Book now: A holiday home for New Year’s Eve

Do you already have plans for New Year's Eve? Whether it’s with the family, with friends, or on a romantic getaway for two - be quick and secure your holiday home for New Year's Eve!

The best holiday homes and apartments for the New Year's Eve period are becoming scarcer week by week. Tip: As New Year's Eve falls on a Monday this year and most properties are usually rented from Saturday to Saturday, the most conventional arrival day with the largest range for a vacation at the turn of the year is December 29, 2018.

Do you want to leave your raincoat at home and have no desire to put on sturdy winter shoes for New Year's Eve? Would some sun and a light sea breeze do you good at the turn of the year? Then simply plan the perfect transition into the New Year in a holiday home with its own pool or in a holiday apartment directly at the beach on the Canary Islands or on Cyprus. The flight is a stone's throw away and the temperatures are also extremely pleasant at the turn of the year.

No fireworks, but gambling games – that’s how the Cypriots spend New Year's Eve. Those who lose will win something next year anyway, because every lost game - supposedly - promises the loser that they will, at least, be lucky in love next year.

If you choose to spend your vacation in a holiday home on the Canary Islands, you may get to know the custom that the locals have of eating a lucky grape for each of the twelve times the bells chime midnight on New Year's Eve. If the twelve ‘uvas de la suerte’ have been consumed by the last chime, your wishes for the New Year will come true.

Celebrate New Year's Eve like the locals do in a finca with a sea view or pool on Tenerife, Gran Canaria and co. Either spend it outside on the holiday home’s own terrace with an extended dinner with family and friends, or with good music at one of the numerous nightclubs in the larger towns.

Those who have already spent New Year's Eve in a cosy, rustic mountain lodge know what they can look forward to. Together with friends, family or a partner, you can very easily combine the festivities at the turn of the year with a relaxing short vacation in a holiday home or apartment. Properties in Austria or Switzerland are particularly suitable for this.

When vacationing in Austria, you should definitely not miss the traditional New Year's Eve customs. While the church bells of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna ring out the midnight hour and the Vienna Philharmonic's traditional New Year's Concert can be seen on countless televisions around the world, people in the rural corners of Austria march through the village streets with impressive masks and bells. The so-called ‘Krampus’ or ‘Perchten Parades’ are supposed to drive away the evil winter spirits.

You can also celebrate the New Year in peace and quiet, far away from this spectacle, in a holiday home in the Austrian Alps with delicious raclette or fondue plus games or music. Or if you prefer more colourful hustle and bustle, then just choose an apartment in Vienna and celebrate the unique transition into the New Year on the Rathausplatz in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral.

At the end of the year, the evil spirits in Switzerland are also driven away by the ‘Silvesterkläuse’ (people dressed as St. Sylvester) in a similar way to how they are in Austria. The Silvesterkläuse are clad in masks, costumes and hats, yodel at the top of their voices, and are accompanied by loud drumming. The traditional ‘lucky pig’ race also takes place on the first day of the New Year in Grisons. Ten lucky piglets race for the "Lucky Charm" title of the New Year at this annual event. Experiencing this is a must if you have booked a holiday home or apartment for New Year's Eve in the area.