Dreaming of Christmas Travels

For any Kiwi, Christmas conjures images of endless summer days filled with BBQ food and beach cricket, the quintessential pavlova, and time spent with friends and family. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s easy to dismiss travelling as an option over the Christmas break, but for so many reasons, it can be the best time of year to explore somewhere new. Better yet, you don’t have to travel far to discover wonderment right here in your own back yard! If you’re looking to spice up your egg-nog this Christmas with something a little different, give the gift of travel. Create new and exciting memories with your family, by exploring Christmas magic somewhere other than home.

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Piha Beach, Auckland. Credit: Getty Images

A luxury tour of New Zealand

Discover the grandeur of New Zealand in all its glory with an Abercrombie & Kent luxury tour. The specialist tour company has lovingly spent decades crafting travel experiences that push the boundaries of luxury travel. Forget about well-travelled roads - they’ll take you off the beaten track and show you everything that New Zealand has to offer, including breath-taking landscapes, delicious food and wine, heart-stopping cultural experiences and dreamy accommodation in stunning locations.Trip north to where fishing, food, golf and wine are aplenty, take the family on an unforgettable adventure to Middle Earth, and realise an epicureans dream in the world-renowned Marlborough wine region. See the spectacular views of the West Coast for yourself. Thrill-seekers need look no further than adventure paradise Marlborough Sounds, or traverse the South Island with the ultimate New Zealand journey from Queenstown to Milford Sound.

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Marlborough Sounds. Credit: Getty Images

Waiheke Wishes

After a short ferry-ride or helicopter flight across the Hauraki Gulf, all will be calm and bright this Christmas on Waiheke Island. Also well-known as the ‘island of wine’, it’s a truly glorious place to spend Christmas and is the ultimate home-away-from-home for any city-dweller. You’ll be veritably spoiled for choice with dozens of wineries dotted all over the island, most of which also offer sumptuous dishes from their own restaurants. Wine tastings are must-see-and-do. If Christmas markets are more your style, grab a hot chocolate or coffee and spend the morning wandering Waiheke’s regular farmers’ markets. Be sure to stop and join in a Christmas carol or two. There are plenty of outdoor activity options to keep the kids (young and old) entertained.

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Oneroa, Waiheke Island. Credit: Getty Images

Go further abroad

If you’re willing to go that extra mile, consider an all-inclusive cruise around the sun-drenched Pacific Islands, or perhaps an unconventional and extremely warm staycation in Bali or Hawai'i.

Enjoy a luxury cruise where the only finger you’ll need to lift is the one holding your third pina colada. Why just see a slice of heaven when you could experience it all for yourself. Cruise from one idyllic island to the next sparkling lagoon, all while sipping cocktails poolside and enjoying world-class restaurants and entertainment. Plus, the kids will be kept happy too - making new friends and partaking in all the incredible onboard activities curated especially for them!

If a land-based holiday is more to your flavour, then a trip through the beaches and resorts of Bali is sure to rejuvenate and refresh your senses. Wake up to the sun spilling between the lightly parted curtains of your resort room, and take a plunge into the infinity pool before setting out to explore, taste and discover your way around an Indonesian paradise.

Or, perhaps for a more commercial standard of holiday, take a trip to the stunning shores of Hawai'i. Stay in beachside paradises, and stroll through the veritable myriad of stores, cocktail bars and unique experiences in this oft-forgotten member of the United States. Although in the depth of an American winter, you’ll find that Hawai'i is warm year-round meaning tropical flowers and trees bloom all through the year.

Whilst December will offer you a pleasant warmth, you’ll find that January brings you higher temperatures at the majority of resort locations in the state. If Hawai'i is to be your holiday destination however, planning in advance is a necessity! Popular with travellers worldwide, this paradise-location is transformed into a humming metropolis complete with busy tourists, traffic and more!

Speak to your local Travel Advisor to beat the queues and you’ll find the true magic in a Hawai'i holiday. Think morning brunch followed by sunbathing on the beach. Preface this with the Honolulu City Lights display on Christmas Eve, or set your heart alight with a perfumed leisure as you watch the sinking sun on the glistening horizon from a catamaran. Experience an experience that you won’t soon forget.