When snowfall starts to look a lot like magic in the dusk sky, the holidays have indelibly arrived. (Even if it settles around others of us as light rain and winter-bitten cheeks after coming in from the chill air.) For many, however, the bracing weather of the holiday season also comes with travel plans. And if you’re tasked with planning a comfortable, Covid-conscious, festive and fun company holiday party or other group experience, you’re likely seeking cost-effective options—and it’s crunch time.
Just for you, tourism bureaus and hospitality professionals are hanging holly, preparing their spaces to host events and—beginning Black Friday and Cyber Monday—sales for holiday business travelers.
Many of these experiences come fully packaged, like gift-wrapped presents. To cite but one packager, Tinggly, a travel company that organizes affordable, giftable and sustainable travel experiences around the world, has hundreds of new international excursions with all the wintry charm for welcoming whomever the cold brings in. These are typically all-inclusive; the only additional cost is that of the plane tickets to and from. Careful consideration has been given to establish and maintain Covid-safety protocols for each experience listed.
Other experiences come a la carte. Here are some of the best experiences and Cyber sales on hotels and the most festive corporate-friendly events and giftable trips of the season.
United States
Watch the sun set on Boston Harbor over spiked or extra-sweet hot cocoa on the Boston Holiday Cocoa Cruise. Decorated with lights and holiday music, this cruise along Boston’s shoreline and through the corner of its bay is ideal for large groups.
For those who enjoy daytime vistas on the water, the Boston Harbor Holiday Brunch Cruise is an excellent choice. Also fit for a large group, this cruise features views of Boston Seaport, Bunker Hill Monument, Sea Castle Island and more.
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Fort Washington, Maryland, along with other Gaylord properties, is brimming with Christmas festivities. During your stay, ride the Snow Flow Mountain (an ice rollercoaster at the resort’s Snow Factory), ice bumper cars, get a seasonal spa treatment or go ice skating in the same building you’re staying in.
Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York is having a Cyber sale this winter. If booked between Nov. 16-Dec. 3, guests will save big on two-night or more midweek stays and select weekend stays from Jan. 2 through March 27, 2022. This sale also offers additional perks, such as discounts on private wellness sessions and certain purchases in the gift shop and spa, afternoon tea and cookies and nightly entertainment. In addition Mohonk Mountain House is offering two enticing holiday discounts: the Fall for Mohonk 30 percent discount special, which is available through the last day of November, and the Midweek Winter Getaway, available Nov. 28-March 27, 2022. Beyond the discounts, a stay at Mohonk may well qualify for more wintry seasonal specials.
The Brooklyn Christmas Lights Walking Tour at Dyker Heights takes groups of up to 16 through the historic residential streets of Brooklyn. See delicately decorated homes and brick houses covered in festive lights as the night air settles around you and the friends and coworkers who’ve joined you.
The Brooklyn Dyker Heights Christmas Wonderland Bus Tour is similar but a better fit for a larger group. If you’re interested in cruising down boulevards to the distant but loudening sound of carolers, plus nativity displays, nutcrackers and blocks of extravagant Christmas lights vining above, visit this magical neighborhood that’s held this tradition since the 1980s.
A late evening cruise around New York Harbor and along the Hudson River, the Manhattan Holiday Jazz Cruise serves its guests sugary desserts and drinks to the sound of holiday music from the yacht’s resident jazz band. See shoreline sites as you glide past and glimmering Manhattan after dark from the open deck with a small or large group.
The New York City Cocoa and Carols Holiday Cruise welcomes aboard guests with holiday sweets and drinks for a “holiday sing-along cruise” past Battery Park, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and other Manhattan attractions on the water. Live jazz fills the halls of this 1920s, vintage-style yacht as guests take it all in. This outing can accommodate groups of all sizes.
Take a tour of New England taverns in Philadelphia with the Christmas Traditions Tavern Experience of Philadelphia. A group of up to 30 will visit two or three local taverns, learning about Roman Christmas and Viking folklore and tradition, playing trivia and earning Christmas prizes.
