6 warm getaways that will lift your spirits

Looking to take a break from the cold? Here are some sunny places to beat the winter blahs

- DEREK M NORMAN

EVEN IF YOU'RE a big fan of snowy mornings and cosy nights, winter can sometimes bring on the blues. The shorter, colder days cause millions to feel fatigue, depression and other symptoms that may indicate seasonal affective disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Though serious cases of SAD can require medical or mental health treatments, experts say getting a splash of warm sun at this time of year can help with milder cases of the winter blahs."If you fly south, you're flying to an environment where the sun comes up earlier and goes down later, so you are getting a very powerful, immediate change in the circadian stimulus," said Dr Paul Desan, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. "A tropical vacation may really help you," he added. Here are six easy warm-weather getaways.

BEACHES

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, is the gateway to a string of beautiful beaches along the island's northern coast. In Condado, an oceanfront community east of the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan, you'll find plenty of sand, along with shopping, nightlife, and hotels like the luxurious, centuryold Condado Vanderbilt. Discover a range of small towns and sandy shores, including La Poza del Obispo, or the Bishop's Pool, which features a semicircular inlet protected from the waves.

Back in San Juan, explore the museums, historical sites, shops, bars and restaurants in the narrow streets of Old San Juan, which comes to a point overlooking the spot where San Juan Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean at the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a Spanish fortress built in the 1500s.

ROMANCE: PUERTO VALLARTA. MEXICO