Last night Russia was in the news and the scene with the snow and Saint Basil's in the background made me think - a weekend in Russia (because we will be in England for January and February). I have always wanted to go to Russia in winter.

But, I looked up flights on EasyJet, BMI and BA. EasyJet does not fly there (too bad, because Bristol airport is close to where we are staying). And it is over $500 each and a 4 hour flight. Who new Russia was so far away!!

I have promised myself that we will stay in England for those two months, with maybe one overnight up to northern England and one to London - but my mind is already ticking over possibilities of short breaks to other countries. If we do end up spending the rest of the year in England, we will do lots of short breaks, so I thought it might be fun to talk about some ideas here. Plus B&J is planning to do some European travel during her year in England.

So, where do you Brits go for short breaks? Which destinations works best and are easiest to get to?

Ryanair flies to destinations in Eastern europe. Poland is always good for a visit.

A lot of Brits come to Spain, I can tell you that. I have a friend here who commutes between here ( Andalucia) and Scotland and there are many who do this.

Quick flight to instant sun and warmth in the winter. Actually, the summer is the high season, but do not ask me why.

Pauline, I second the suggestion of Poland. We had a lovely little break (just three nights) in Krakow in the winter last year. We flew Easy Jet because Ryan Air flies to another airport about an hour away from the city. We really wanted to see the, reputedly amazing, salt mine and with great difficulty found the local bus to take us there - it took about an hour through quite unsalubrious parts but we finally made it....to find the lift had broken down and they weren't doing any more visits that day

Krakow itself is beautiful. When we were there the Easter market had started which was fun. There are bagel sellers on every corner so you never go hungry! We fully expect to return as we loved the city and loved all the people we met. More and more Polish cities are being added to the flight schedules as there are now so many Polish people working in Britain. Prague, of course is another popular choice for a city break. We have also enjoyed a winter trip to Barcelona; not warm but it is great to see the sun in a cloudless sky which is not a very frequent sight in an English winter.

I was thinking of Poland to substitute for Russia. Steve's ancestors (a few generations back) were from Poland, so I thought it would be interesting for him. We have a few good articles on Krakow on SlowTrav.

I had a quick look at EasyJet and they fly direct from Bristol - the flight is less expensive (about $120) but is almost as long. 3.5 hours.

I forgot about the time change for Russia!! On The World Clock it says Russia is GMT +3 hours. The flight is 4 hours. (Temps this week with highs just at freezing.)

For Poland the time is the same as Europe, GMT +1. The Easyjet flight is 2.5 hours. (Temps this week with highs in the low 40s.)

Shorter flight, we could fly from Bristol instead of Heathrow, only a one hour time change.

Spain sounds good too, but I was thinking of an overall winter theme to this trip. From cold and dry in Santa Fe, to cold and wet in England.

Well of course there's always Italy.

The problem with short breaks, though, is that you have to deal with all the security issues at the airport. These days I've come to the conclusion that it's almost not worth it. Maybe the fast train will be easier, but I shudder at the thought of having to go through that fiddly packing routine and endless queues at passport control when you come back into the country.

Pauline,

I don't recall your mentioning it, but have you been to Wales? Considering what beebee has said about the current complexities of international travel, perhaps a still unexplored section of the UK might be a viable alternative to a short trip to the continent.

We've been to Wales twice, the last time for about two weeks, and we really liked it.

Ann

Thanks Pauline for starting this thread. We are still working so hard at getting over to London but really do want to do some short trips. Maybe we will be deterred by all the security hassles but hopefully the travel will be worth it, even though it is for a short trip.

I am interested to hear some popular and not so popular options as well as potential costs. It would be nice to take some trips to some less expensive places. Means more trips.

Brenda

Pauline,
Did you look into St. Petersburg flights? Yes, that sight of St Basil's is fantastic any time of year and an image I want to see again to share with my family, but the Hermitage is cool too!

I think I read somewhere that there are easy flights from London to St. Petersburg and they even waive those painful Russian visa's, but I am not sure if that is for Brits only or what. I have not looked into this too deeply yet, as I am still not sure what is the best way for us to see Russia. We want a short trip of highlights, but longer than a week end.

I know there is a cheap flight from London into Turkey, because we talked to a few Brits who took them. One was the Londoner who was involved with the Turkey Captain of our gulet who flew there regularly to see him ( into Ismir I think)

. Another was a retired bobby from London who flew back and forth between London and Cappadocia. ( He just moved to Cappadocia and his child lived in London).

Istanbul is a very exciting city if you are looking for a city escape. I don't think it is warm in the winter, but I would guess it is sunny.

Dubrovnik or Croatia is another idea. It is much quieter in the winter I hear, but still very beautiful and romantic. Brits fly in for dental work, so I am guessing there are cheap flights there.

We met lots of Brits in Morocco who were off on a short holiday. One interesting couple invited us to stay with them and or park our RV on their farmland near London, which we probably will look into.

Lots of Brits ( and French) go to Greece. Perhaps that is not as good in the winter though, as much is closed.

Egypt is another possibility. I think we will fly there this winter, but again for a little longer than a weekend.

The Scandanavian countries or cities are an idea, although I would prefer them in the summer.

Latvia is a place I hear some Brits raving about, but we have not been to this area, so I am clueless. It might be something to look into.

Budapest seems to be a place that people either love or hate. It might work for you. Vienna is not far away and is another idea, especially if you are interested in music. Lots of Hapburg charm, or maybe Saltzburg and its winter's charm?

