The Best Places to Travel in December 2026: Where Billionaires Go for Christmas and Beyond
The best places to travel in December are the Caribbean, the Maldives and the Gulf for warm weather, the Alps, Aspen and Lapland for Christmas with snow, St Barts for the most social festive season in the world, Vienna, Paris and Salzburg for Europe at its most atmospheric, and Courchevel and Niseko for the first snow of the ski season. For the ultra-wealthy, the choice of destination matters less than the timing, because December behaves like three quite different seasons in succession, and the families who travel best plan each part of the month on its own terms.
How December Works
The first week of December belongs to the calendar. Collectors gather in Miami Beach for the art fair week, and in recent seasons the Formula 1 championship has closed in Abu Dhabi on the same weekend, so a few cities become intensely busy while much of the world remains quiet. The middle of the month belongs to the mountains, as the great Alpine hotels open and the ski season begins in earnest. Then, from around the third week, Christmas and New Year concentrate demand from across the world into a handful of destinations, and prices in places such as St Barts and the Maldives rise sharply almost overnight.
The scale of that demand is real. Knight Frank’s 2026 Wealth Report counts more than 700,000 people worldwide with a net worth above $30 million, and many of them want the same villas, chalets and aircraft over the same fortnight. The wealthiest families often respond by dividing the holidays between two places, spending Christmas in the mountains and flying on to the Caribbean for New Year, which is why the journey between them deserves as much planning as either stay.
Warm-Weather Escapes in December
Turks and Caicos
Turks and Caicos suits families who want the Caribbean without the social intensity of the festive circuit. Its beaches are among the finest in the region, the water is famously clear, and the best villas are built for long, private stays rather than being seen. Billionaire Concierge arranged a stay for a VIP family at a collection of beachfront villas on Long Bay, where the days included horse riding along the beach and into the sea, private jet skis, a private beach and a private chef whose bread the family declared the best they had ever eaten. That combination of space, freedom and quiet personal service is what the islands do exceptionally well.
The Maldives
The Maldives belongs on any list of warm December destinations because the month marks the arrival of the drier season, with calmer seas and clearer skies into the new year. Its private island resorts offer a kind of seclusion that is difficult to replicate elsewhere, with villas over the water, house reefs and service built entirely around the guest. The festive weeks are the most expensive of the year, with the leading resorts charging anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 a night, so families with flexibility often find the first half of December the more rewarding time to go. Seaplane transfers operate in daylight, so international flight times decide whether a family reaches its island the same day or spends a night in Malé first.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi
The Gulf earns its place because December brings its finest weather: warm days, cooler evenings and none of the summer heat. Dubai offers the region’s most varied hotels, dining and shopping, while Abu Dhabi brings culture, desert retreats and, when the Formula 1 season closes there, a race weekend that concentrates demand for hotels and hospitality into a few days. Billionaire Concierge arranged Paddock Club hospitality at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in its first year, and the lesson has held since: race weekend is when the city is busiest, but the weeks either side are often the more rewarding time to visit.
Cape Town
Cape Town suits travellers who want December to feel like midsummer. The city, the Atlantic coast and the Winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are at their best, and the region pairs naturally with a safari further north. Good judgement matters here as much as good taste. Billionaire Concierge has advised clients travelling in South Africa that additional security would be sensible for parts of their itinerary; they proceeded with it and later said they were grateful, having felt less comfortable in some areas than they had expected.
The Best Places to Spend Christmas
The finest Christmas vacation destinations fall into two camps: those that promise snow, firesides and tradition, and those that trade winter for sunshine and the sea. Many of the wealthiest families choose both, spending Christmas itself somewhere wintry before flying somewhere warm for New Year. What unites the best places to spend Christmas is not the setting but the certainty that everything will work over the one week of the year when nothing can be left to chance.
“For Christmas, the finest villas and chalets are usually committed months before most families start thinking about the holidays. Late requests are still possible, but by then they depend on relationships with owners and hotels rather than on what is publicly available.” Billionaire Concierge
Christmas in Europe
The Alps offer the classic European Christmas at its most luxurious. A fully staffed chalet in Courchevel, Gstaad or St Moritz brings together everything a family gathering needs: private chefs, ski instructors waiting each morning, and evenings by the fire after a day on the mountain. Christmas Eve in the Alps has a quiet, candlelit character that the resort hotels capture beautifully, and the snow at altitude is usually dependable by the holidays.
For families with young children, Finnish Lapland offers something no other destination can. Private lodges and glass-roofed suites allow guests to watch for the Northern Lights from their beds, and the days are filled with husky and reindeer sledding through snow-covered forest in a landscape that feels made for Christmas. London, meanwhile, suits families who prefer the city at its most festive, with the great hotels dressed for the season, Christmas lunch in a private dining room and the parks lit for winter.
Christmas in the USA
For a Christmas with snow in the United States, Aspen is the natural first choice. It combines a white Christmas at altitude with a sophisticated town, four mountains and some of the finest private homes in the country, though aircraft parking at the local airport becomes scarce over the holidays, so where an aircraft will wait should be settled well before the trip. Jackson Hole and Deer Valley offer quieter alternatives, with wide Western landscapes and, in Deer Valley’s case, famously attentive service. For a more traditional Christmas, Stowe in Vermont brings the New England version: white churches, covered bridges and historic inns.
New York is the great American Christmas city without the snow guarantee. The tree rises at Rockefeller Center, the department stores dress their windows and the ballet’s festive season is in full flow, and for visiting families the most sought-after restaurant tables, private shopping appointments and holiday performances are where good arrangements matter most. For those who would rather spend Christmas in the sun, Palm Beach begins its winter season in December, built around private homes, clubs and long-standing social circles. Billionaire Concierge’s Palm Beach concierge page covers the island in more detail.
