Warm winter destinations:
4 escapes from the grey

A warm winter holiday is not only an escape from the cold. It is a reset — a couple of weeks in which the sun gives the colours back and the quiet of a faraway place puts your thoughts in order. We chose four destinations, each with its own character: two tropical islands, one southern summer and one island of eternal spring. They have one thing in common — there, winter is an unfamiliar word.

Bali — the island of endless summer

On Bali the warmth never leaves. While the thermometer at home drops below zero, here it is around 30 degrees and the air smells of frangipani and rain on warm earth. In the morning mist rises over the rice terraces of Ubud; in the afternoon a villa with a private pool shelters you from a light tropical downpour; in the evening a ceremony at an ancient temple reminds you that this is an island that lives slowly and with respect for ritual. The Balinese massage, the food, the sunrises over the jungle — here the holiday is for the body and for the mind alike.

The Seychelles — where winter is an unfamiliar word

If you are after the picture from the dream — powder sand, granite boulders smoothed by time, and an ocean in fifty shades of blue — the Seychelles make it real. During our winter this is the warm, calm season here: around 30 degrees, a quiet breeze and water like a mirror. The days pass slowly between Mahé, Praslin and La Digue — three islands, three different worlds. Barefoot luxury that is not displayed but simply is: breakfast overlooking the lagoon, an afternoon under the palms, a dinner where the only sound is the ocean.

Argentina — summer at its height beneath the Andes

In the southern hemisphere everything is reversed — and when it is coldest at home, Argentina is at the peak of its summer. Buenos Aires is warm and alive, tango spills out onto the streets and the evenings stretch late. To the west, beneath the snow-capped peaks of the Andes, the vineyards of the Uco Valley ripen in the sun — a glass of Malbec outdoors as the day fades. And to the north, the roar of the Iguazú Falls is a reminder of how large nature can be. One journey, three different summers.

Madeira — the eternal spring of the Atlantic

Not every escape from winter needs a long flight and tropical heat. Madeira — the Portuguese island in the Atlantic — is only a few hours away, and there winter does not exist. Around twenty degrees, evergreen mountains, gardens in bloom and air that smells of the ocean and laurel forest. Here you walk the famous levadas among the clouds, watch the finest sunsets over the cliffs and have fresh fish at a harbour lit by soft sunlight. Spring — exactly when winter at home is deepest.

When to go

The best thing about a warm winter holiday is that it is planned exactly when you need it most — in December, January and February. February is the peak of summer in Argentina; December to March is warm and calm in the Seychelles; Bali and Madeira are pleasant all winter long. One piece of advice: long-haul destinations and holiday dates are booked early, which makes August and September the ideal moment to prepare your escape.

How to experience it properly

A long journey deserves to be done properly. Not a hotel by the airport and a coach tour on a timetable, but a villa with a view, a private transfer, a restaurant the locals keep to themselves. That is exactly what we do — boutique journeys for small groups of up to eight guests, woven from real moments rather than a list of sights. Have a look at Bali, the Seychelles and Argentina in our collection — and if you are dreaming of something entirely your own, we will create it together.