EDITION: INTERNATIONAL U.S. MEXICO ARABIC TV: CNNi CNN en Espanol Set edition preference Sign up Log in Home Video World U.S. Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East Business World Sport Entertainment Tech Travel iReport SHARE THISPrintEmailMore sharingRedditStumbleUponDelicious/* push in config for this share instance */cnn_shareconfig.push({"id" : "cnn_sharebar1","url" : "http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/14/travel/escape-christmas/index.html","title" : "7 ways to escape Christmas"});7 ways to escape ChristmasBy Barry Neild, for CNNDecember 15, 2013 -- Updated 0429 GMT (1229 HKT)if (typeof cnnArticleGallery=="undefined"){var cnnArticleGallery={};if(typeof cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=="undefined"){cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=[];}}var expGalleryPT00=new ArticleExpandableGallery();expGalleryPT00.setImageCount(7);expGalleryPT00.setAdsRefreshCount(3);//cnn_adbptrackpgalimg("1. Get the Hobbit out of here", 1);.cnn_html_slideshow_metadata > .cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:'>>';font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:#004276;outline:medium none}.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}
Fly to New Zealand, Tolkien-land. You'll probably be in the air for 24 hours and miss Christmas Day entirely. If you're already in New Zealand, go to Spain.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":true,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":1,"title":"1. Get the Hobbit out of here"}Assuming you're in a mainly Christian country in the first place, Morocco's a good escape for snake charming, etc., in the souk. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":2,"title":"2. Flee Christendom"}Cuba's out, Fidel having lifted a Christmas ban in 1998. Which leaves Laos: anti-consumerist by state decree and Buddhist, too. Watch out, reindeers!cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":3,"title":"3. Go to a communist country"}
Assuming you're in a mainly Christian country in the first place, Morocco's a good escape for snake charming, etc., in the souk. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":2,"title":"2. Flee Christendom"}
Cuba's out, Fidel having lifted a Christmas ban in 1998. Which leaves Laos: anti-consumerist by state decree and Buddhist, too. Watch out, reindeers!cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":3,"title":"3. Go to a communist country"}
Try saying "Merry Christmas" in that position. An Indian yoga retreat should inoculate you against the soulless materialism some say Christmas has become.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":4,"title":"4. Retreat"}... after the party. Places like New Orleans are so fatigued following a year on the tiles that Christmas is actually sedate by comparison.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":5,"title":"5. Hit a party town"}Keep yourself so busy teaching in the developing world or saving the rainforest that you forget Christmas entirely.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":6,"title":"6. Go on a working vacation"}Even within the Christmas-intensive world, you can find Internet and TV-free places such as the UK's Lundy Island.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":7,"title":"7. Get lost"}HIDE CAPTION1. Get the Hobbit out of here2. Flee Christendom3. Go to a communist country4. Retreat5. Hit a party town6. Go on a working vacation7. Get lost<<<
... after the party. Places like New Orleans are so fatigued following a year on the tiles that Christmas is actually sedate by comparison.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":5,"title":"5. Hit a party town"}
Keep yourself so busy teaching in the developing world or saving the rainforest that you forget Christmas entirely.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":6,"title":"6. Go on a working vacation"}
Even within the Christmas-intensive world, you can find Internet and TV-free places such as the UK's Lundy Island.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":7,"title":"7. Get lost"}HIDE CAPTION1. Get the Hobbit out of here2. Flee Christendom3. Go to a communist country4. Retreat5. Hit a party town6. Go on a working vacation7. Get lost<<<
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7>>>Event.observe(window,'load',function(){if(typeof(cnn_adbptrackpgalimg) == 'function' && typeof(cnnArticleGallery) != 'undefined'){cnn_adbptrackpgalimg(cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[0].image,"7 ways to escape Christmas");}});STORY HIGHLIGHTSNot everyone is a Noel fanMorocco is a perennial favorite for Christmas avoidersIcelandic appetites for nightlife can leave visitors whimpering for mercyJust don't expect to get any presents(CNN) -- Travel can be a nightmare.
