DCombining the beautiful with the useful can be a wonderful thing. And so some Germans are thinking about an unusual idea: how about escaping the cold, uncomfortable winter in Germany and spending the next few months in the warm south? This increases the zest for life and has another invaluable advantage: it reduces the heating bill, which, as is well known, will soon be quite high because gas prices are rising so much. But is this escape to warmth also worthwhile financially? We calculated this for the period from November to the end of March.
In order to be pleasantly warm, the winter refugees have to travel far south. The Mediterranean Sea with Cyprus, Crete, southern Spain and Sicily is too cold at 10 to 15 degrees. It is warmer in Morocco, Tunisia or even further outside of Europe, such as in Thailand. But high travel costs for long-distance destinations and expensive health protection put a strain on the budget, because normal international health insurance is not valid for the whole winter. Health care is also often of a lower standard than in Germany, a factor that is not unimportant for a longer stay.