Ever stuck for an idea for winter sunshine – here are a few of our suggestions…..

There is nothing like the long evenings and cold grey skies of January to March to prompt thoughts of getting away from it all for a restorative break. The team at Tickets Anywhere have put together their five top winter destinations by way of inspiration.

Muscat, Oman

Perched on the coast at the point where the Gulf of Oman noses its way out into the Indian Ocean, Muscat is an Arabic antidote to the creeping westernisation of Dubai. The traditionally styled white buildings sparkle against the blue skies, and the beaches are powder soft and lapped by the turquoises and vermilions of the sea. If the sun proves a little too relentless, you can always retire to the shade to wrap yourself in a chilled vanilla-scented towel and sip an ice cold drink of orange juice suffused with mint. Rousing yourself from your Arabian Nights couch, you can explore the sights of a city that breathes the history of the Middle East.

The Grand Mosque of Sultan Qaboos, for example, the prayer hall of which is adorned with thousands of lights and almost as many colours. Or the Mutrah Souk, its alleys leading you ever deeper into the market, its shops and stalls loaded with fabrics, foods and jewels. The more energetic may fancy a dune safari. Sat in a 4×4, you will be driven out into the desert, the vehicle surfing the crests and troughs of sand, stopping perhaps at an oasis where feet can cooled with a paddle in the water as the fronds of the palm trees wave gently, and then on to an Omani restaurant to be served platters of steaming rice and spiced meats, dates and Arabic coffee. As the sun dips over the mountains, the British winter will seem a world away.

Cruise the Nile

A vast blue ribbon lacing its way through the yellow, sun-burnished sands of Egypt, the waters of the Nile brought verdant life to the parched desert. Irrigating more than simply the harvests of crops, it was the well-spring also of the great ancient cultures of the Pharaohs, allowing it to thrive and flourish along with the reed beds. Perhaps the most memorable way to explore Egypt is to navigate the course of the mighty Nile on a floating luxury hotel of a cruise ship. As the river unfurls, your ship, its progress accompanied by the bobbing traffic of the feluccas, carries you through one of the planet’s most fabulous and monumental dynastic histories: the Temples of Karnak and Luxor; the Necropolis of Thebes, the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon; the Temple of Horus in Edfu, and those of Sobek and Haroeris in Kom Ombo; and that vast icon of modernity in a landscape astonishing for its human antiquity, the Aswan Dam.

Diving and snorkeling in the Red Sea

If you would rather be in the water rather than cruising along on the surface, you may be tempted instead by a Red Sea diving and snorkeling holiday. Crystal clear and warm, and blessed with thousands of kilometres of coastline decorated with shallow reefs and ringed with islands, the Red Sea is the ideal setting for underwater adventure.

The coral reefs, stippled with anemones and sponges, glow with the rainbow hues of submarine gardens and flash with the glistening kaleidoscopic choreography of swirling shoals of tropical fish. Turtles skirt the edges of the reefs, while dolphins play in the deeper water. There are holidays designed for experienced divers, for families with children and for those who just want to learn to scuba dive in a marine paradise.

Spanish steps

For cultural splendour, Spanish cities are amongst the most impressive in Europe. Granada, sat at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalusia, was the last Muslim city to fall to the Christians in 1492 and in the Alhambra, a magnificent series of towers, palaces, gardens and fountains that date in part back to the Moorish Nazari dynasty of the 14th-century, boasts one of the architectural wonders of the world. Once you have marvelled at the Alhambra, you can visit the Cathedral with its stunning= facades and its artistic treasures.

Or you may prefer Seville. On the banks of the Guadalquivir river, Seville is rich in Hispanic culture, its back streets haunted by the flamboyance of longgone flamenco dancers and matadors, by the spirits of Don Juan and Carmen. As well as the famous minaret of La Giralda, Seville has the largest cathedral in the world – massive chains hang from the ceiling inside – the Alcazar Palace – a sublimity of gardens, marble patios, exquisite plasterwork and intricate tiling – the second largest art gallery in Spain, churches, grand bridges, flowered balconies, secret patios and parks. And lots of tapas bars. Or you may choose Barcelona, gothic and modernist, exuberant and serious, a cauldron of the arts and architecture. From La Rambla, with its hubhub of street life, to the Barri Goti, the old medieval heart of the city, from the cathedral of La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s soaring, expostulating vision in stone, to the Museu Picasso, Barcelona is truly unlike anywhere else in Europe.

Shopping in New York

Where better for some retail therapy than the greatest city in a country that practically invented the consumer? Visitors to New York with an empty shopping bag or two to fill should focus their energies on three areas – midtown, downtown and discount. Midtown you will find Saks department store (49th and 5th) from where you can amble up to Bergdorf Goodman and maybe Tiffany’s. Faconnable (5th and 54th) offers European styles without the accompanying disappointment of European price tags.

From Fifth track towards Madison Avenue and Barneys, DKNY and Nicola Farhi (beware, though, prices here are more likely to dent your plastic). Downtown things are a little less expensive. Try SoHo (between 6th and Broadway) for some affordable jeans. Fifth Avenue below 23rd Street has Banana Republic, Club Monaco and J Crew. If you want something a bit more chic, dip into North of Little Italy where you can loosen your purse strings wandering along Mott, Elizabeth and Mulberry streets. Budget a tad tighter? Then seek out Woodbury Common, an upstate bus trip away, with its 220 designer discount shops. Fly home, poorer but much happier.

Even if this top five list of winter getaways doesn’t quite lure you this winter, not to worry.

The team at Tickets Anywhere are on hand to give you advice and help you plan your holiday to almost any destination of your choosing.