It is almost as if a mini tourism tsunami has hit the Caribbean this year, so much has gone wrong for this group of islands that are so dependant on sun-seeking holidaymakers visiting them. But because of this there are plenty of excellent Caribbean holiday deals to be had as tour operators begin either slashing their prices or offering what’s called “added value” so for example free nights (ten for the price of seven), or adding the meals at no extra cost when they normally charge on the basis of room only or bed and breakfast.

Example Caribbean holiday deals
I took a quick look at some of the most popular tour operators and here are some of the best deals on Caribbean holiday packages in 2009 that I could find:

Virgin Holidays: Virgin Holidays Special Offers
One of Virgin Holidays specialities are holidays in the Caribbean and they currently are offering a site wide deal saving you 10% if you book you Summer 2010 holiday on-line. If you are after something a little sooner they still have some good deals including:
Barbados
7 nights at the 3 star Silver Sands hotel in Barbados in September for £549 (was £ 649) Departing from London Gatwick or Manchester airports.
Located in Little Bay which is quiet and secluded with 14 acres of gardens beside the beach.
Facilities include: Weddings, Hot tub, Frequent Virgin Club, Tennis, Scuba Diving, Swimming Pool, Fitness Centre and Windsurfing.

Kuoni: www.kuoni.co.uk
Kuoni, the luxury holiday tour operator have extended their beach holiday sale up until March the 16th, as well as offering a further 5% off for on-line purchases:

St Lucia
7 nights at a 3 star St Lucian By Rex Resorts hotel from £624 (Save up to £575)
This holiday is being offered at almost half price and is right on famous Reduit Beach, located in the Rodney Bay area of St Lucia.
The price quoted is if you fly from Manchester in February or march. prices rise a little if you fly from London.

Lastminute.com: Worldwide holidays on Lastminute.com
Lastminute.com are one of my favourite Tour operators and they almost always have some sort of a deal on, so why not try something a little different:

Caribbean Cruise
A 4* Full-Board Ocean Village Caribbean Cruise that departs from Barbados, arriving back 7 nights later that includes flights from London Gatwick or Manchester from only £795 (this includes a 5% discount), is incredible value.

A cruise is an excellent way to see a variety of the Caribbean islands, without adding more travelling costs to your holiday:

A Typical itinerary:

• Day 1: Fly from the U.K to Barbados where you will be met and transferred to the Ocean Village ready for embarkation and set sail from Bridgetown at 20.00
• Day 2: Enjoy a day cruising
• Day 3: Arrive in Tortola at 08.00, departing at 13.00
• Day 4: Arrive in St Barts at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 5: Arrive in Antigua at 08.00 departing at 17.30
• Day 6: Arrive in Martinique at 08.00 departing at 17.00
• Day 7: Arrive in Grenada at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 8: Arrive back in Barbados at 08.00, ready for disembarkation and a return flight back to the UK.If you are on the 14 night cruise, you have the day to discover Barbados.
• Day 9: Enjoy a day cruising
• Day 10: Arrive in St Kitts at 08.00, departing at 18.00
• Day 11: Arrive in St Maarten at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 12: Arrive in Guadeloupe at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 13: Arrive in St Lucia at 08.00 departing at 18.00
• Day 14: Arrive in Dominica at 08.00 departing at 17.00
• Day 15: Arrive back in Barbados at 08.00, ready for disembarkation and a return flight back to the UK.

You can also add on nights in Barbados before the start or after the end of your cruise.

For more details on this Caribbean Cruise

Cheap Caribbean Holiday Tips:

Other than these deals here are a few points to keep in mind to make sure that you keep the cost of a holiday to the Caribbean as cheap as possible:

Travel outside of the Peak Holiday Season
The summer here is the low season in the Caribbean and this is when holiday prices much lower than that during the peak winter months. Because the prices are already being reduced, who knows what is going to happen this year, but because the islands are struggling for business even now during high season, they are probably going to be really desperate during the off-season months, so chances are there will be even more incredible Caribbean holiday deals to be found.

