Madeira
December average high: 19C
Thanks to the Gulf Stream, Madeira has a mild climate year round – a welcome respite from Britain's sub-zero temperatures. Get £280 off an all-inclusive week-long stay at the Quinta Do Sol, in the capital, Funchal.
• £349pp for seven nights, including all meals and drinks and flights from Gatwick or Stansted, for departures up to 18 December. The first 50 bookings will get a free upgrade to a sea view room. See travelzoo.com/uk for details
Cuba
Average December high: 26C
Responsible Travel's Cuba Adventure tour focuses on the country's people and culture. You'll visit villages and farms and stay in family homes, as well as having a couple of nights in Havana.
• £289pp for eight days including B&B, transport and a local guide, but excluding flights. Departing on Sundays. responsibletravel.com. Come Fli (comefli.com) has return flights from London to Havana from £431
Marrakech
Average December high: 19C
Do your Christmas shopping in the souks of Marrakech. Riad El Fenn has 21 luxury suites, a huge, sunny roof terrace, three pools and a hammam, right next to the medina. Rooms half-price until 22 December.
• From £210pp for three nights' B&B. +212 524 44 1210, riadelfenn.com. Flights with Dial A Flight (dialaflight.com) from London from £69
Cambodia
Average December high: 30C
December is the best time to visit Cambodia: not too humid, little rain, and a nice cooling breeze. Imaginative Traveller's six-day Cambodia and Ancient Angkor trip is a whistle-stop tour of the country's main sights, including Angkor Wat.
• £330pp including five nights' hotel accommodation, but not flights. Departures on 15, 22, 26 and 29 December. 0845 805 5327, imaginative-traveller.com. Economy Travels (0800 635 0299, economytravels.co.uk) has return flights from London to Phnom Penh for £439
Lanzarote
Average December high: 22C
Lanzarote's volcanic interior is other-worldly beauty, stark and unsettling. Embrace the solitude at Finca Malvasia, four white cottages surrounded by fields of black ash.
• From £413pp for seven nights from 23 December, excluding flights. i-escape.com. Airflights (0800 083 7007, airflights.co.uk) has return flights from London to Arrecife from £58
