One day left
Northern lights in Iceland
What makes this short break to Reykjavik work is that the return airport
transfer goes via the Blue Lagoon thermal pool, so you can wallow there
until the last possible minute. Flight times with Icelandair (icelandair.co.uk)
mean that you can leave Heathrow at 9.10pm on Thursday, have two full days
to explore the city and see the natural wonders of the Gullfoss waterfall
and the Geysir geothermal area, and then spend Sunday at the Blue Lagoon
before the 4pm departure (arriving at 8pm). It costs from £269pp with
flights and three nights’ room-only accommodation, plus a northern lights
tour, booked through Icelandair. Other excursions cost more. If you have a
few days off, it’s worth checking out an Iceland-New York twin centre —
Icelandair has flights to New York from £499, including a stopover in
Iceland. So, you can leave for Iceland on Friday after work, head to New
York on Sunday evening and return home on Tuesday.
Hit the French slopes
Get almost three full days of skiing in the Three Valleys by taking the
overnight coach on Thursday from Victoria (it leaves at 5pm, so you may need
to invent a doctor’s appointment — of course, we don’t condone that) to
arrive on Friday in time for breakfast. Return at the same time on Sunday,
getting to London at nine-ish on Monday morning. It costs from £195pp, half
board, for a December 10 departure, with Ski Weekends (08444 060600, skiweekends.com)
Get religious in Jerusalem
Get three full days in Israel, seeing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the
al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Kirker (020-7593 2283, www.kirker
holidays.com) has a new two-night trip, staying in Jerusalem, from
£867pp, with flights, which leave at 10.30pm on a Friday, returning 7.25pm
on Monday night. The half-day tour of Bethlehem costs £130pp.
Gourmet South Africa
Overnight flights to Cape Town mean that you can optimise your time away — if
you leave Heathrow at 8.35pm on Thursday with Virgin Atlantic and return
overnight on Sunday, arriving at 9am on Monday, which might mean a late
start, but that’s three full days away with only one day out of the office.
There’s no time difference, so no jet lag, and, more importantly, you can
have two evening meals, one at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze, the other at Nobu, both
of which are in the One&Only. Two nights’ B&B costs from
£1,580pp with ITC Classics (01244 355527, itcclassics.co.uk).
Get snappy in Spain
Impress the neighbours with your holiday snaps after a two-day beginners’
digital photography course in a pueblo blanco between Gibraltar and
Estepona. The £460pp price at GoLearnTo.com doesn’t cover flights, but it
does include transfers, tuition and all-inclusive accommodation. BA flights
arrive on Friday afternoon and leave Sunday afternoon. The website also has
jewellery-making weekends and cookery courses in France.
Bar hopping in Beirut
OK, you need a flexible boss on this one as we’re cheating by using two
half-days. If you leave Heathrow on the 3.35pm bmi flight on a Friday, you
get the whole weekend in Lebanon in glorious temperatures, before a morning
flight that gets in at 12.25pm on Monday. Be one of the first to stay in
Gordon Campbell Gray’s new hotel, Le Gray, and enjoy the city’s bar and café
culture. Cox & Kings (020-7873 5000, coxandkings.co.uk)
has three nights’ B&B from £895pp, with flights.
Buy it in Boston
Pack in the shopping and the clam chowder on a fleeting visit to Boston, MA.
Leave Heathrow at 7.15pm on Friday, November 20, for three full days in the
city before an overnight Monday flight back, arriving at the eye-watering
time of 5.25am. Booked with Hayes & Jarvis (0871 6640246, hayesandjarvis.com),
the package, sold on a room-only basis, costs from £725pp.
Two days left
Gorilla safari in Rwanda
This has to be the ultimate short break — only two days off work, but a chance
to see the endangered mountain gorillas in the Virunga volcanoes, the former
home of Dian Fossey. A day of tracking the gorillas is followed by a day
watching golden monkeys and exploring volcanic trails. It’s an overnight
trip to Kigali via Nairobi on Wednesday, leaving at 8pm, and returning on
Sunday at 3am, landing at 5.35pm. The price is £1,800pp with Tailormade
Explore (0844 8751890, tailormadeexplore.co.uk).
Go mad in Morocco
Spend the weekend haggling in Marrakesh’s souk, or watching snake charmers in
the Djemaa el-Fna square. Travel on the Friday and Monday and get three
nights at the small riad Dar Anika. Prestige Holidays (01425 480400, prestigeholidays.co.uk)
has prices from £429pp B&B, with midday flights from Gatwick with
Atlas Blue.