Avoid the islands when they are playing international cricket
Cricket is huge in the West Indies and not only to the local fans. Travelling fans will fill up the local hotels and thus drive up the prices of not only accommodation, but also flights as well. So try to avoid an island that is hosting international cricket during your stay, that is unless you wish to watch it! England are currently touring the West Indies until April 2009 so take a look at the England in West Indies 2009 – Schedule before you book.

Book your Caribbean holiday through an on-line tour operator
The major on-line tour operators are likely to offer the best rates as their overheads are less than their shop front versions. They are also geared up to offering deals to entice holiday seekers. They also often make it much easier to compare the prices at different times of the year, for example Kuoni’s website, www.kuoni.co.uk, who have a beach holiday sale up until the 16th of March and are offering a further 5% off on-line also has an excellent calendar showing the prices of a specific holiday on different departure dates. You can see at a glance that, by staying at Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa in Jamaica on April 21 instead of April 4, you would save over £500. Lastminute.com also have this great feature.

There are plenty of package holidays to Malta, but if you are really looking to save more than a few pennies, I suggest that you go on your holidays in Malta just outside the peak summer holiday season. In 2008 I spent a stunning 2 weeks in Malta, during late March and early April. Not only did I get a wonderful warm holiday in the sun, (Malta is a perfect winter sun holiday destination) but everything was cheaper, from the flights, to the hotels. This meant that my package holiday in Malta a real bargain and a beach holiday that I would definitely go on again.

Malta tourism is also on the increase, I have noticed a lot of Malta news and adverts in the UK media and for me that is another reason to travel outside of the peak holiday season, less people means the airport and beaches will be less crowded and even things like finding a table at one of the many wonderful restaurants in Malta will be that much easier.

Easter in Malta
If you do decide to travel outside the main peak summer season in Malta, i would consider going over the Easter holidays. Malta has very strong Roman Catholic traditions and so Maltese people look forward to Easter with great enthusiasm and their culture really comes into life with many celebrations and street parades over Easter.

During Easter all over Malta and the smaller island of Gozo there are early morning processions from the churches and through towns and villages where Maltese worshippers bear the statue of the ‘Risen Christ’. Only in Malta, the ‘Three Cities’ across the Grand Harbour from Valletta, bearers run with the statue on their shoulders. It is also traditional for children to receive a ‘figolia’ which is a type of almond cake on this day. The Three Cities, joined into one historic urban area, are Vittoriosa, Senglea and Coapicua.

For me it was great to see Easter being celebrated in a more traditional way then the very commercial version that it has turned into here in the UK.

Back in 2009, Easter Sunday was on the 28th of March, in 2009 it is on the 12th April 2009, which makes a visit to Malta during Easter even more appealing as you are more certain of bright, warm, sunny days with hardly any chance of rain.

Weather in Malta
During my stay in Malta, in late March and early April 2008 the weather was stunning. I think one morning I woke up to a light drizzle that soon disappeared and it turned into a wonderful day. There was also one evening that we had a thunder and lightning storm that turned into a stunning display over the ocean that I viewed from my hotel balcony and so was far from being disappointing. On the whole the weather in Malta over my two week holiday was just perfect. Warm sunny days with out being to hot.

For a more detailed look at the weather in Malta, including temperatures, sea temperatures and rainfall all year round take a look at my section on Weather in Malta

Beaches in Malta
There are some excellent beaches in Malta, and what one of my favourite things about a beach holiday on an island the size of Malta, is that you can easily travel all around the island to find the type of beach that suits you. Whether it’s a secluded beach hidden away or a busy beach with lots of young people and restaurants and activities, you will find what you are looking for in Malta. Take a look at my guide to the Best Beaches in Malta for more details.

