Where To Travel For Winter Break
As winter approaches, it’s time to start planning for your winter break getaway. Whether you’re a student looking for an adventure during your school holiday or a professional wanting to escape corporate life and make an impact this festive season, the best places to travel over winter break don’t have to require relaxing 5 star hotels. Winter break can also be the perfect opportunity to explore the world and gain new experiences while giving back to communities or the environment.
Winter can be a joyous occasion for many, but it can also be a hard time of year for others. It can be a time of year when you want to escape the cold or celebrate the festive season like Thanksgiving or Christmas. Although you might feel extra grateful, winter can sometimes leave you feeling a little down too. No matter how you’re feeling, doing a winter break volunteer program will make your winter time far more fulfilling, so all you need yo decide is where.. Swap those snowy mountains for rainforest canopies or icy roads for the savannah, the choice is yours!
Read on to discover the best places to travel during winter break, laid out perfectly for you to explore based on how you might want to give back to the world this winter.
For Wildlife Projects
Wildlife never takes a break over the holiday season, which means volunteers are still greatly appreciated during the winter months. If you’re an animal lover and looking for the best places to travel over winter Break, this section is for you! One of the best winter break travel ideas we can recommend is to volunteer with the wildlife and help local rescue centres provide extra care for their wildlife during low tourism seasons. Being part of a rescue and rehabilitation team on a wildlife project will warm your heart and give you the chance to experience life in the wild!
ZIMBABWE
What makes Zimbabwe one of the best places to travel during winter Break is the endless opportunity to learn about the fascinating history, amazing wildlife and impressive landscapes you can’t find anywhere else. After spending the hot day in a national park in Zimbabwe, you can relax in the balmy nights looking up at the stars! What’s a more perfect way to spend your winter break? The entire month of December marks the start of the festive season in Zimbabwe, which means you can almost feel the loving atmosphere, through the Tuku music blaring from pubs and restaurants and spiritual rituals happening all around you.
Check out our Wildlife Orphanage & Rescue Volunteer Project in Zimbabwe
COSTA RICA
How does a Costa Rican Christmas this year sound to you? You could spend your winter break on the isolated sandy beaches in the Limón region of Costa Rica, where the weather is actually at its brightest and driest time of the year! Think BBQs on the beach and taking advantage of the luscious green trails inside numerous national parks, and you’ll completely forget it’s winter! If you’re looking for some of the best winter break travel ideas, then you’ll definitely want to consider Costa Rica for your New Year’s celebrations too; they are filled with impressive firework displays and all-night-long parties!
Check out our Turtle & Marine Conservation Volunteer Project in Costa Rica
KENYA
Just one of the many reasons you should visit Kenya any time of year is the remarkable wildlife. If you’re looking for places to travel over winter break that are filled with adventure, then Kenya needs to be on your list. Home to one of the greatest national reserve parks, the Maasai Mara, where travelers come from far and wide just to catch a glimpse of the surreal wildlife. Choose Kenya for your winter break travels and you can experience the Jamhuri Day parades on December 12th, which is when Kenyans celebrate independence with dancing and street feasts!
Check out our Maasai Mara Big Cat and Elephant Research Project in Kenya
For Community Work
If you have some time off this winter break, it’s a good time to give something back to meaningful initiatives that don’t have the luxury of taking a break. Community volunteering helps local organizations gain an extra pair of hands to achieve their goals, and acts as a mutually beneficial experience, especially at a time of celebration wherever you may be! Pack your bags and get ready for winter break volunteer programs that will help you make a meaningful impact while creating a deeper connection to the countries you visit! Here are our top winter break travel ideas for anyone who wants to do community work:
ZAMBIA
Thinking about doing some Christmas volunteering? Zambia celebrates Christmas by carol singing and having large gatherings on Christmas Eve, where the festivities truly begin! Being able to explore this wonderful country whilst also being able to contribute to a volunteer project that is specifically designed for winter break travel makes Zambia one of the best places to travel during winter Break. And, don’t forget to explore Victoria Falls or observe wildlife in a national park during your trip!
Check out our Christmas Community Volunteering Project in Zambia
CAMBODIA
Rainy seasons stop and temperatures drop slightly in the winter months in Cambodia and over Southeast Asia in general, meaning walking through green countryside, hiking mountains and exploring temples are easier! The light pink sunrises and orange sunsets make Cambodia one of the best places to travel for winter break. Not to mention, Cambodia offers the chance for some culture and history lessons at Victory Day celebrations that take place in January and mark the anniversary of the fall of the Khmer regime.
Check out our Construction Volunteer Project in Rural Cambodia
VIETNAM
Looking for warm places to travel over winter break? In the south of Vietnam, the weather remains hot with temperatures averaging 27℃ (80℉). Vietnam is also considered a generally inexpensive place to travel throughout the year, so prices wont vary dramatically during the winter months. Not to mention, you can watch the cities burst with colour, culture and celebration in January when Tet, the festival of the official Vietnamese New Year takes place.
Check out our Community & Teaching Volunteer Project in Vietnam
Choose the Best Winter Break Travel Destination for you!
So many places to visit in so little time over the winter break? We feel you! It might be helpful to ask yourself the following questions to help you narrow down your options and decide where to travel during winter break!
- How do you usually spend your winter break and holiday season?
- Do you want to hold some of those traditions but in another country? Or try something completely new and experience new ways of celebrating?
- Are you looking for beach parties or the opportunity to explore historical sites?
- Do you want to volunteer in a specific country or is a certain project’s values important to you at this time of year?
Still Not Sure What to do on Winter Break?
Even with the best places to travel over winter break in mind, you still might not know what to do during winter break! It’s time to dig a little deeper to decide how you really want to spend your winter break.
But, we highly recommend you take it from the travel experts at Kaya, and do something that you value most at this time of year! Give something back to your community, or a community in a destination you have the pleasure of visiting during the winter break. Get in touch and our supervisors can help you customize the perfect winter break!
We especially recommend considering Vietnam or Morocco for your winter break travel, but volunteer programs run all year round in both of these destinations too!
Browse all of our projects
Get in touch and our supervisors can help you customize the perfect winter break!
This blog was written by Kayleigh Irvine
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