Where can I go in the sun at Christmas on a budget?

Among the countries at 22 °C or more in December, the cheapest are the Dominican Republic ($2,115), Peru ($2,406) and Costa Rica ($2,557), flight from Toronto included. For 25 °C or more, the cheapest is the Dominican Republic ($2,115).

Is the flight included?

Yes. The budget adds the return flight from Toronto (middle value of three pairs of dates around Christmas) to seven nights in a 3-star hotel, meals and local transport.

How were the prices collected?

In October 2026, on lastminute.com: a return flight from Toronto to each country for three pairs of dates around Christmas (one stop at most, middle value of the three), and up to 20 3-star hotels in the arrival city from 20 to 27 December (price of the cheapest quarter). Amounts are in Canadian dollars.

Cheapest Places to Travel in December 2026 from Toronto

Key facts

Cheap Christmas trips in 30 seconds

89countries ranked by the budget for a week at Christmas, flying from Toronto

$2,115the Dominican Republic, the cheapest destination: $1,020 for the return flight and $1,095 on site

$2,557Costa Rica, the second cheapest of the 27 countries at 25 °C or more in December, after the Dominican Republic (27 °C in Punta Cana)

459flight searches from Toronto and hotel surveys in 136 cities, in October 2026

The essentials in 20 seconds

The Dominican Republic ($2,115), Peru ($2,406) and Egypt ($2,556) are the cheapest destinations for a week at Christmas from Toronto, flight included.
Cheap and warm: the Dominican Republic ($2,115), Costa Rica ($2,557) and Panama ($2,645) are the cheapest of the countries at 25 °C or more.
Europe is still within reach: Portugal ($2,941), Latvia ($2,991) and Poland ($3,046) are the cheapest European countries.
The flight makes the price: on average it is 63 % of the budget, more than the hotel, meals and transport of the whole week.

01 · Ranking

Cheapest places to travel in December 2026 from Toronto

Where can you go for Christmas without breaking the bank when you fly from Toronto? The 89 countries are ranked by the budget for one person for a week: the return flight from Toronto and seven days on site, in Canadian dollars. Type a country's name to see its rank, its budget and the split between flight and stay.

Search a country…

#1 worldwide · #1 in The Americas

Dominican Republic

$2,115a weekunder $3,000

Budget for a week at Christmas: $2,115 per person, including $1,020 for the return flight from Toronto and $1,095 on site (3-star hotel at $84 a night, meals and transport). In December in Punta Cana: 27 °C during the day and 46 mm of rain. Safety: 46/100.

Budget breakdown

Return flight from Toronto$1,020

Week on site$1,095

Safety46/100

December weather93.8/100

Flight and week on site for one person (3-star hotel, meals, transport). December safety and weather out of 100, as a guide: the ranking follows the price.

Insurance for Dominican Republic →

☀ Looking for the sun? See the ranking that takes the weather into account ↓

02 · World map

The budget for a week at Christmas around the world

Each country in the colour of its band: under $3,000 a week, $3,000 to $3,500, $3,500 to $4,000, over $4,000. Click a country to see the detail of its budget and its December weather.

Showing 89 of 89 published countries · click a country for its info

Why are some countries grey? We rank the countries that can be reached from Toronto with one stop at most, whose HelloSafe safety score reaches 40 out of 100, that the Government of Canada does not advise against and where at least five 3-star hotels were offered.

03 · Regional rankings

The cheapest countries for Christmas by region

Each region ranked on its own, with each country's place in the overall ranking. The cheapest destination is the Dominican Republic in the Americas ($2,115), Egypt in Africa ($2,556), Portugal in Europe ($2,941), Uzbekistan in Asia ($3,233) and Fiji in Oceania ($4,089).

