Winter sun holidays from the UK fall into three groups by flight time. The group you pick decides how warm it gets and roughly what a week costs. This guide covers December 2026 to March 2027, written in October while there is still choice on dates.
The figures come from national weather services, not brochures. Several places sold as winter sun are pleasant rather than hot, and we say which.
Quick answer
Under six hours, the Canaries, Egypt’s Red Sea and Agadir give you low-twenties days, with the warmest water in the Red Sea. About seven hours gets you to the UAE, a few degrees warmer. For proper heat, fly nine to twelve hours to the Caribbean, the Maldives, Mauritius, Thailand or Goa. Cyprus, the Algarve and Madeira are mild, not hot.
Where is hot in December, January, February and March?
Each figure is the average daytime high for that month, rounded to the nearest degree. Sea temperature is the January average, the coolest point of the season in most of these places. Flight times are typical non-stop times from London.
| Destination | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Sea (Jan) | Flight from London | Feels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenerife (south coast) | 23°C | 22°C | 22°C | 23°C | 21°C | 4¼–4½ hrs | Warm |
| Gran Canaria | 22°C | 21°C | 21°C | 22°C | 21°C | 4¼ hrs | Warm |
| Lanzarote | 22°C | 21°C | 21°C | 23°C | 20°C | 4 hrs | Warm |
| Sharm el Sheikh | 23°C | 22°C | 23°C | 26°C | 24°C | 5½ hrs | Warm |
| Hurghada | 23°C | 22°C | 23°C | 25°C | 22°C | 5½ hrs | Warm |
| Agadir | 22°C | 21°C | 22°C | 23°C | 18°C | 3¾–4 hrs | Warm |
| Paphos | 20°C | 18°C | 18°C | 20°C | 19°C | 4½ hrs | Mild |
| Larnaca | 19°C | 17°C | 18°C | 20°C | 19°C | 4½ hrs | Mild |
| Faro, Algarve | 17°C | 16°C | 17°C | 18°C | 17°C | 3 hrs | Mild |
| Madeira | 20°C | 19°C | 19°C | 20°C | 20°C | 4 hrs | Mild |
| Dubai | 26°C | 24°C | 25°C | 28°C | 22°C | 7 hrs | Warm |
| Abu Dhabi | 26°C | 24°C | 25°C | 29°C | 22°C | 7 hrs | Warm |
| Maldives (Malé) | 30°C | 30°C | 31°C | 31°C | 28°C | 10½ hrs | Hot |
| Mauritius (Port Louis) | 31°C | 31°C | 31°C | 31°C | 28°C | 12 hrs | Hot |
| St Lucia (Vieux Fort) | 29°C | 29°C | 29°C | 29°C | 28°C | about 9 hrs | Hot |
| Barbados | 30°C | 29°C | 29°C | 30°C | 28°C | 9 hrs | Hot |
| Antigua | 29°C | 28°C | 28°C | 29°C | 27°C | about 9 hrs | Hot |
| Jamaica (north coast) | 28°C | 28°C | 28°C | 29°C | 28°C | about 10 hrs | Hot |
| Dominican Republic (La Romana) | 30°C | 30°C | 30°C | 31°C | 27°C | about 9½ hrs | Hot |
| Cancún | 28°C | 28°C | 29°C | 30°C | 27°C | 11 hrs | Hot |
| Phuket, Thailand | 32°C | 32°C | 33°C | 34°C | 29°C | about 12 hrs | Hot |
| Goa | 32°C | 32°C | 32°C | 32°C | 28°C | 10 hrs (seasonal charter) | Hot |
Daytime highs are long-term averages from national met services, published through the World Meteorological Organization (Tenerife from AEMET’s south-coast airport station, Barbados from its own met service). Port Louis is the hottest, most sheltered part of Mauritius; the national met service puts the island-wide January and February maximum at about 29°C. Sea temperatures are 2022–25 averages from marine model data.
How to read the months:
- December: Dubai or the Canaries for a short break before Christmas, or a week in the Caribbean.
- January: the coolest month nearly everywhere north of the equator. This is when the long-haul band earns its flight: the Caribbean, Thailand and Goa.
- February: the Red Sea and the UAE start to warm again, and the Indian Ocean is the strongest long-haul pick.
- March: the warmest of the four months almost everywhere in the table, so it is the best month for the short-haul band.
Short-haul: three to five and a half hours
This band is about comfortable, not scorching. Expect T-shirt days, cool evenings that need a jumper, and sea that is bracing on the first dip. The trade is a daytime flight with no jet lag, which makes a four- or five-night break realistic.
