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

104countries ranked by the budget for a week at Christmas, flying from Toronto

CA$1,894Mexico, the cheapest destination: CA$862 for the return flight and CA$1,032 on site

CA$2,115the Dominican Republic (27 °C in Punta Cana), the second cheapest of the 36 countries at 25 °C or more in December, after Mexico

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

The essentials in 20 seconds

Mexico (CA$1,894), the Dominican Republic (CA$2,115) and Ecuador (CA$2,168) are the cheapest destinations for a week at Christmas from Toronto, flight included.
Cheap and warm: Mexico (CA$1,894), the Dominican Republic (CA$2,115) and Costa Rica (CA$2,557) are the cheapest of the countries at 25 °C or more.
Europe is still within reach: Portugal (CA$2,941), Latvia (CA$2,991) and Turkey (CA$2,993) are the cheapest European countries.
The flight makes the price: on average it is 64 % 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 104 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.

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#1 worldwide · #1 in The Americas

Mexico

CA$1,894a weekunder CA$3,000

Budget for a week at Christmas: CA$1,894 per person, including CA$862 for the return flight from Toronto and CA$1,032 on site (3-star hotel at CA$65 a night, meals and transport). In December in Cancún: 27 °C during the day and 68 mm of rain. Safety: 25/100. Listed despite this score because it is a much-searched destination: stay in the tourist areas and read the official travel advice before you go.

Budget breakdown

Return flight from TorontoCA$862

Week on siteCA$1,032

Safety25/100

December weather89.2/100

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 Mexico →

☀ 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 CA$3,000 a week, CA$3,000 to CA$3,500, CA$3,500 to CA$4,000, over CA$4,000. Click a country to see the detail of its budget and its December weather.

Showing 104 of 104 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 30 out of 100, where the Government of Canada does not advise against travel to the whole country or to the city we price, and where at least five 3-star hotels were offered. Mexico and Venezuela are listed despite a score under 30 out of 100, as they are much-searched destinations: see their card.

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 Mexico in the Americas (CA$1,894), Egypt in Africa (CA$2,556), Portugal in Europe (CA$2,941), Uzbekistan in Asia (CA$3,233) and Fiji in Oceania (CA$4,089).

Africa · average CA$4,275 · 25 countries scored, 16 published

Cheapest countries · Africa

1EgyptCA$2,556#6
2AlgeriaCA$2,803#11
3TunisiaCA$2,898#13
4MoroccoCA$3,099#22
5GhanaCA$3,683#47
6SenegalCA$3,933#60
7Côte d’IvoireCA$3,952#61
8TanzaniaCA$3,961#62
9KenyaCA$4,047#66
10ZimbabweCA$4,554#84
11South AfricaCA$4,631#88
12RwandaCA$4,693#89
13AngolaCA$4,732#90
14Cape VerdeCA$5,168#95
15ZambiaCA$6,202#101
16SeychellesCA$6,793#104

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 46 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…

