Lower prices, prime destinations: The best places to visit in February

Valentine’s Day equates February with romance, but you have plenty of other reasons to escape on holiday in this month which, after the festival high season, beckons with fewer people, lower prices and plenty of prime-time destinations.

Countries

Iceland

Enjoy one of the world’s most scenically weird and wonderful countries without the crowds.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: Heading to Iceland in the winter depths might sound like a crazy notion but, if you have the right gear and cold-weather confidence, you can enjoy one of the world’s most scenically weird and wonderful countries while avoiding summer crowds. Hike glaciers, explore ice caves, admire snowy scenery and, when the chill sets in, plunge into the nearest geothermal pool.

Don’t miss: The Northern Lights, another good reason to visit Iceland in winter – and drag yourself from bed at improbable hours. You can see the eerie display even from downtown Reykjavik, but you’ll have a better experience from Laugarnestangi, Mosfellsheithi or Grotta island just outside the city. See visiticeland.com

Sri Lanka

The ruined rock-top palace fortress Sigiriya, reached up a flight of vertigo-inducing steps.Credit: Getty Images

Why you should go: February is high season, but that isn’t at all the same thing as high season in Thailand or Bali, and you can take advantage of sunny weather in the country’s most-visited southern and western regions. The island offers holiday variety, from surf beaches to historic towns, highlands to ancient ruins, as well as national parks protecting creatures such as elephants and leopards.

Don’t miss: Central Sri Lanka’s “cultural triangle”, which has four stunning sights: Dambulla’s painted and carved Buddhist caves, the massive temple-dotted ruins of former capitals Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, and the ruined rock-top palace fortress Sigiriya, reached up a flight of vertigo-inducing steps. See srilanka.travel

Oman

Oman’s Musandam Peninsula is like Norway’s fjords.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: This welcoming country on the Arabian Peninsula ought to be better known considering it’s close to much-visited Dubai. It has dramatically rugged landscapes more diverse than you might think, a distinctive culture, and friendly people. February is the last month of winter, nicely avoiding the prior high season and following scorching heat.

Don’t miss: Any chance to get into desert landscapes, such as Bidiyah or the Hajar Mountains, but especially where desert meets coast. Musandam Peninsula is likened to a brown, parched version of Norway’s fjords and offers the opportunity for village visits and dune bashing, as well as snorkelling or diving in turquoise waters teeming with marine life. See visitoman.om

Singapore

Chinagay Parade is claimed to be Asia’s biggest street parade.Credit: Getty

Why you should go: Singapore is always hot and humid, so you needn’t worry about the weather, but Chinese New Year enlivens the city with a Spring Festival that runs over three weeks in February and is particularly lively in Chinatown and Marina Bay. Expect lantern illuminations, stage shows, street eating and decorative redness everywhere.

Don’t miss: Chinagay Parade which, with a fiery fireworks finale, closes out the festival in what’s claimed to be Asia’s biggest street parade, with 10,000 participants including dancers, musicians and performers. Huge floats, spectacular costumes, dancing lions and snaking dragons are all part of the show, and everyone is sprinkled with gold glitter by the God of Prosperity. See visitsingapore.com

Australia

Wineglass Bay is one of Australia’s best snippets of coastline.

Why you should go: Who says you shouldn’t stay at home? Okay, avoid the north (wet season) and outback (too hot), but coastal New South Wales and Victoria, southwest WA and all Tasmania are lovely. The mad prices and schoolkids of the holiday season have been banished, summer continues, and cities buzz with events such as Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras and surfing carnivals.

Don’t miss: Eastern Tasmania. Drive east from Hobart to the Freycinet Peninsula and then up the coast to the Bay of Fires for stunning wilderness, delightful historical towns, great beaches, cellar doors, and plenty of hiking and swimming opportunities. Wineglass Bay is one of Australia’s best snippets of coastline. See australia.com

Cities

New Orleans, USA

New Orleans’ French Quarter is an eighteenth-century masterpiece.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: This southern city’s fabled Mardi Gras begins in early January but ramps up two weeks prior to Fat Tuesday, a shifting date between mid-February and early March. Music oozes from every corner of the old town, booze flows, and jazz bars never seem to close. Colourful parades feature floats and flamboyantly costumed, masked participants. Bourbon Street’s youthful party-goers cavort long into the night.

Don’t miss: The French Quarter, an eighteenth-century masterpiece and one of few surviving historic city centres in America. Despite its name, the architectural influences are largely colonial Spanish, with a distinctly Caribbean flavour. The quarter is historical and beautiful, yet also crammed with cafés, restaurants and live-music venues. See neworleans.com

Sapporo, Japan

Sapporo’s Snow Festival is one of the best in the world.Credit: Yasufumi Nishi/JNTO

Why you should go: Sapporo’s wonderful Snow Festival is one of the best in the world and runs in February. Hundreds of snow statues and ice sculptures (some the size of houses) decorate city streets under twinkling lights, as visitors warm themselves by drinking, eating and dancing under decidedly frosty skies. Kids will love the snow slides, snow rafting and family-friendly entertainment.

Don’t miss: Take a twirl on the ice-skating rink or try your hand at curling at Odori, one of the ice festival venues, where there’s also an outdoor food market and sake bar. Also wonderful is night skiing (or snowboarding) at Bankei 20 minutes from the city, especially atmospheric under a full moon. See snowfes.com

Grindelwald, Switzerland

From the top of Jungfrau mountain there are views all the way to Italy and Germany.Credit: Jeroen Seyffer

Why you should go: This village sits under the towering north face of the Eiger and is surrounded by alpine peaks and glaciers. With over 600 kilometres of runs in the Jungfrau Region ski area, it’s one of Europe’s best ski resorts, but not as crowded as some, especially in quieter February. The 7.2-kilometre run from the top of the Mannlichen cable car is superb.

Don’t miss: Non-skiers can explore the Lower Grindelwald Glacier and thundering Glacier Gorge rock galleries, enjoy winter hikes and mountain biking, and ride the famous rack railway to the 3454-metre saddle of the Jungfrau mountain, where you’ll find exhibitions, ice sculptures, and views all the way to Italy and Germany. See myswitzerland.com

Venice, Italy

Carnival explodes with music and colour in Venice during winter.Credit: AP

Why you should go: As winter mist envelops Venice, Carnival explodes with music and colour. The 800-year-old festival opens with a masked procession and continues with costume balls, gala dinners, juggling acts and carnival-goers in costumes. It culminates in a candlelit boat procession down the Grand Canal. The Carnival runs during the first half of February, though sometimes begins in late January.

Don’t miss: The whole of this unique city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and dozens of buildings within it deserve that accolade all by themselves. Although the weather is cold, Venice has far fewer tourists, and canal-side streets are atmospheric in the moody winter weather. Get walking: you won’t want to miss anything. See carnevale.venezia.it

Innsbruck, Austria

Innsbruck has cosy European atmosphere, history and culture.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: If your idea of a winter getaway involves not skiing but cosy European atmosphere, history and culture, head to Austria’s late-medieval capital. It combines old town and baroque imperial palace with lively nightlife, laid-back attitudes and Italianate cheerfulness. You’ll find boutique shops and great cafés around every corner, plus several nearby attractions such as Ambras Castle and Swarovski Crystal World.

Don’t miss: Innsbruck is surrounded by staggering mountains. Hop on Nordkette railway downtown and 20 minutes later you’re at 2269 metres amid gobsmacking, snowy panoramas. Check out Bergisel ski jump across the valley too, which has a restaurant at its summit providing a dizzying look at ski-jumpers as they practise. See innsbruck.info