Canary Islands
The Canaries are the most reliable short-haul choice for sunshine, but which coast you stay on matters more than which island. Trade winds pile cloud against the northern slopes. The south of Tenerife (Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos) and of Gran Canaria (Maspalomas, Meloneras) sees far more sun than Puerto de la Cruz or Las Palmas. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are flatter, drier and windier. Good for walking and surfing, less so for lying flat by a pool on a breezy afternoon.
Who it does not suit: anyone expecting to sweat. A heated pool is worth asking about for a January stay.
Egypt’s Red Sea: Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada
Sharm has the warmest sea of anything in the short-haul group, and that is the reason to choose it. The reefs off Ras Mohammed and Tiran are a short boat ride away, and the water stays comfortable for an hour’s snorkelling even in January. Rain is almost unheard of on both coasts.
Hurghada sits on the mainland side and is breezier, with a wider choice of large all-inclusive resorts along the coast road. Both lose the sun early in midwinter, and desert evenings can be surprisingly cold, so pack a fleece.
Agadir
Agadir is the closest dependable winter sun to London, under four hours on most departures. The town has a long, flat, sheltered beach with a promenade, and the Atlas foothills and Taroudant are easy day trips. The Atlantic here is cool, the coldest sea in the table, so this is a sunbathing and pool destination rather than a swimming one. It works well for a first trip to Morocco without the intensity of Marrakech.
Cyprus, the Algarve and Madeira
Be clear-eyed about these three. In January, Paphos and Larnaca reach the high teens, Faro the mid-teens. That is spring weather by UK standards, and you will get rain days, especially in Cyprus between December and February.
They suit a different trip: golf in the Algarve, coastal walking and archaeological sites around Paphos, levada walks and gardens in Madeira. Hotels are quieter and long lunches outdoors are normal. If the aim is a tan and warm-water swimming, look elsewhere.
Mid-haul: the UAE in about seven hours
The UAE is the warmest place you can reach without a long-haul flight. Winter is its high season because summer is unbearable, and the months from November to March are the only time most visitors spend whole days outside.
Dubai
Dubai gives you mid-twenties days, a beach in the city and almost no rain. One thing catches people out: the sea in January and February is cooler than the air, so a heated pool earns its place. Our Dubai holidays guide covers the areas, from Jumeirah Beach to the Palm, in more detail.
Short stays work here. The Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach holiday starts from £939pp for 3 nights in December 2026 in Economy, with 5 nights from £1,149pp, including return flights from the UK. January 2027 is on request, and February rises to £1,199pp for 3 nights.
Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah
Abu Dhabi is calmer than Dubai, with beach resorts on Saadiyat Island and between the bridges near the airport. Ras Al Khaimah, about an hour north of Dubai, has a quieter coast with the Hajar Mountains behind it. Fujairah faces the Gulf of Oman on the east coast, with clearer water for snorkelling and a two-hour transfer from Dubai.
Who it does not suit: anyone who finds glitz tiring, or who wants local life on the doorstep. Resort days here are excellent, but much of the coast is hotels and highways.
Long-haul: reliable heat in nine to twelve hours
Daytime highs of 28°C or more, with sea at 27°C or warmer, are only on offer long-haul in a UK winter. The cost is a full day’s travel each way, which is why the minimum stays in the table below are longer for these destinations.
The Caribbean
The Atlantic hurricane season ends on 30 November, and the drier months run from December to April. Early December can still be showery: Antigua averages 87mm of rain that month against 38mm in February. Barbados and Antigua are the shortest flights in the group, about nine hours, and both islands are small enough that hotel transfers are short. Barbados’s west coast is calm and suits swimmers, while the east is wild and better for walks. Antigua is about beaches. St Lucia is greener and more mountainous, with longer transfers from Hewanorra. The north coast of Jamaica and La Romana in the Dominican Republic offer more all-inclusive choice.
The Sandals Royal Barbados holiday starts from £2,609pp for 7 nights in December 2026. Our Caribbean holidays guide compares the islands one by one.
The Maldives
The dry season runs roughly December to April, but it does not start on a fixed date. Malé averages 217mm of rain in December against 38mm in February, so a December trip can still bring heavy showers. February and March are the safest months. There is more on choosing atolls and transfers in our guide to Maldives holidays from the UK.
A stopover breaks the journey well. The Doha and Maldives twin-centre is from £3,099pp for 10 nights in December 2026, with January to March 2027 dates on request.
Mauritius
Mauritius is in the southern hemisphere, so December to March is its summer: hot, humid and the best time for the sea. It is also cyclone season, which runs from November to May with the most active spell between January and March. Most weeks pass with nothing more than a heavy shower, but a direct hit can close beaches and ground flights for a day or two.