Package Holidays Malta
Back in 2008 I organised my Malta package holiday with Lastminute.com and I ended up flying on the excellent Malta Airways and stayed at the 4 star Paradise Bay hotel in Marfa, that came with a sea view. There are plenty of other companies that offer flights to Malta as well as hotel accommodation, here are a few companies that I would suggest:

Lastminute.com holidays to Malta

As I said I enjoyed a very good holiday a year ago that I booked through Lastminute.com and have nothing but good things to say about them.

Thomascook.com holidays to Malta
With 163 years’ experience of booking travel and holidays for millions of customers every year, Thomas Cook is one of the UK’s leading travel companies and the good news is one of their holiday destinations is Malta.

Thomson Beach Holidays to Malta

Thomson.co.uk offers access to great value holidays, hotels, villas and apartments direct from the UK’s No1 supplier of package holidays.

Further reading on the Beach Holiday Guide

• Malta Holidays
• Best Beaches in Malta
• Malta’s Main Attractions
• Malta Activities including Scuba diving in Malta
  
• Tour of Valletta
• Nightlife Guide

Thomas Cook Greek Holidays Sale

For this weekend only they are offering great Greek island beach holidays from only £199 with savings of up to 20% per holiday. If you cannot find the exact holiday you are after, the holiday sale also includes offers on Greek flights, hotels and short breaks.

Too Good to be true?

I am always a little sceptical when I see great holiday deals like this and always wonder what the catch is, so lets see if we can find out:

What are they offering: I will use the cheapest holiday to Greece on Thomas Cook and see just what we get for our money (if you click on the banner above it will take you to the Greek holiday deals and you can follow me)

Corfu Holiday in Greece. Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mickpix/

£138 for 7 nights self catering on Corfu including flights!

Corfu Holidays at a three star self catering accommodation from £138, including flights! The accommodation is a family run apartment are ideal for anyone looking for comfortable self catering accommodation in a great location, set in a quiet area just outside the centre of the resort but close enough to absorb the local culture and the island of Corfu has hundreds of miles of coastline and a succession of beaches that absorb its host of visitors, leaving sleepy villages and country lanes untouched and just waiting to be discovered – This all sounds great, almost to great, so whats the catch?

Outbound flight: Departs Manchester on Mon 04 May 09 at 22:20 Arrives Corfu on Tue 05 May 09 at 03:50
Inbound flight: Departs Corfu on Tue 12 May 09 at 04:50 Arrives Manchester on Tue 12 May 09 at 06:30

Well I guess a restriction would be that to get this holiday you have to travel from Manchester airport on the 4th of May, if that is convenient for you, this is sounding very, very good!

If you wanted to travel from London on the same day (4th May) the cheapest holiday I could find to a Greek island was also on Corfu, in Sidari and was for £224, which whilst is not as cheap as flying from Manchester, It is still sounding very tempting! You can try other dates and times for yourself.

Weather in Greece in May
Perhaps the weather is the catch, so what is the weather like in May in Greece?
According to the BBC weather centre:
Athens on average has 9 hours of sunlight and average minimum and maximum temperatures of 16 and 25 Celsius respectively and I would say only has an average chance of rain.
Naxos on average has 8 hours of sunlight and average minimum and maximum temperatures of 16 and 23 Celsius respectively and I would say only has a small chance of rain.
Thessaloniki on average has 9 hours of sunlight and average minimum and maximum temperatures of 14 and 25 Celsius respectively and I would say only has a average chance of rain.

Again this is looking good, I think the temperatures at this time of year in Greece are perfectly fine, not sweltering, but will be more than comfortable.

So In my opinion, yes there are restrictions, but if you need to alter the dates, or place from which you wish to travel from, there are still some pretty good deals to be had from Thomas Cook, so go on spoil yourself: Greece with it’s ancient ruins, stunning beaches, traditional tavernas and vibrant resorts and now with a great price to boot, why not escape the credit crunch and winter and head off on a winter sun holiday to Greece.

