WHERE SAVVY TRAVELLERS ARE HEADING FOR WINTER SUN (AND WHERE THEY ARE AVOIDING)
We’ve come a long way since package holidays first took off in the Sixties. While sun, sea and sangria were once enough, the tastes of holidaymakers have evolved so much over the years that simply sitting on a beach won’t cut it these days. Instead, a new breed of breaks involves swapping over-tourism for authenticity, mixing time on the sand with sightseeing and embracing local life in some pretty exotic locales.
The world’s savviest travellers are swapping out old favourites for more fashionable destinations that reflect the current zeitgeist. From (relatively) deserted islands to sun-soaked cities, these are the places they’ll be heading to this winter – and the ones that they’ll avoid.
Out: The Maldives
In: Thailand
Dangerous fruit and dodgy parties haven’t deterred viewers of The White Lotus from Thailand. Operators credit the February 2025 release of season three – filmed at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui – with boosting interest in the country, which suffered a fall in visitor numbers post-pandemic.
Now, holidaymakers are choosing it as an alternative to the Maldives, where enquiries are down, according to tour operator Love To Explore. But they’re looking for more than just the pools and plush villas of the Netflix series.
“There’s a definite move away from purely beach-based stays towards itineraries that combine wellness, culture, food and adventure. Guests are pairing island escapes with cooking classes in Chiang Mai or temple visits in Chiang Rai,” says Katie Jacholke of Timbuktu Travel.
Timbuktu Travel’s Winter Escape to Thailand includes time in Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and the seaside town of Krabi. It costs from £7,185pp, including activities and some meals, but excluding international flights (0203 8083 860).
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Out: Tulum
In: Isla Holbox
For a while, every influencer worth their salt was posing on a Tulum daybed. The Mexican beach resort had a boho vibe, enhanced by its seaside Mayan ruins. But it soon went from laid-back to ludicrously busy, losing its magic in the process.
In-the-know visitors to the Mayan Riviera are instead embracing the car-free island of Holbox, where there’s milk-white sand and a scattering of fairy-lit boutique hotels. The chicest is Ser Casasandra, a place of canopied beds and mid-century accents where well-heeled American and Mexican holidaymakers meet over nights of live music and days of dolphin-spotting boat trips.
“Holbox offers a slower, more intentional experience,” says owner Sandra Pérez. “Its hospitality scene is leading the way in sustainable practices, protecting coral reefs and wildlife, while supporting local artisans and cultural programmes.”
Nomade Holbox, the younger sister to a trend-setting hotel in Tulum, is making waves too: expect treehouses, sound baths and a fusion restaurant for haute hippies.
Love Holidays has a week at Ser Casasandra from £1,679pp, B&B, including flights (020 8175 1145).
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Out: Barbados
In: The British Virgin Islands
Famously a favourite with Simon Cowell and the late Michael Winner, Barbados is in need of an image overhaul and a handful of its famed hotels, including the historic Colony Club (which reopened in September 2025), have been shuttered for refurbishment. Meanwhile, a quieter corner of the Caribbean has been making a name for itself. Visitor numbers are up 10 per cent year-on-year in the British Virgin Islands, according to sailing operator Sunsail, with its bookings echoing a wider trend.
It’s partly due to new direct flights on American Airlines’ route from Miami, which minimise travel time and make this smattering of 60 islands more appealing. Then there are the chic new openings and hotel makeovers. Top of the list are the refurbished Seventies beach bungalows and new overwater marina lofts at old-favourite Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda (so in-demand that the hotel stipulates a minimum five-night stay).
Sunsail has a week on a skippered yacht in the BVI from £4,236 based on two people travelling, excluding meals and flights (0330 332 1171).
Out: Bali
In: Flores
Influencers and party-hards have ruined Bali for the rest of us. Now there are expensive boutiques and beach clubs where there used to be nothing but jungle, white sand and an empty horizon.
In search of something less spoilt, adventurous travellers have begun to make for Flores to its east in shoulder season (avoiding January and February’s peak monsoon period). Much bigger than Bali, with perfect beaches and pristine jungle, it has an added attraction: it’s the gateway to the Unesco-protected Komodo National Park.
Roads remain bumpy and hikes in the interior can be hard, but five-star resorts have opened in the once-sleepy fishing village of Labuan Bajo. Still, some visitors prefer the flexibility of a liveaboard, giving easy access to the underwater world offshore. Guests with Silolona Soujourns travel on two specially-made phinisi (traditional cargo boats) where single-use plastics are banned and coral-safe diving is a non-negotiable.
Intrepid Travel’s nine-night group Komodo and Flores Adventure involves hikes, homestays and two nights aboard a boat. It costs from £1,368pp, including some meals but excluding flights (0330 808 7328).
Out: The Kruger
In: Kenya
Recently improved road connections to the coast mean safari-plus-beach combos are now easier in Kenya, making it an attractive alternative to South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Cape Town.
The Kenyan coast has its fair share of faceless hotels, but a newer breed is catering for a more discerning crowd. Amongst them is Kinondo Kwetu, on a peaceful stretch of seaside near Diani Beach, which takes its design cues from bush lodges. “It feels like an extension of a safari, just with the bonus of beachside relaxation,” says Kirsten Jonker, operator Yellow Zebra’s training manager.
