As I spent the entire winter in gorgeous Poland this year, I thought I would compile some of my best Winter travel ideas for you all. It’s a time of year often overlooked by travellers as lots of people prefer to go sun seeking and searching for warm beaches. Step aside for a moment – winter is a brilliant time to travel! Here are my top 4 winter destinations!

Best Places to Visit in Winter

1. Poland
Poland has gorgeous winters. Snow capped mountains, cities covered in snow with cosy wine bars offering excellent “Grzane Piwo” (hot beer) or “Grzane Wino” (hot wine). Plus it’s a country with four seasons so you really get to experience a country that changes a lot throughout the year. Winter is a perfect time to escape the tourist crowds and explore Poland.

Touring Olsztyn in winter

2.Kyrgyzstan
I love my time in Kyrgyzstan and in winter, the mountains are popular for ski-ing but also hiking. While based in the glorious capital city of Bishkek, I also toured the impressive Ala Archa National Park.

Winter in Kyrgyzstan – gorgeous!

3. Finland
I loved my time in Finland, especially in winter as the place gets so cold, everyone enjoys the love of indoor saunas and huge house parties. Finnish people know how to party! Plus after a few beers and some sauna (which is completely naked), Finns often go running naked into the snow, some of them even dive into a freezing lake. Certainly crazy people but be aware of the famous “chilly willy” or the “nipple ripple” as nudity features highly! My lasting memory was getting naked in the town of Jarvenpaa!

Jarvenpaa, Finland

Nude sauna, Finland

4.Norway
Again another northern European spot for this list, the reason being again the weather in Norway for winter. You can do fjord tours, go ski-ing and also enjoy the warmth of the bars, pubs and clubs of Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger. Norway was infamously the 99th country on my wacaday journey around the globe so it always has a special place in my heart.

Fjords of Norway

Fjords of Norway

So please break the mould of the summer backpacker and get out to explore these places in a cold winter.