Families can also experience Enduata’s Explorers programme, with wildlife tracking, bird spotting, traditional fire making, Maasai storytelling, cooking and stargazing, while adults can enjoy bush breakfasts, full day game drives and sunset over the plains. Christmas at Wild Wakati is less about presents and schedules and more about adventure, connection and time together, with the Serengeti itself providing an unforgettable backdrop to the festive season.
How to book: Enduata Camps offers full board and game packages with prices per person based on sharing or single occupancy. Ranging from: £381 - £471 in the green season, £456 - £546 in the shoulder season and £605 - £1,043 in the high season. For more information please see https://enduatacamps.com/
Prestonfield House: Edinburgh’s Most Magical Christmas Escape
Prestonfield House transforms into a magical Winter Wonderland each festive season, creating a truly theatrical Christmas escape in Edinburgh, with its historic interiors brought to life with lavish decorations, twinkling lights and extravagant festive displays. Just five minutes from Edinburgh’s Old Town, the secluded country estate offers a wonderfully atmospheric setting for the season, where guests can soak up the decorations over festive dining and afternoon tea before settling in for an evening of celebration. This year, Prestonfield’s Winter Wonderland 2026 party nights promise sumptuous festive dining and lively entertainment, bringing friends, family and colleagues together for an unforgettable Christmas celebration. With its grand rooms, atmospheric interiors and spectacular festive styling, Prestonfield offers a Christmas experience that feels both quintessentially Edinburgh and wonderfully escapist.
How to book: For more information about Christmas at Prestonfield House, please visit, https://www.prestonfield.com/
A Mediterranean Christmas: The Festive Season at Iniala Valletta
This Christmas, Malta offers an atmospheric alternative to the traditional winter escape, with mild Mediterranean temperatures, beautifully illuminated historic streets and a variety of vibrant festive celebrations, all without the crowds of the summer season. At the heart of UNESCO-listed Valletta, Iniala Valletta provides an exceptional base for experiencing Christmas in the capital, with its 2026 expansion adding a new dimension to the hotel’s luxury offering. Following the success of Iniala Harbour House, Malta’s only Forbes Five Star hotel and home to ION Harbour by Simon Rogan MBE, the newly unveiled Solis brings a stunning Maltese palazzo, complete with an exclusive rooftop pooland Anaalā, a new Thai-inspired restaurant with panoramic views across the Grand Harbour. During the festive season, guests can explore Valletta’s illuminated streets, Christmas celebrations, historic sites and waterfront dining before returning to Iniala’s intimate world of exceptional design, gastronomy, wellbeing and deeply personal service, offering a sophisticated way to experience the magic of Malta at Christmas.
How to book: Room rates at Harbour House & Vitalis start from £391, per night for a double room on a B&B basis. Room rates at Solis and Magistero start from £612, per night for a double room on a B&B basis. For more information, please visit www.iniala.com/iniala-
A Wild & Wondrous Christmas: Celebrate the Festive Season in the Congo Basin at Kamba Africa
Kamba African Rainforest Experiences, located in the welcoming and peaceful Republic of the Congo (ROC), offers an extraordinary alternative to traditional winter holidays - where December’s festivities unfold beneath the lush canopy of one of the world’s most pristine rainforests. As the only private operator granted concessions in the ROC’s national parks, Kamba Africa provides unparalleled access to the Congo Basin's eternal summer, where Christmas morning might begin with gorilla tracking through misty forests.
Kamba Africa operates three lodges in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Ngaga Lodge, Lango Lodge, and Mboko Lodge.From rainforest-inspired spa treatments at Mboko Lodge, using sustainable ingredients, to guided forest walks that reveal the intricacies of this delicate ecosystem, Kamba curates experiences that allow guests to find peace and restoration in nature's embrace. For those seeking adventure, gorilla tracking provides an unforgettable opportunity to encounter the critically endangered Western Lowland Gorilla in its natural habitat, while the surrounding rainforest offers a rich tapestry of wildlife and landscapes to discover. In the Congo Basin, the festive season becomes an opportunity to reconnect with nature, discover one of Africa’s most extraordinary wildernesses and experience the magic of Christmas in the heart of the rainforest.
