Beat the winter blues with these restorative escapes
Getty ImagesFrom a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences.
Flying off to a sun-soaked beach is the classic antidote to winter gloom. And while a few days of doing nothing can be soothing, relaxation alone isn't always enough to beat the cold weather blues.
Choose warmth with purpose, however, and a winter escape becomes a meaningful way to contribute to the places you visit – whether by supporting women-run hotels, community tourism alliances or conservation projects. From Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle to Panama's turtle-rich Pacific coast, here are eight places you'll feel warm inside and out.
Maldives: Island life, done the local way
The Maldives' dry season peaks over Christmas and New Year, making it prime time for turquoise lagoons and powder-soft sand. But beyond the resort islands, a quieter, more community-focussed version of the Maldives is taking shape.
Getty ImagesOn Horsburgh Atoll, three inhabited islands – Goidhoo, Fehendhoo and Fulhadhoo – have joined forces to form the Horsburgh Atoll Tourism Alliance (HATA), a locally run initiative that puts travellers directly in touch with island-owned guesthouses and experiences, ensuring 100% of your trip supports the community and the marine environment. HATA also encourages visitors to take its Conscious Traveler Pledge. For travellers seeking beach bliss with genuine local connection, this is the Maldives at its most rewarding.
Peru: Follow pisco back to its source
Peru's summer rainy season (November to April) may not be ideal for hiking in the Andean Highlands, but there's no bad time to sip pisco in its birthplace That's the thinking behind the Rutas del Pisco (Pisco Routes), a series of distillery-hopping tourist routes launched in 2025. Centred in four major pisco-producing regions – Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna – the driving and cycling routes invite travellers to explore Peru beyond the usual hotspots, spreading tourism into lesser-visited regions while celebrating the country's national grape-based spirit.
Many travellers will start their holiday in Lima, and the historic bars of the capital add cultural depth to a pisco-focused trip. Time your visit for National Pisco Sour Day, held on the first Saturday of February. The Gran Hotel Bolivar's bar, credited with popularising the cocktail in the 1920s-30s, remains the place to celebrate.
Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle: A hotel that redefines hospitality
Cyclone Ditwah dealt Sri Lanka a devastating blow after making landfall in November 2025 – the beginning of peak tourist season. But authorities confirm that major attractions have reopened, including the Cultural Triangle at the heart of the island nation that showcases ancient Sinhalese civilisation through historic cities, cave temples, grand stupas and other intriguing relics. Here, near Dambulla, a new hotel is adding a contemporary social dimension to that history.
Getty ImagesOpened in 2025, Amba Yaalu is Sri Lanka's first hotel entirely staffed and run by women, addressing deep gender imbalances in a tourism industry where women make up less than 10% of the workforce. Overlooking the Kandalama Reservoir, the hotel pairs modern design with thoughtful cultural immersion, from guided village visits to night safaris at Popham's Arboretum. It's a place where staying overnight supports something grander than the view.
South Africa: Safari season with a lighter footprint
Marked by hot weather and refreshing rains, South Africa's November-to-April "green season" is the perfect time for fewer crowds and lush landscapes in its game reserves. It's also when you'll find some of the best wildlife viewing, with migratory birds arriving en masse and predators searching for calving antelopes.
The country is leading the way in sustainable options for travellers to choose from. In Limpopo's biodiversity-rich Soutpansberg Mountains, Few & Far Lovhondo is a new carbon-neutral luxury lodge using tourism revenue to fund large-scale rewilding in a region where only 1% of land is formally protected. Also new is the colour-popping Masaya's Camp, set within a private concession in Greater Kruger National Park. It forms part of a collection of lodges that are almost entirely solar powered. Closer to the coast, conservation-focused Lalibela Wildlife Reserve is the only game reserve in Eastern Cape that has more lions than game viewers. Together, they're proof that wildlife tourism can play a restorative role in some of the continent's most biodiverse landscapes.
Mariato, Panama: An intimate introduction to rural Panama
Panama's wild Pacific coast comes into its own during the dry season, but few travellers venture as far as the Mariato district in Veraguas Province. That's beginning to change with the creation of the Eco Ruta Tortuga.
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This rustic driving route (also suitable for cycling and walking in some sections) links coastal communities offering hands-on cultural experiences, from tamale cooking classes to waterfall hikes. You can even try your hand at crushing sugar cane juice with a traditional wooden trapiche or master milking a cow. At its heart is the Fundación Agua y Tierra, dedicated to the protection and conservation of sea turtles, where travellers can observe the release of baby turtles into the Pacific. Stay at the environmentally sensitive and family-friendly Morillo Beach Resort; troupes of howler monkeys swing through the surrounding jungle while English-speaking guides take you on rainforest hikes or give surfing lessons.
Cairo, Egypt: See the city through women's eyes
Winter is Cairo at its most liveable, with mild days ideal for exploring both ancient wonders and everyday city life. While the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum is now open and drawing global attention, some of the capital's most compelling stories are unfolding at street level. This is where a new generation of Egyptian women are paving the way for future female entrepreneurs in a nation with one of the widest gender gaps.
Getty ImagesJoin a walking tour with female-founded Bellies en-Route to meet some of the inspiring female cooks putting their stamp on Cairo's culinary scene. Or book a guided meander with Asma Khattab, who founded Walk Like an Egyptian to share her love for Egyptian heritage and craftmanship with travellers seeking a deeper connection to Egypt's capital.
The emirate of Sharjah is carving out a niche in heritage tourism in a nation better known for excess, drawing travellers beyond Dubai into its red desert landscapes. Its newly Unesco-inscribed Faya Palaeolandscape preserves evidence of human habitation stretching back more than 200,000 years, and is best visited during the milder winter months via Mleiha National Park, which protects a significant portion of the landscape.
Here, travellers can explore archaeological sites such as the Valley of the Caves, home to Palaeolithic-era settlements; or Fossil Rock, a rock formation embedded with ancient marine fossils. There are also new camping and glamping offerings as well as easy access to stargazing experiences. This winter's highlights include the annual Quadrantids meteor shower (peaking from 3-4 January 2026) and the next significant total lunar eclipse (2-4 March 2026).
Southland, New Zealand: A spectacular Great Walk without the crowds
January and February are peak tramping season in Aotearoa New Zealand. If you're lucky, you might be able to snag a last-minute spot on the nation's newest Great Walk, the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track. Immersing hikers in the otherworldly scenery of Fiordland National Park in the country's isolated south-west, the 62km, three-day walk is also helping to revitalise the local economy by spreading tourism to lesser-visited towns near the quieter southern reaches of the national park.
The small agricultural town of Tuatapere also makes a relaxing base to explore the ice-carved fjords and valleys of the national park as well as the forests and fertile plains of the wider Southland region, far from the crowds flocking to Milford Sound and Queenstown further north.
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