KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The best Christmas vacation ideas cover every climate, from below-freezing days in Lapland to 80°F beach mornings in Barbados and Honolulu.
- For a European holiday trip, Nuremberg, Strasbourg, and Prague are home to some of the oldest Christmas markets in the world.
- For a snowy, small-town Christmas, ski destinations like Aspen and Stowe pair mountain scenery with holiday atmosphere.
- Cities like Medellín and Tokyo take the season to another level with citywide light displays, from the Alumbrados Navideños along the Medellín River to Tokyo's neighborhood-wide illuminations.
A Christmas vacation is one of the best ways to spend quality time with loved ones without the stress of hosting. Whether you’re chasing snow at a ski resort, warm weather on a sunny beach, or old-world traditions in a European city, there’s a holiday destination out there that fits. Below are 16 Christmas vacation ideas across the US and around the world, from iconic Christmas market cities to tropical escapes. Each pick covers what makes it worth visiting, what to do while you’re there, and where to stay.
| If you want… | Try visiting… |
|---|---|
| A traditional Christmas market experience | Nuremberg, Germany |
| An iconic American Christmas | New York City, New York |
| Santa Claus and the Northern Lights | Lapland, Finland |
| Festive Southern charm | Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dazzling holiday illuminations | Tokyo, Japan |
| Gothic architecture and Old Town markets | Prague, Czech Republic |
| A warm, tropical Christmas | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Snowy cobblestone streets and Québécois traditions | Quebec City, Canada |
| Sacred traditions and centuries-old rituals | Rome, Italy |
| A mountain-town holiday, complete with skiing | Aspen, Colorado |
| Bucket-list Christmas light displays | Medellín, Colombia |
| The “Capital of Christmas” experience | Strasbourg, France |
| A classic New England family Christmas | Stowe, Vermont |
| Festive shopping and city lights | London, England |
| A Bavarian-style Christmas village in the US | Leavenworth, Washington |
| A Caribbean Christmas in the sun | Barbados |
1. Nuremberg, Germany
- Best for: A traditional Christmas market experience
If your idea of the perfect Christmas vacation involves strolling through wooden booths while sipping on glühwein, look no further than Nuremberg, Germany. This Bavarian city is home to the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt, one of the oldest and largest Christmas markets in the world, with roots tracing back to the 16th century. The market kicks off with the opening ceremony on the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent and runs through the afternoon of Christmas Eve.
Stalls with red-and-white-striped roofs sprawl throughout Old Town, with the main market square directly in front of the iconic Gothic Church of Our Lady. Be sure to try a Nürnberger Bratwurst, along with Lebkuchen, the region’s world-famous gingerbread. Besides the Christkindlesmarkt, make sure to check out the Sister Cities Market too.
Set up in the neighboring Rathausplatz, it features stalls from Nuremberg’s 12 sister cities, including Glasgow, Scotland and Shenzhen, China, where you can pick up international food and gifts you won’t find at the main market. If you want to stay within walking distance of the action, book a room at Le Méridien Grand Hotel Nuremberg, a historic property right across from the main train station and a short walk from Old Town. From there, it’s easy to explore nearby towns like Bamberg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which feel like stepping straight into a Christmas card.
2. New York City, New York
- Best for: An iconic American Christmas
Few cities do Christmas quite like New York. The season kicks off in late November with the Rockefeller Center tree lighting, when crowds gather to see the massive tree lit up for the first time. From there, the ice rink at Rockefeller Plaza fills up and the Fifth Avenue department store windows unveil their annual displays, giving the whole city a distinctly festive energy.
For a classic New York Christmas, catch the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes or grab tickets to the New York City Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. If you’d rather stay outdoors, wander the Bryant Park Winter Village or head to Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, where locals go all out with over-the-top home light displays. Book a room at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park to end the day with elegant holiday decor and skyline views over the park.
