By Gilly Bachelor
If there were a public vote, January would almost certainly win least favourite month of the year. The festive sparkle has faded, the weather is doing us no favours, the credit card bill has arrived, and spring still feels frustratingly out of reach. It’s a month that can feel heavy, grey, wet and a little relentless.
I’ve always believed that having something lovely to look forward to can genuinely lift your mood. Not in a forced, gimmicky way, and certainly not because the calendar says you should, but because anticipation has a quiet power of its own. A holiday doesn’t have to be extravagant or far-flung to matter; sometimes it’s simply about creating a moment of escape, a pause, or a change of scene when everyday life feels particularly demanding.
What often surprises people is that, in travel, January is anything but bleak. While the outside world feels subdued, inside our office it’s the opposite. January is our busiest, most intense month of the year. The days are long, the pace is relentless, and the conversations are constant. It’s mentally demanding and often exhausting, but it’s also energising, because this is when ideas take shape and dreams turn into plans.
It also happens to be the month when many travel companies launch some of their best and most generous promotions. That might mean added extras, upgraded perks, reduced deposits, generous onboard credit, complimentary nights or simply better overall value than you’ll see later in the year. It’s one of the reasons January is such a key time to start planning, not because anyone should rush into booking, but because there can be genuine advantages to getting the right trip in the diary early.
This January alone has been a vivid reminder of just how varied travel can be. We’ve been arranging family holidays to sun-soaked destinations, carefully planned city breaks steeped in culture, cruises that glide through Europe’s great rivers or chase the Northern Lights, and once-in-a-lifetime adventures that have been sitting on someone’s wish list for years. From rail journeys across Japan to safaris and winelands in South Africa, from wildlife encounters on Vancouver Island to a solo voyage through the Panama Canal, no two conversations have been the same.
And that, for me, is what January does best. It strips away the idea that travel is one-size-fits-all. Every enquiry has a story behind it: a celebration, a reunion, a milestone birthday, a long-held ambition, or simply the need for sunshine, space and perspective. Travel in January isn’t about impulse or trend; it’s about intention.
So yes, January might feel grey for many. But in travel, it’s colourful, chaotic and full of possibility. It’s the month where the year ahead begins to take shape, and where, even on the coldest days, there’s always something wonderful on the horizon.