How to book: Kamba African Rainforest Experiences offers a number of itineraries beginning with ‘Odzala Discovery’ for 7 nights, with 3 nights in Ngaga Lodge, 2 nights in Lango Lodge and 2 nights in Mboko Lodge from £11,902 per person. This is inclusive of scheduled to/from charter flights from Brazzaville to Odzala-Kokoua National Park, two Gorilla tracking permits, internal transfers, conservation, medevac and park fees, activities and food and drink.
Festive Tales Beneath the Polar Night with Basecamp Explorer
Leading the way in pioneering Arctic adventure, Basecamp Explorer (Norway) offers three intimate lodges around Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. Delivering extraordinary journeys into one of the planet’s greatest wildernesses, where life is shaped by the rhythms of polar light, shifting ice and untamed wildlife.
Located 78 degrees north, Longyearbyen experiences nearly three months of darkness each winter. At Christmas, the Arctic landscape is illuminated by stars, moonlight and the Northern Lights, creating a setting for adventures, traditions and stories found nowhere else.
Guests can head into the wilderness by dog sled with Alaskan huskies, explore ancient glacier ice caves and return to the Trapper’s Station to warm up by the wood-burning stove, while hearing tales of Arctic explorers, trappers and a life far from civilisation. Christmas traditions add to the magic, including a torchlit walk to the Christmas mailbox beneath one of Longyearbyen’s old mines, where legend says Santa and his helpers work during the festive season. The town’s international community also comes together during the polar night, embracing the slower pace of winter and the warmth of shared traditions. Christmas in the High Arctic is a story of darkness and light, wilderness and warmth, isolation and community.
How to book: The ‘Chasing the Northern Lights’ expedition starts from approximately £2,362 (NOK 30,000) per person for four days, running from October 2026 to February 2027 For more information, visit basecampexplorer.com or visit here for further information on Basecamp’s Northern Lights expeditions.
An Arctic Christmas with Expressions Holidays, northern Norway
Expressions Holidays, a bespoke luxury travel tour operator specialising in tailor-made holidays, offers an unforgettable festive experience this Christmas at Lyngen Experience, situated deep inside the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway. The five-night itinerary is packed full of winter Arctic experiences within a world of vast, white landscapes, snow-covered mountains and glistening fjords, just a two-hour drive from Tromsø. Guests can enjoy Northern Lights Chasing, a whale safari, dog sledding, snowshoeing and a snowmobile experience. For those wishing to celebrate over the Christmas period, a very special 7-course Christmas Eve menu is offered, for guests to gather, enjoy and celebrate. Expressions Holidays organises everything, from activities to travel, creating a magical and seamless Christmas experience this festive period.
How to book: Prices start from £5,200 per person. For more information visit: https://www.
New Year's Eve escapes
A country-house celebration at Farlam Hall, Cumbria, England
This New Year, step into the enchanting world of Farlam Hall, a Relais & Châteaux country retreat in the heart of picturesque Cumbria. With roots dating back to 1428 and 19th-century design by the Thompson family, this historic hideaway blends timeless charm with contemporary luxury for the ultimate festive break. Celebrate the arrival of 2027 with a three-night indulgent escape featuring the exceptional cuisine of Chef Patron Hrishikesh Desai. The highlight of the stay is an extravagant seven-course Gala Dinner on New Year’s Eve, showcasing the finest seasonal ingredients and culinary artistry. Between celebrations, explore the Cumbrian countryside, Hadrian’s Wall, or simply unwind at The Sycamore Retreat, offering GAIA Skincare treatments to rejuvenate body and mind.
How to book: Room rates start from £2,895 per couple for three nights. For more information, visit farlamhall.com, call 01697 746234, or email [email protected].
