Cruising for an extended holiday

DISEMBARKING at a foreign port with sometimes only a stroll to the city centre is one of the many attractions of cruising.

One of the disadvantages is the restriction on the amount of time you can spend there.

I became aware of this at Helsinki on my one, and so far only, cruise - around Scandinavia and the Baltic - not because we had just a single day in the Finnish capital but because some passengers evidently had no intention of leaving the ship at all.

"They virtually live on board," a wiser, fellow traveller told me. "They've probably done all these places before, and when they've finished this cruise they'll stay put for the next one, wherever it's going."

I thought this cavalier attitude to foreign climes was the triumph of cruising over visiting, the journey being more interesting than the destinations.

More important, it was also an illustration of how retired people or those with extended time off work have broken free of the idea that holidays must be taken in summer and last no more than 13 days.

Winter sun has always been magnetic to those who cannot stand the bleakness of the period between November and March. But in many cases, two weeks in, say, Tenerife or the Seychelles at this time represents the annual holiday for those who also cannot stand the cattle-truck conditions of peak time travel in summer.

What the retired holidaymaker has is virtually unlimited time. Travel companies know this and have devised low-price extended holidays in winter of the sort that cost as much as a two-week holiday in August.

Some moderate searching on the internet or word-of mouth testimony can turn up decent hotel rooms at less than £20 a night or apartments at less than £100 a week.

Package deals can range from three weeks - it depends what you mean by 'extended' - to a few months or more, though lengthier stays can often be engineered by the accommodation provided by friends or relatives: you pay for three weeks in a villa then spend another two weeks with 'expats' Fred and Audrey just up the coast, if they'll have you!

Long-haul cruising is the archetypal extended holiday because of its leisurely progress but it is always relatively expensive whatever the time of year.

Among those on offer at the time of writing, I notice a 67-day trip to Australia from early January to mid-March at £9,999, and out-of-season holidays of less than a fortnight to places such as China rarely come at bargain rates.

Best go for the regular holiday destinations. I found a 28-day break in Malta at half board starting in December at around £690.

In January this year, one company was offering a staggering 42 nights half-board in Palma Nova for £838.

It's important to consider whether or not you really want to spend more than two or three weeks in a holiday resort where you have already enjoyed double that time. It might be worth hiring a car and using your resort as a base for journeying farther afield.

This is especially true in coastal Spain, a totally different region from the one that lies just a few miles inland behind the mountains. Exploring the country you are in will put that beach hotel into context - aren't they basically the same wherever you are?

In terms of cost, it is not only cheaper rates which make long-stay holidays viable. Unless there is someone 'house-sitting' for you while you are away or you have a pet which has to be kennelled, the savings in not having to heat your home to the usual temperature can help pay for the holiday.

If you are catching a flight to Malaga from London Gatwick on January 23 for a 27-night stay costing from £487 - a deal currently being offered by one company - you'll be absenting yourself from what are expected to be some of the UK's lowest temperatures.

This is not a 'buy one, get one free' offer, though Saga, the company aimed at the over-50s and retired, is currently advertising a 'four weeks for the price of three' deal on selected departures to a clutch of resorts.

Even if you've booked the holiday and they subsequently introduce a special offer, they'll count you in.

When assessing cheap extended holidays in places you've never visited, make sure that the unbelievably low cost reflects the time of year rather than the poor quality of accommodation. A seedy hotel is seedy whatever the month and may be more desperate than most to survive the winter.

If you are taking a holiday in peak season, spend a morning in search of winter offers. Hotels should be able to give you their winter rates - and don't be afraid to haggle with the manager if you want to stay longer.

Gregarious types might consider getting together with like-minded friends or relatives and possibly making that lengthened holiday even cheaper? Themed holidays (golf's the most popular in Spain and Portugal) will make your three or four weeks or more intensive, based as they will be on a prime social activity.

Then there's the opportunity long breaks offer for those interested in buying property abroad. So - off you go. But remember to come back.

Splashing out on a sporting dream

FOR Gwent sporting legend Len Hill and his wife Toots, getting away for an extended break in winter was all about weather, the social life - and golf.

Len had been talking to a golfing friend who had already done it and the Hills managed to get an apartment for around £75 a week in the Malaga area.

They travelled in the depths of winter and stayed for a long break.

"We went over and found a really nice communal atmosphere and made a lot of friends," said 63-year-old Len, who played cricket for Glamorgan and soccer for Newport County.

"We liked everything about it. After all, you never know what's around the corner. And it's so inexpensive. Below our apartment in a block of flats there was a hotel where you could stay for £12 a night. I'm told it's always full."

The only problem was that Len doesn't like flying. His first time - to Australia on tour with Glamorgan - involved putting down 22 times.

But it doesn't bother Toots, 59. She said it was warm in Spain at that time of year though you could get horrendous thunderstorms.

"But it was a fundamental thing," she said. "It took us away from the cold and wet of Britain. There were no crowds and no hassle."

Len said the Spanish were 'great'.

"The owner of one bar we went to actually organised a golf charity day for us," he said. "And it was good to have friends around or sit quietly ourselves with books on our south-facing balcony with the sun on us all day."

Looking for that long break?

* Most travel agents can deal specifically with requests for extended holidays

* The internet is a valuable source of info. Tapping in 'long stay holidays' will get you lots of sites. If you haven't got a computer, use the ones at the local library.

* Long Stay Away (0845 345 2233) advertises latest offers;insurancewide.com will give you travel insurance advice;laterlife.co.uk/travel/long-stay-holiday-offers.htm (phone 01922 7059900) is exactly what it says.

* Direct Holidays produce a dedicated long-stay brochure, they can be contacted on 0870 1919185

* Do your research. That lively summer beach and bustling promenade could be like the grave in winter, despite higher temperatures

* Make special arrangements for securing your home while you are away and don't let your plumbing freeze.