Home > Holidays > Short Breaks > New Year Breaks

New Year Breaks in Southern Europe

Choose from one of these wonderful hotels for a truly special New Year experience. In these specially selected locations, lively southern festivities can seem like the perfect beginning to the year ahead. Whether you want to take in Funchal's firework display on Madeira or experience sumptuous opulence on Mallorca, we will be delighted to arrange your celebratory trip. All holidays include detailed walking notes.

• Madeira • Tenerife • Mallorca • Andalucia, Spain • Almería, Spain • La Rioja, Spain • Catalonia, Spain • Alicante, Spain

Fireworks in Funchal

With four nights at the luxurious 5-star Quinta do Monte (with heated indoor swimming pool), perched high above Madeira’s capital, Funchal, you see in the New Year in style with a six-course gourmet dinner accompanied by live classical music. After dinner enjoy a bird’s-eye view of Funchal’s fireworks from this prime location, accompanied by champagne and then dancing into the early hours. We also include a hire car, as well as walking notes to help you explore Madeira’s famous levada paths and dramatic mountain landscapes.

Nights: 4
Meals: dinner & breakfast each day, with special New Year's Eve dinner
Room upgrades: superior room £22pp/n; suite £32pp/n
*Included travel: 4 days' category C car hire

Festive Fun on Tenerife

New Year is a lively event in the atmospheric old port of Garachico on the island’s quiet north-west coast, and you are sure to enjoy it tremendously. With four nights at the Quinta Roja, a stylish 4-star hotel in the heart of this dramatically sited village, you have the chance to do some classic walks on the island (walking notes included), and celebrate with a special meal before joining villagers in the square for fireworks and dancing that often lasts until daybreak!

Nights: 4
Meals: breakfast each day, plus special New Year's Eve dinner
Included room: superior
Room upgrade: junior suite £10pp/n
*Included travel: 4 days' category A car hire

Indulgence in Mallorca

Our four-night, 4-star New Year specials at the Hotel Valldemossa in the tranquil north-west corner of the island are a luxurious treat, with the emphasis squarely on indulgence. We include a hire car and walking notes so that you can explore the mountains and coast during the day (unwind afterwards in the spa and indoor pool), but the highlight is New Year’s Eve, when you are treated to a gastronomic gala dinner, something you will remember for years. For that extra touch of opulence, choose to upgrade to a junior suite.

Nights: 4
Meals: breakfast each day, plus special New Year's Eve dinner
Room upgrade: junior suite £40pp/n
*Included travel: 4 days' category A car hire

Elegance in Andalucia

Celebrate in style at La Herriza, an elegant country estate immersed deep in the beautiful hills of the Sierra de Alcornocales Natural Park, where you stay in one of the tastefully decorated cottages. Just an hour from Malaga Airport, this fabulous spot is within easy reach of the famous Andalucian white towns of Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera and Grazalema. Your four-night stay includes a sumptuous gala dinner on 31 December followed by music and dancing, as well as a special New Year’s Day brunch and a hire car to allow you to explore the local area - we provide many suggestions for sightseeing and walking from the doorstep in the mountains to allow you to walk off any over-indulgence!

Nights: 4
Meals: dinner & breakfast each day, with special New Year's Eve dinner & New Year's Day brunch
*Included travel: 4 days' category A car hire

Fiesta in Grazalema

Enjoy four nights at the welcoming La Mejorana, sampling first-rate hospitality from your hosts, Andres and Ana. Boasting enviable views over the village and the sierra beyond, this delightfully renovated town house is an excellent base from which to explore the area on foot (we provide detailed walking notes) and from where to see in the New Year. Celebrate the last day of the year in a very Spanish way with a fine four-course dinner (included) at the local restaurant, before continuing into the village square for champagne and traditional festivities.

Nights: 4
Meals: breakfast each day, plus special New Year's Eve dinner
*Included travel: 4 days' category A car hire

Atmospheric Almería

For a truly atmospheric break, why not spend four nights at the elegant 4-star Cortijo el Sotillo, set within a tranquil country estate on the outskirts of bustling San José on the coast of Almería? This is one of the Mediterranean’s final unspoiled regions, its landscapes more reminiscent of North Africa than of Europe. With immediate access to superb walking over rugged cliff-tops or along spectacular golden beaches (walking notes provided), you will build up a healthy appetite for the gala dinner on New Year’s Eve, which includes a free bar and the traditional ‘lucky grapes’ - one to be eaten with each chime of the midnight clock - and sparkling cava, followed by music until the early hours.

Nights: 4
Meals: breakfast each day, plus special New Year's Eve dinner
*Included travel: 4 days' category A car hire

Revelry in La Rioja

For a quiet, authentic Spanish New Year celebration, the traditional Villa de Ábalos in the honey-coloured village of Ábalos in the heart of La Rioja offers the perfect solution. This charming hotel is a lovingly restored grand manor house where owners José Luis and Merche welcome you and offer a wealth of local knowledge. With open fires and an excellent restaurant, the Villa makes the perfect base for some gentle walking (notes provided) through the fertile valleys of the upper Ebro. More importantly, the restaurant offers the finest of local wines and gastronomy, culminating in a sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner. As a real wine connoisseur, José Luis is always on hand to advise on wines and may even be able to arrange a wine-tasting at one of the many local bodegas. With a car, you can also discover the rich cultural heritage of this fascinating area.

Nights: 4
Meals: breakfast each day, special New Year's Eve dinner & dinner on one other night
*Included travel: 4 days' category A car hire

Luxurious Llafranc

Indulge yourself to the full with a gastronomic festive break in one of the most appealing villages along the Catalan Coast, at the 3-star family run Hotel Llevant in Llafranc. The focal point of this much-loved hotel is the locally renowned seafood restaurant where dinner is included each evening. Enjoy New Year by the sea with some spectacular coastal walks before attending an exquisite gala dinner on New Year’s Eve with excellent local wines and cavas. For your final day and night, we transfer you to the nearby historic city of Girona, a hidden treasure with much to discover including the fascinating medieval Jewish quarter where the festive markets are still in full swing in preparation for Epiphany. You stay in the centrally located 2-star Hotel Peninsular where we include the superior bedrooms.

Nights: 4
Meals: breakfast each day, plus 3 dinners (including special New Year's Eve dinner)
Room upgrades in Llafranc: large double £12pp/n; large double with sea view £20pp/n; superior double with sea view £48pp/n
*Connecting travel: return taxi from Girona airport (out 0h45/home 0h20) £36pp

A lively time in Alicante

If you are looking for a lively New Year’s break, then look no further. With four nights’ full board at the Hotel Els Frares in picturesque Quatretondeta, you enjoy the simple elegance of this well-appointed hotel, the indulgence building to a spectacular gala dinner on New Year’s Eve with ‘lucky grapes’ and cava, followed by a lively party into the early hours. You can also choose this indulgent hotel for a memorable four-night Christmas break, the highlight of which is a celebratory Christmas dinner (included, along with all other meals). With quiet corners, open fires and panoramic terraces, Els Frares is a cosy, welcoming base to return to after invigorating walks in the surrounding mountains, a fascinating world of limestone crags and terraced valleys (walking notes provided). Your enthusiastic hosts are keen walkers, too, and can offer advice on the best routes.

Nights: 4
Meals: dinner, breakfast & picnic lunch each day, plus special Christmas or New Year's Eve dinner as applicable
Included room: room with balcony or terrace
*Included travel: 4 days' category A car hire

< To the top of this page

< Back to Short Breaks Index