As the Northern Hemisphere goes through what I think is the worst part of winter during January and February, there are plenty of fantastic beach holiday locations in the Southern Hemisphere experiencing fantastic warm sunny weather. The problem with most of them is that they are really far away and long haul travel generally means that the cost of finding the perfect winter sun holiday in January and February is high. With this in mind I decided to see what are the best cheap winter sun holiday’s currently on offer. The Best Beach Winter Sun Holidays in January & February Challenge! To qualify for my “challenge” the holidays had to be:

• Primarily a beach holiday – opportunities for excursions a bonus.
• All inclusive holidays of at least 7 nights in duration, with flights included.
• Not too expensive – under £500, keeping in mind that best is not always the cheapest!
• Length of travel a consideration, the shorter the distance the better, direct flights are often cheaper.
• Locations have to be sunny and warm and bookable during January & February.

The candidates for best winter sun beach holidays: So where exactly can you at this time of the year go on a beach holiday, that is truly sunny and warm? Below I created a list of possible locations, but are they cheap and do they meet all the criteria listed above to make the grade? So for my first knock out stage, we will remove all locations that I couldn’t find a 7 night all inclusive winter sun break for under £500 per person or fell short in another critical area, like the weather!

Africa

• Kenya: Lamu, Mombasa and Kilifi – Winner of Best excursions that include African safaris!
• Zanzibar and Tanzania - Could not find any under £500
• The Gambia – Winner of Cheapest Holidays from £299
• South Africa, Cape Town and Durban – Could not find any under £500
  
• Mozambique - Could not find any under £500
• Namibia - Could not find any under £500
• Mauritius - Could not find any under £500
• Egypt – Whilst I could find holidays in Egypt for under £500, I felt that the weather at this time of the year in Egypt is just not war enough to make it a true winter sun beach holiday, wait until March and April for the weather to get truly warm.

Middle East

• Dubai
• Oman

The Caribbean

• Barbados
• Antigua
• Cuba
• Bahamas .. etc

North America

• Florida – Winner of Best Family Beach Holiday Location as well as a great Winter Sun destination
• Hawaii – Could not find any under £500
• Miami

Asia / Indian Ocian

• India, Goa
• Sri lanka
• Maldives

South America

• Brazil & many others – Could not find any under £500

Winners: The Best Beach Winter Sun Holidays in January and February

Below are the winners of my challenge and are in my opinion the best places you can go to to find a cheap beach holiday before the end of February. I have included the details of the holiday that I managed to find that fitted in with all the criteria , that I listed above.

Kenya, Kilifi - Winner of Best excursions that include African safaris!

Kenya and the beach resorts around Mombasa are definitly worth considering, I have been and the beaches are fantastic, the people friendly. The other great advantage of Kenya is the option to combine your beach holiday with an African Safari. Some of Kenya’s best National parks, Tsavo and Amboseli National Park are not that far away and you could easily organise a safari day trip or as an overnight stay. The famous Masai Mara is also a consderation, it is a little further but still an option. I stayed at a resort in Bamburi beach where I also learnt to scuba dive, obtaining my PADI divers license. Kenya must be one of the cheapest locations that you can get your scuba divers license and the diving as well as snorkelling on some of their reefs is excellent.

14 nights in Kenya for under £500 I found Again I found some pretty good holiday deals on lastminute.com where you can stay for a full 14 nights at a 3 star hotel on the beach in Kilifi for only £449 in January, in February, the prices rise to around £500 or just above, but because of the two week duration I felt that this holiday should still qualify. The Laguna Sea Lodge Hotel is located 64km north of Mombasa along the main beach resort strip in Kenya that includes Diani beach, Bamburi beach (where I stayed), Nyali beach and Malindi.

