80. Luxury Travel for Christmas: Dream Destinations for Every Type of Traveler

'Tis the season to explore the most enchanting holiday destinations, and I'm unwrapping my ultimate Christmas travel bucket list! From slow-paced river cruises to thrilling Arctic adventures, I’m sharing how you can transform your winter wanderlust into unforgettable memories. Whether you're dreaming of a tropical Christmas or seeking that perfect small-town festive charm, this episode has a destination for every type of traveler and will inspire you to plan your best holiday adventure yet!

Links Mentioned:
Episode 20:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2171787/episodes/13581283
Episode 78: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2171787/episodes/15972919
Episode 54: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2171787/episodes/14862204
Conde Nast Traveler
San Antonio, TX
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This episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher.

Transcript

Hello there, jetsetters, and welcome to another episode of jetsetting with me. I hope everyone had a very happy Halloween. Welcome back to the holiday season. The Christmas lights are already up in my neighborhood. I imagine they're probably going up soon in yours as well. Today, we are going to talk about some bucket list luxury holiday trips, and by holiday, I do mean Christmas, which cover every type of travel and traveler. Now I am Jewish. That's not a fact I hide, but I am more Whoville than Grinch.

I love a good Christmas eggnog, gingerbread cookie, and beautiful lights. So on this special holiday episode, we're gonna explore the ultimate destinations for Christmas adventure seekers. Maybe you're a slow traveler, or maybe you're just craving a little bit of domestic close to home bliss. So join me today, we're going to uncover hidden gems and exciting experiences that are actually on my bucket list of adventures. And then one maybe that is very sentimental to me also. Stay tuned for that. Okay. Let's talk about the slow traveler.

So the slow travel movement actually originated in the eighties in Italy as part of a slow food movement. I have no idea what that is, except maybe pasta making is slow. Don't know. But the movements goal was to address poverty of time, as in we never ever have enough of it, by focusing on making connections with the people and the things through the places that we visit. So river cruising is kind of the ultimate in slow travel, and it offers a more relaxed pace. And it allows us as travelers to explore destinations in a much more intimate way. It has an immersive experience of the region, culture, history and cuisine. Now, way back in episode 20, I talked about my love of the river cruise experience.

I've been up and down the Danube a few times. And all the major river cruise lines have Christmas market cruisers on both the Danube and the Rhine Rivers. So I have to tell you that one of these is definitely something I wanna do in my future. I would love to see the Christmas markets in Germany, Austria, and Hungary, and even maybe Switzerland. So depending on the length of time that you have for the river cruise, they go anywhere from 6 to 14 days. You can visit as many as 10 of the top 25 Christmas markets, according to Conde Nast, along either the Danube or the Rhine Rivers. All while unpacking just once and traveling in luxurious comfort from town to town on the river. Now river cruises give you access to smaller towns.

You probably remember me saying that, because they literally pull up and just drop the gangplank, sometimes right in the center of the city. So all these charming small towns with unique Christmas markets, that definitely are not accessible by an ocean cruise, and sometimes not even efficiently by land tours because of buses can be reached through a river cruise. Now, the Christmas markets allow you to do several things that make it a very special way to spend the holidays. There's diverse local traditions, of course. So you'll find out who Kris Kringle is, and the Dutch tradition of leaving your wooden shoes out for Kris Kringle to leave candy and presents in. The festive decorations that are typically passed down from generation to generation, and are made of unique materials like wood, glass, and handmade from children. Obviously, the delicious food. I can't talk enough about apple cider, not the Starbucks variety, but the old chilled mold apple cider or brandy wine, gingerbread, all of that.

And of course, the unique holiday shopping experiences that you find in a local town Christmas market. So you would have the scenic views, the wonderful picturesque landscapes and the river views that you get, not only when you are off the ship, but as you're traveling between the cities on the ship. I have always talked about how I love Avalon as a river cruise line, because you can lay in bed and face out towards the river. They're the only line that does that. Again, you get access to the smaller towns, which have the unique Christmas market. The onboard festive ambiance, one of the river cruise lines actually leaves every traveler a little Christmas present, nightly turndown. So the cruise lines are gonna add those special holiday decorations, entertainment, and, of course, those menus to enhance your Christmas spirit. And let's not forget that with those river cruises comes expert guidance.