Christmas can be a nightmare.Logic dictates that putting these two negatives together should make a positive.And so it proves.Plan wisely, packing your bags while everyone else is stuffing their stockings, and you can steer clear of the orgy of soulless materialism that some say Christmas has become.Just don't expect to get any presents.Or be surprised when your traveling companion introduces himself as "Mr. Scrooge."1. Go to New Zealand These days, one of the best ways to take a few hours out from modern life is to fly.With in-flight cellphone reception and free Wi-Fi still relatively rare on commercial flights, it's a rare chance to escape daily stresses.International aviation schedules keep going even over Christmas, so if you really want to spend December 25 out of the festive loop, there are few better ways than ascending to 30,000 feet.Because the pre-Christmas panic is over, tickets often become considerably cheaper -- and the cheaper the fare, the longer the travel time.Admittedly, you'll be dependent on your fellow passengers not trying to celebrate at altitude, but airline food will sap the festive spirit from even the most hardened traveler.New Zealand, thanks to its remote (for most of us) Southern Hemisphere location, makes an ideal destination as it's so far from everywhere else it'll probably take you 24 hours to get there.Unless you live in New Zealand. In which case head to Spain.More: 7 tips for successful solo travel
A Moroccan souk: lots of shopping, just not for Christmas.2. Go to a non-Christian countrySince Christmas is Christianity's biggest annual shindig -- albeit one hijacked by commercialism in many countries -- another option is to head where both Christians and the pervasive forces of global commerce are confined to the sidelines.Morocco is a perennial favorite for Christmas avoiders, particularly as it also offers a warm escape from the plunging temperatures that merely serve to compound the misery of those who hate the holidays.Daytime temperatures can reach a pleasant 24C/75F.You could head to the ancient imperial city of Marrakech, with its lively Djemaa el Fna square filled with musicians, dancers, apothecaries and snake charmers.After checking into a luxury riad townhouse hotel (Riad Farnatchi, Rue Souk el Fassisi; +212 5 24 38 49 10), you can shop in the souk and sample street food such as chicken tagine with caramelized pumpkin.The evening calls to prayer should drown out the sound of sleigh bells.3. Go to a communist countrySame deal as before, although by communist country we essentially mean Laos.You could try Cuba, but since Fidel Castro relented on a Christmas ban in 1998, Havana is no longer a safe haven.France's colonial past has left its festive footprint on Vietnam, and North Korea isn't anyone's idea of a fun getaway.You aren't entirely safe even in China, where two decades of economic reform have inspired giddy enthusiasm for Christmas's till-ringing commercialism.More: Giant blowup Santa poses as Marilyn Monroe in China Expect trees, Santas and lights in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, and ersatz Christmas dinners in rural tourist spots such as Yangshuo.However, on the Venn diagram where absence of Christianity and communism form two overlapping circles, Laos lies dead center.Here, centuries of Buddhist traditions largely kept French influence at bay and have both survived civil war and the onset of Marxist socialism.Unlike everywhere else at Christmas, it's relatively cheap.You can enjoy a Noel-free night before Christmas in Luang Prabang, where nothing stirs, except maybe the gently flowing Mekong River.The Mekong Riverview hotel (+856 71 25 49 00) makes the most of its location.Read: Too many 'German' Christmas markets?
Spiritually enriching, just not the Christmas spirit 4. RetreatIf you're avoiding Christmas to spare your soul rather than your wallet from bankruptcy, perhaps the place for you is a retreat.By immersing yourself in the spiritually enriching possibilities of an intensive yoga course (Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram, Kerala, India; +91 471 227 3093) you'll not only skip the bingeing season, you'll get a head start on the January detox.Or you could try a monastery for silent meditation (such as the Wat Suan Mokkh, in Chaiya, Thailand; no telephone for obvious reasons).Absence of carol singers guaranteed.5. Go to a party townThis might seem counter-intuitive, but a good way to avoid the season of excess is to head somewhere it happens on a daily basis.Although December 25 is certainly celebrated in world-class party towns like New Orleans, if anything it's slightly more low key than the rest of the year.New Orleans' boozy scene takes it considerably easier over Christmas, making it one of the best times to visit.In the Icelandic capital, Rejkjavik, where Nordic appetites for nightlife can leave visitors whimpering for mercy, very little happens over the Christmas holidays, making it a magically peaceful time to contemplate marvels such as the Northern Lights.More: Best places to see the Northern LightsIn New Orleans, one place to seek sanctuary is Loft 523 (523 Gravier Street; +1 504 200 6523).Near Reykjavik, the upscale Ion Hotel has its own Northern Lights Bar (Nesjavollum vid Thingvallavatn, 801 Selfoss; +354 482 34 15).More: World's 7 most dangerous and remote islands
Volunteer where people really do need more consumer goods.6. WorkMore soul-cleansing, this time via the creditable route of voluntary work -- which, in a way, combines the giving spirit of Christmas with the best of Christmas avoidance.Not only will you be donating your time and labor, you'll be too busy building schools, teaching kids or saving rainforests to think about anything else.Organizations such as Elevate Destinations or Global Vision International are good places to start.7. Get lostIf you find a remote spot where no one, not even Santa, can track you down, then giving Christmas the slip should be as easy as mince pie.Lundy, a windswept but beautiful island in the waters of Britain's Bristol Channel, isn't too far from civilization, but there are no televisions or Internet connections, you're unlikely to get a mobile phone signal and the only way on or off is by helicopter.You might have to avoid the island's solitary pub, the Marisco Tavern, on Christmas Day, but the prospect of sitting in front of a blazing fire in the splendid isolation of your very own lighthouse (Old Light Tower, Lundy Island; +44 1628 825 925), will be worth it.It's the perfect place to start plotting next year's Christmas escape.Read: 20 most annoying things that people do on planes0Comments »SHARE THISPrintEmailMore sharingRedditStumbleUponDelicious/* push in config for this share instance */cnn_shareconfig.push({"id" : "cnn_sharebar2","url" : "http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/14/travel/escape-christmas/index.html","title" : "7 ways to escape Christmas"});
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