Obviously, I am not a Brit, but we talk to many and we also think in terms sometimes of possibly leaving from London for some touring. ( It is an easy flight between Malaga and London).

I would think the ideas are endless from such a hub.

For short winter breaks, all the obvious culprits - Paris, Amsterdam, and so on, but Eastern Europe is very popular as it's relatively cheap - Krakow or Tallinn for examples (though that's almost St Petersburg).

If you don't want the faff of airports, then train via Paris to almost anywhere else in France (the Riviera? Strasbourg?), or Brussels to Amsterdam or Germany might be a possibility (though not as cheap as the really cheapo flights).

You could get some ideas from www.guardian.co.uk/travel, or the BBC may be about to start its annual series of programmes on holidays and travel.

quote:

but Eastern Europe is very popular as it's relatively cheap

Yes, and Vilnius, Lithuania, has become another popular destination for Brits and Western Europeans. There are several daily flights, and many RT fares are below $300. (We flew the other direction in June - from Vilnius to London/Gatwick.)

However, you still have to keep in mind that weather will be an important consideration for any of the Baltic states in the winter.

Ann

Hello Pauline,
Some interesting ideas above but, slightly closer to home, as well as Wales you might enjoy a trip to "The Channel Isles" or Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly.

You would still have a winter theme obviously but usually the daffodils are out in early February that far south and are a sight to behold.
(Cornwall is still able to keep a few flower farms going but the Isles of Scilly have a few specialising in daffodils and narcissi.)

It's good walking country too and you need not fly.
If you are a poor sailor though you might want to consider it.
Generally speaking it is less stressful to fly from smaller airports like Southampton but even Bristol wouldn't be as bad as the "London 3".

Self catering properties are at a premium on The Isles of Scilly even in winter but Cornwall has a squillion and The Channel Isles have a fair few now,some available at that time of year for the week end.
Wendy

Much or maybe even most of Spain is not at all warm in the winter. I discovered this when I did some weather research for a possible Spanish trip.

I agree with Wendy's comment on flying from small airports. So much less stressful!

Our nearest is Coventry from which the budget airline, 'Thomsonfly' goes to Salzburg, Faro, Malaga and few others in the winter (lots more in the spring and summer). The airport is still just basically a few large sheds, no shopping facilities to speak of and minimal security delays (although they are thorough). Except for the security aspect, it feels a bit like an airport of the 1960's. The downside is that there is nothing to do if your flight delayed but the upside is the lack of crowds and ease of parking etc. right by the terminal. I would guess that the experience at airports like Bournemouth, Southampton and Exeter are similar.

quote:

Much or maybe even most of Spain is not at all warm in the winter. I discovered this when I did some weather research for a possible Spanish trip.

It is not only warm, it is hot here in Andalusia,Spain! We are in shorts and camisole tops and could be tanning if we were the type.

It is true that it is much cooler in Madrid and Barcelona in the winter, I hear.

It is not as hot in Andalusia now as in the summer, of course and it can be cool in the early morning or night, but we never wore more than a sweater last year. Of course, even parts of Andalusia are cooler and rainier than other parts ( inland and high altitudes).

It is very, very sunny with almost no rain all winter, in my little micro climate. Just the way I like to spend the winter.

I think this is good advice to do our "vacation within a vacation" in England. We were thinking of a short break to go up north. Another one to Wales or Cornwall is a good idea. Or into London for a couple of nights. I think my dream of a winter vacation in Russia will have to wait.

WT, that sounds very enticing. Obviously I didn't look far or long enough!

Pauline, I do apologise. I've been spending a lot of time on notesinspanish.com, which I learned about here, and I've only just noticed this. I think the best place to look if you do think of going to another country is probably http://www.skyscanner.net/
It even tells you when it's cheaper to go out and back with different cheap airlines. I don't think there are any cheapies to Russia but there are some from Bristol to eastern Europe.

Pauline,

If you do go to Wales, you should find this this Website useful. We did. For some reason, the CADW site itself wouldn't load, but if the same policy is still in place, you may be able to get a CADW pass for visitors while you are still in the US. I believe they are for varying lengths of time - 4 days, 1 week, etc.

Ann

Hi Pauline, we too are intrigued by the short break from the Uk idea and while getting on a plane is a hassle (security, queues etc) we have found since the European Union has come into being, getting off a plane is now relatively quick! The queues at immigration when entering the UK are for UK and EEU passport holders,pretty much everyone from the plane, we (as Aussies) went to the "others" queue and it consisted of us and one American family. Very speedy!
We are trying out a short trip to Prague soon as we too are looking for the winter wonderland theme. As much as we are missing the sun and heat, we are getting into the very festive feeling that is about at this chilly time of year. Cornwall is another place we want to go to stay for a long weekend but it is frustratingly hard to get into anything as it is so popular at any time of the year! Book ahead!We also have a two day weekend planned to visit Brighton and stay in a sea side hotel. Cheesy I know, but I'm so looking forward to it. A place that we spent two nights in that we all adored was just outside of Mumbles in Wales. A gorgeous spot and some lovely cliff top walks, pub lunches and stretches of coastline. A beach in winter can be a lovely thing. And boy, did we get our seafood quota that weekend!
Good luck!
RobynAP

Just had another thought, what about Dublin? It is a great city for a short break and not that hard to get to from the UK. Cheers, RobynAP

Don't forget the often forgotten north of Ireland.
There are direct flights from Bristol to City of Derry (Ryanair)and to Belfast International (Easyjet).