Africa · average $4,275 · 25 countries scored, 14 published

Cheapest countries · Africa

1Egypt$2,556#3
2Algeria$2,803#6
3Tunisia$2,898#8
4Morocco$3,099#14
5Ghana$3,683#38
6Senegal$3,933#49
7Côte d’Ivoire$3,952#50
8Tanzania$3,961#51
9South Africa$4,631#73
10Rwanda$4,693#74
11Angola$4,732#75
12Cape Verde$5,168#80
13Zambia$6,202#86
14Seychelles$6,793#89

Reader service: the budget does not include travel insurance or medical care on site. A doctor's visit or a hospital stay abroad can cost far more than the week itself. Our travel insurance comparison compares policies in 30 seconds. For a ranking that holds all year, without the flight, see the cheapest countries to visit.

04 · Sun on a budget

Cheap warm places to travel in December

The ranking above mixes every climate. This one keeps only the 33 countries where it is 22 °C or more during the day in December, ranked from cheapest to most expensive. The amount shown is the budget for a week, flight from Toronto included.

Search a country…

1Dominican Republic$2,11527 °CDry46 mm
2Peru$2,40622 °CDry3 mm
3Costa Rica$2,55726 °CSome showers70 mm
4Panama$2,64529 °CSome showers108 mm
5Chile$2,80828 °CDry7 mm
6Trinidad and Tobago$3,02128 °CRainy season178 mm
7Argentina$3,35826 °CSome showers94 mm
8Ghana$3,68330 °CDry25 mm
9Qatar$3,70024 °CDry9 mm
10Guyana$3,70128 °CRainy season257 mm
11Senegal$3,93326 °CDry13 mm
12Côte d’Ivoire$3,95230 °CDry50 mm
13Tanzania$3,96130 °CSome showers127 mm
14India$4,03723 °CDry8 mm
15Paraguay$4,05433 °CRainy season179 mm
16Fiji$4,08929 °CRainy season224 mm
17Malaysia$4,10428 °CRainy season263 mm
18Thailand$4,15431 °CDry10 mm
19United Arab Emirates$4,30225 °CDry14 mm
20Philippines$4,34327 °CRainy season393 mm
21Vietnam$4,37030 °CDry32 mm
22Sri Lanka$4,46728 °CRainy season175 mm
23Indonesia$4,60028 °CRainy season272 mm
24Uruguay$4,60525 °CSome showers86 mm
25South Africa$4,63128 °CSome showers127 mm
26Rwanda$4,69325 °CSome showers109 mm
27Angola$4,73229 °CDry29 mm
28Maldives$5,13828 °CRainy season184 mm
29Cape Verde$5,16824 °CDry33 mm
30Australia$6,03924 °CSome showers72 mm
31Zambia$6,20228 °CRainy season205 mm
32Singapore$6,38628 °CRainy season300 mm
33Seychelles$6,79328 °CRainy season164 mm

The Dominican Republic ($2,115, 27 °C), Peru ($2,406, 22 °C) and Costa Rica ($2,557, 26 °C) are the cheapest warm countries. For 25 °C or more, budget at least $2,115 (the Dominican Republic).

Reading the results

Cheap or sunny: you have to choose

The cheapest: the Dominican Republic, Peru and EgyptThe Dominican Republic costs $1,020 for the flight and $1,095 on site; Peru $1,495 and $911; Egypt $2,001 and $555. In December it is 27 °C in Punta Cana, 22 °C in Lima and 20 °C in Cairo.

Europe holds upEven with the Atlantic to cross, several European countries stay near the top of the ranking: Portugal ($2,941), Latvia ($2,991), Poland ($3,046) and Moldova ($3,066). Portugal is 9th overall.

In the sun: Costa Rica, Panama and ChileThe Dominican Republic is both the cheapest destination and a warm one. For 25 °C or more, Costa Rica ($2,557), Panama ($2,645) and Chile ($2,808) come next among the 27 warm countries of the ranking, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago ($3,021) and Argentina ($3,358).

The flight makes the priceThe cheapest week on site is in Nepal ($485), but the flight ($3,613) puts the country in 58th place. The cheapest flight goes to New York ($509), but a week on site at $3,823 puts the United States in 63rd place.

Watch out for rainDecember is the rainy season in Port of Spain (178 mm in the month) and Georgetown (257 mm). Punta Cana (46 mm), Lima (3 mm) and Santiago (7 mm) are dry.

