‘On Christmas Eve we watched elephants take a bath’ – why Sri Lanka is the perfect festive break for families
With two sets of divorced grandparents living in two separate countries, Christmas is never an easy proposition for my family. After years of over-committing (a dish best served with simmering resentment), plus yet another clear-out of stuff accumulated via meaningless gift-giving, we decided to elope - escape the hoo-hah, bin the letters to Santa and, instead, direct funds towards a family holiday in Sri Lanka.
Winter sun is always appealing, but more so was the thought of adventure, of exposing our kids - Phoenix, 12, Cassian, 10 and Leon, eight - to something completely different from their previous trips. So we decided to go to Sri Lanka.
We hit the ground softly, arriving into the luxury of the Anantara Tangalle, easing through the jet lag before taking the gorgeously scenic train journey from Colombo to Kandy.
“Absolutely no presents” was a much easier sell in a place where Christmas wasn’t omnipresent. In Sri Lanka, the odd bit of limp tinsel was as close to “ho ho ho” as it got.
Yet it was no less joyful for that. On Christmas Eve, we stood by a river and watched elephants bathe. On Christmas Day, we watched a roadside sword swallower before joining a Buddhist to eat dahl with our fingers in a tea plantation. That evening, the children played cricket with an impish boy called Kevin Pietersen, before visiting a funfair that would have made a British health and safety officer faint. By a pool at the foot of Lovers Leap Falls, a wizened man with cataract-clouded eyes offered to take us to the top; after an arduous climb, he delighted in our admiration of the view and would accept nothing for his troubles but a biscuit.
Another plus was the outdoorsiness of our time together. One person’s “cosy” is another’s one-way ticket to claustrophobia; something I struggle with in a UK Christmas, as well as the tiresome layering up required for a wintry stomp through the woods. In Sri Lanka, we swam nearly every day, surfed at Unawatuna, snorkeled at Jungle Beach and walked the ramparts at Galle.
Yet for all the adrenaline, the pace was wonderfully serene. Tuk Tuk drivers allowed the children to help them steer, blessings were received at every temple, fresh coconuts at every roadside stall. When the New Year ticked over, we were already soundly asleep in a treehouse, having been up at 2am for a safari in Yala National Park, during which we’d sighted three leopards plus a wealth of other wildlife. Only the next day, when we arrived at Mirissa, a beach town, did it occur to us to toast our next 365 days, which were, blissfully, going to start without the tedious stripping and disposal of a tree.
How to spend Christmas or New Year in Sri Lanka
If you fancy a luxurious fly-and-flop beach holiday, Anantara Kalutara offers a deluxe pool-side room for 7 nights on a B&B basis, including private airport transfer and Christmas gala dinner for a family of four from £12,545. Price based on a 20th December 2018 departure, via Inspiring Travel Company (01244 355527, inspiringtravelcompany.co.uk)
For a more active itinerary, similar to the writer’s, Audley Travel offers tailor-made trips to Sri Lanka. A 14 night trip over Christmas and New Year costs from £4,510 per person (based on a family of four with two children over 12 sharing two rooms). Price includes flights, transfers, hotels (most are on a B&B basis. Some include Christmas and New Year meals), a private vehicle and chauffeur-guide throughout, excursions and game drives in Yala (audleytravel.com).
Four more fantastic winter sun options for families
Self-catering in Cyprus
Cyprus – the warmest island in the Mediterranean – is one of the only destinations in the Med which can offer families good value accommodation and plenty of sunshine in February. You’ll also find cycling routes, museums and monuments. The flight takes just over four hours.
How hot? 60F (16C)
£566 departing Feb 17 2019 based on four sharing a two-bedroom accommodation at the Kotsias Hotel Apartments in Pissouri, with a communal garden and shared pool, 100m from the sea. Price includes car hire. Sunvil (sunvil.co.uk).
Adventure in the Sahara
If you are a family who likes to get out and see things, as well as get to know other like-minded families, specialist tour operators, like Explore, have some excellent group tours. Its eight-day “Rock the Kasbah” itinerary in Morocco is specifically geared to parents and school-age children. Activities include a mule ride to Berber villages, a camel trek and an overnight camping expedition in the Sahara desert. The flight to Marrkech takes about three and a half hours.
How hot? 64F 18C
£869 (departing Feb 9 2019), £1,119 (Feb 16 2019) including transfers and most meals. Explore (explore.co.uk).
Villa in Lanzarote
A four-and-a-half hour flight, a reliably warm climate, and plenty of good quality family accommodation available – there are very few destinations which can match Lanzarote at this time of year.
How hot? 68F (20C)
£1,138 departing Feb 17 2019 and based on four sharing a two-bedroom villa at Heredad Kamezi, a small complex of 36 stylish houses near Playa Blanca. Each villa has a small seawater swimming pool. Price includes car hire. Cachet Travel (cachet-travel.co.uk).
Tropical villa in Mauritius
Mauritius is a great family destination with a good choice of villas, but you need to be careful with timing. February is the wettest month of the year, though the rain tends to fall in afternoon downpours. By the Easter holidays (which are late this year) it’s starting to look much drier.
How hot? 84F (29C)
£8,330 rental-only at Villa Mia, a stylish house sleeping up to 10, plus once child, in the private grounds of Trou d’Eau Douce, near the Shangri-La and Tousserok beaches. The price, for Easter, includes a housekeeper to help with cooking. SJ Villas (sjvillas.co.uk).