3. Lapland, Finland
- Best for: Meeting Santa and seeing the Northern Lights
Lapland is about as close as you can get to a storybook Christmas. Located in the Arctic Circle, the region is covered in snow from November through April, and in December, you’ll only get a few hours of soft twilight each day. The main draw is Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, where you can meet Santa himself, cross the marked Arctic Circle line, and send a postcard from Santa’s official post office.
You can also take a reindeer or husky sled ride through the pine forests and stay up late for a chance to see the Northern Lights dance overhead. Book a stay at Arctic TreeHouse Hotel for a memorable family vacation. The cabin-style rooms have panoramic windows facing the forest, giving you a chance to watch for the lights from bed.
4. Charleston, South Carolina
- Best for: Festive Southern charm
For a charming Southern Christmas, head to Charleston, South Carolina. Spend your days exploring the city’s historic downtown, where Rainbow Row and the 19th-century mansions along the Battery are decked out with festive wreaths and candles in every window. Base yourself at Hotel Bennett on King Street, where the lobby is transformed for the season and you’re within walking distance of most of the city’s holiday events.
For a signature Charleston Christmas experience, tour the Nathaniel Russell House or Aiken-Rhett House during their holiday programming, when the historic interiors are decorated in period style. The Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park is another local favorite, featuring a three-mile driving route through more than 700 light displays set up along the marsh.
5. Tokyo, Japan
- Best for: Dazzling holiday illuminations
Christmas in Japan looks a little different than Christmas in the West. Since only about 1% of the country identifies as Christian, the holiday isn’t tied to religious tradition and is instead treated as a festive, romantic holiday, closer to how Valentine’s Day feels in the US. What Tokyo does exceptionally well is holiday illuminations, with entire neighborhoods lit up in millions of blue and gold LEDs that draw crowds from across the country.
Some of the most popular spots to see the lights include Roppongi Hills, where Keyakizaka-dori becomes a tunnel of blue and white LEDs, and Marunouchi, where the tree-lined avenue near Tokyo Station glows with warm gold lights. To stay right in the middle of Roppongi’s holiday scene, book a room at Grand Hyatt Tokyo, where the lobby is decked out each year with a themed Christmas installation that draws locals in even if they aren’t guests.
One of the more unexpected Christmas traditions in Japan is ordering KFC for Christmas Eve dinner. The chain’s holiday bucket has been a cultural staple since a 1970s marketing campaign, so plan to place your order weeks in advance.
6. Prague, Czech Republic
- Best for: Gothic architecture and Old Town markets
Prague looks its best at Christmas, when snow softens the city’s Gothic architecture and holiday lights cast a glow over the cobblestone streets. The main Christmas market takes over Old Town Square at the base of the Church of Our Lady before Týn, with the Astronomical Clock right around the corner. Time your walk across the Charles Bridge for early morning if you want to see it in the fog before the crowds arrive. Grab a trdelník (a spiral of cinnamon-sugar dough grilled over open coals) to snack on while you browse.
Or duck into one of Prague’s famous beer spas, where you soak in a wooden tub of warm beer infused with hops and yeast, all while enjoying a pint on the side. It’s one of the more uniquely Czech things you can do in December. The Art Nouveau Hotel Paris Prague sits just off Old Town Square, putting you within walking distance of the markets and the Charles Bridge.
7. Honolulu, Hawaii
- Best for: A warm, tropical Christmas
If you’d rather trade snow for sand, head to Honolulu for a warm-weather Christmas without leaving the US. December temperatures hover around 80°F, and Waikiki Beach stays busy through the holidays. The signature Christmas event is Honolulu City Lights, which fills the Honolulu Hale lawn each December. Look for the towering figures of Shaka Santa and Tutu Mele, a surfing Santa and his hula-dancing wife who anchor the display. The lights stay up through the New Year.
On Christmas Day, spend the morning surfing or swimming at Waikiki Beach, then head to a hotel luau for dinner. The annual Waikiki Holiday Parade in mid-December brings marching bands and floats down Kalakaua Avenue if you’re around to catch it. For one of the best hotels in Honolulu, book a room at Moana Surfrider, the historic “First Lady of Waikiki” that gets decked out with a Christmas tree and garlands each holiday season.