The Chicago Holiday Stroll and Food Walking Tour with Samples hits the historic spots, with a holiday twist. Warm your hands with hot cocoa or a cup of cider and wander through Chicago’s famous Christkindlmarkt with your colleagues.
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa on the shores of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, is offering discounts on rooms and hotel credit for those who book before Nov. 30. The resort’s 13,000-acre property, resort and private igloo booking options make staying at the Grand Geneva a great choice for corporate groups looking for a festive stay in the wintry hills of Wisconsin.
The Saving Christmas escape room in Chattanooga, Tennessee, invites a private group to a 45-minute race to help Santa succeed in spreading Christmas cheer.
For a maximum of 40 persons, the Savannah Holiday Lights Trolley Tour leads guests through the Holiday Lights & Sights, an annual holiday lights tradition in Savannah, Georgia. Take the Old Town Trolley past dazzling displays of Christmas lights, city squares and historic buildings, including the Isaiah Davenport House.
At the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, Christmas is a big deal. Like Gaylord National, this Gaylord Hotels propertyhas planned for months of holiday fun and festivities. At this resort, guests can snow tube, ice skate, build gingerbread towers, receive seasonal spa treatments and experience multiple escape rooms. Make sure not to miss the winter wonderland garden atriums.
Skip the line at the Stars of Magic Theater and see the Magic of Christmas Show in Reno, Nevada. This cheerful holiday magic show is in a European cabaret style, and tickets through Tinggly give guests the VIP experience.
The Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno is offering discounts on rooms for Black Friday from Nov. 26-Dec. 2. Your stay will also include resort credit for stays lasting two nights or longer, and resort fees are waived if you book on the resort’s website.
Provenance Hotels, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, are participating in a Cyber sale, taking half off regular prepaid rates—with no fees or changes to the rate you received, regardless of trip adjustments through 2021. But be ready—this sale only runs from Nov. 25-30. With 14 properties across Washington, Oregon, California, Louisiana, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Indiana, Provenance campuses prioritize sustainable living that prioritizes eco-friendly practices.
Hyatt Hotels has released a holiday Hyatt Global Offer from Nov. 9 through Dec. 21 that includes bookings at Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa in Lahaina, Hawaii. Book at a discount any stay from Nov. 10 through April 30, 2022, and visit the Halona Kai Holiday Village Dec. 23-27 or another Christmas-themed event.
Hyatt Hotel’s holiday Global Offer also includes Andaz West Hollywood hotel in Los Angeles.
Mexico
With Los Cabos reclaiming itself as a reigning tourism destination post-pandemic, Hotel Hacienda del Mar Los Cabos Resort, Villas & Golf is hosting a New Year’s Night celebration. This luxury property makes for a festive corporate holiday retreat, boasting more than 500 rooms and a convention center for large groups and parties. Combined with its purely Mexican details and decorations, the resort has decked its halls and itineraries with Latin parties, violin concerts, live jazz, fishing at sunrise, desert golf and special holiday menus at its multiple Mexican restaurants—but only for the final two weeks of the year.
Hyatt Hotel’s Global Offer also extends to its Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen. Book for your group from Nov. 9-Dec. 21 for any stay after Nov. 10 until the end of April next year. Visit for their Mistletoe & Margaritas Christmas Buffet Dec. 24, La Fiesta Mexican Kermes Dec. 28 or the gala New Year’s Eve party on the beach.
Ideal for a group of any size, Marriott Cancun Collection is offering a Black Friday deal that extends to guests who book between Nov. 22 and Dec. 3 at either JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa or Marriott Cancun Resort. The “Future is Now” package includes complimentary drinks for the group and a 20 percent discount on dinner at Marriott Cancun’s new Polynesian restaurant during any stay before Dec. 31, 2023. The resorts are also hosting back-to-back events for Christmas and New Year’s, including bottomless buffets, fireworks shows and seasonal ceremonies.
Canada
The Magic of Christmas at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, beckons guests with its colorful lights, ice skating, Christmas carolers and hot chocolate and gingerbread by the fireplace. This experience can be booked for up to six people and features an extensive, winding Twelve Days of Christmas display.
