Doc Holiday: I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Where should I go?

'Tis the season to be booking a Christmas trip - but where is the ultimate destination for an Australian who wants a taste of Northern Hemisphere winter? Our travel expert has the answers. 

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. Where can we go?

The unfortunate truth is that when it comes to Mother Nature, it’s almost impossible to give guarantees, but you’re right in assuming that the further north you go, the more likely it is you’ll get to enjoy a white Christmas. Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland has everything you could ever need for the quintessential white Christmas: ice hotels, Santa Claus Village, traditional snow sports and thick, thick power everywhere you look.

Swedish Lapland, northern Norway (particularly in and around Tromsø, which is noted as being one of the most “Christmassy” towns in the country) and Iceland are perfect white Christmas destinations too. Not only are you given the highest chance to experience a postcard-perfect winter wonderland, you’re also likely to experience the Northern Lights at the same time.

In North America, northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, have historically enjoyed snow on Christmas Day, while other great options in that area include Banff in Canada’s Alberta region and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This isn’t to say you won’t see snow in the likes of Salzburg, Copenhagen or around the European Alps, so it’s well worth looking into those options as well.

You can travel independently but there are some great white Christmas-themed tours that could interest you. Take a look at the range of Christmas tours in Finland and Sweden offered by 50 Degrees North, as well as the White Christmas in Canada tours offered by APT Tours. Albatross Tours, too, have a great selection of suitable tours too – many of which take place in the Swiss and Slovenian Alps.

Winter at Peyto Lake, Banff National Park, Canada.

I’m travelling business class on Qatar Airways to Spain, which codeshares with low-cost airline Vueling between Barcelona and Malaga. Do I have to pay for my checked luggage on this flight?

In some codeshare situations such as this, the baggage rules of the Most Significant Carrier (MSC) apply in accordance with the regulations of the International Air Transport Association. This means if you’ve booked a Qatar Airways flight and a shorter leg of it is operated by another airline, the baggage allowance set by Qatar will apply for the entire duration of your journey, so no pesky luggage charges. This isn’t only for business class, but applies to all passengers.

This isn’t the case for all carriers, however, so it’s always a good idea to check with the MSC before booking a codeshare or, if already booked, check your ticket for the baggage allowance details. The last thing you want is to have to pay for 30kg-plus of luggage on a “low-cost” carrier. If the flights weren’t booked on one ticket (ie, the flights were booked separately), you will have to pay for the baggage allowance on the second leg.

Luggage limits aren't always the same on codeshare flights, so check before you travel.

I have booked return flights to Europe through Qantas but the last two legs are operated by Emirates. If I enter my Skyward membership number to get free wi-fi, would I then miss out on earning Qantas frequent flyer points on these legs?

Excellent question. I had a chat with the Qantas loyalty team about this and was told you can only ever have one frequent flyer number in a booking. If you take your Qantas frequent flyer number out at any point to replace it with Emirates Skywards in the booking, you will not accrue any QF points or Status Credits where applicable. Annoying I know, but you’re better off paying for wi-fi in this scenario.

My husband and I are travelling to the UK later this year and we’re looking for an eSIM that includes both data and calls. Can you help?

If you buy a data-only eSIM, you can still make calls through a wi-fi-based app such as WhatsApp or Messenger, but if you’d prefer an eSIM which provides an international number as well as data then I recommend looking at Airalo’s Discover+ Global. I’ve been relying on it for some time now, and no matter whether I’m in the United Kingdom or Mongolia, I’ve always been able to call home with ease.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Where should I go?