For more details on this beach holiday and others in Africa: www.lastminute.com

The Gambia - Winner of cheapest winter sun holidays: from £299

The second winner as an ideal cheap winter sun beach holiday location is The Gambia and again, I can talk from experience as I have been there, it does not have the excitement of the big 5 safari’s of Kenya, but this samll West African country does have some great beaches (My guide to the Best beaches in Gambia), but the best thing is it’s location. Of all the truly warm winter sun holidays, this has to be one of the closest, there are direct flights to the Gambia and as such there are plenty of cheap holiday deals to be had. The weather in The Gambia at this time of year is excellent with daily temperatures of around 30° celcius, (90°F) I managed to find 7 night all inclusive holidays for as little as £299 at a 2 star resort, the cheapest 3 star was £359

African Village Hotel Gambia

7 nights at the Authentic African Village hotel from £329 This was not the cheapest holiday to the Gambia that I found, but was one of the most interesting and so I just had to add it. You will be staying at a small, friendly hotel laid out like a typical Gambian village giving you an authentic African experience which they boast attracts many repeat guests to this small and friendly hotel situated in the bustling town of Bakau. Bakau is located at the northern end of a 10 km stretch of the Atlantic Coast in the Gambia that has a few beach resorts hotels that can be found to suit every pocket. The beaches have been improved in those places where they were not naturally perfect.

For more details on this Gambian beach holiday and others in Africa: www.lastminute.com

Florida – Winner of Best Family Beach Holiday Location as well as a great Winter Sun destination

Florida for me is an excellent Family beach holiday location, the weather is great at this time of the year, with the hurricane season a distant memory. There is plenty to do for the whole family which I wrote about in a previous blog post: Cheap Winter Sun Holidays in Orlando, Florida where I list a number of winter sun holidays for under £500 from lastminute, Thompson’s Travel and British Airways holidays.

Other Notable Recommendations:

India, Goa

Goa also makes an excellent winter sun location and has some really pretty beaches, the weather during January and February is excellent and  you are far from the monsoon season which starts in June and runs till September. I managed to find a few 7 night all inclusive holidays on lastminute.com for under £500 and even one for 14 nights for only £409 at the Osborne Resort, which whilst it is only rated 2 stars, the fact that all transfers are included, I think makes it fantastic value. You will have to hurry as this price rises to over £700 in February. I could not find any under £500 on Thomas Cook or British Airways Holidays.

Check out www.lastminute.com For this and other holidays to India.

…. to be continued

Please note for the beach winter sun challenge, I used the popular Thomas Cook, Lastminute.com & British Airways Travel companies availability and prices of holidays and am sure that other specialist travel companies may have offered holidays in locations that I could not find with these, but I decided to stick to these mainsteam companies to act as a guide to popular destinations.

During the darkest months of winter, you have to travel some to find some real winter sun holidays, this often means that they are often pretty expensive. So I decided to see where would make a great winter sun holiday destination but which you would not have to pay the earth for.

Cheap Winter Sun Holidays in Florida

A quick search on Lastminute.com holidays

and I found two three star 7 night holidays to Florida for under £500 between January and April. Both of them in Orlando and on a room only basis. Leaving from either London Gatwick airport, or Manchester, you will be flying Virgin Atlantic Airways, which usually means a comfortable trip.

Car Hire in Florida Included
What is great is that they both include car hire, with insurance which is sure to save you a bunch of money. If you don’t want to drive, the transfers will be included in the price.

Accommodation in Orlando Florida
For the two holidays that I found, you can either stay at the Quality Inn International or the Comfort Inn lake Buena Vista.

Comfort Inn lake Buena Vista – £499
The Comfort Inn offers excellent value in what is generally a slightly pricey area of Orlando. In the 23 acres of landscaped grounds is a lake which is home to a variety of Floridian bird life. Disney is really near as well, with a fantastic array of restaurants, bars and shops there, including the Virgin Megastore for bargain CDs. The Comfort Inn has a Shuttle to local attractions and parks, Two swimming pools, Children’s playground, Video game arcade, comfort Zone cocktail bar, mini market and a board walk restaurant.