Suitable for a group of up to 20, Christmas Magic in Old Quebec is a walking tour that passes through the Historic District of Quebec City and local Christmas market, where guests may delight in tastings, craftwork and other festive products.
United Kingdom
The Christmas, Charms, Crafts & Canals in Bath, England, hosts an eight-hour wander through the old streets of this historic city and a charming Christmas market that’s set on medieval farm grounds and along the Kennet & Avon Canal. The excursion can entertain up to eight.
France
In Paris, the Paris at Christmas: Festive Shopping Past & Present tour makes its way past and through 19th-century boutiques and cafes that bear the patina of age and Christmases past, now ridden with history and a curious draw. A group of up to 15 will get to see Parisian palaces and the haunted Opera Garnier before enjoying seasonal food and drink on boulevards and at gourmet shops.
Another holiday-exclusive Parisian experience is the Chocolate Christmas Tree Workshop in the heart of Paris, designed for small groups of fewer than seven. Shape hand-made chocolate into Christmas-tree sculptures at the chocolate tasting.
In Grand Est, the Alsace Safari invites guests for a magical tour that visits three Christmas markets. The fairytalesque towns of the French province of Alsace twinkle this time of year, with rows of buildings cloaked in Christmas lights. Send a small group of eight or fewer to sip hot wine and nibble gingerbread while milling from market to market.
A tour for up to eight, the Winter in Carcassonne experience takes travelers through the New Town area, stopping at Christmas markets, and boasts a slew of idyllic photo opportunities. Touring groups will meander around the hilltop city of Carcassonne and down to the ancient and historic Pont Vieux.
Switzerland
In the Swiss city of Lucerne, visitors will find The Magic of Lucerne: Christmas Edition Tour. This outing features a decorated “fairytale” market, the location’s famed Chapel Bridge and its notably well-preserved, quaint and cozy old town.
Norway
For a larger, 20-person tour, visit Christmas in Oslo. Acquaint yourself with a traditional Norwegian Christmas in Oslo when you wander through the Christmas markets, taste the region’s traditional mulled wine, and give its traditional and festive foods a try.
Denmark
The Copenhagen Christmas Food Walking Tour will take a medium-sized group through Copenhagen’s food hotspots that feature tasty Christmas specialties. Experience traditional Danish cuisine and markets with a holiday twist.
Germany
Visit the Bavaria for its Original Munich Christmas Market Food Tour. Send up to 15 travelers on this all-tastings-included excursion through Munich’s Christkindlmarkt, a popular German holiday tradition, where guests meander about the old city and enjoy warm food and drink.
Like the Christkindlmarkt of Munich, Berlin has many traditional markets, and the Berlin Christmas Markets with Culinary Tour takes up to 12 guests through a string of bustling, bright and inviting Berlin Christmas markets.
Poland
Learn about Wrocław legends, history and tradition at the Wrocław Christmas Market & Conspirators Tour. The tour takes ten guests to Main Market Square, the local Christmas market and a special Polish dining event at the end of the trip.
In Krakow, send a small group on a private Christmas Market Tour. This tour will take only your own group or gift recipients to the local market, decorated with festive foods and full of local history.
Czechoslovakia
The Christmas Magic of Prague in Czechia features Christmas markets lined with folk crafts, honey wine and traditional Christmas food favorites.
Hungary
The Christmas Lights, Beautiful Budapest with Mulled Wine tour through Budapest invites up to ten guests to hear a wintery edition of the city’s history. This tour stops at many of the most popular markets, where guests can ice-skate, watch a 3D light show and try street food and hot drinks.
The Budapest Christmas Market Small-Group Tour with Wine Tasting offers many similar events, but it can accommodate a larger group of up to 30. On this tour, visitors will see magnificent St. Stephens Basilica, the local opera house and the Christmas market.
Italy
An excursion designed for between ten and 15 people, the Celebrate Christmas in Rome–Small Group Walking Tour teaches of Rome’s rich Christmas traditions and other important local history and cultural information. The group will stop at the Piazza of Rome and the Piazza Navona, or the local Christmas market and St. Peter’s Square.
