Realising the opportunity is there to get away and enjoy that sunshine, however, is part of the problem. Amongst the short breaks I have found, this is by far a favourite of mine, a long weekend in Cyprus, and I managed to find it for less than £250 per person.
Where To Stay
Half an hour from Paphos Airport in Cyprus is the four-star Constantinou Bros Athena Beach Hotel, set in beautiful gardens and located on a beautiful sandy beach. The four night break in January (arriving Wednesday and departing Sunday that I found cost just £227 per person based on two adults sharing an inland view room on a bed and breakfast basis, including 20kg of luggage each and airport transfers in Paphos. For those wanting to upgrade, the hotel also offers sea view rooms at a supplement. With an average of six hours sunshine a day in the winter and an average temperature of 15-17C, Cyprus is one of the places many British expats move to, to escape the cold and grey British winter.
The Beach Break Deal
The deal with Thomas Cook includes flights from London Gatwick and the accommodation is well-rated by guests. Hotel facilities include three swimming pools, heated indoor pool, five restaurants, gym, spa, games room and regular evening entertainment. For those of you who enjoy walking, if you want to get out of the hotel and explore a bit more, the Constantinou Bro Athena Beach is about 1.5km from Paphos town centre. Activities such as hiking, biking and horse riding can also be enjoyed during the winter months when the temperature isn't too hot.
The hotel restaurants cater for lunch and dinner (at an additional cost) but there is also a mini mart close by, although rooms only offer tea and coffee making facilities. No holiday would be complete, though, without a tasty dinner outside the hotel resort and the seafood restaurants in Paphos Harbour come highly recommended.
Gatwick Express trains start early in the morning and will allow you to catch this 7:15am flight. On the return, a much more acceptable 2:50pm flight will land you back in the UK at 5:45pm, plenty of time to get home and settle in, refreshed for work the next day. You'll notice the difference once you get some sunshine though. Those winter blues will slip by straight away.
Still, when you're back at work and ask what everyone else did on their weekend, you know yours will have been so much better than theirs. For more details on the four-star Constantinou Bros Athena Beach Hotel, visit their website at athena-cbh.com.