Whether you prefer fireworks over Sydney Harbour or a colourful carnival in Cape Town, now is the time to plan your favourite way to welcome 2011 around the world, writes AMY LAUGHINGHOUSE
Australia
Sydney
Be among the first in the world to greet the new year as you witness spectacular fireworks exploding over Sydney Harbour.
At the waterside Park Hyatt Sydney, festivities range from a three-course dinner to a rooftop cocktail party with free-flowing Veuve Clicquot, canapés, live entertainment and views of the harbour. Dinner from AUD $185 (€131) per person. Rooms from AUD $990 (€703), minimum six nights.
For cricket fans, ITC Sports has teamed up with the hotel to offer an eight-night stay (December 31st to January 8th), including a New Year’s Eve harbour cruise and a “platinum level” five-day ticket to the fifth Ashes test match. From £5,995 (€6,900) per person sharing.
Etihad offers one-stop flights from Dublin to Sydney while British Airways also offers one-stop flights from Shannon and Cork.
- sydney.park.hyatt.com
- itcsports.co.uk
- britishairways.com; and etihadairways.com
USA
New York
Enjoy the kinetic energy of the Times Square countdown while remaining far above the fray at the New York Marriott Marquis’ Broadway Lounge black-tie bash.
The 1940s Hollywood theme means you’ll have one shiny black wingtip planted in the past, but guests who book a VIP seat can keep an eye on the future as they watch the ball drop. Prices include hors d’oeuvres, open bar, band and DJ. Direct ball drop view costs $2,800 (€2,013) per person; and indoor communal seating $750 (€539).
Rooms here are sold out for December 31st, but check for cancellations.
Fly to JFK from Dublin on Air France or Delta or from Shannon on Aer Lingus, Air France, or Delta. Or fly to Newark from Dublin or Shannon aboard Continental Airlines.
-nymarriottmarquis.com
- hkhotels.com
- airfrance.com; delta.com; and aerlingus.com
Ireland
Limerick
Some people swoon over calendars featuring hot, hunky firemen. Others input their diary into an iPhone or Blackberry.
Back in the 19th century, the Second Earl of Dunraven opted for a decidedly less practical, less portable means of tracking the earth’s annual progression around the sun, erecting the imposing Adare Manor with 365 stained glass windows for each day of the year, 52 chimneys representing each week, and a tower for every season.
Today, this five-star “calendar house” with a championship 18-hole golf course and spa, seems a terrifically appropriate setting to greet 2011. Its “Gourmet New Year” package includes a six-course dinner for two, musical entertainment and accommodation. From €200 per person.
- Adara Manor is around three hours drive from Dublin.
- adaremanor.com
England
London
Any hotel that employs a full-time team of gilders ought to know how to “put on the Ritz” for a proper New Year’s Eve celebration.
At the Ritz London, choose from four options, including an early-bird’s evening tea (£185/€213 per person) and a six-course gala dinner (£1,100/€1,265 per person) featuring a 10-piece orchestra, fireworks, and a marching band.
London’s New Year’s Day parade begins outside the hotel. Rooms from £300 (€345).
Aer Lingus flies from Belfast, Cork, Dublin or Shannon to Heathrow; or from Cork, Dublin or Knock to Gatwick. Aer Arann fly from Galway or Waterford to Luton. Ryanair fly from Belfast City, Derry, Knock, Shannon, Kerry, Cork or Dublin to Stansted; from Knock, Kerry or Dublin to Luton; or from Shannon, Cork, or Dublin to Gatwick. British Airways fly from Dublin or Cork to Gatwick or Heathrow; or from Belfast or Shannon to Heathrow. Lufthansa fly Dublin or Belfast to Heathrow.
- theritzlondon.com
- aerlingus.com; ryanair.com;
- aerarann.com; lufthansa.com; and britishairways.com
Jordan
Petra
Bunk with the Bedouins in the Wadi Rum desert and mark the new year with musical entertainment, a lavish buffet, fireworks and champagne beneath starry skies.
It’s part of On the Go Tours’ eight-day (December 27th to January 3rd) “New Year’s Wadi Rum” tour of Jordan. Other highlights include floating in the Dead Sea, the intriguingly-named nymphaeum in the first-century city of Jerash, Byzantine mosaics in Madaba, and the tombs and temples of Petra, famed for the colonnaded façade of Al-Khazneh (the Treasury). From £779 (€896). See its website for immunisation requirements.
On The Go Tours suggest flying from Dublin through Istanbul to Amman aboard Turkish Airlines.