The One-day Christmas Markets Tour is an eight-hour excursion that covers much of the history, culture, food, scenery and Christmas traditions of the Trentino-Alto Adige region. This tour is ideal for large groups and will travel through three Italian provinces across a corner of northern Italy.
Spain
The Christmas Lights Tour of Madrid by Electric Tuk-tuk around the Comunidad de Madrid, which nests in the nation’s capital city, gives guests a ride through the region, passing brilliant buildings and streets covered in Christmas lights.
Russia
The Christmas in St. Petersburg Tour is a private group tour that takes place throughout the city of Saint Petersburg. Guests will visit open air markets aglow with Christmas lights, see the Peter and Paul Fortress and learn about Russian Christmas tradition.
See the Nutcracker Ballet in St. Petersburg at either Hermitage Theatre or Mariinsky Theatre, where this dark Christmas fairytale in the city was first performed in 1892.
Caribbean
Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas on Paradise Island has a Cyber Week sale for stays at select hotels: The Coral, The Royal, The Cove and The Reef. Early-access bookings are available from Nov. 22-24. Included in your discounted stay is daily resort credit, adventures in the Dolphin Cay and Atlantic LIVE performances.
Hotel Barriere Le Carl Gustaf is offering a Cyber sale from Nov. 26-29 for stays until Oct. 31, 2022, for five nights or longer. The Saint-Barthelemy hotel opened in 2020, but this is its first Cyber sale. With luxury rooms, suites, bungalows and penthouse suites to choose from, guests perks include meals at Michelin-starred restaurants, yoga, Pilates, massages, roundtrip airport transfers and Shellona Beach access and accommodations.
Costa Rica
Tierra Magnifica in Nosara is offering a Cyber sale on rooms and services this holiday season. Book now for deals on stays from Nov. 27-Dec. 6 and hide away in a lush oceanside jungle for a few nights.
South America
Explora, a travel company that organizes South American explorations and experiences—and makes conservation efforts wherever their clients explore—has large discounts on bookings at all five of its destinations in Chile, Argentina and Peru.
Send your groups who love the snow to Ski Portillo, South America’s first ski resort, located in the Chilean Andes. Ski Portillo is offering sizable discounts on lodging, lift tickets and meals through Dec. 7 for a trip in the new year. Choose from a stay in Hotel Portillo, one of the many lodges tucked between mountains, or a chalet.
International Brand Deals
Homes & Villas by Marriott International is having a holiday sale from now until Nov. 30 on last-minute stays within ten days of booking. Smaller discounts are also available for trips on certain dates within the next two years when you book before Dec. 2. Find a stay on sale at properties in the Florida Panhandle, Palm Springs, California, or Scotland.
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is giving large discounts on room and suite bookings from Nov. 27 through Dec. 1. Cancellation flexibility through June of next year makes this a safe and solid choice for future trip plans. Find a Rosewood property in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Atlantic, Europe, Middle East or Asia.
Omni Hotels & Resorts is offering deals at locations across the U.S. this holiday. A PGA Tour Golf Package available through Dec. 31 entitles participating guests to a round of golf per day, resort credit, complimentary PGA Tour brand amenities and merchandise and additional perks. Book a stay at an Omni San Diego, Bedford, Pennsylvania, or Hot Springs, Virginia, property.
Caesars Entertainment is offering discounts on multi-course Thanksgiving feasts at several restaurants at Caesars Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, Tropicana and Harrah’s Resort properties on the New Jersey oceanfront.
Convene, the fast-growing hospitality, event and workspace services company, is offering discounts on its event space rental rates just in time for holiday parties. The company specializes in providing meeting and event spaces, amenities and technology services for in-person, virtual and hybrid events, as well as office space redesign, furnishing and hospitality services. Convene is giving over 40 percent off its regular event and event space prices—and beer, wine, charcuterie and cheeseboards are included. Businesses can also save 25 percent on Jan.-March 2022 meeting and event packages when booked before Dec. 31.
