Travel Calendar · 2026
December
Where to go each month and for every holiday, with the hotels we'd book.
Pictured: Nuremberg, Germany — #1 for December
Where to go in December
Top 20 Hotel Destinations for December
December brings Christmas markets and snow in the north, the start of Caribbean and Southeast Asian dry season, and summer holidays in the Southern Hemisphere.
December 2026
Holiday Busy period Sports
December 20
- Winter Break
December 26
- Boxing Day
- Kwanzaa
Hover or tap a highlighted day to see its holidays and events.
Plan around the dates
Holidays in December
Dec4December 4, 2026 (date may vary)
Hanukkah
Israel; Global
Celebrate the Festival of Lights in cities with public menorah lightings and deep Jewish history, from New York and Berlin to Budapest, Prague and Buenos Aires.
See the Top 20 →
- Dec20
December 20 – January 3, 2027
Winter Break
United States
- Dec24
December 24 – January 1, 2027
Christmas to New Year's Week
Global
The week between Christmas and New Year's is the year's best window for a long trip. These picks span ski resorts, dry-season islands and Southern Hemisphere summer.
See the Top 20 →
- Dec25
December 25, 2026
Christmas
Global
From Santa's home on the Arctic Circle to Christmas on the beach in Sydney, these are the most festive places to spend December 25.
See the Top 20 →
- Dec26
December 26, 2026
Boxing Day
United Kingdom; Canada; Australia; New Zealand
- Dec26
December 26 – January 1, 2027
Kwanzaa
United States
Dec30December 30 – January 1, 2027
Hogmanay
Scotland
Scotland's New Year celebration is one of the world's best, centered on Edinburgh's street party but celebrated at grand country houses across the country.
See the Top 4 →
Dec31December 31, 2026
New Year's Eve
Global
The world's greatest New Year's Eve celebrations, from Sydney Harbour's first-in-the-world fireworks to Edinburgh's Hogmanay and Rio's beach party.
See the Top 20 →
Dec31December 31, 2026
Réveillon
Brazil
Brazil's Réveillon is a New Year's Eve beach party on a massive scale, with millions dressed in white for luck.
See the Top 5 →