- onthegotours.com
- turkishairlines.com
South Africa
Cape Town
In Cape Town, New Year marches in with a rainbow blaze of colour. Celebrations begin on December 31st with a street party and fireworks along the waterfront, but the main event is the Cape Minstrel Carnival, or Kaapse Klopse, with a parade on January 2nd that attracts up to 13,000 costumed participants.
The 329-room Table Bay Hotel on the Victoria Alfred Waterfront offers easy access to the action. Rooms from ZAR 7,210 (€748); three-night minimum stay.
Fly to Cape Town from Dublin on BMI, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, KLM, or Etihad; from Cork on KLM; or from Belfast on South African Airways.
- capetown.travel/suninternational.com
- flysaa.com; lufthansa.com; turkishairlines.com; klm.com; etihadairways.com; flybmi.com
The Caribbean Cruise
Holland America offers a slew of holiday options, including several Caribbean cruises embarking in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
On New Year’s Eve, break out the tux and cocktail frock for a black and white ball, live band and choral concert. Seven-day cruise from £736 (€847) per person.
Fly to Fort Lauderdale from Shannon on Aer Lingus or Continental; or from Dublin on Aer Lingus, Continental, or Air Canada (www.aircanada.com) Tel: +44 (0) 845 351 0557,
- hollandamerica.com
- aerlingus.com; aircanada.com; continental.com
Norway
Northern Lights
For a chance to see the Northern Lights, pack your parka and book a berth on Hurtigruten’s “Venture into the Arctic” voyage aboard MS Midnatsol, departing from Bergen, Norway on December 30th and travelling north to Tromsø.
On New Year’s Eve enjoy a banquet, dancing and fireworks. From £965 (€1,105) per person, including four nights half board on the ship, one night BB in Tromsø at the end of the voyage and return flights from Dublin.
For Norway, Hurtigruten will arrange flights from Dublin.
- hurtigruten.co.uk
Switzerland
Bad Ragaz
Blitz those Christmas kilos and get a jump-start on your New Year’s resolutions at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz spa and golf complex. The six-day weight loss programme (€3,360 per person) includes a medical exam, body fat measurements, nutritional advice, personal training and meals.
Prefer a more pampered approach? With a “gold temptation” treatment (€311 per person), sip bubbly in the bath before a technician coats you in hydrating 24-karat gold leaf, leaving you with a “golden” glow. From €327 per room, with 10 per cent reduction for weight-loss programme.
Fly from Dublin to Zurich on Aer Lingus, Lufthansa or Swiss. Bad Ragaz is about an hour from Zurich by train.
- resortragaz.ch/en
- aerlingus.com; swiss.com; and lufthansa.com
Scotland
Edinburgh
The Scottish capital hosts one heck of a New Year’s knees-up, known as Hogmanay. It begins on December 30th with a torchlight procession along the Royal Mile with fireworks on Calton Hill and continues until December 31st with a street party, concert, ceilidh, fireworks at Edinburgh Castle, and an after-party.
Also on December 31st, the Caledonian Hilton hosts a Hogmanay Ball with a champagne reception, piped address to the haggis, five-course dinner, band and DJ. Ball £165 (€190) per person; overnight packages from £550 (€633) per couple.
Fly to Edinburgh from Dublin or Cork on Aer Lingus; from Dublin, Cork or Galway on Aer Arann; from Dublin or Shannon on Ryanair.
- edinburghshogmanay.org
- hilton.co.uk/caledonian
- visitscotland.com
- aerlingus.com; ryanair.com; and aerarann.com
Polynesia
Tahiti
Time seems to move more slowly in the Tahitian Islands, where New Year is born 21 hours after it makes its entrance in Sydney, Australia.
Enjoy fireworks, a gala buffet, a DJ and a Tahitian fire dance, plus special children’s events at the Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora. Rooms from €712; five-night minimum stay.
At the Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach and Private Island, guests will be treated to traditional Tahitian entertainment, including folkloric shows and a local musician, plus an international buffet. Rooms from $297 (€213).
Fly to Los Angeles from Dublin on Air New Zealand, BMI, Lufthansa, KLM, Aer Lingus, Air France, American Airlines, US Airways, Air Canada, Continental Airlines; from Cork on KLM; from Shannon on Aer Lingus or Continental.
From LA, fly to Papeete, Tahiti on Air Tahiti Nui. Or fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle from Dublin on KLM, Aer Lingus or Air France; or from Shannon or Cork on Aer Lingus. From Paris, continue to Papeete on Air Tahiti Nui. Fly from Tahiti Faa’a Airport to Bora Bora aboard Air Tahiti.
fourseasons.com/borabora/