Top 5 Countries You Should Visit This Winter

While the ideal picture of a holiday involves a blistering sun, swaying palm trees and relaxing on sandy beaches, winter also affords a different kind of paradise for those who enjoy a good blizzard and the accompanying treasures that come with the mercury dropping. If the latter is your kind of vacation, then brace yourself as what follows is a look at the top five countries to visit in winter that’s worth checking out.

Best 5 Countries to Visit in Winter

1. Canada

Canada is a joy when the snow kicks in as the exciting peaks and ranges in Alberta and the British Columbia are instantly upgraded into a snowboarding or skiing haven that very few places around the globe can match. Other popular activities ushered in by winter include ice-climbing- which you can do plenty of in the icy outlay of cannons in Johnston- and tobogganing across the overflowing snow in Quebec City. Nicknamed the Great White North’, everything is absolutely great about the nation in the north at a time when the sun doesn’t want to come out to play.

2. Norway

The Land of the midnight sun’- a sobriquet earned because of the sun still being up at midnight during summer at certain latitudes – is a popular winter destination as it provides a front row seat to one of nature’s most scintillating phenomenon, the Aurora Borealis. You can witness the awe of the mesmerizing colors dancing away in the sky; as well as explore snow-buried outposts such as Tromso and Atlanta. Outdoor fun also comes in the form of the endearing sport of biathlon; cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing/ dog-sledding across peaceful never-ending fields of white.

3. Croatia

Croatia is best known as a summer gateway, but it is also just as enticing during the winter. As winter there isn’t as unforgiving as other cold periods around the world. You can go skiing in the ice-laden mountains of Papuk and Mèdvednica; unwind at hot springs in Tuhelj and Krapinske Toplice; or visit the enchanting Plitvice Lakes whose glistening icicles and frozen lakes/waterfalls are an amazing marvel to behold. The other great thing about the country during the winter is that its famous islands are less crowded and the accommodation is significantly cheaper. It is, therefore, a great time to go sailing in Croatia as you’ll have the beguiling treasures of the Adriatic and the Dalmatian coast almost all to yourself.

4. Antarctica

Antarctica is not for the faint of heart but for those hardboiled winter lovers gunning for the pinnacle of cold-weather locations. The country is almost always on ice. However, the severity of conditions becomes magnified over winter. There’s much to see and do during the cold season; including a foray across the Drake Passage, where you are bound to bump into a hurdle of playful penguins; and whale watching or touring glaciers and research bases synonymous with the region.

5. Iceland

Well naturally a place named Iceland should feature among your prime countries to visit in winter; and the land of the Vikings is rightfully deserving of its slot on this list. Aside from taking in the delight of the Northern Lights in its unbridled glory, you can also experience a number of other mother nature’s goodies such as the fiery volcanic fissures of Silfra and the staggering icy waterfall of Gullfoss. Popular activities around this time include snorkeling, whale watching and horse riding just to name a few.

Winter enthusiasts can find what they looking for and so much more in these icy paradises that truly put the “win” in winter.