It is that time of year when every friend you meet asks the same question: "Where are you going for New Year?" And really, it is time to decide. If the traditional family gathering with Olivier salad in front of the TV no longer appeals, then it is time for a change of scenery – and, even better, a change of country. This around-the-world roundup of visa-free destinations is for everyone who wants to spend the New Year holidays abroad and make them unforgettable.

The long New Year holidays give Russian travelers the perfect chance to set off on a trip and begin the year with fresh impressions. Even if there is very little time left and applying for a visa is no longer realistic, there are still plenty of countries ready to welcome our fellow travelers without visas or bureaucratic headaches.

In Europe, unfortunately, there are still not many countries Russians can visit without a visa. But the map of easy travel expands year by year. For New Year 2014, four countries are ready to welcome Russian visitors: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – a paradise for ski lovers. Fans of winter sports should head straight for the area around Sarajevo, where the country's ski resorts are located. Bosnia and Herzegovina also preserves many landmarks from the Ottoman and Byzantine periods.

Tourists can enter visa-free for 30 days – you only need to show your passport and either a travel agency voucher or a private invitation from an individual or a legal entity.

By the way, the sooner you decide where to go for New Year, the better. The closer you get to your departure date, the more expensive flights become. You can always find the best fares on Aviasales.ru, which compares offers from dozens of airlines and ticket agencies so you can choose the best price. Still, do not put it off :) Shall we look for cheap New Year flights right now?

Macedonia – another country that works wonderfully for a ski holiday. It is also considered home to many remarkable historical monuments. If you come here for New Year, make sure to visit famous Lake Ohrid and then stop by Mount Karadzica, where the main New Year tree is traditionally installed.

To enter the country, you will need to present your passport at the border, as well as either a hotel voucher or an invitation from friends or relatives.

Speaking of hotel vouchers: you can get one by booking a hotel through Booking.com. Documents like these are officially accepted at border control – after all, Booking.com is one of the world's best accommodation search websites. Never booked a hotel online before? Read our guide, where we explain the process step by step.

Montenegro is famous for its stunning nature, and at New Year it turns into a fairy-tale corner of the world. Holiday traditions here are quite close to Russian ones, except that you will not see poultry on the festive table – Montenegrins firmly believe that luck will leave the house if bird is served for New Year.

What is more, January 2 is celebrated here as "Chicken Christmas." How exactly? Come and see for yourself! Russian visitors can stay visa-free for up to a month. And instead of Santa Claus, locals await Grandpa Frost – an old fellow very much like our Father Frost.

In Serbia, children are visited at New Year by Bozic-Bata. While he keeps the little ones entertained, adults can enjoy the festive table with traditional sarma (a dish made with minced pork and beef) and slivovitz.

Russian travelers can confidently head to Serbia for the holidays and stay there visa-free for up to 30 days.

But what if you dream of ringing in the New Year somewhere in Paris, Prague, Rome, or Amsterdam? There is no way around it – these cities are in Schengen countries, so you will need a visa to travel there. In reality, it is not as difficult, time-consuming, or expensive as it may seem at first glance, especially if you leave it to professionals. Our friends at VisaToHome can help you get a visa without even leaving home! All you need to do is send them a request through the website, and they will handle the rest: fill out the forms, collect your documents, stand in line at visa centers... Lovely, in a word! Give it a try – service this good is hard to find.

And once you decide where to go, come back to Ever.Travel ;) Visit the "All Cities" section, choose your destination, and plan your trip! Say you are heading to Budapest – then welcome to the interactive map of sights, where dozens of interesting places are already marked. All you have to do is choose the ones you would like to visit, spread them across a few days of your trip, and discuss the plan with friends. Do not forget to download the free Ever.Travel mobile app so you can sync your personal guide with it. It really can all be done quickly and easily! Read our review if you have never planned a trip this way before.

In the middle of winter, suddenly craving summer? That is easy to arrange! At least three countries in Latin America are happy to welcome Russian tourists for New Year without visas for up to 90 days – Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

Honduras is famous for the fact that traces of the Maya civilization still remain here. The ruins of the ancient city of Copan are proof enough. And since the Maya once predicted the end of the world, celebrating another New Year there carries a special charm.

Lovers of active travel will surely appreciate the local scuba diving, rafting on mountain rivers, mountain journeys, and parrot watching. Prices for all these activities are quite reasonable. As usual, the most expensive part is the flight.

New Year in El Salvador will definitely stay with you because, instead of dancing around a Christmas tree, the night is filled with countless fireworks, firecrackers, and loud festive blasts. If you want to honor tradition, you can always decorate a broad palm tree on the beach. Just be prepared for plenty of company: in El Salvador, there is a tradition that on January 1 the whole country heads to the beach.

One of the most popular spots in Nicaragua is Cerro Negro Volcano. Its slopes are so varied that snowboarders have long claimed them as their own. Snow there, you ask? None at all – but that does not stop thrill-seekers, who race down the volcanic sand instead! The fact that the volcano is still active only adds to the excitement. Just imagine the effect your photos will have on friends and colleagues when, for New Year, you are not sledding down a snowy hill in a fur hat, but riding a snowboard in shorts... down a volcano.

South America is especially welcoming to Russian tourists. You can feel it in the fact that eight countries are ready to admit our fellow travelers visa-free for up to 90 days: Argentina, Colombia, Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and Ecuador. And Peru opens its borders to Russians without a visa for as many as 183 days!

Each of these countries deserves a rich and fascinating story about its traditions and sights, but we would especially like to highlight Brazil and Ecuador.

Brazil is famous worldwide for celebrating on a grand, beautiful scale. Just think of its legendary carnivals. New Year is no smaller occasion here – on the night from the 31st to the 1st, it is as bright as daytime thanks to endless fireworks, dazzling bursts, and colorful lights shimmering over Rio de Janeiro's main beach during the New Year festivities. Music, dancing, beautiful outfits, delicious food, and festive drinks all merge into a spectacle you simply cannot forget.

And Ecuador is sure to stay in travelers' memories thanks to its beaches with multicolored sand, diving in the Pacific Ocean, and trips through the Amazon jungle. On top of that, Ecuador is where you can see the famous line that divides the Earth into two hemispheres – and stand with one foot in the Northern Hemisphere and the other in the Southern.

Your New Year table will be brightened not only by surprising dishes (yuca pie, locro soup with avocado, empanadas), but also by exotic fruits such as cherimoya, pepinos, mamey, and more.

After holidays like these, you will return to snowy Russia not only rested and sun-kissed, but also full of energy for the whole year ahead!

Photos used in this article: paradisevilla.ru, isurok.livejournal.com, nanlevin.wordpress.com, Flickr: vuquoccuong, anDarko, borkodinus Photography, Shakespeare's.Sister, Vilseskogen; panoramio.com: duna13, restbee.ru, sunplanet.ru.