I found this holiday at the Comfort Inn lake Buena Vista available for £499 between December and April, to find it use the link below:
Search Lastminute.com Holidays

Quality Inn International – £459
Located in International Drive, near to all the theme parks and lies in the main entertainment centre in Orlando. Quality Inn International hotel in Orlando is just a 5 minute drive to Universal Orlando with all its special effect 3D rides and fantastic roller coasters, 10 minutes to Seaworld and only 20 minutes to Walt Disney World. There is a lively evening atmosphere at this hotel in the Topsy-Turvy Lounge where you can shoot pool and dance to the jukebox until the early hours of the morning.

I found this holiday at the Quality Inn International hotel in Florida available for £459 between December and April, to find it use the link below:
Search Lastminute.com Holidays

Florida Weather
The nickname of the “Sunshine State” is really justified for Florida, with seemingly endless days of lovely warm weather and sunshine. Florida has hot tropical summers and a warm dry winters and it is said that the Florida winter is like the UK summer without the rain! So as long as you avoid the Hurricane season, you can almost guarantee to see the sun on your Florida holiday. With very little rainfall from January to April and average daily temperatures around 24 degrees Celsius, the UK winter is the perfect time to visit.

Beach Holidays in Orlando, Florida
Most people visit Orlando for the theme parks, but Orlando has some great beaches too. Try Cocoa Beach to get away from the tourist crowds. Or do what the locals do and go to New Smyrna Beach, it a great beach that’s never really crowded. Other beaches in Orland to look out for include Playalinda beach, located in the Cape Canaveral National seashore just north of the Kennedy space center and Indialantic Beach which is the easiest beach to reach from the Orlando area. With good surf and a great atmosphere, Indialantic has long been a favorite of visitors and locals alike. The boardwalk has an old time beach appeal and the dining and shopping areas give the area a small town feel.

Florida Activities
As well as a great beach holiday destination there is loads to do in Florida and as you would imagine, it is an excellent location to go on holiday for the whole family, and you don’t have to go to Disneyland!

Golf is huge in Florida and the state has some of the best golf courses in the world. There are literally hundreds of golf courses in Orlando alone and so you are sure to find the course to suit you including the excellent Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge, which has two of the finest public golf courses Orlando Florida and they boast 45 Holes of Pure Golf with No homes, No noise and the World’s Largest Practice Facility!

For the whole family there are literally hundreds of activities and attractions on Orlando, Florida including:

• Gatorland: Orlando’s best half-day attraction! The “Alligator Capital of the World” is a 110-acre alligator theme park and wildlife preserve.
• Boggy Creek Airboat Rides: Discover territory that remains unaltered by man in the Central Florida Everglades with a Half Hour airboat ride.
• Ripley’s Believe It or Not!®: This weird and wacky Auditorium features fascinating, outrageous and interactive exhibits that are fun for all ages.
• Train Land International: For train enthusiasts both young and old! Learn the history of trains and examine miniature models in action.

More Holidays to Florida
As alternatives to lastminute.com, you can also try:
Thompson holidays to Florida

With over 40 years of travel experience and more staff based around the world than any other travel company, you won’t find anyone better to travel with.
British Airways Holidays also offer holidays to Orlando in Florida and you may want to check them especially if they have a sale on.

Alternatives to Florida & The USA
If the USA is not for you, from January to March another relatively cheap winter sun holiday destination is The Dominican Republic. Part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region, it is in the same part of the world as Cuba, Jamaica and therefore Florida. It has pretty decent weather all year but from December to April, the humidity is low and there is less rainfall on the island. Hurricane season lasts from the beginning of June until the end of November.

I found a few deals to The Dominican Republic for under £700 between January and March on Lastminute.com. Just use the link below and search for holidays to The Dominican Republic:
Search Lastminute.com Holidays

Marie Galante island, Guadeloupe

Photo taken by Rayced, see his photos here

Winter at times can seem never-ending, but for those with a little patience, you could be leaving the cold and gloomy days behind and spending a few weeks of winter sun holiday bliss at a price that won’t bite too hard this winter.

