The crowds cheered, the confetti scattered, and just like that, the much-hyped New Year’s Eve celebration had come and gone in a flash. The year ended with a bang, sure, but if the crushing hangover in the morning is a sign of anything to come, it’s that NYE really is just another day in the calendar. But what if you can dial it all back? Turn back the clock and experience the most epic celebration of the year – One. More. Time. And no, you don’t need a DeLorean, Quantum Leap, or TARDIS to do it, just a bit of time zone manipulation. By planning ahead, you can celebrate New Year’s Eve twice across two different destinations.
Here’s how, where, and when to pull off a double New Year celebration:
Sydney to Honolulu
If money’s not an issue, try booking the private jetliner PrivateFly’s exclusive Double New Year’s Eve flight from Sydney to Honolulu for around $29,000 USD ($39,200 CAD) per person or $260,000 USD ($351,500 CAD) to charter the whole flight. The party starts at 8:00 p.m. at the Sydney Opera House, complete with Champagne and fireworks. Alternatively, you can book a romantic candlelight dinner at the Park Hyatt Sydney and enjoy a night of celebration on the harbourfront. But don’t party too hard – round two is coming right up.
At 2:00 a.m., get ready to depart for Honolulu. The total flight time between the two cities is around 10 hours, with a 21-hour difference in time, which means you get to nurse that hangover before hopping onto Waikiki Beach for the second part of the celebration.
Tokyo to Las Vegas
For around $26,000 per person, luxury private jetliner, Crystal AirCruises, offers exclusive New Year Double Celebration flights from Tokyo to Las Vegas. Each booking comes with accommodations at the Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, a private dinner party, seats at sumo wrestling matches, and firework celebration at Tokyo Disneyland. Once the countdown is over, a second 12-hour flight will take you across continents to Las Vegas, where you’ll get to dial back the clock and kick off a night of non-stop partying on The Strip, starting at the Omnia Nightclub at Caesar’s Palace. After that, we can only hope whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Badajoz to Elvas
If flying across the International Date Line on private deluxe jets seem like too much of a hassle, try driving crossing the border of Spain and Portugal instead. With only an hour time zone difference, celebrating the New Year twice along the Iberian Peninsula can be easily done in the border towns of Badajoz and Elvas.
Badajoz is a culturally-rich gem hidden between Madrid and Seville. Highly walkable, the city’s replete with cathedrals, classical buildings, and historical monuments. After counting down to the New Year at this picturesque city, take a roughly 30-minute drive or cab ride across the border to Elvas. Here, you can do the send-off again in a quaint, traditional Portuguese city filled with cobbled streets, townhouses with red terracotta roofs, dotted by scores of UNESCO heritage sites.
New Zealand to the Cook Islands
New Zealand is one of the first countries to ring in the New Year. But the Cook Islands, a mere four-hour flight from Wellington, happens to be one of the last places on Earth to begin the countdown. Being almost one day apart from each other, the Kiwis can party the night away, rest up, then fly over to the palm-draped beaches of Rarotonga for another round of celebration with a cold tropical drink in hand.
If the Cook Islands seem too peaceful, you can also try flying to almost anywhere else in the world from New Zealand to do the double celebration.
Finland to Sweden
With many borders and winding time zones, celebrating New Year twice in Europe is a cinch, especially when it comes to Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Finland. Along the border of the Finnish Lapland, two sleepy border towns straddle the banks of the Muonio River: Karesuvanto on Finland’s side and Karesuando on Sweden’s side. With only an hour time zone difference between them, you can toast to the New Year under the northern lights in Karesuvanto, watch the fireworks by the bonfire, and then, after the countdown, walk across the bridge to Karesuando for the second celebration.
Throughout the whole journey, you’ll experience some of the most haunting Winter landscapes surrounded by snowcapped forests. Depending on the weather conditions, you might be able to cross the river under starlight and catch two different northern lights from across the banks.
Ready to double dip New Year’s Eve but don’t know where to do it? Call our travel experts today at 1-877-967-5302 or visit us in-store, online, or ask us through live chat to find out more.