1MexicoCA$1,89427 °CSome showers68 mm
2Dominican RepublicCA$2,11527 °CDry46 mm
3EcuadorCA$2,16822 °CSome showers100 mm
4PeruCA$2,40622 °CDry3 mm
5ColombiaCA$2,50823 °CSome showers103 mm
6Costa RicaCA$2,55726 °CSome showers70 mm
7PanamaCA$2,64529 °CSome showers108 mm
8El SalvadorCA$2,66829 °CDry10 mm
9GuatemalaCA$2,75324 °CDry8 mm
10ChileCA$2,80828 °CDry7 mm
11BrazilCA$2,94027 °CRainy season177 mm
12Trinidad and TobagoCA$3,02128 °CRainy season178 mm
13BelizeCA$3,27427 °CSome showers132 mm
14ArgentinaCA$3,35826 °CSome showers94 mm
15VenezuelaCA$3,50827 °CSome showers74 mm
16GhanaCA$3,68330 °CDry25 mm
17QatarCA$3,70024 °CDry9 mm
18GuyanaCA$3,70128 °CRainy season257 mm
19BangladeshCA$3,84525 °CDry16 mm
20SenegalCA$3,93326 °CDry13 mm
21Côte d’IvoireCA$3,95230 °CDry50 mm
22TanzaniaCA$3,96130 °CSome showers127 mm
23BoliviaCA$4,03131 °CSome showers136 mm
24IndiaCA$4,03723 °CDry8 mm
25KenyaCA$4,04726 °CSome showers65 mm
26ParaguayCA$4,05433 °CRainy season179 mm
27FijiCA$4,08929 °CRainy season224 mm
28MalaysiaCA$4,10428 °CRainy season263 mm
29ThailandCA$4,15431 °CDry10 mm
30United Arab EmiratesCA$4,30225 °CDry14 mm
31PhilippinesCA$4,34327 °CRainy season393 mm
32VietnamCA$4,37030 °CDry32 mm
33Sri LankaCA$4,46728 °CRainy season175 mm
34ZimbabweCA$4,55427 °CRainy season195 mm
35CambodiaCA$4,57632 °CDry28 mm
36IndonesiaCA$4,60028 °CRainy season272 mm
37UruguayCA$4,60525 °CSome showers86 mm
38South AfricaCA$4,63128 °CSome showers127 mm
39RwandaCA$4,69325 °CSome showers109 mm
40AngolaCA$4,73229 °CDry29 mm
41MaldivesCA$5,13828 °CRainy season184 mm
42Cape VerdeCA$5,16824 °CDry33 mm
43AustraliaCA$6,03924 °CSome showers72 mm
44ZambiaCA$6,20228 °CRainy season205 mm
45SingaporeCA$6,38628 °CRainy season300 mm
46SeychellesCA$6,79328 °CRainy season164 mm

Mexico (CA$1,894, 27 °C), the Dominican Republic (CA$2,115, 27 °C) and Ecuador (CA$2,168, 22 °C) are the cheapest warm countries. For 25 °C or more, budget at least CA$1,894 (Mexico).

Reading the results

Cheap or sunny: you have to choose

The cheapest: Mexico, the Dominican Republic and EcuadorMexico costs CA$862 for the flight and CA$1,032 on site; the Dominican Republic CA$1,020 and CA$1,095; Ecuador CA$1,443 and CA$725. In December it is 27 °C in Mexico, 27 °C in Punta Cana and 22 °C in Ecuador.

Europe holds upEven with the Atlantic to cross, several European countries stay near the top of the ranking: Portugal (CA$2,941), Latvia (CA$2,991), Turkey (CA$2,993) and Poland (CA$3,046). Portugal is 15th overall.

In the sun: the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and PanamaMexico is both the cheapest destination and a warm one. For 25 °C or more, the Dominican Republic (CA$2,115), Costa Rica (CA$2,557) and Panama (CA$2,645) come next among the 36 warm countries of the ranking, ahead of El Salvador (CA$2,668) and Chile (CA$2,808).

The flight makes the priceThe cheapest week on site is in Nepal (CA$485), but the flight (CA$3,613) puts the country in 71st place. The cheapest flight goes to New York (CA$509), but a week on site at CA$3,823 puts the United States in 76th 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 = CA$1.5758).

Safety and weatherWe remove countries whose HelloSafe safety score is under 30 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 to the whole country or to the arrival city. Mexico and Venezuela are kept despite a score under 30 out of 100, as they are much-searched destinations: see their card. 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 CA$3,000CA$3,000–CA$3,500CA$3,500–CA$4,000CA$4,000+Source: HelloSafe, Cheapest Places to Travel in December 2026 from Toronto

World map · live embed, PNG version includedDownload PNG

“Mexico is the cheapest destination for a week at Christmas from Toronto: CA$1,894 per person, flight included.”

“The cheapest Christmas trip from Toronto is also a warm one: 27 °C in Mexico for CA$1,894 a week, flight included.”

“At Christmas, the plane ticket makes the price: on average 64 % 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

Mexico, with a budget of CA$1,894 per person for a week from Toronto: CA$862 for the return flight and CA$1,032 on site. Next come the Dominican Republic (CA$2,115) and Ecuador (CA$2,168).

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.

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