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It’s not too late to book a New Year’s Eve break – and it doesn’t need to break the bank, research by Which? Travel has found.
There are thousands of last-minute holiday cottages still available nationwide, with an average price of £903 for a week-long stay in a one or two-bed hideaway. And despite being popular holiday hotspots, cottage accommodation in the Lake District and Brecon Beacons isn't exceptionally pricey.
We’ve gathered nearly 10,000 prices from the UK’s biggest cottage providers and crunched the numbers to find out which regions in the UK offer the best value for a last-minute break.
Want to know who to book with? See our reviews of the best and worst UK holiday cottage providers.
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Our research shows that you should head north to save money on a New Year’s Eve getaway: Durham/Tyne and Wear and Derbyshire are the top two spots for cheap breaks.
Durham/Tyne and Wear is an excellent place to begin your search – with its golden-sand beaches, prehistoric cliffs in South Tyneside, and magnificent cathedral to marvel at in Durham. And it’s £700 per week for a one or two-bedroom cottage over the new year – the cheapest region on average in the UK (that still has a decent amount of availability).*
Elsewhere, head to Wales instead of Scotland and you can save £290 for a seven-night stay.
The average price in Wales is £800, while staying in Scotland could set you back £1,090.
| Region | Price for a week’s stay at new year in a one or two-bed cottage |
|---|---|
| Durham/Tyne and Wear | £700 |
| Derbyshire | £728 |
| Worcestershire | £742 |
| Shropshire | £752 |
| North Wales (excluding Snowdonia) | £770 |
| Snowdonia | £785 |
| Brecon Beacons | £789 |
| Cumbria | £793 |
| Wiltshire | £793 |
| Lancashire | £801 |
From blustery walks on the Great Orme headland to strolls through the Victorian seaside town of Llandudno, North Wales has a lot to offer for a holiday. And the good news is that it’s the cheapest place to book for a Welsh cottage getaway over the new year (£770 per week).
Note, though, that the region of North Wales in our data excludes Snowdonia, which is counted as its own region. However, Snowdonia is still one of the cheapest places to visit at £785 per week.
The cheapest location with availability in Scotland for New Year’s Eve is Dumfries and Galloway (£888 per week).
The region is £178 cheaper than the ever-popular Highlands (£1,066). But with less than a quarter of the overnight tourism that the Highlands receives (according to Visit Scotland*), you can explore it in peace.
Take a bracing winter walk along rocky shores and sandy beaches in this stunning region, or head inland to shelter in the Galloway Forest park with hiking and mountain biking trails passing serene lochs and glens. It’s also ideal for stargazing as a designated dark sky area.
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Argyll & the Isles. It’s the ideal region to see wildlife, including golden eagles, red deer, puffins and porpoises and explore 3,000 miles of coastline. But at new year, this trip will cost you £406 a week more than the average region in the UK. It’s cheaper to go at other times of year, even August. The average price for a stay in August 2024 was £1,115 – nearly £200 cheaper.
The Cotswolds, another popular holiday destination, is a pricey pick for a break this new year. You’d be better off ditching it in favour of Cumbria. Cumbria’s mountainous fells and serene lakes offer an ideal backdrop for walking, so you can enjoy a similarly quintessential English country break there for £270 less.
| Region | Price for 2-bed cottage (average per week) |
|---|---|
| Argyll & the Isles | £1,309 |
| Perthshire | £1,234 |
| Ayrshire & Arran | £1,186 |
| Hampshire | £1,163 |
| Highlands | £1,066 |
| Cotswolds | £1,063 |
| Kent | £1,061 |
| Cheshire | £1,014 |
| Outer Hebrides | £1,001 |
| Somerset | £971 |
Coastal regions Cornwall, Devon and Dorset are some of the most popular places for an English getaway, but they’re usually pricey.
While none of these honeypot destinations are cheaper for a break than the average for New Year’s Eve (£903), they’re not far off.
Cornwall is cheapest at £944 per week for a one or two-bed cottage, but there’s not a lot in it.
While the Peak District is currently the cheapest option, property availability is incredibly low now, as it is in the Cotswolds too.
Instead, head to the Lake District, with its lush woodlands and array of challenging hikes to tackle (see our UK’s best walks survey results).
You’re in luck for a last-minute New Year’s Eve break at £863 per week for a one or two-bed cottage – that’s £40 cheaper than the average for the same period across the UK.
Admittedly, with 19 days where rainfall is expected in December it could be a wet visit. But the Lake District is rainy all-year round, so don’t let the threat of showers put you off.
Availability is incredibly low for one and two-bedroom cottages with a hot tub to ring in the new year. There are just over 700 properties with hot tubs left to rent across the UK via Cottages.com, Holidaycottages.co.uk and Sykes, according to our research.
The average price is £1,300 for a week’s stay. You’ll find hot tub rentals a bit cheaper in North Wales (£929) and West Wales (£1,006) – so check these locations first to see if you can find a bargain.
See our guide to the best and worst holiday cottage firms.
Our research
We compared the prices of almost 10,000 one and two-bed cottages still available for a week’s stay on or around 27 December 2024 from the UK's three biggest providers – Cottages.com, Holidaycottages.co.uk and Sykes, on 22 November 2024.
We’ve only included countries/regions with at least 30 cottages still available across the three companies. There was insufficient data to include Northern Ireland.
The average price for a stay in August 2024 was calculated by averaging prices over 10 months (from August 2023 to May 2024).
*According to Visit Scotland, there were 2.29 million overnight tourism visits to the Highlands in 2023. Dumfries and Galloway received 490,000.
