5 Christmas holidays you must do if you’re single and over 50

From hearty festive meals in Europe to saying cheers atop a ski slope in the Swiss mountains, here are the best stays for mature solos – featuring all the trimmings

Natalie Wilson
Friday 08 November 2024 08:16 EST
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Wander around the Gothic architecture and Christmas markets in Bruges this festive season
Wander around the Gothic architecture and Christmas markets in Bruges this festive season (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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If the kids have flown the nest or you’re just in search of a hands-off festive feast where you don’t have to stress over the roasties, singles aged over 50 seeking a home from home this Christmas can discover inviting destinations in December.

As everyone knows, filling those middleman days between Christmas and the New Year with purpose is already a challenge once the obligatory Christmas Day walk has been trodden and everyone exists solely in a daze of leftovers.

Whether a seasonal skier, Christmas market city breaker or a quintessentially British (and brave) Boxing Day dipper, there’s a solo holiday for everyone to switch things up for the festive period in 2023, with an added bonus of socialising with likeminded lone travellers the cherry on top of the fruit cake.

To get away this Christmas Day, here are the best stays to consider, from the winter wonderlands of the Austrian Alps to Prague’s enchanting Christmas markets complete with all the traditional cheer.

Christmas in Austria

Solos Holidays

Experience Austria’s snowscapes on a solo trip from Salzburg
Experience Austria’s snowscapes on a solo trip from Salzburg (Getty Images)

Solos Holidays’ Christmas in Austria package includes seven nights of breakfast-included accommodation at the Johannesbad Palace Hotel in the centre of Bad Hofgastein, return flights, airport transfers and festive excursions for a magical Christmas spent in the Austrian Alps.

Think idyllic tours of the Salzkammergut district, a Christmas Eve gala dinner and a sleigh ride complete with celebratory glasses of glühwein, all while spending some relaxing alone time in Austria’s traditional winter wonderlands and steamy saunas.

Christmas in Austria from £2,807.50pp, departing 21 December 2024.

Read more: The best countries for solo travel – and top tips for travelling alone

Chester Christmas cheer

Just You Solo Adventures

A staycation to historic Chester is full of festive feasts and old-world charm
A staycation to historic Chester is full of festive feasts and old-world charm (Getty Images)

If any seasonal staycation can measure up to traditional family recipes cooked in your kitchen, it’s the Doubletree by Hilton’s a five-day Christmas in Chester break. This package is sure to feel like a home from home.

Festive feasting spans classic afternoon teas, a Christmas Day lunch with all the trimmings, and hearty breakfasts – which all count as part of your half-board stay. The historic sights of charming Chester can be discovered on walking tours of the medieval city, while invigorating Boxing Day dips are just across the border in Llandudno, North Wales.

Christmas in Chester from £1,347pp, departing 23 December 2024.

Read more: Best holiday destinations in Europe for single travellers

Prague for Christmas

One Traveller

Celebrate Christmas with traditional folklore shows, concerts and cruises in the Czech capital
Celebrate Christmas with traditional folklore shows, concerts and cruises in the Czech capital (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One Traveller’s Prague for Christmas city break promises an enchanting five-day stay among the alluring markets of the Czech capital. Accomodation at Hotel Botanique, return flights, private coach transfers and all breakfast and traditional evening meals are provided in the package, alongside guided city tours, a Christmas Day lunch cruise on the Vltava River and an evening folklore show on Boxing Day. Guests will also have free time to grab an indulgent lunch from the Yuletide markets.

Prague for Christmas from £1,760 departing 23 December 2024.

Read more: The perfect European city Christmas market break – with a hidden spa twist

Christmas at sea

Iglu Cruise

A cruise to Europe’s seasonal stars is a dream for some cosy ‘me time’
A cruise to Europe’s seasonal stars is a dream for some cosy ‘me time’ (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Christmas cruises from Southampton to the romantic shores of Hamburg, Rotterdam, Bruges and Normandy’s Le Havre sail singles to the delights of gothic architecture, gentle canals and, of course, artisan Christmas markets laden with all things mulled and fried. Full-board festive dining on MSC Cruises’s MSC Preziosa, and plenty of entertainment and activities on deck complement spacious cabins to unwind in after excursions on shore.

Christmas Northern Pearls Cruise from £1,579pp, departing 20 December 2024.

Read more: Best Christmas markets in Europe – and where to stay in France, Belgium and Germany

Yuletide slopes

Solos Holidays

Seasoned skiers can cruise the Swiss mountain slopes solo and socialise at lively après haunts
Seasoned skiers can cruise the Swiss mountain slopes solo and socialise at lively après haunts (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Solos Holidays is offering seasoned skiers a chance to cruise the Swiss mountain slopes of chocolate-box Les Diablerets, with a seven-night half-board (including one traditional raclette evening) stay at the Hotel Les Sources.

Return flights, transfers, welcome drinks and a Christmas Day dinner are included, the Glacier 3000 ski scene is a short shuttle bus away and the sprawling Meilleret ski area is accessible via a gondola just 400m from the hotel. A lively après scene makes the Les Diablerets slopes the ideal spot to raise a glass with new friends this Christmas.

Les Diablerets Skiing from £1,787.50pp, departing 20 December 2024.

Read more: Best ski holidays for solo travellers: Independent and social stays on the slopes

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