Popular destinations for Europeans during the winter include long haul trips to Australia or Japan and the beach resorts of the Florida coast. Closer to home are the warm winters of the Canary Islands, some Greek islands and Malta, while more recently the Middle-Eastern resorts of Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada and Abu Dhabi have found more takers.

The British winter months can be a long drawn-out affair. As soon as the clocks revert from British Summer Time the days seem much shorter and the evenings suddenly feel darker and colder. With less leisure time during the week to enjoy outdoor activities, the weekends become more important and unfortunately the British weather isn't always the best. Other alternatives include winter sun breaks to the African countries of Senegal and The Gambia. For those with enough money there are other options like The Maldives, Thailand, Hong Kong or the Caribbean Islands.

The island of Curacao is the destination of choice for many Dutch tourists and has a perfect climate for November and December visits. The daytime temperature there regularly remains between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius and the coolest daytime November temperature has never dropped below 20 degrees Celsius. The island is part of the group known as the ABC islands; Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao and is the largest of Netherlands Antilles group. Small, secluded beaches are what people enjoy most on Curacao and there are plenty of those archetypal "desert island" vistas that one sess so often in travel brochures.

Naturally a bright, breezy winter's day has its attractions and wrapping up warm for a walk in the countryside before retiring for a tasy lunch and a warming pint by the fire in a favourite pub would be perfect for many. However idyllic British winter days don't always materialise for various reasons. For many families the stresses and strains of home life are difficult to break free from and only a journey abroad can deliver the rest and relaxation many desire. Also sunny winter days are not as frequent as many would imagine. More typical are wet, rainy days or grey, cloudy skies that seem to blanket the countryside and dampen any enthusiasm to get out and about and have some fun.

That is why the run up to Christmas is a very busy time for travel operators. Come mid-November many people have had enough of the dreary British weather and start to look into the possibilities of a winter sun break. The typical winter break is not usually an lengthy one. In most cases a week is the ideal duration, but the next choices to be made are about the budget and whether one opts for a winter sports holiday or a warmer climate offering higher temperatures, sunshine and minimal chance of rain.

To guarantee that summer feel, you really need to travel to a region that is in the middle of its own summer season and for the British traveller that normally means places like Australia, Africa or the Caribbean and or one of the tropical island choices.

For many, a trip to those places would require spening quite a bit of money and merit a trip longer than just a week. That is why the European resorts of Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria and the desert resorts of Sharm and Dubai are much more popular.

The November weather in the Canaries is a much safer bet than somewhere like Southern Spain, Mallorca or Ibiza. Certainly those places do have their fair share of balmy winter days, but you could equally be unlucky enough to be landed with a week of rain and blustery winds. For less risk head further east to somewhere like Cyprus or dive deeper south to Tenerife, Fuerteventura or Lanzarote. These islands are almost fully booked over the Christmas period with travellers seeking a warmer festive period, unaffected by the commercial excesses of the typical British Christmas.

Another choice is one of the Greek islands that seem over-run during the height of the summer, yet take on a relaxed nature come Autumn time. Your choice of Greek island should be made with some care though as some tend to shut down completely once the summer tourists have gone back home. That's the time when the restaurant and hotel owners take their own vacations. An island like Santorini with its beautiful hillside towns of pure white buildings can be difficult to enjoy when shared with thousands of others, but in the relative calm of a warm Autumn day, the place takes on a tranquil atmosphere where even the most stressed visitors cannot fail to start chilling out.