So how do you find a winter sun holiday at a bargain price?
It is all in the timing, The UK as well as the countries you are travelling to all have their peak travel seasons and if you get it right, you can make significant travel and accommodation savings. The two weeks leading up to Christmas, when here in the UK the schools have not broken up yet you can find some good deals on many long-haul holiday destinations. Another good time to book and go on that winter sun holiday is the first week in January a everyone returns to school and work and so there is a marked drop in the number of people travelling and so the prices of many holiday packages come down to reflect this. This also works for the countries you are travelling to, because they have less tourists many prices for accommodation as well as the attractions drop.

Another tactic to finding great bargain winter sun holiday deals if you are not to fussy as to your destination (as long as there is sun of course!) is to leave booking the holiday to the last minute. That is pretty much the unique selling point of lastminute.com and the are always worth checking for any cheap deals on winter sun holidays: Winter Sun on Lastminute.com

The Winter holiday deals page on Thomas Cook is also well worth checking, it works really well as you can quickly and easily and quickly filter what kind of holiday deal you are looking for and the destination you wish to travel to.

Where are the best cheap deals on winter sun holidays?
To find some sun during the European winter you are going to have to travel to catch the sun, here are a few of the best value getaways from winter:

The Gambia
I visited The Gambia over Christmas in 2007 and not only will you find more than enough winter sun (I don’t think I saw a cloud in 10 days!) but there are also some excellent white sandy beaches and for the more adventurous and for a true Gambia Experience, there are some excellent Gambia river boat safaris. The Gambia is also an excellent place if you wish to escape the commercialism of Christmas, being mostly a Muslim country, I awoke to the wonderful sound of the sea on Christmas Day, with not a Santa Claus or DVD advert in sight! For more info see the Beach holiday guide for more details on Beach Holidays in Gambia.

I found a few package holidays to The Gambia on lastminute.com. Including a 7 night holiday at a 3* Hotel in Banjul in The Gambia from £349 per person including flights in January. Over December the prices start at £419. Flightsdepart from Manchester, East Midlands, Bristol and London Gatwick. There is also a 7 night stay at the 4* Kombo Beach hotel for £409.00 including flights and transfers leaving on the 16th of December. Prices then increase over Christmas to about £700 and then drop again in January, February and March. The Gambia on Lastminute.com

On Thomas Cook, there are a bunch of great deals including a 7 night stay at the Hotel Badala Park in Kotu Beach leaving Gatwick on Fri 30 Jan 09 at 08:10 (so not too early!) for only £250.00 per person. Admittedly it is only a 1 star hotel, but the sun and beaches are 5*! There are also many other deals available and it is well worth checking out the:
Thomas Cook Holiday Deals to the Gambia

Caribbean
Two important considerations to know when planning on a holiday in the Caribbean, the high season in the Caribbean starts in Mid December and the hurricane season ends at the end of October! So to grab the best cheap holidays to the Caribbean, you need to travel before the high season but after thehurricane season, so in November and early December. The once again in early January you can once again find deals as the high season tourists return home.

I found a 7 night stay in a 4 star hotel in Barbados on lastminute.com for £646 which includes International flights, local transfers and meet and greet at the airport.

Winter Sun on Lastminute.com

Winter Holiday Deals on Thomas Cook Including holidays to The Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Maldives

Dubai
You are guaranteed to find the sun at this time of the year in the Middle East. You just have to be a little clever to get the best cheap deals as this is also their peak tourist season. But if you travel in the two weeks leading up to Christmas, it is possible to find a cheap holiday in the sun in Dubai. Dubai is an excellent location for Shopping as well as having some of the best golf courses in the world.

Dubai Holidays on www.lastminute.com

Find out more on the Beach Holiday Guide to Dubai