Cheap winter sun with warm sea?

lifebegins

We would really like to go away for a week sometime over Christmas : 2 adults 3 kids aged 8,10,12 (for the first time) but have a limited budget and love swimming in warm sea.
I assume that the sea in the Canaries is pretty cold and I've also heard the Red Sea is cold in December. Can anyone recommend a cheap (no more than £2500-3000 for us all in total) Winter destination?
We aren't after busy nightlife, just relaxation and swimming/snorkelling.

KonkyWonky

If you want to go in the winter then you are probably going to struggle. As you have already said Egypt and The Canaries have fairly chilly seas in the winter, you are going to have to travel a bit further afield to get any warmer and that means extra cash.

There are some fairly good deals to Cuba. I had a quick look on First Choice and you could do Blau Costa Verde Beach Resort in Guardalavaca for around £3,500 although this is All Inclusive so all drinks/food included. No idea what the resort is like right enough but you are probably talking the caribbean in general if you want warm seas.

hartcjhart

Mojacar on the 'costa almeria' in Spain

due to its climate the sea(to us) is till warm to swim in

I have seen people swimming in Dec/Jan

Bob_the_Saver

hartcjhart wrote: »

Mojacar on the 'costa almeria' in Spain

due to its climate the sea(to us) is till warm to swim in

I have seen people swimming in Dec/Jan

Swimming in Jan ...Wow ...Try India, more expensive to get there but very economical when you are. 3 course meal from £2, Swimming ANYTIME, beer 50p pint. Guesthouse room, (double) £4
Don't forget you need a visa.
:beer:

medders2604

I go to Sharm el Sheik Egypt every new year and the sea although not warm is certainly fine for swimming in for 30 mins or so at a time and much longer of just paddling in fact its nice to get into the water to have a break from the sun.
I booked mine yesterday all inclusive on 27th Dec for 2 weeks for 4 of us 3 adults 1 ages 16 was £2700

littlereddevil

Would thoroughly recommend Goa, the sea is like a warm bath

Pollycat

If you do consider Goa (I wouldn't want to have a 10 hour flight for just a week - just my personal opinion), then you really need to consider which resort.
The Sinquerim/Candolim/Calagute/Baga stretch of beach is lovely but there are very strong undercurrents (there have been some deaths by drowning) and it's not suitable for snorkelling.

singletrack800

I've been to Dahab/Sharm el Sheik in January & agree with Medders2604; it's fine that time of year. Swimming & scuba diving perfectly ok. If you go Egypt it may be worth spending a bit more on the hotel. And do check Tripadvisor.co.uk for hotel reviews if you can't find it here.

Goa would be a nicer bet from the water temperature p.o.v. but again; as Pollycat says; it's quite a long flight for just a week. You may even have a stop-over in Bahrein or similar for a couple of hours. We did when we flew Monarch. Try to make it at least 10 days if you go there. The streches of beach are amazing and the food in the 'beach-shacks' equally so. Handy hint is to bring some (a fair few) pencils, erasors, small note pads etc to give to the kids that hassle you on the beach. Give them a pen when they try to sell you pineapple, mango, scarves or whatever & they'll never bother you again.

trrk

singletrack800 wrote: »

Handy hint is to bring some (a fair few) pencils, erasors, small note pads etc to give to the kids that hassle you on the beach. Give them a pen when they try to sell you pineapple, mango, scarves or whatever & they'll never bother you again.

Do you really think that is a good idea? Doesn't it just encourage the kids to expect these sort of presents from foreigners and make them more inclined to hassle people.

Back to the original question, I've swum in the Red Sea at this time of year but the air temperature is not always very warm so some days won't be great for sunbathing.

Thailand and Malaysia (West coast only eg Langkawi) are also good for swimming at that time of year if you can find a cheap flight (eg Air Asia for Malaysia) though it is also quite far to go for a week. Both are cheap too. Gambia might be another idea.