Winter

A winter trip starts with a choice between snow and warmth. You already know which month you are taking off, but you are still deciding what matters more: slopes in the Alps, a Christmas market in an old town or a beach on the other side of the world. Each option comes with its own timing, its own costs and its own limits. In the "Winter" section we have gathered articles that help you make that choice and plan the details.

The largest block is about skiing. There are overviews of resorts in Austria, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Turkey, with a close look at the runs and ski areas. Separate pieces cover ski passes in the Alps, the ski pass in Val Gardena and ways to cut the cost of a ski vacation in Austria. For families there is an article on children's ski courses and a selection of regions in Germany and Austria where you can spend winter with kids and do without skis. We have written about après-ski too.

The second block: cities and winter events. It covers the Christmas markets of Munich, the markets of Budapest, Vienna and Prague, Christmas in Lviv, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, wintertime Amsterdam with its light festival and Paris in January. Alongside them are quiet walks through Prague in winter and the Széchenyi Baths. For those heading north there are the ice caves of Iceland, hotels in Rovaniemi, places above the Arctic Circle and a piece on chasing the aurora that explains the Kp index.

The third block answers the question of where to fly for warmth. It includes roundups of destinations for December and January, Thailand and Vietnam by month and by coast, the Dominican Republic by season, warm countries in Latin America, and New Year in the UAE and on St. Barts. We also write about places where winter means rain: Bali and the Maldives. And there are honest pieces on Crete, Rhodes and Southern Italy, where some of the resorts are closed in winter.

Every article opens with a short verdict: who the destination suits and what to watch out for. Practical sections follow: timing, tickets, getting there, what to buy in advance. For prices and dates we give the source and the date we checked it. We are direct about the downsides: short daylight hours, closed hotels, lines at the markets, rainy weeks on tropical islands.

The section is useful if you are planning a specific trip between December and February and want to compare options before buying tickets. It suits skiers, families with children, fans of city weekends and anyone looking for the sea in January. If you need a detailed guide to one city for the whole year, you are better off looking in the country sections. Here we look at destinations through the season.

Start with the overview roundups: where to go in December, countries for a January vacation, warm destinations by the sea. They help you narrow the choice down to two or three options. Then move on to the articles about a specific place: a resort, a city or an event. Leave the pieces about costs, such as ski passes and tickets, for last. That way the reading order matches the planning order.

"Winter" is part of the "When to Travel" section, where we look at destinations by time of year. If your dates shift, take a look at the neighboring sections "Spring", "Summer" and "Autumn". Events with exact dates have their own section, "Festivals & Celebrations": some of the winter markets and festivals overlap with it. Articles on rainy seasons and on the best months to travel are worth reading together with the neighboring seasons.

Winter articles go out of date faster than others. Ski pass prices, market dates and event schedules change every season, so we update the texts and check them against the official websites of resorts, cities and organizers. We describe visa rules and entry requirements only in general terms and always advise checking them with the official sources of your own country. Before buying tickets, look at the check date in the article and open the original source. It takes a few minutes and saves you from mistakes in your plans.