The best places to spend Christmas and New Year 2026
There is something rather lovely about going away for Christmas. No cooking for twelve, no working out where everybody is going to sleep and, perhaps best of all, no washing up.
And Christmas away can look very different depending on who you are travelling with. It might mean waking up to snow in Lapland with younger children, spending Christmas morning on a Caribbean beach, taking the whole family to a chalet in the Alps or swapping the usual New Year’s Eve plans for something considerably more memorable in the Maldives.
For Christmas and New Year 2026, there are some particularly good reasons to travel. New York will be dressed for the season, Barbados and St Lucia are firmly into Caribbean winter sun territory, and the mountains are made for families who would happily exchange Christmas television for a day on the slopes. Over in the Maldives, One&Only Reethi Rah is going one better, with Jessie J flying in to headline its New Year’s Eve celebrations.
If you’re already thinking about where to spend Christmas and New Year 2026, these are some of the destinations we’d have firmly on the list.
The best places to spend Christmas and New Year 2026:
New York City – for Christmas turned all the way up
Few places commit to Christmas quite like New York. By December, the Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree is lit, skaters circle the rink below, Fifth Avenue is dressed for the season, and the Rockettes are back at Radio City. Throw in Central Park on a crisp winter morning, Christmas shopping in SoHo and cocktails overlooking the Manhattan skyline, and it’s easy to see why people return at this time of year.
For somewhere suitably festive to stay, The Plaza is hard to beat. Its ‘Suitest Season of All’ experience returns for 2026, complete with a seven-foot decorated Christmas tree in your suite, while Santa appearances and festive dining bring plenty of Christmas spirit downstairs too.
Over on the Upper East Side, The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel is our pick for something a little more grown-up. This New York icon sits just moments from Central Park and Madison Avenue, with the legendary Bemelmans Bar downstairs for cocktails and live jazz. It’s elegant, unmistakably New York and a particularly lovely base for a festive city break.
Families should also have Lotte New York Palace on their radar. Its enormous courtyard Christmas tree has become something of a festive landmark, while children can send letters from the hotel’s North Pole mailbox and receive a handwritten reply delivered to their room.
New York at Christmas is busy, of course, but that’s part of the fun. Give yourself enough time, book the restaurants and shows you really want in advance, and embrace the fact that nowhere does festive quite like it.
Where we’d stay: The Plaza, The Carlyle or Lotte New York Palace.
Barbados – for Christmas Day on the beach
If your ideal Christmas involves sunshine, swimming before breakfast and considerably less time spent in the kitchen, Barbados takes some beating. December falls within the island’s drier season, and Christmas here still feels wonderfully festive – just with rum punch, warm Caribbean evenings and the possibility of spending Boxing Day on a catamaran.
On the Platinum Coast, Fairmont Royal Pavilion has a dedicated festive stay for Christmas and New Year 2026, with festive afternoon teas, plenty happening throughout the resort and a special New Year’s Eve celebration. Dinner is served at Palm Terrace before the evening moves to Taboras for live entertainment and fireworks over the beach at midnight.
For something smaller, Cobblers Cove is a beautiful alternative. This family-owned hotel near Speightstown has the feel of an English country house transported to the Caribbean and, while it usually welcomes guests aged 12 and over, Christmas is the exception, with families of all ages invited to stay between 17 December and 7 January.
We’d also consider Coral Reef Club, another family-owned favourite on the West Coast. Set within tropical gardens beside the beach, it has a wonderfully traditional Barbadian feel and is made for a slower Christmas of swimming, sailing and long days outside.
Where we’d stay: Fairmont Royal Pavilion, Cobblers Cove or Coral Reef Club.
St Lucia – for a Caribbean Christmas with a little more adventure
If you like the idea of Christmas in the Caribbean but want to do more than simply find a beautiful beach, St Lucia is a brilliant choice. The Pitons provide the backdrop, rainforest covers much of the island and days can be spent sailing, hiking, visiting the Sulphur Springs or doing very little at all beside the Caribbean Sea.
Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort has one of the best locations on the island, tucked between the two Pitons on a former sugar plantation. It’s a particularly good choice for families, with plenty of space, private-pool villas and residences, a beautiful beach and Soufrière just a few miles away.
For couples, Jade Mountain is hard to top. Its open-sided sanctuaries look straight towards the Pitons, many with their own infinity pools, and the hotel really embraces the festive season. December brings special dining experiences, chocolate tastings and a Christmas Eve tasting menu, before a six-course New Year’s Eve gala and fireworks on the Celestial Terrace.
Or there’s Cap Maison Resort & Spa, a smaller boutique option on the north of the island. We love it for its clifftop setting, secluded Smuggler’s Cove beach and The Cliff at Cap restaurant – where you can even have Champagne sent down to the waterfront deck by zip wire. Two-bedroom pool villas also make it a great option for families or friends travelling together over Christmas and New Year.
Where we’d stay: Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort, Jade Mountain or Cap Maison Resort & Spa.
The Alps – for a proper white Christmas
If Christmas to you should involve snow, roaring fires and everyone under one roof, this might be the year to swap home for the mountains. Take over a private chalet with family or friends, and Christmas Day can begin on the slopes, followed by lunch cooked by your private chef and an afternoon by the fire – with nobody worrying about hosting.