Welcome 2027 in Scotland at Glenapp Castle
Glenapp Castle, the 22-bedroom Relais & Châteaux hotel tucked away on the breathtaking Ayrshire coast, is throwing open its doors this New Year for a three-night Hogmanay house party, a Scottish celebration built around roaring fires, bagpipes and candlelight. Arrivals on 30th December are met with champagne afternoon tea and the Glenapp pianist on the baby grand, before drinks and canapés in the Drawing Room and a three-course gourmet dinner. Hogmanay itself brings a New Year curling bonspiel in Stranraer, with guests coached by some of the world's finest curlers, ahead of the black-tie centrepiece: a champagne reception, a six-course banquet with wines, Scottish pipers, dancers and the traditional beating retreat, followed by a Ceilidh and a midnight toast as the pipers bring in the bells. New Year's Day opens with a lazy brunch, a falconry display or archery lesson and a cream tea with an in-house caricaturist. The evening closes with a final gourmet dinner and the bonspiel prize-giving, where the Glenapp King or Queen is crowned, before guests depart on 2nd January.
HOW: The Three-Night New Year Break 2026/27 starts from £5,745 for three nights. For more information visit www.glenappcastle.com / 01465 831212.
New Year’s Eve, Reimagined: An Extraordinary Celebration in Finnish Lapland with Arcora Boutique Hotel & Villas
For travellers seeking an alternative to the traditional New Year’s Eve city celebration, Arcora Boutique Hotel & Villas offers an immersive way to welcome 2027 beneath the northern skies of Finnish Lapland. Debuting for the 2027 Arctic season in Torassieppi, north of the Arctic Circle, the luxury retreat will host a one-night-only celebration, beginning with Champagne and canapés at Kajo Bar & Artisan Bakery, followed by a five-course dinner at Restaurant 8 inspired by Lapland’s landscapes and flavours, and a live performance by Finnish artist Janna with pianist Miikka Kallio. As midnight approaches, guests will step outside for Arcora’s Fire & Ice ceremony, where a choreographed light display replaces traditional fireworks out of respect for the surrounding wilderness, before the night continues at Pyry Champagne Bar with a late-night DJ set. Set on the edge of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, Arcora is home to 59 boutique suites and villas, a top-floor Nordic spa with a rooftop infinity pool, and a programme of Arctic adventures, from husky and reindeer safaris to snowmobiling, making the celebration a natural centrepiece for a longer stay.
How to book:Rates at Arcora Boutique Hotel & Villas start from £750 per night based on two people sharing, inclusive of breakfast and spa access. A four-night Arcora Stay starts from £[3,590] per person based on two people sharing, inclusive of return airport transfers, all meals, curated Arctic experiences and daily spa access. For more information or to make a reservation, visit arcora.fi.
A theatrical Hogmanay at The Witchery, Edinburgh
For a truly atmospheric Hogmanay in the heart of Edinburgh, James Thomson’s The Witchery offers an indulgent way to see out the year beside Edinburgh Castle. Now in its fifth decade, this much loved Edinburgh institution is famed for its theatrical interiors, antiques, fine-dining and award winning wine list, with guests able to dine in the oak panelled original dining room or candlelit Secret Garden. For Hogmanay, guests can begin with a glass of Witchery Champagne before enjoying an exquisite five course dinner featuring roast Isle of Skye scallops, Eyemouth lobster and Tournedos Rossini with foie gras and Madeira jus, followed by decadent desserts. The experience can be extended with an overnight stay in one of The Witchery’s nine lavishly decorated suites, each individually designed with theatrical interiors, opulent furnishings and luxurious roll top baths. With its richly decorated interiors, intimate atmosphere and prime location beside the castle, The Witchery provides a suitably glamorous setting for marking the final night of the year in true Scottish style.