So the cruise staff is going to be able to provide insights into each city's Christmas market highlights and those local customs. So if you have all the time in the world to travel or some great time off for the holidays, 12 days between November December, early holiday winter time, slow travel is an excellent way with a river cruise to experience the holidays. Now, if you are a luxury adventure traveler, which I would like to say I fall into either or both categories. For you, let's consider a vacation to Lapland. Lapland is a region in Northern Europe, and it includes parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. We actually did many of these places on a Baltics ocean cruise. That was during the summertime, I should state. Because these places are known for their sub arctic climate.

So long, cold, snowy winters. And Lapland has been associated with Santa Claus since 1927. A Finnish radio host claimed that Santa's hometown was in Koravantunturi, which is a mountainous region in Lapland. And then of course, Finland began to adopt several things that would boost its off season or its winter tourism in order to adapt to that. So you may have heard me mention that I love Finland. It is repeatedly ranked as one of the happiest places to live. And were it not for those very long cold snowy winters that I mentioned, I would absolutely move there. It is one of the best places I have ever been, and I know I say that with every place, but truly, I loved Finland.

It was wonderful. So a Finland Christmas holiday, again, a little bit off season so you might not have all the tourist crowds that you would have in this summer. You get to start with a snowmobile safari. That's right. One of those snowmobiles. How's that for adventure? But you're going to go to Santa Claus Village. And after you've done all of these fabulous activities, you're gonna get a certificate for crossing over the Arctic Circle. There's also an indoor Christmas theme park, which is actually deep beneath the ground.

You join the merry elves on an incredible journey into the heart of Christmas at Santa Park. It's Christmas all year around there. You can ride a magic train. You can travel through enchanting worlds. You will get your very own diploma at the elf School, and feel the crispy winter and the ice gallery. Enjoy the Elf show, and of course, send home your Christmas greetings from the actual post office where they will get a postmark that says Christmas theme park. You can go northern lights hunting, the ultimate adventure journey. Again, something on my own personal bucket list.

And then, of course, I did say that Finland kind of dove into this Santa Claus culture that started in 1927. They developed an attraction to increase tourism. It's called, and I quote, the hidden place of Santa, unquote. So it is a, quote, hidden place in the woods outside of the town. So you have to take a reindeer herder to get there, where you will meet the forest queen and Santa Claus. They both reside there. Santa has his very own secret little wooden house, and the Forest Queen is who will warmly welcome you. She's going to lead you down a candlelit path.

She's gonna invite you on a fairy journey to a magical Christmas place. Can't you just feel all the fairy lights going on and off and blinking? And you're going to actually see Santa's secret house, where you will decorate a gingerbread cookie. You will get to enjoy a reindeer sleigh ride, which I have also always wanted to do, because I didn't get to do that in Alaska. You can write your wishes home. You can savor all those traditional foods I've already mentioned, but including Christmas porridge. In between those adventures, there's even more adventures like tobogganing, sledding, and more snowmobile rides. So two options for you. Slow travel, adventure travel.

Now what about those of us, again, I fall right into this category too, who just want to spend the holidays close to home with some domestic travel. So first of all, I have to give a shout out to my favorite place that I mentioned just a few weeks ago on episode number 78 about Hawaii, my love letter to Hawaii. Festive season is not to be discounted in Hawaii. Just because it's warm, you will see Santa swap his red and white suit for some flowery clothes. And instead of a traditional sleigh and reindeer, he's got an outrigger canoe that's pulled by dolphins. But it's still a major holiday because Hawaii is part of the United States. As I've said over and over, you don't need a passport and they use US currency. So in Honolulu, there's a city like ceremony.

It has a 50 foot Norfolk Pine Christmas tree. So a different kind of pine tree than what we're used to seeing. It's got bright lights, holiday decorations, live entertainment, and then there's a Waikiki trolley holiday light tour, which will take you through the part of Oahu that is Waikiki beach with lots of holiday lights. And of course, the locals enjoy the day off of work with surfing and swimming. There's musical groups with the guitars and ukulele, hula dancing, and the same kind of luau that I mentioned in 78. Only, it's warm and sunny. Now, for those of you who aren't looking for an 8 hour flight maybe, and wanna stay even closer to home, there's plenty of places for an old world southern charm. Small places like Dongle, Georgia.

