Then soothe the muscles with a soak in a Jacuzzi or a visit to a spa.HOW? Frontier Ski (020-8776 8709; ) offers a week at the Glaciers Reach in Whistler Village North.HOW MUCH? From £1,193 including scheduled flights between Heathrow and Vancouver on Air Canada and transfers, departing on 23 December.WHERE? Kenya and TanzaniaWHY? Christmas is – or should be – all about families. You can also go snowmobiling, dogsledding, snowshoeing, flight-seeing and zip-trekking (gliding along steel cables suspended high above the ground). Quest offer flights to New Zealand on various airlines: the best fare at present is £1,439 return on Cathay Pacific from Heathrow via Hong Kong, leaving on 16 December, back on 4 January.WHERE? WhistlerWHY? There’s no gamble on whether it will be a white Christmas at one of the world’s top winter sports resorts in British Columbia.WHAT? There may be vast amounts of skiable terrain on two mountains rising a vertical mile above the valley, but we’re not just talking excellent downhill, heli, cat and cross-country skiing and boarding. On any day of the year – except 25 December – you can take a jet-boat ride down the Shotover River, brave a 134-metre bungy jump, take a helicopter flight and do some white-water rafting.HOW? Plenty of Australasia specialists will fix you up with a bespoke trip.HOW MUCH? Five nights at Rydges Lakeland Resort and the “Awesome Foursome” package costs from £367 per person through Quest Travel (0870 442 3513; ) On top of this, you will need to buy the flight. To fly Premium Economy add £199 from Gatwick, £249 from Manchester.David OrkinFIVE ADVENTURESWHERE? New ZealandWHY? Work up an appetite for a festive roast lamb dinner by getting the adrenalin flowing among New Zealand’s stunning mountain scenery.WHAT? Make sure you visit Queenstown, the country’s adventure capital.
The company can also arrange flights from Manchester on 16 December.HOW MUCH? From Gatwick flights cost £1,069 including transfers; from Manchester, £1,089, both on Excel Airways. Even though it was annexed by India in 1962, Goa has a big Christian community.WHAT? Visit Old Goa for the best old churches, Panaji (Panjim) for a curious mix of Portuguese and Indian architecture, and the beaches for the Indian Ocean.HOW? For departures from Gatwick on 17 December, Gateway Holidays (0871 222 8379; ) offers 14 nights at the Nizmar Resort, Calangute, including breakfast. Before the “longhairs” arrived, the Portuguese ran Goa as a colony. There are plenty of extra activities: at the Amaryllis Beach Resort on the south coast of Barbados you can also snorkel in the resort’s natural sea aquarium or relax in the expansive tropical gardens.HOW? For departures any day 13-17 December, Virgin Holidays (0871 222 0304; ww.virgin /holidays) offers flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick to Barbados, 14 nights’ room only at the Amaryllis Beach Resort, gala dinner and transfers.HOW MUCH? From £1,485.WHERE? GoaWHY? Package holiday bargain-seekers have taken over from backpackers. Flights on Air France via Paris (out 17 December, back 31 December) through ebookers (0870 814 0000; ) cost £1,090.WHERE? BarbadosWHY? There’s no need to leave Christmas behind on the Caribbean island known as “Little England”.WHAT? Celebrations – such as the Christmas Eve Gala Dinner – are a tradition at resorts on the island. The elegant villa is in a quiet residential area 25 minutes from Grand Bay.HOW? Book through Villas de Maitre (01296 334138; ).HOW MUCH? The three-bedroom villa costs £539 per night over Christmas. Fiji issues special Christmas stamps, which you can stick on postcards to annoy your pals.WHAT? Languish in a hammock under swaying palm trees sipping a Christmas cocktail.HOW? Talpacific Holidays (020-8288 8400; ) offers flights with Air New Zealand departing on 17 December from Heathrow via Los Angeles, transfers, nine nights at the Treasure Island Resort and three at the Sonaisali Island Resort, breakfast included.HOW MUCH? £2,395WHERE? MauritiusWHY? To swim in the Indian Ocean, sharing a three-bedroom Moroccan-style villa.WHAT? Relax on the villa’s rooftop terrace, watch the sunset and unwind from the rigours of another day lazing in the garden.
The 100-minute hop to Christmas Island costs A$850 (£338) return. A fortnight in a double room at the Christmas Island Resort (00 61 8 9164 8888) costs A$1,980 (£787).WHERE? FijiWHY? Christmas is a big event in this South Sea archipelago – half the population is Christian. First, fly to Bali, for example from Heathrow via Singapore on 16 December, connecting with the Saturday-only flight on Austasia Airlines to Christmas Island.HOW MUCH? A flight to Bali, returning early in January, costs £818 through Opodo (0870 241 7051, ). It was named for the day it was discovered in 1643.WHAT? You can snorkel among the coral reefs, dive deep with scuba gear, take a 4×4 trip through the jungle – or play golf, on the island’s own nine-hole course.HOW? Spending Christmas at Christmas is not easy. And because Australia’s Indian Ocean island is like nowhere else on earth: 400 Chinese, Malay and European people co-exist on the peak of a submerged mountain, which they share with 100 million red crabs. The island is 200 miles away from Java, but officially part of Australia, 1,000 miles distant. CPFAR-FLUNG BEACHESWHERE? Christmas IslandWHY? To put the “X” in Xmas: your luggage tag will show the code XCH.