Our method

Methodology

Budget for a week = return flight from Toronto + seven days on site, for one person, in Canadian dollars. Built by HelloSafe's travel insurance team from our own price survey, independently of our comparison: we did not reuse any existing ranking.

Our price surveyOn 21 October 2026, we queried lastminute.com's search tool for 137 countries from Toronto: 459 return-flight searches (three pairs of dates per country, up to three offers compared each time). Hotels come from our survey of 13, 14 and 20 October 2026: one search per arrival city, up to 20 3-star hotels each. Every amount in the ranking comes from a price actually offered for booking that day, not an estimate or an index.

The flightReturn flight from Toronto Pearson (YYZ), one adult, economy, one stop at most and 20 hours at most per leg; for destinations with no such flight (Asia, Oceania, southern Africa), the limit is 30 hours per leg, still with one stop at most. Three pairs of dates: 19 to 26, 20 to 27 and 21 to 28 December 2026. For each date we keep the cheapest offer that meets these conditions, then the middle value of the three dates, so that a one-day deal does not decide the rank.

The hotel3-star hotels in the arrival city, one person, 20 to 27 December 2026. We keep the price of the cheapest quarter of the hotels offered (up to 20): what a traveller who compares a little pays, without aiming for the most basic hotel. Cities with fewer than five 3-star hotels offered are not ranked.

Meals and transportPer day: two inexpensive meals, half a dinner for two in a mid-range restaurant and four local transport tickets. These prices come from Numbeo (mid-2026 edition), the largest database of prices reported by residents, for each country's capital; we use only these prices, not its cost-of-living index. All amounts are converted to Canadian dollars at the European Central Bank rate of 20 October 2026 (€1 = $1.5758).

Safety and weatherWe remove countries whose HelloSafe safety score is under 40 out of 100 (Global Peace Index, Corruption Perceptions Index and World Bank governance indicators), and those where the Government of Canada advises avoiding non-essential travel or all travel country-wide: as of 21 October 2026, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Israel and Papua New Guinea. The weather (mean daily high and December rainfall in the arrival city, NASA POWER normals) is not part of the main ranking.

The warm countries rankingIt keeps only the countries where the mean December high reaches 22 °C in the arrival city (NASA POWER normals), ranked on the same budget as the main ranking. The HelloSafe safety score and the weather score out of 100 are given for each country, as a guide.

What the study does not show

Flight and hotel prices change every day: those in the ranking are from late October 2026, two months before departure.
The budget is for a solo traveller. Two people share the room and the budget per person drops.
Meals and transport are at capital-city prices; tourist areas are often more expensive.
The budget does not include visas, travel insurance or activities.
Only departures from Toronto are studied. From Vancouver, Calgary or Ottawa, the ranking may change.

A question about the method? Contact us →

05 · For journalists

Ready-to-publish visuals

This is exactly what your readers will see: the live block, with its credit link. Free to reproduce with credit to HelloSafe; a PNG version is included for CMSs that do not accept embeds.

HelloSafe data 2026

The cheapest countries for Christmas from Torontounder $3,000$3,000–$3,500$3,500–$4,000$4,000+Source: HelloSafe, Cheapest Places to Travel in December 2026 from Toronto

World map · live embed, PNG version includedDownload PNG

“The Dominican Republic is the cheapest destination for a week at Christmas from Toronto: $2,115 per person, flight included.”

“The cheapest Christmas trip from Toronto is also a warm one: 27 °C in Punta Cana for $2,115 a week, flight included.”

“At Christmas, the plane ticket makes the price: on average 63 % of the budget for the week.”

Quotes from Antoine Fruchard, travel insurance expert and author of the study · Contact us

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

The Dominican Republic, with a budget of $2,115 per person for a week from Toronto: $1,020 for the return flight and $1,095 on site. Next come Peru ($2,406) and Egypt ($2,556).

Data updatesThe 2027 edition is coming. Be the first to see it.New prices, the data and the press kit, in your inbox on publication day.

Add to my calendar (.ics)Once a year, plus corrections. Privacy policy