The Fairmont Dubai and SALT of Palmar twin-centre is from £1,869pp for 10 nights in February 2027, the lowest winter month in its pricing.
Thailand’s Andaman coast
Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak are dry from November to April, with calm seas for island trips to Phang Nga Bay and the Phi Phi islands. Since 18 October 2026 there has also been a non-stop from Heathrow to Phuket three times a week, about 12 hours outbound; most other routings change in Bangkok or the Gulf. Read our Thailand holidays guide for the coast-by-coast picture.
The Bangkok, Phuket and Krabi holiday runs 14 nights and starts from £1,699pp in March 2027, against £1,849pp in December 2026.
Goa
Goa is dry from December to March, with barely any rain at all in January and February. The beaches of the south, around Cavelossim and Mobor, are quieter than the north. Direct flights are seasonal charters, so the choice of days is narrower than for the Caribbean. The Kenilworth Resort and Spa holiday is from £1,479pp for 10 nights in March 2027.
Mexico: Cancún and the Riviera Maya
Cancún is reliably warm, but it is not the driest choice in early winter. Cold fronts from the north, known locally as nortes, bring wind and short bursts of rain from December to February. March is the most settled month, and the cenotes and Mayan sites at Tulum and Chichén Itzá are easy to combine with beach days.
Christmas, New Year and school holidays: what happens to prices
Three windows shape winter demand: Christmas and New Year, the February half-term, and the run-up to Easter. Most English councils break up from 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027, with February half-term from 15 to 19 February 2027. Academies, independent schools and Scotland set their own dates, so check yours before you hold anything.
Our holiday prices are set by month. Each figure is a from-price for departures in that month, so it does not tell you what Christmas week itself costs. Festive departures are quoted on request for your exact dates.
What the monthly prices do show is that January costs more than December on these three deals.
- The Bahia Principe Luxury Bouganville in the Dominican Republic is £1,659pp for 7 nights in December 2026 and £2,609pp in January 2027.
- The Bougainvillea Barbados is £4,959pp for 7 nights in December 2026 and £6,919pp in January 2027.
- The Al Habtoor Grand and Anantara Iko twin-centre in Dubai and Mauritius is £2,809pp for 10 nights in December 2026, £3,519pp in January and £4,659pp in February 2027.
Not every deal follows that curve, as the Mauritius twin-centre above shows. All prices quoted here are per person and include return flights from the UK. Every package is ATOL protected under licence 10713.
If you can travel before the schools break up, December is the cheapest month on all three deals above. Festive dates do not come into it. If the school calendar fixes your dates, ask for the exact departure price early rather than working from the monthly figure. For February half-term, book flights as soon as you know your dates.
How to choose winter sun holidays: budget, flight time and jet lag
Start with how many nights you have, not the destination. A long flight for a short stay wastes a winter break. UK clocks go back on 25 October 2026, so these time differences are against GMT.
| Destination | Time difference in winter | Sensible minimum stay |
|---|---|---|
| Canaries, Madeira, Algarve | None (GMT) | 3–4 nights |
| Agadir | GMT+1 | 4 nights |
| Cyprus, Egypt | GMT+2 | 4–5 nights |
| UAE, Mauritius | GMT+4 | 3–5 nights (UAE), 7+ nights (Mauritius) |
| Maldives | GMT+5 | 7–10 nights |
| Goa | GMT+5½ | 10 nights |
| Thailand | GMT+7 | 10–14 nights |
| Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia, Dominican Republic | GMT−4 | 7 nights |
| Jamaica, Cancún | GMT−5 | 7 nights |
Direction matters as much as distance. Flying west to the Caribbean, you land in the afternoon, stay up a little late and wake early for a day or two. Flying east to Thailand or the Maldives is harder, because you lose a night, and the first full day is often a write-off.
On budget, the gap between bands is larger than the gap within them. Short-haul fares cost far less than long-haul ones, and the UAE sits between the two. Within the long-haul band, the month you travel moves the price more than the island you choose.
A simple way to narrow it down:
- Only a long weekend? Stay short-haul or go to the UAE.
- Want reliable heat for a week? The Caribbean, on a single daytime flight and a westward time change.
- A longer break? The Indian Ocean and Thailand, ideally with a stopover to break the journey.
- Travelling with young children? Shorter flights and small time differences usually matter more than a few extra degrees.
For a ranking of destinations by style rather than season, see our list of the best luxury holiday destinations from the UK. Couples planning a wedding trip will find route ideas in our guide to honeymoon holidays.