Courchevel 1850 is hard to beat if you want to go all out. The resort embraces Christmas properly, with festive markets, torchlit descents and fireworks, while Les Airelles Courchevel brings a little fairytale grandeur to proceedings with its ski-in, ski-out setting in the heart of the Three Valleys.
For serious skiers, we also love Val d’Isère, where the high-altitude slopes make it a strong choice for early-season snow. Airelles Val d’Isère reopens for winter 2026 with direct access to 300km of pistes, alongside private apartments and its own chalet for those travelling as a group.
Or head to Zermatt for something altogether more traditional. The car-free village, wooden chalets and Matterhorn backdrop are about as close to a Christmas card as you can get – and there are some spectacular private chalets if you want the whole place to yourselves.
Whichever you choose, Christmas and New Year are two of the most sought-after weeks of the ski season, so we wouldn’t leave this trip to December to organise.
Where we’d stay: Les Airelles Courchevel, Airelles Val d’Isère or a private luxury chalet in Zermatt.
Finnish Lapland – for Christmas with a little bit of magic
For families with younger children, it’s difficult to imagine a more magical place to spend Christmas than Finnish Lapland. Deep snow, reindeer, husky sledding, snowmobiles and the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights already make it feel rather special – and then, of course, there’s Santa.
In Rovaniemi, Arctic TreeHouse Hotel is one of our favourites, with cosy glass-fronted suites looking out across the snowy forest. Its dedicated Christmas stays make the most of the season, with festive meals, Arctic adventures and Santa himself arriving with his reindeer during Christmas Eve dinner.
For something incredibly private, Octola Private Wilderness takes Lapland in an altogether more luxurious direction. Hidden away in its own wilderness, stays can include a private chef and butler, personal wilderness guide, sauna and a completely tailored programme of Arctic experiences. For adults, Jávri Lodge, 250km north of the Arctic Circle in Saariselkä, is another favourite – an intimate adults-only retreat with just 13 rooms and plenty of winter adventures on the doorstep.
One thing worth knowing is that Christmas in Lapland needs to be planned very early. There are relatively few exceptional places to stay and huge demand over the festive period, so availability for Christmas 2026 is now extremely limited, with many of our first-choice hotels already fully booked.
And if Santa isn’t the main event, we often prefer Lapland in February. December brings the full Christmas magic, but also some of the shortest days of the year. By February, there’s more daylight to make the most of the snow and winter activities, while the evenings are still dark enough for Northern Lights hunting.
If Christmas in Lapland is on your wishlist, speak to us and we’ll look at what is still available – or start planning ahead for Christmas 2027.
Where we love: Arctic TreeHouse Hotel, Octola Private Wilderness and Jávri Lodge.
The Maldives – for a New Year’s Eve to remember
If ever there were an excuse to swap the usual New Year’s Eve plans for somewhere extraordinary, the Maldives might be it. December brings warm days, calm seas and some of the islands’ biggest celebrations of the year, with many resorts turning the entire festive period into an occasion.
At the top of our list for 2026 is One&Only Reethi Rah, where Jessie J will headline the New Year’s Eve Gala on 31 December, performing exclusively for resort guests. The evening begins with a beachside cocktail reception before dinner, live entertainment and celebrations as the island welcomes 2027. Christmas is taken just as seriously, with special Christmas Eve dining and a Christmas Day brunch also part of the festive calendar.
For something a little more design-led, JOALI Maldives is another brilliant choice. Its 2026 festive season, Life is a Theatre, runs from 20 December into January, with the island transformed through special dining, performances, creative experiences and plenty happening for families in the lead-up to New Year.
We’d also look at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa, particularly for families. Its Christmas and New Year programme includes a Christmas tree lighting on the beach, Santa arriving in suitably Maldivian style on Christmas Day and cinema under the stars. On New Year’s Eve, a Champagne reception leads into dinner and dancing beneath the night sky, before a very leisurely seaside brunch on New Year’s Day.
Christmas and New Year are among the most sought-after dates in the Maldives, so this is another trip worth planning well ahead. And if seeing in 2027 on a private island while Jessie J performs sounds considerably better than your usual New Year’s Eve, we’d start with Reethi Rah.
Where we’d stay: One&Only Reethi Rah, JOALI Maldives or Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa.
Thinking about Christmas somewhere different?
Christmas and New Year are some of the most sought-after dates in the travel calendar, and the best hotels, villas and ski lodges tend to be snapped up much earlier than you might expect. For Christmas 2026, availability is already limited in some of our favourite places – particularly Lapland, the Alps and certain Maldives resorts – but there are still some brilliant options if you’re flexible on where you go.
And if you already know that you’d love to spend next Christmas somewhere special, now is a very good time to start thinking about 2027. Planning ahead means a much better choice of rooms, villas and lodges, particularly if you’re travelling as a family or have a particular hotel in mind.
Whether it’s Christmas morning on a Caribbean beach, New Year in the Maldives, a chalet full of family and friends or a few festive days in New York, our team can help you find the right place and take care of all the details.
Thinking about Christmas 2026 or planning ahead for 2027?
Get in touch with the More Travel team and let’s start planning something to look forward to.