Trip to Tripoli
You get a private guide plus excursions to the Roman amphitheatre of Leptis
Magna and to Jebel Nafusa on the Saharan fringes included in this
three-night stay in Tripoli. The package, which costs £985pp with The
Traveller (020-7436 9343, the-traveller.co.uk),
also includes flights, which leave Thursday to Sunday, and B&B.
Sunshine in Dubai
Fly overnight both ways and spend four nights in Dubai for the price of three
at the Desert Palm. So, leave Heathrow with BA at 9.35pm on Wednesday, and
return on Monday at 2.40am (OK, that’s only three and a half nights),
arriving at 6.20am, just in time to go to the office. It costs from £912,
with half board on paying nights, B&B on the free night, with Elegant
Resorts (01244 897516, elegantresorts.co.uk).
Cruise on the Queen Victoria
Who cares that you go only to Cherbourg, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge on this
cruise from Southampton, when you’re on one of the best ships in the world?
A departure on Saturday, December 5, costs from £559pp for four nights’ full
board, returning at 6.30am on Wednesday so, if you work near Southampton,
you won’t need to take that day off. For details, ring 0808 2026104 or visit sailfromuk.com.
Golfing in Bermuda
Enjoy a three-night golfing break at the Fairmont Southampton, which has an
18-hole par-three golf course and is near another four courses. Leave
Gatwick with BA on Saturday, November 21, returning at 6.35am on Wednesday,
November 25, from £1,079pp on a room-only basis, with Prestige Holidays
(01425 480400, prestige
holidays.co.uk). Green fees from $59 (£36).
Sharm el-Sheik on the cheap
For a flop-and-drop in the sun to get that all-important pre-Christmas tan,
this three-night stay in the Egyptian Red Sea resort is great value at
£281pp. It’s a five-hour flight from the UK and has year-round sunshine.
Monarch Holidays (0871 4238642, monarch.co.uk)
has flights leaving on Thursday morning, returning on Sunday evening.
Three days left
Christmas shopping in Bangkok
Hit the cheap markets and have your party clothes made at the tailors on a
flying visit to Thailand. Thai Airways flights leave Heathrow at 9.35pm, so
you can leave on Thursday after work, spend four nights at The Metropolitan,
and return on a lunchtime flight on Tuesday, getting in at 7.35pm. If you’ve
got only two days’ holiday left, you could even return on Monday at
midnight, getting in on Tuesday at 6.20am. Four nights’ B&B with
flights costs from £699 with Trailfinders (0845 0546060, trailfinders.com).
Swim with stingrays in Grand Cayman
It sounds decadent but, if you’re craving sunshine, this is the one — and it
costs a surprisingly low £800pp for three nights in a one-bedroom
self-catering suite with breakfast and car hire. The flights, which are also
included in the price, leave Heathrow at 9.50am on Saturday, arriving in
time for dinner, and return on Tuesday evening, arriving on Wednesday at
11.30am, giving you plenty of time to recover if you don’t have to be in the
office that afternoon. Book with Turquoise Holidays (www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk).
Salsa and cigars in Cuba
Enjoy the music and margaritas on four nights in Havana by flying out on a
Wednesday morning and returning overnight on Sunday in time for work the
next day. By day do the Hemingway bit and go deep-sea fishing or just soak
up the old colonial atmosphere. The Ultimate Travel Company (020-7386 4646, theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk)
offers four nights’ B&B from £795pp, including flights with Virgin
Atlantic.
Cave stay in the Canaries
Explore the dramatic volcanic scenery in the centre of Gran Canaria, with its
tall buttes of rock towering over deep ravines, on this independent walking
holiday. Stay in a cave house in Artenara, which costs from £170pp for four
nights, based on five people sharing, with Upland Escapes (01367 851111, uplandescapes.com).
EasyJet (easyjet.com) has flights early on
Thursday morning from Gatwick, with a return on Monday at 7.05pm, meaning
that you can enjoy four and a half days on the ground.
See the Big Five in Kenya
Tick off the animals, but not too many days from the calendar, on this mini
safari in Kenya. By flying overnight both ways with Airkenya, you can leave
after work on a Wednesday and be back at your desk on Tuesday morning. Black
Tomato (020-7426 9888, blacktomato.co.uk)
has four nights’ full board at Kicheche Mara Camp, staying in a luxury tent
and including game drives, from £1,780pp.
Jaunt to Jordan
Visit the famous city of Petra, which is hewn into the rock, then stay in a
Beduin-style camp to explore the magical landscapes of Wadi Rum. There’s
still availability on this £1,070 five-day group trip, leaving this Thursday
and returning the following Monday, with Explore (0845 0131537, explore.co.uk).
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