![]() Who’s up for a circuit of BMW’s ice track? And if Olympic downhills and Michelin-starred restaurants aren’t doing it, there are plenty more inventive ways to get your kicks. Chalet fans, meanwhile, have more slick picks than ever: seven-room Chalet Husky has a climbing wall, infinity waterfall and space for rifle shooting and archery – perhaps not so wise after a night at Dick’s Tea Bar. Le Refuge de Solaise, a converted cable-car station, is the highest hotel in France, offering unbeatable mountain views, early access to the slopes and complete seclusion in the evenings when the lifts close. And not only does French ski resort Val present the most reliable powder on the continent, but this St-Tropez-on-snow is only getting splashier. With New Year crowds gone and no school holidays on the horizon, January is a fine time to hit up the best ski resorts in Europe. Temperature: -1☌ high -10☌ low Season: winter Travel time from UK: 1 hour 40 minutes Time difference: GMT +1 See our guide to the best hotels in Thailand for more. Nearby, Six Senses Yao Noi has perfected the castaway experience within the lush jungles between Phuket and Krabi. Where to stay: On Krabi, the rambling villas at Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, overlook Phang Nga Bay's prehistoric landscape of rugged limestone karsts. ![]() Similarly, when visiting islands, more often than not there’s a ferry option, so don’t head for the airport as a matter of course. Sustainable travel tip: Thai sleeper trains are modern and comfortable, so consider an overnight rail adventure between destinations rather than internal flights. Over on the east side, the islands of Koh Samui, Phangan and Tao are wetter - if you're heading here, best to wait a couple of months til March but still, those monsoon-like rains blow in, pour themselves out, then an hour later everyone's back on the beach. Yes, it's peak season, but the mayhem of the Christmas and New Year parties are over Bangkok is just about as pleasant as it's ever going to get, and the islands on the south-western, Andaman Coast are just lovely: Koh Phi Phi, Phuket, Koh Lanta. Temperature: 32☌ high 22☌ low Season: dry Travel time from UK: 12 hours Time difference: GMT +7 For more, see our picks of the best hotels in Barbados. Where to stay: Cobblers Cove prides itself on being quietly elegant – an intimate, stylish country-house hotel situated on a white sand beach, with 40 spacious rooms which all open on to the luscious gardens. Give back to the community by spending tourist dollars at Oistins Fish Fry, which benefits local businesses. Sustainable travel tip: The best way to benefit the Barbados community is to leave your hotel. In January, the dawn of dry season, it’s all appealing – drenched only in a daily average nine hours of sunshine. On the quieter east coast, pounding Atlantic waves draw surfers: Bathsheba is the closest Barbados gets to boho, with pro boarders and tattooed artists. Or, closer still, hit St Lawrence Gap, a strip of rambunctious rum bars. Lively town Oistins’ Friday Night Fish Fry brings the community out for an open-air party, with fresh-caught fish on the barbecue and booming reggae. ![]() The glam west coast might be all five-star luxury, but travel slightly south and the scene quickly skews more local. Well, that and the pirate’s bounty of bleached-white, powdery beaches. It’s the Caribbean island’s good-time vibes that keep regulars coming. Temperature: 29☌ high 23☌ low Season: dry Travel time from UK: 8 hours 45 minutes Time difference: GMT -4
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