As we dragged our weary bodies, goggle tan lines, and assorted minor injuries back to Grenoble airport we were tired but happy - a great skiing holiday with a great group of friends.

You can go away at this time on a shoe string budget - if you're willing to look hard enough for deals, and search around a bit. Here are a few tips I always offer friends departing around the festive time.

It's the capital of a Kingdom and is home to 1.8 million people, still Morocco's third largest city, Rabat, leads a relatively anonymous existence on the country's Atlantic coast. A short 45-minute train ride from Casablanca, Rabat is a place where Moroccan history spectacularly collides with modern life; and where the country's European roots wonderfully weave themselves through its African heritage.