Issue No. 6 - Where Next? – Where to go in December

Wondering where to go in December?  Here are a few ideas for the holiday season.

Lapland - Finland

I guess the most obvious choice for somewhere to go in December is Lapland.  Everyone knows, Santa lives in Lapland – but where is Lapland and what is there to know about the spiritual home of the great man himself?  Well, Lapland which is the largest and most northerly region of what we know as Finland.  Lapland is now home to 3.4% of the Finnish population and is very sparsely populated.  In fact, its population is only around 169,000 and has been in decline since 1990.

Santa Claus Village is an amusement park near
Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of  Finland

But where exactly does Santa live?  Well, he lives in a town called Rovaniemi, where it is Christmas all year round. Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland and is located on the Northern Arctic Circle and from here you can go on safari to see the famous Northern Lights.

Located just two hours flight from London, it’s possible to take a day trip to see Santa and all his elves hard at work in Santa’s Village.  So this is a definite must do if you have children.

For more information about Lapland visit: http://www.visitfinland.com

Mexico

Next up is Mexico, sandwiched between the United States of America in the north and Guatemala and Belize to the South, Mexico is divided into temperate and tropical climates by the Tropic of Cancer which slices through it’s heart.  According to Wikipedia this gives Mexico one of the most diverse weather systems in the world.

Endangered Green Sea Turtle

If you’re into all things nature, Mexico is definitely the place to head, as it is the most bio-diverse country in the world for reptiles.  Apparently there are around 707 species of them hanging out.  I know, who knew?  Not only that, it is also home to between 10-12% of the whole world’s biodiversity, which is pretty impressive.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Mexico received 23.4 million international tourists in 2012 second only to the USA for the whole of the Americas.  Peak season is in December when people flock to the beach resorts on the Caribbean coast but there are plenty of cultural sites to visit for those of us who get fidgety sitting on the beach.

Mexico is also the largest Spanish speaking country in the world, so if you want to try out what you learnt at school, Mexico is definitely the place to visit, for those of you not so familiar with the lingo, there is always the trusty phrase book.

Chamonix - France

Mont Blanc

Finally, what about a bit of Skiing in Chamonix?  Skiing in December is generally a little early in the season but there are still a few places that can usually be relied upon to deliver the white stuff.  The advice is to generally opt for a ski resort that can offer a range of ski areas.  Chamonix is perfect for this as it has an impressive 11 separate ski areas.

Never Summer Proto HDX Snowboard

The Chamonix Valley stretches from Servoz to Barberine on the Swiss border.  Chamonix has 5 ski resorts and one off piste lift (the Aiguille du Midi) for more information go to: http://www.chamonix.net/english/chamonix

Whatever you are into; skiing, snowboarding, mountaineering, cross country skiing, paragliding, dog sledging or ice climbing, it is all here, so you definitely won’t get bored.  You can even climb Mont Blanc if you’re feeling really energetic.  Just don’t break anything and keep warm!  For all your ski apparrel and equipment visit www.lotustravelessentials.co.uk

If you have some good ideas on where to go in December, please send me your comments, I would love to hear them.  Also if you have plans to visit somewhere in December please let me know, I am sure to get envious!

Thanks for reading, see you next week and in the meantime, I hope that you can take sometime to check out LotusTravelEssentials.co.uk happy & safe travelling.