ADVERTISEMENTThe festive season for many is a time of noisy family gatherings, raucous office parties and explosive New Year’s celebrations.
It can leave you yearning for some peace and quiet - and luckily the travel industry has been listening.
In recent years, there has been a growing trend for silent tourism, from beaches where talking is prohibited to guides to the quietest spots in a city.
Here’s how to switch off the noise on your next trip.
Hide out in a hermitage in Italy
Eremito hides deep in a forested 3,000-hectare UNESCO-designated reserve in the central Italian region of Umbria.
Housed in a historic stone hermitage, the resort is envisaged as a contemporary hideout for the solitary traveller.
The digital detox is unavoidable - there is no internet, phone signal or TV. The spartan rooms recall the cells of the religious hermits who once lived here with iron beds and stone seating.
Dinner is eaten in silence other than the accompanying Gregorian chants and the dishes are inspired by monastic recipes.
The retreat is aimed at anyone who wants to “detach themselves from daily habits and go back to essential needs,” according to the website.
Without technological distractions and overstimulation, it’s the perfect scenario for allowing your mind to wander and reflect.
Savour Stockholm´s guide to silence
Stockholm has created a ‘guide to silence’ which directs visitors to areas and places in the city that offer a combination of sound quality, silence and green experiences.
The guide includes 19 parks including 11 nature areas with 65 walking trails.
In the heart of the city is Sinnenas Trädgård - translating as garden of the senses. It is a green oasis which offers calming sensory experiences like flower scents, the sound of rippling water and the feel of gravel crunching underfoot.
On the Stora Essingen island, visitors can relax in Aluddsparken a small green park protected from the noise of the city with a scenic view of Lake Mälaren.
Bask on a noise-free beach in Turkey
Turkey’s Turquoise Coast has been branded as the new French Riviera and you’ll find plenty of resorts with DJ nights, parties and clubs.
ADVERTISEMENTBut for those craving quiet, D Maris Bay offers a calmer retreat.
The resort is fringed by pine forest and olive groves and down by the shore there are coves and sandy beaches.
One bay named Silence Beach is for adults only and music and loud noises are prohibited.
Take a small-talk free walk in England
Silent Walks was set up by a group of people who loved walking in company but wanted the opportunity to cut the chatting some of the time.
ADVERTISEMENTTaking a break from talking allows you to engage with your own thoughts, contemplate nature or zone out completely.
Although you can do this easily on your own, the organisation emphasises that walking in a group is safer, avoids feelings of loneliness and means you can engage in social interaction afterwards.
The group’s walks centre around the south east of England and are easily reachable from London.