World rejoice; we’ve made it through another 365 days! Better yet, we’ve made it through a whole decade.
How could we ever do this New Year’s Eve celebration justice, you ask? Well, how about celebrating it twice? We break down five ways the ultra-rich can ring in the new year – with not one new year’s party, but two.
Sydney to Los Angeles
PrivateFly is offering a private jet itinerary to travel from Sydney to Los Angeles over the new year – and to enjoy the 19 hour time difference.
For your first New Year’s Eve, have a VIP party in Sydney, perhaps overlooking the iconic harbor fireworks. Then on the 1st, depart in your Gulfstream G650 to Los Angeles for a second New Year’s Eve party!
The G650 features a high-spec entertainment system, fine wines and spirits, champagne, and catering so you can keep the new year’s festivities going. Or, indulge in the full-sized queen bed to catch up on some sleep.
The cost for the whole aircraft charter? US$250,450 for the one-way trip.
Tokyo to Honolulu
Ring in your first new year in Tokyo aboard Japan Airlines. JAL offers multiple flights to Hawaii every day, with the Skytrax award-winning JAL Sky Suite. The luxury suite features a fully-flat bed, an exclusively developed mattress, pillows, and a premium dining experience for JAL passengers. A private, premium party in the air doesn’t sound bad at all.
Around six hours and 40 minutes later and you’ve arrived in Honolulu. It has a 19-hour time difference to Japan, so you’ve plenty of time to ring in the new year all over again.
Aloha, 2020!
Spain to Portugal
From the southwest of Spain to the Unesco World Heritage Site of Elvas in Portugal, your double new year fantasy can also be fulfilled. You can reach the other side of the Spanish-Portuguese border – and a whole new time zone – in less than 20 minutes by car.
For a five-star hotel experience, the Hotel NH Gran Hotel Casino Extremadura in Badajoz offers a luxury spa and late-night casino to bring in some new year luck.
New Zealand and the Cook Islands
Fun fact: one of the first nations to celebrate the new year in New Zealand.
And one of the last nations to celebrate the new year is the Cook Islands, which actually sits a four-hour plane ride away from Auckland, New Zealand – despite its 23-hour time difference.
As a result, a flight on either Virgin Australia or Air New Zealand that departs Auckland in the afternoon of January 1 will reach Rarotonga, the largest island in the Cook Islands, well before midnight on December 31.
Northern Lights (Finland to Sweden)
If you want a midnight flame that lasts all night, replace fireworks with Mother Nature’s light show – the Northern Lights. Follow the dazzling polar lights from Finland to Sweden during a luxurious night excursion – going back in time an hour when you cross the border.
Arctic activities like whale watching and dog sledding can be bundled into your new year’s celebrations with local adventure planners.
Cruise across the Bering Sea
Another way to hack the International Date Line involves a cruise further north, across the Bering Sea. The dividing line makes a sort of zigzagged line down between Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (United States), even though there’s less than 4km between the two islands.
Luxury cruises from Kamchatka Krai (Russia) to the Katmai National Park (USA) could technically take advantage of the massive time difference between the two nations for a wondrous new year’s adventure.
A cruise along this route might take you to stunning lakes and waterfalls, hot springs, bird cliffs, and national parks, as well as the famous Anastasia Bay, where you can find walruses, seals, puffins, and other seabirds.
Bonus idea: orbit the Earth from the International Space Station
Fulfill your spacefaring fantasy and hitch a ride onto the International Space Station (ISS) for multiple 2020 celebrations.
The ISS circles the Earth every 90 minutes, which would allow you to celebrate the new year 16 times.
And if you miss a trip to the ISS this New Year’s Eve, don’t worry – Nasa announced earlier this year that the space agency would open the orbiting station for space tourism, as well as other commercial opportunities, in 2020. Nasa will be using Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner to bring civilians to the ISS, with cost estimates at over US$50 million a trip.
Note:This story was originally published on SCMP & has been republished on this website.