How to book: For more information about Hogmanay at The Witchery, please visit, https://www.thewitchery.com/
Swap City Lights for Mountain Nights This New Year at Penmaenuchaf
Penmaenuchaf, an elegant country house located within the picturesque setting of Snowdonia, welcomes guests to celebrate the new year in style with its New Years Celebration Stay package. Guests can enjoy a 2-night stay from the 31st of December at the idyllic retreat, providing a perfect sanctuary for a relaxing start to the new year. The stay begins with a six-course tasting menu dining experience on New Year’s Eve, including a pre-dinner cocktail and entertainment from a live band, before a dazzling midnight fireworks display. To continue the celebrations, guests will enjoy an elegant candlelit dinner on New Year’s Day evening, curated by Head Chef Dan Andreé and his skilled team. The onsite restaurant emphasises crafting menus that showcase the finest local ingredients. Diners can enjoy these delectable creations while taking in breathtaking views across the gardens and Eryri National Park. Additionally, guests can indulge in festive tea and cakes each afternoon, and a full Welsh breakfast to bid farewell on the 2nd of January.
How to book: Prices start from £745 per night, for full details and bookings, visit https://penmaenuchaf.co.uk/
A Welsh welcome to 2027 at Grove of Narberth, Pembrokeshire
Grove of Narberth, a luxurious countryside retreat in Pembrokeshire, is inviting visitors to welcome 2027 in style with an exclusive celebration. The evening includes a black-tie New Year’s Eve celebration dinner, beginning with Champagne and canapés, followed by an extravagant five-course menu created especially by Executive Chef Douglas Balish, and rounded off with a dazzling fireworks display. For those looking for a more indulgent escape, Grove of Narberth’s two-night getaway includes daily breakfast, festive afternoon tea and cakes, pre-dinner drinks and evening dinners, including the New Year’s Eve celebration. Just a short drive from the Pembrokeshire coastline, Grove of Narberth also offers the chance to explore the region’s breathtaking surroundings. Guests can walk the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, enjoy beach saunas, take in dramatic seascapes, or spot local wildlife, before returning to the comfort of the Grove for a truly memorable festive break.
How to book: Prices start from £1,000 per night, or full details and bookings, visit https://grovenarberth.co.uk/
Art, aperitivo and a Roman New Year at rhinoceros roma
Ring in the New Year in the heart of Rome with a stay at rhinoceros roma, the art-driven residence by Alda Fendi, where contemporary design, culture and the city’s historic backdrop come together for a memorable New Year’s Eve escape. Set between the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, rhinoceros roma offers an elevated base from which to experience Rome as the city comes alive for the festive season. Home to just 25 state-of-the-art apartments, the residence blends modern, industrial design with historic architecture and sits within an avant-garde art gallery showcasing world-class installations and exhibitions, making it an ideal choice for travellers looking to combine culture with celebration.
For New Year’s Eve, guests can gather over Italian fusion cuisine at the property’s rooftop restaurant,Retrobottega, where panoramic views across Rome’s terracotta rooftops provide a striking backdrop for an evening of drinks, dining and celebrations. As midnight approaches, guests can make the most of the city’s lively atmosphere, before returning to the comfort and privacy of their own apartment. Beyond the property, Rome’s most iconic landmarks, from the Colosseum and Circus Maximus to Piazza Venezia and the Spanish Steps, are all within walking distance or a short ride via rhinoceros roma’s distinctive RhinoRide compact vehicles, placing guests at the centre of the city’s New Year celebrations.
How to book: Rates at rhinoceros roma start from £340 per apartment, per night. City tax not included. For more information, visit: https://rhinocerosroma.
A festive season shaped by experience
From the wildlife-rich plains of the Serengeti to the stillness of the Arctic, and from historic British country houses to the streets of Rome, festive travel can take many forms. Some stays put family activities and nature first; others centre on exceptional dining, cultural discovery or a midnight celebration.
The common thread is the opportunity to make the holiday season part of the journey itself. Whether travellers choose a traditional Christmas, an adventurous escape or a celebratory welcome to 2027, the right setting can make the occasion feel distinct from any other time of year.