Christmas Around the World
St Barts is the most celebrated Christmas destination in the Caribbean, and the most demanding to arrange. Its villas, many set into the hillsides above secluded bays, allow a family to spend the holidays largely within their own grounds, while Gustavia’s harbour fills with yachts and the island’s social season reaches its height. This winter the hotel scene has been refreshed, with Le Sereno reopened after a lengthy renovation and Le Guanahani now under the Airelles name. Timing matters enormously: a villa that rents for around $4,400 a week in early December can command $22,000 a week over the festive period, for exactly the same house.
For a Christmas unlike any other, Antarctica is the most extraordinary choice. The southern summer brings long hours of daylight and active wildlife, and those who prefer not to cross the Drake Passage by sea can fly from South America to join a ship or private expedition yacht. The most remote journeys go further still, flying by private jet onto the ice of the interior at a cost of around $95,000 per person. For families who want a quieter festive season altogether, Patagonia offers the southern summer among glaciers and lakes, parts of East Africa fall outside the busiest safari months in December, and Rajasthan’s palace hotels pair cool, clear days with the grandeur of former royal residences.
Europe in December
Vienna
Vienna is perhaps the most complete European city in December. Its Christmas markets fill the squares in front of the Rathaus and Schönbrunn Palace, the opera and concert halls are at the height of their season, and the city’s grand hotels and coffee houses feel made for winter. The ball season opens around New Year with the Imperial Ball at the Hofburg, which makes Vienna a natural choice for families who want the holidays to feel formal, cultured and quintessentially European.
Paris
Paris earns its place in early December, before the festive rush, when the city’s great avenues are lit for Christmas, the department stores unveil their windows and the palace hotels are quieter than at almost any other time of year. It is the ideal moment for unhurried shopping, long lunches and exhibitions without the crowds, and it combines easily with a few days in the Alps, a short private flight away.
Salzburg and the Christmas Markets
For the classic Christmas market experience, Salzburg offers it at its most atmospheric, with the baroque old town beneath the fortress, Advent concerts and a musical heritage that gives the season real depth. It also makes an elegant base for exploring the markets of Austria and southern Germany, and pairs naturally with the Arlberg or Kitzbühel for those who want to ski as well.
The Start of the Ski Season
December is when the great ski resorts open, and the early weeks, before the festive peak, are often the quietest and most rewarding time to be on the mountain.
Courchevel 1850
Courchevel is the most complete luxury ski resort in the Alps, and December is when it comes to life. Its altiport and nearby airports make private arrival straightforward, its palace hotels and catered chalets set the standard for ski hospitality, and this winter several new hotels open there, making it one of the most significant seasons in the resort’s recent history.
Niseko
Niseko earns its place for snow, which is among the lightest and most consistent anywhere in the world and typically arrives early in the winter. The resort pairs that powder with Japanese hospitality, private onsen baths and exceptional food, which makes it as much a journey as a ski holiday, and a compelling alternative for families who have skied the Alps many times before.
When to Book December and Christmas Travel
For Christmas and New Year, the finest villas in the Caribbean and the most sought-after chalets in the Alps are often committed many months ahead, frequently by late summer, and the families who return each year tend to secure them before they ever reach the open market. The same is true of the best lodges in Lapland and the most coveted homes in Aspen. For the first fortnight of December, a few weeks’ notice can still produce an exceptional trip, although the art fair week in Miami and the race weekend in Abu Dhabi fill early.
Private aviation follows the same pattern. Over the festive peak, availability of suitable aircraft and crew tightens and popular airports become constrained, so a two-centre holiday in particular should have its connecting flight confirmed well before the holidays. Antarctic expeditions sit at the far end of the scale, with private and small-ship departures often reserved a year or more in advance.
None of this means late requests are impossible. When the obvious options have gone, what remains is reached through relationships with owners, hotels and operators rather than through public availability, and that is where an experienced luxury travel concierge makes the greatest difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best places to travel in December?
The best places to travel in December include Turks and Caicos, the Maldives and Dubai for warm weather, St Barts and the Alps for Christmas, Vienna, Paris and Salzburg for Europe’s festive season, and Courchevel and Niseko for skiing. The right choice depends on whether the trip falls in the first half of the month or over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
What are the best places to spend Christmas?
The best places to spend Christmas include the Alps, Aspen and Finnish Lapland for a snowy Christmas, St Barts and Turks and Caicos for Christmas in the sun, and New York and London for the festive atmosphere of a great city. Many wealthy families combine two, spending Christmas in the mountains and New Year in the Caribbean.
Where can I spend Christmas with snow in the USA?
Aspen is the leading choice for a white Christmas in the United States, combining reliable snow at altitude with a sophisticated mountain town. Jackson Hole, Deer Valley and Stowe in Vermont are excellent alternatives, each with its own character.
Where is warm to travel in December?
The Caribbean, the Maldives, the Gulf, South Florida and South Africa’s Western Cape all offer warm weather in December. The Caribbean and the Maldives suit long, private beach stays, Dubai and Abu Dhabi combine warmth with culture and shopping, and Cape Town offers midsummer conditions alongside the Winelands and safari.
Where is the best place to travel in Europe in December?
Vienna is one of the finest European cities in December, with its Christmas markets, concert season and the opening of the ball season around New Year. Paris is at its best in early December, Salzburg offers the classic Christmas market experience, and the Alps begin their ski season from the middle of the month.
Is it too late to book Christmas travel?
The most sought-after villas, chalets and aircraft for Christmas are often committed months ahead, so late plans depend far more on relationships than on what is publicly available. Early December is usually far easier to arrange, with good availability in many leading destinations outside the main event weekends.
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