Journal · Where to go · December 2026
Where to go in December.
Lapland · The Alps · Maldives · St. Barth
December is not one travel season but several: family Christmas, the first ski weeks, winter sun and New Year. They behave very differently. What they share is that the festive dates are high-demand, and preferred categories tend to move early.
Christmas, paced for children.
Finnish Lapland in December is dark, cold and quietly beautiful. Snow is usually well established, daylight lasts only a few hours around Rovaniemi and disappears almost entirely further north, and on clear nights the northern lights are possible, though never promised.
Rovaniemi offers the easiest access and the most Christmas-focused activities; smaller places further north trade convenience for silence and darker skies. Glass-roofed cabins are worth having for at least part of the stay.
Christmas weeks are among the most sought-after dates of the year. Accommodation and the most popular activities — husky and reindeer safaris, private sleigh rides — are booked by slot and are best arranged early.
Festive weeks run on a weekly rhythm.
Courchevel’s lifts are scheduled to open on 4 December 2026; St. Moritz starts earlier, in late November. Early December is quieter, with snow cover still building; Christmas and New Year are the busiest and most expensive weeks of the season.
Festive chalets are usually let by the week, often with a fixed changeover day and minimum stays. Transfers deserve thought: Courchevel is typically around two and a half to three hours by road from Geneva, less from Chambéry, with the altiport for those arriving by helicopter or small aircraft.
Winter sun at its peak.
December is when the Maldives’ drier season takes hold, and the festive fortnight is the most sought-after period of the year. Many resorts apply minimum stays over Christmas and New Year, and some include a compulsory festive dinner; pricing varies significantly by dates and villa category.
Families should look at villa layout as closely as the island: connecting villas, beach access and pool fencing matter more than the view.
Plan it like an event.
Between Christmas and New Year, St. Barth becomes one of the most concentrated social seasons in the Caribbean, with Gustavia’s harbour full of yachts and New Year’s Eve the focal point.
Villas over the festive period often require minimum stays of ten nights or more, and the best restaurants and beach lunches for the key dates are reserved early. This is a trip that benefits from planning months, not weeks, ahead.
