6 destinations for New Year, where you should book a trip now

Preparing your sledges in summer is not the worst advice when it comes to booking tickets for New Year’s Eve holidays. To ensure that you spend the most magical night of the year thousands of kilometers away from home, it’s better to start planning your holiday itinerary now.

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A few interesting locations for New Year’s Eve are in our advance selection for the most thoughtful travelers.

Northern Urals

The Northern Urals is one of the most inaccessible and therefore most attractive locations in Russia. Suffice it to say that these are the places where the legendary giant pillars of the Manpupunyur Plateau and Dyatlov Pass are located. In winter you can get to them only by snowmobiles, and therefore beginners who are not used to long travels and household restrictions, it is better to postpone trips to the legends for the summer. And in winter to enjoy the snow-white “Ural Lapland” in its more accessible version – to conquer the slopes of Gubakha, to be charmed by snowy caps of winter forest from the top of Pomyanenny Kamen, to walk along the filming locations of “Heart of Parma”, and after – to get cozy in a country house with a volume of Bazhov’s tales: “Malachite Casket” and “Silver hoof” come from these places.

Altai

Traveling to the Blue Lakes is a direct ticket from Moscow, St. Petersburg and any other metropolis to the real Russian winter. The nature of Altai is an endless source of inspiration. Going to the Blue Lakes, I tried to learn as much as possible about them: about the fact that the lakes show up from the Katun River only for a few months a year; about the fact that it is better to come to them at a certain time of day; and about the fact that the water in the lakes changes color depending on the lighting. But when after a long drive you cast your first glance at this fantastic place, all practical information instantly recedes into the background. And poetic metaphors replace each other in your mind, the best of which sounds like this: in life there should always be time to travel to yourself. The ringing silence of the pristine Altai taiga only emphasizes this.

Kamchatka

Winter Kamchatka is an absolute exotic even by the standards of sophisticated travelers. What is only heli-ski – freeride on “puffy snow” of sleeping volcanoes with a helicopter ride! It’s a double pleasure to drive straight to the beach, change your skis for a yacht and sail straight into the ocean.

Fish, surf, meet whales, orcas and seals. Return to land, eat caviar with a spoon and dip in a natural thermal “bath”. See a different life on the other side of the country and celebrate the New Year first in Russia.

Serbia

Today, Serbia remains one of the few affordable options to celebrate New Year and Christmas in Europe – with fairs, mulled wine and garlands on marvelous historical facades. The only hints of the Balkans here are the distinctive national rhythms instead of Sinatra and Father Mraz and the Snow Lady substituting for Santa.

However, this gives Serbian holidays an additional charm. After visiting the Tesla Museum and having had enough of Belgrade, go skiing in Kopaonik, tasting Vranac at the medieval fortress walls in Smederevo or wandering around the gloomy and gothic Nis – by the way, the oldest city in the Balkans. Whatever you choose, Serbia will not disappoint.

Tanzania

If sun, warmth and paradise are your New Year’s resolution, get tickets to Zanzibar. The birthplace of Freddie Mercury will welcome you with coral reefs, the colonial architecture of Stone Town and legendary night markets.

From the island, it’s an easy drive to the mainland – to meet the “African Five” wildlife on a photo safari. The only clarification – Tanzania requires time, it is impossible to travel around the country in 10 days. But if you don’t rush anywhere, you can have time to see Kilimanjaro at dawn, and tropical forests, and many other places – places of inspiration of the animators of “The Lion King”.

Kuuba

For Cubans, New Year’s Eve is another occasion for carnival! On the night of January 1 on the streets of Havana, Varadero and Cayo Coco go out thousands of dressed up Cubans in yellow and red costumes, and the dark southern sky painted with colorful fireworks.

By the way, on the first day of the new year the holiday continues, but on a different occasion – in honor of the Day of Liberation from the dictatorial regime of Batista. To see Cuba in all its diversity, it is worth adding a couple of days in the capital to the obligatory beach resorts: so colorful cities are still to be found!