I know I said that wrong. Sorry, Georgia. Charleston, South Carolina is another old world southern charm. You'll feel like you're in the snow globe kind of Christmas town, Santa Claus town, Orlando, Florida, and Mickey's very Merry Christmas party. But I picked my own sentimental favorite of San Antonio, Texas. Now, you wouldn't think that San Antonio, Texas would be on your radar, but I have to tell you that as a kid, yes, a Jewish child, I mentioned again. My family living about 90 minutes away, we would always bundle up in the car. And back then, it actually did get a little colder than 80 degrees.

We would pop lots of popcorn and add butter, homemade buttered popcorn, and our dog would come with us, and we would travel down to Windcrust. Windcrust is a suburb right outside of San Antonio, and they have been lighting up. And by lighting up, I mean their houses are Christmas town lights, put them to shame lighting up for 65 years. In fact, this year's theme is blue sapphire, and it's in honor of the 65th anniversary of Windcrest. And they have every single Saturday in the month of December, there is a special activity that takes place, but really, you can just drive around. The map is online, and you can enjoy some of the best holiday decorations I've ever seen. Just celebrated my 56th birthday on Halloween, and I still remember being a kid of 8 driving through Windcrest with my family. Now as long as you're in San Antonio and the temperatures can be as nice as in the mid sixties, you should definitely take a stroll down the Riverwalk.

It is what the city is most famous for. The Riverwalk dead ends at the Alamo. The Riverwalk during Christmas is all lit up in the outdoor trees, the natural trees. They're not there just for Christmas. And along the river walk boats, there's caroling. So it's a lovely walk. There's also an old town trolley car tour around the old San Antonio downtown area, also where the river walk is. So this is all close together.

They set up an ice skating park in the heart of downtown. And one of the Christmas foods is very traditional in San Antonio is the tamale. And there's a tamale festival where you can taste test wonderful hot tamales for the season. One of my friends here from high school in Austin makes dozens and dozens of tamales on the day after Thanksgiving. And then she brings us each a dozen for our Christmas. It's truly a great great holiday food here in the South. Also, a nearby hotel, actually where I had my wedding, the JW Marriott in San Antonio. They have an ice festival.

This year's theme is the Grinch. Speaking of no Grinchmas here. So all of those really fun things to do in San Antonio. And lots of places that you can stay right in downtown where you can walk and won't need a car necessarily. Now because I am the pop culture queen and I do love my set chatting, I have to give a plug for something else that I really, really, really wanna do, and that is the Hallmark Christmas experience. Now it is in Kansas City, Missouri. So I do love Kansas City, and Missouri is technically part of the South, but maybe not the weather we were looking for necessarily, but lots and lots of fun. They kind of duplicate everything that I've just mentioned.

They've got a food hall with typical Christmas holiday foods, including hot chocolate and apple cider. They've got, you know, an Old Town Christmas market. They want you to feel like you're in one of the small towns right out of the Hallmark movie. But on different weekends, you can engage with certain Hallmark movie stars, and also some of their musical artists. Even some of the artists who decorate and do their Hallmark cards. And how fun would it be to buy your Christmas cards or your holiday cards from the Hallmark experience, and then get them hand stamped with a postmark of Hallmark Christmas experience. I mean, I wanna do all of these experiences, and I can't do them all in a single year. So I'm already planning for not only this year's holidays, but the holidays in 2025.

And you should be planning too. Now I would love, love, love, love, love, love if you would tell me on my Instagram, DM me at at jetsetting with Michelle. Michelle is with 1 l or an email. Leave me a review. Somehow tag me and tell me if I have hit on one of your Christmas type travels, domestic, close to home, or are you an adventure traveler? Do you wanna go visit the Lapland in Finland for the holidays? Or would you prefer that slow moving river cruise that takes you into the heart of Austria and Switzerland? I wanna know. Why? Because maybe we can all plan together for the holidays of 2025. Until then, jetsetters, happy travels, and I will talk to you next week.