8. Quebec City, Canada
- Best for: Snowy cobblestone streets and Québécois traditions
Quebec City in December feels closer to a small French town than a North American city, where cobblestone streets wind through Old Quebec and shopkeepers greet you with “joyeux Noël.” The German-style Christmas market at Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville is the main draw, with stalls selling maple products, mulled wine, and Québécois crafts set up under the towering Château Frontenac.
Right next to the Château Frontenac is the Dufferin Terrace toboggan slide, which has been operating since 1884. You can hit up to 43 mph on the way down, with sweeping views of the frozen St. Lawrence River. If you want to stay steps from the action, book a room at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac and sleep inside the castle itself.
9. Rome, Italy
- Best for: Sacred traditions and centuries-old rituals
Rome takes on a distinctly spiritual atmosphere at Christmas, when centuries-old traditions fill the city and the Pope leads midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. Visiting presepi, or nativity scenes, is central to a Roman Christmas. The tradition was born in Italy in the 13th century when St. Francis of Assisi assembled the first live nativity, and today, intricate handcrafted versions are displayed in churches throughout the city.
Piazza Navona hosts a traditional Christmas market with wooden stalls and roasted chestnut vendors gathered around a Ferris wheel. Stay through January 6 to catch La Befana, when Italy’s kindly Christmas witch delivers gifts to children on Epiphany. Steps from Piazza Navona, Relais Orso is a boutique hotel set in a 17th-century townhouse with a rooftop terrace overlooking the city.
10. Aspen, Colorado
- Best for: Skiing and mountain-town holidays
For one of the most memorable ways to spend Christmas in the US, head to Aspen. The streets of downtown are lined with tens of thousands of white lights and the ski season is in full swing across Aspen’s four mountains. The holiday calendar leans into Aspen’s mix of mountain-town charm and luxury travel. You can catch the annual tree lighting in downtown’s Wagner Park or watch the ski patrol descend Aspen Mountain in a torchlight parade on Christmas Eve.
For one of the best boutique hotels in the Rockies, book a stay at The Little Nell, a ski-in, ski-out property at the base of Aspen Mountain decked out with garlands and wreaths, plus a lobby fireplace that’s hard to leave.
11. Medellín, Colombia
- Best for: Bucket-list Christmas light displays
Medellín is famous throughout Latin America for its holiday season, which stretches from early December through mid-January and centers around one of the most elaborate light displays in the world: the Alumbrados Navideños. Strung along the Medellín River and across the city’s parks and public spaces, the Alumbrados Navideños is built each year by EPM, the local utility company, using millions of LEDs that change themes annually. Locals and visitors gather along the riverbanks each evening to walk the route.
From December 16 through Christmas Eve, families across Medellín host Novenas, nine consecutive evenings of prayer, food, and buñuelos, a savory-sweet fried dough that’s inseparable from the holidays here. Base yourself in El Poblado, the walkable neighborhood most travelers stay in, and book a room at The Charlee Lifestyle Hotel in Parque Lleras. It’s a short taxi ride from the Alumbrados and puts you in the middle of the city’s best restaurants and cafés.
12. Strasbourg, France
- Best for: The “Capital of Christmas” experience
Nicknamed the “Capital of Christmas,” Strasbourg has been running its Christmas market, the Christkindelsmärik, since 1570, making it one of the oldest in Europe. The Alsatian city sits right on the French-German border, and its half-timbered architecture and Germanic Christmas traditions give the season a distinctly regional feel. The main market fills Place Broglie, while smaller ones spread through Petite France and the square in front of the Gothic Strasbourg Cathedral. Book a room at Maison Rouge Strasbourg Hotel & Spa, a boutique property in the historic center, where you’re a short walk from every market in the city.
13. Stowe, Vermont
- Best for: A classic New England family Christmas
Stowe is the New England Christmas town that Hallmark movies are trying to imitate. The village is small enough to walk end to end in ten minutes, and by early December, the storefronts along Main Street are lined with white lights and evergreen wreaths. Horse-drawn sleighs cut through the snow at Trapp Family Lodge just up the road. Days here go by slowly.
