Go big and go home
If you’re a Saffa returning to your home continent for the festive period, or you’re just looking for something truly awesome to do this New Year’s Eve, get your tickets for the Vic Falls Carnival.
The festivities go on for three days, from December 29 – 31, and not only have they got big names in music including Just Jinger, Flash Republic and Jeremy Loops, but, set at the stunning Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, you get to tie in some serious adrenalin kicks, including bungee jumping, white water rafting, swinging over a gorge and getting up close with lions.
A single day carnival pass costs $45 (£27.50)
A night in Barca for less than a beer
A fiver can get you a couple of bus rides in London or maybe a drink if you’re lucky – but in Barcelona it can get you a bed for the night.
Generator Hostels are having a major winter sale on their rooms up and down Europe from December to February.
So if Barcelona, with its famous architecture, free-flowing wine and tapas, and all-night parties is on your list, get booking.
The hostel has hang-out areas and a trendy bar. It’s also just 15 minutes from the beach and is located slap bang in the middle of two metro stops so you shouldn’t get lost. And did we mention Barcelona hasn’t seen snow in 10 years?
You’d be a fool to turn this one down. With beds going for £4.19 (5 Euros) you need to book between December 2-31 and stay before February 28. The deal is also on offer at Generator Hostels in Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Venice and Dublin.
Become a sledging champ in the Dales
You may think sledging is kid’s fodder but you’re wrong – there is an art to it and mastering the various techniques is not for the faint-hearted.
Famed for the winter sport (yes, we class it as a sport), Urra, which is one of the highest moors in the Yorkshire Dales, is zoned into three sledging areas allocated to different materials – ‘proper sledges,’bin bags’ and ‘miscellaneous’.
So grab whatever you have to hand (dustbin lid anyone?) and get skidding. You’re living out the winter dream here so you may as well go the full mile and shack up in a ‘glamping’ pod in Hillcrest Park. In case you didn’t know, ‘glamping’ is glamorous camping and it’s all the rage. The pods, which are heated and have bathrooms, start at £19 a night.