The country is also known for its friendly, unpretentious camps – including Moon’s Camp in the Lolldaiga Hills, which hires from local communities and buys food from nearby suppliers. And, if the BBC series Human has inspired a trip into the past, there are few better places to explore it than the Turkana Basin. It’s a remote region renowned for its fossil record: in 1984, a local paleontologist discovered the 1.6 million year old remains of a homo erectus boy here, close to the world’s largest desert lake. Stay at Koros Camp for crocodiles, camel trains and ancient rock art.
Yellow Zebra has an eight-night trip, with time on safari and by the beach, from £5,372pp, full-board, including flights (020 3966 5850).
Out: Marrakech
In: Tangier
Too touristy, too boho and just too done; visitors to Morocco are shunning Marrakech in favour of a less well-trodden destination: Tangier. The once gritty city has been regenerated under the direction of King Mohammed VI, bringing a new high-speed rail station and huge marina that resembles those of Marbella or Sotogrande across the strait of Gibraltar. It will soon welcome a five-star hotel from Hilton’s boutique brand Canopy too.
Tangier these days is a place of palm-lined promenades, vibrant street art and a far sleepier medina than Marrakech. Here, winding alleyways reveal The Petit Socco, a once notorious square packed with drug dealers, escorts and the odd beat poet (Paul Bowles and William Burroughs lived here).
Beside the old city, a glitzy brunch scene makes it easy to mix the historic with the new. Exemplified by newly opened Kaya with its sprawling terrace and fantastic sushi, it’s the perfect foil to jaunts back in time.
Kirker Holidays has three-night breaks at the four-star Le Mirage from £1,298pp, B&B, including flights (020 7593 2288).
Out: Costa Rica
In: Belize
With the lodges and beaches of Costa Rica increasingly thronged, another Central American country has stepped forward to share the load. “A new direct Air Canada flight from Montreal to Belize launches in December 2025 and will boost European connectivity, making it possible to travel between Europe and Belize in a single day,” says Tim Hentschel, co-founder and CEO of Hotelplanner.com.
Though it’s escaped much attention from the UK, “Belize is a top player within adventure and dive tourism thanks to its barrier reef,” he adds. Other things to see include jaguar-dotted jungle, laid-back Ambergris Caye (said to be the inspiration for Madonna’s La Isla Bonita) and the Mayan ruins of Caracol.
While Costa Rica hotels lean rustic, Belize will soon have some very posh places to stay. Four Seasons Caye Chapel and Six Senses Belize open in 2026.
Rainbow Tours’ tailor-made 11-night Blissful Belize itinerary includes time in the jungle of the Cayo District and on the Caribbean coast. It costs from £4,195pp including some meals and international flights (0208 131 3897).
Out: Melbourne
In: Perth
In the not-too-distant-past, hip cities focused on coffee culture, one-of-a-kind boutiques and buzzy urban districts. But the pandemic’s cultural shift has left people craving sunshine and a slower pace. Step forward Perth, a gold rush city with a firm emphasis on the good life and plenty of beaches, parks and seaside restaurant terraces.
Expedia reports that searches for the city are up 60 per cent this autumn while it also has the fastest-growing airline seat capacity in Australia. New hotels are coming too: March 2026 will see the launch of Hyde Perth, an outpost of the cool chain with branches in Ibiza, Miami and Dubai.
Most UK visitors use Perth as a launch pad for Western Australia’s wineries, Indian Ocean beaches and hiking and biking trails. They can now travel along Australia’s longest EV highway, a route linking 110 fast-charging stations across 4,350 miles.
Travelbag’s week-long Perth, Wildlife and Wine Escape mixes time in the city with swims with wild dolphins and time in the wine capital of Margaret River. It costs from £3,199pp, room only, including flights and car hire (020 3432 2141).
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Out: Lanzarote
In: El Hierro
Anti-tourism sentiment has plagued the bigger Canary Islands in recent years and, at the end of 2024, the government announced a “regenerative tourism” plan that shunned closeted mega resorts in favour of snorkelling and volcano tourism. But it was wild El Hierro, with its volcanic valleys and laurel forests, that drew the headlines, with the revelation that it will become the first net-zero island in the chain.
The tiny island, a Unesco Global Geopark reached by plane from Gran Canaria or Tenerife, has long swum against the tide, favouring B&Bs over chain hotels and national parks over water parks. Though it will be home to just one of 44 new hotels scheduled to open in the Canaries by 2028, its offering should chime with current trends – Canarian Weekly reports that it will be housed in a converted monastery surrounded by chic new villas. In the meantime, luxe lovers should seek out the glitzy suite at Hotel Puntagrande, complete with a four-poster and terrace with views of the pounding Atlantic (also worth checking out: the hotel’s retro Cigar Club).
Cachet Travel has a week at the Parador El Hierro, from £1,191, B&B, including flights (020 8847 8700).
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This article was first published in September 2025 and has been revised and updated.
2025-09-06T09:55:53Z