You can spend the morning on the slopes at Stowe Mountain Resort and warm up in the afternoon with cider donuts at Cold Hollow Cider Mill. If you’re planning a New England road trip, Stowe is a good middle stop, with Burlington to the north and Woodstock a couple of hours south. Book a stay at Field Guide Lodge, a boutique inn with fire pits and Adirondack chairs out back that make it easy to settle in with the kids after a full day of skiing.
14. London, England
- Best for: Festive shopping and city lights
One of the best places to visit in December, London goes all-in on the holidays. The Regent Street Christmas lights stretch above shoppers, while Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland becomes a full-blown Christmas festival with market stalls and a massive ice rink. London also leans into its Dickensian roots during the holidays. Head to Newman’s Court off Cornhill, widely believed to be the inspiration for Scrooge’s counting house in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Then warm up with a proper holiday afternoon tea, like the Nutcracker-inspired Festive Afternoon Tea at Hotel Café Royal, served with live piano music and a menu inspired by Tchaikovsky’s ballet. For a stay with sweeping views of the twinkling city below, book a room at Shangri-La The Shard.
15. Leavenworth, Washington
- Best for: A Bavarian-style Christmas village in the US
Tucked into the Cascade Mountains about two hours from Seattle, Leavenworth is a small town that fully committed to a Bavarian village theme in the 1960s and never looked back. The Village of Lights kicks off in late November, when downtown gets wrapped in more than half a million lights that stay up through February. You can spend the day browsing the Nutcracker Museum and sipping on glühwein while Christmas carolers in traditional Bavarian dress wander through downtown.
Book a room at the Bavarian Lodge, a family-owned property just off Front Street, where you’re within walking distance of the tree lighting and market stalls. Rooms during the Village of Lights weekends book up months in advance, so plan early.
16. Barbados
- Best for: A Caribbean Christmas in the sun
The Caribbean island known for holiday cheer, Barbados, makes Christmas a communal affair. On Christmas morning, head to Queen’s Park in Bridgetown, where locals dress in their finest and gather for music from the Barbados Police Service Band, a tradition dating back to 1907. On a private peninsula just outside Bridgetown, Hilton Barbados is one of the best family resorts on the island and keeps you close to the Queen’s Park festivities without giving up beach access.
Book the Right Stay for Your Christmas Trip
Ski chalets. Beachfront rentals big enough for the whole family. The right stay can shape your whole trip. With Vogo, you can compare millions of hotels, vacation rentals, cabins, and more from the top booking sites in one place. Start your search and find a stay that fits your Christmas vacation.
FAQ
When should I book a Christmas vacation?
For international trips, aim to book at least four to six months in advance to lock in the best flight and hotel prices. Domestic trips have a shorter runway, but two to three months out is a safe window. According to Vogo’s analysis of a year’s worth of booking data, Friday is the best day to book hotels if you want the cheapest rate.
Is it expensive to travel during Christmas?
In the US, Christmas is one of the most expensive travel weeks of the year, particularly between December 20 and January 2, when vacation costs peak.
What are the busiest travel days around Christmas?
The busiest days at US airports are just before and just after Christmas. Flying on Christmas Day or the day after New Year’s tends to mean smaller crowds and lower fares.
Should I book a hotel or vacation rental for Christmas?
Vacation rentals tend to work well for larger groups or multi-generational families who want a kitchen for holiday meals and more space to spread out, while hotels are a better fit for shorter stays or travelers who want on-site amenities like room service and concierge support. Vogo lets you compare both side by side across booking sites, so you can see the full picture before deciding.
How can I save money on a Christmas trip?
The easiest ways to save are to fly on off-peak days, such as Christmas Day itself or the week after New Year’s, when fares tend to drop. You can also stretch your budget further by considering more affordable destinations instead of expensive ones that peak during the holidays.