Ranchos Itaúna, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Ranchos Itaúna is a small rustic-chic hotel in the sleepy village of Santa Teresa near some of Costa Rica’s best surf breaks. Austrian expat owner Peter Ottinger has been known to make his beachfront hotel the focal point for the best parties on the Nicoya peninsula (full moon parties are traditional). And NYE festivities have become all but mythic. Don’t expect flyers or a Facebook events page; though one of the biggest fiestas west of San José, this is a word-of-mouth affair. Just make sure to book a room so your stumble home is a short one.
• Doubles $120 B&B until 6 January, from €80 low season, ranchos-itauna.com
Pichilemu Beach Party Dome Experience, Pichilemu, Chile
A three-hour drive south of Viña del Mar, Pichilemu is home to some of the best left surf breaks on the planet. Quiksilver throws its Big Wave Invitational at nearby Punta de Lobos, so come prepared if you plan on hitting the waves. Here, collective Casa Nômade, a Viña-based art, music and design team, is putting on an NYE fiesta called the Dome Experience. Casa Nômade places a heavy emphasis on the arts, specifically pixel-mapped audio-visual art installations throughout the Dome. Each guest is allowed to bring in one bottle of booze to help offset expenses. Now that’s civilised.
• Tickets from $23pp, on Facebook
Cosmic Convergence, Lago Atitlan, Guatemala
This party has a spiritual component, so if discussions about chakras are a red flag for you, this one is a hard “no”. But if yoga sessions, naturalist workshops (sustainability, Mayan weaving, poetry of Rumi), and the work of artist Alex Grey get your neurotransmitters firing, Cosmic Convergence is the one. Plus there’s music, fire-jugglers, swimming holes and dreadlocks aplenty. On the southern tip of Lago Atitlán, in the lush jungles of Guatemala, arguably the most beautiful country in Central America, Cosmic Convergence is the embodiment hippiedom.
• Tickets $139/$69 for Latin Americans, cosmicconvergencefestival.org
Goa, India
The mystic land of Goa is a blend of palm-studded white sand beaches, ancient esoteric spirituality and unhinged, trance-fuelled hedonism. Exploiting this mash up are festivals such as Sunburn. It rivals the big western fests in terms of production standards and amenities, but skipping all that noise in favour of the more intimate satellite and after-parties sprouting up is recommended. World-class DJs play in the many tiki bars of Anjuna beach, and if that’s too crowded try the more isolated bamboo forest-lined dunes of Palolem or Vagator. The midnight fireworks displays are said to be a hallucination-inducing kaleidoscope.
• sunburn.in
Day Zero, Tulum, Mexico
Day Zero is an epic bacchanalia in the jungles of Tulum, two weeks after the standard new year. Globetrotting DJ/producer Damian Lazarus combines his experience of some of the wildest parties on Earth – from Ibiza and Berlin to London and Brooklyn – into one mystic space for people to discover their inner Carlos Castaneda. Guests are encouraged to go on cave hikes and swim in underground cenotes (limestone caves), in between sweaty sets dancing amid the lush Yucatan flora. Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil, guides the exceptional production via his new Burning Man-inspired project Red Moon, while Stevie Wonder’s lighting team, a high-powered laser setup, and a top-notch 360-degree Funktion One sound system fill in the holes. The line-up includes Dixon, Âme, Bedouin, Dinky, DJ Three, Lum, Mathew Jonson and of course Lazarus himself. It’s sold out for 2017, so start planning for 2018 now!
• Tickets $60, 2017-line.dayzerofestival.com
Kokrobite, Ghana
Not many westerners would put Africa on a NYE party shortlist, which is what makes Ghana such an inviting alternative. Kokrobite, a fishing village 30km west of the capital Accra, has been dubbed the “Ibiza of Africa” for the rising popularity of its beach raves. Expect to boogie with your feet in the sand to Afro-house, a mashup of house with African pop and reggae. When the sun sets, bonfires and fireworks light your way. Accra’s nightclub scene also offers a friendly, more champagne-popping milieu: the entire Osu Oxford Street boulevard morphs into a giant carnival. Either way the parties don’t slow down till the rising sun turns the Atlantic pink and orange, and everyone rushes to the ocean for a collective morning swim to welcome in the new year.
Let Them Eat Cake, near Melbourne, Australia
Everyone thinks about where they want to be on New Year’s Eve, but what about New Year’s Day? Let Them Eat Cake, a twinkling star in Australia’s boutique festival circuit, rings in the new year while the sun is shining. Half an hour from Melbourne in the bucolic gardens of Werribee Mansion, Cake attracts a who’s who of Melbourne royalty and Aussie cool (DJs, floppy-haired rock stars, artists and more). Its growing fame can be attributed to a heavy investment in the guest experience, with roving performers, interactive art installations and numerous themed bars selling artisan cocktails, craft beers and ciders (there are so many bars, organisers promise you won’t wait longer than one minute for a re-up). The line-up includes an impeccable selection of deck maestros: Heidi, Dusky, Mano Le Tough, Tokimonsta, Edit, Cut Chemist, Leon Vynehall, Maribou State and more.
• Tickets A$160 (£94), letthemeatcakenyd.com.au
