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Every hotel we shortlist170 hotels, one listFilter by place, by what each hotel is best for, and by the judges behind it.Browse all hotelsWorth it once
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What each really costs, split per person where that is how people pay, and how to try it first.
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Winter
Christmas marketsChristmas markets Europe-wide: ten weekends from about £775 for two
UK Christmas marketsThe best Christmas markets UK-wide: ten weekends from about £451 for two
New Year's EveTen New Years Eve breaks, from about £990 for two
HogmanayTen ways to do Hogmanay Edinburgh, from free to £11,460Journeys
Rail · 5 trains
Luxury train journeys
Five great trains, from the Orient Express to the Andes.
Read the guide
Cities · 1 perfect day
One day in Rome
Sunrise to midnight: the walk, the tasting menus and a view of St Peter's.
Read the guide
Islands · 12 months
The Maldives, month by month
When the sea is glass, when the mantas come, and when the price halves.
Read the guide
Wild · Jul to Oct
The Great Migration
Where two million animals will be, and where you should be waiting.
Read the guide
Rail · London to Venice
The Orient Express
When it runs, what each cabin costs, and the best month to board.
Read the guide
Flights · Door to door
Emirates business class
From the car at your door in London to the lights of Dubai, in ten moments.
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Winter · 5 nights
Lapland holidays
Huskies, reindeer, glass igloos and the fox fires, told as five Arctic nights.
Read the guideWinter sun · November to March
The best winter sun destinations, month by month: where it's dry and warm from November to March, how long the flight is, and the hotel to book when you get there.
Photos: PhotoHound / Unsplash; Sumit Chinchane / Unsplash; Dinuka Lankaloka / Unsplash; Marco Murakami / Unsplash; Asher Pardey / Unsplash
The short answer
The best winter sun destinations change month by month. Pick yours: for each, the three best places on our guides, the flight from London and what that month is really like there. In January that means Sri Lanka, Thailand and Barbados.
17h from LondonOne of the best months: highs around 31°C, nights near 20°C and the sea at about 27°C, still warm enough for long swims.
Where to stay →
211h 30m from LondonSummer begins in the Cape, with highs around 23°C and long, bright evenings. Kruger is green, hot and full of birdlife and young animals.
Where to stay →
311h from LondonThe dry season begins and the month opens with Día de Muertos. Pleasant at 10 to 22°C in Mexico City and 27°C in Acapulco.
Where to stay →Skip in NovemberBali, rainy season: The rains return in short afternoon bursts, about eight rainy days. Quiet and good value, and the east coast surf starts to work. Zanzibar, a mixed month: The short rains begin, lighter than the long rains but less reliable, and sometimes heavy. Humid and green, with few visitors on the beaches.
111h 55m from LondonExcellent nationwide except the Gulf, where the rains tail off. Bangkok reaches about 31°C; Chiang Mai has about eight hours of sunshine a day.
Where to stay →211h from LondonDry, sunny and around 24°C in Tulum, with the clearest Caribbean water of the year. Festive weeks are the busiest of all.
Where to stay →311h 30m from LondonCape Town is warm and dry with highs near 25°C, and the whole country goes on holiday. Wonderful weather, but plan well ahead.
Where to stay →Skip in DecemberBali, rainy season: Wet and warm, with the sea at 29°C. Quiet for most of the month, then full from around 20 December for Christmas and New Year.
110h 35m from LondonThe classic month. The west and south coasts and the Cultural Triangle are at their clearest, and the hill country is sunny by day and cool at night. The east is still wet.
Where to stay →211h 55m from LondonThe classic month. Bangkok runs around 32°C by day and 22°C at night, Chiang Mai nights fall to about 15°C, and the Andaman sea is calm.
Where to stay →
39h from LondonClassic Barbados: dry, sunny days of 27 to 30°C, cool trade-wind nights and a glassy Caribbean Sea on the west coast. The best all-round month after the festive rush.
Where to stay →Skip in JanuaryBali, rainy season: The wettest month, around 20 rainy days, though storms tend to pass in a few hours. Quiet and cheap once the New Year crowds leave.
110h from LondonThe surest weather of the year: glass-calm lagoons and the best visibility under water.
Where to stay →211h from LondonArguably the finest all-round month: dry, warm on the coast and the height of the monarch season in the highlands.
Where to stay →
312h 55m from LondonOften the hottest month and one of the driest, with around 56mm of rain. In 2027 Ramadan is expected to begin on 8 February, which quietens Stone Town by day.
Where to stay →Skip in FebruaryBali, rainy season: Warm, humid and green, with fewer visitors than almost any other month. Good for spa retreats in Ubud and surfing Keramas.
111h 30m from LondonArguably the sweet spot for the Cape: highs around 25°C, harvest still running and the long days of summer winding down gently.
Where to stay →210h from LondonHot, dry and clear. Reef visibility stays superb and the sea warms towards its peak.
Where to stay →37h from LondonHighs climb to about 30°C and the sea warms past 22°C. Ramadan is expected to end around 8 or 9 March, with Eid al Fitr likely on 9 or 10 March.
Where to stay →Skip in MarchZanzibar, rainy season: The long rains begin gradually, with heavy afternoon downpours and high humidity. Early March is still workable; some beach lodges start to close.
The winter sun calendar
Gold is dry season, pale is a shoulder or mild month, grey is the rains. Tap any square to read what that month is like there, from our guide.
Every square opens the line from that destination's own month-by-month guide.
The destinations
Best winter month: FebruaryThe surest weather of the year: glass-calm lagoons and the best visibility under water.
Best winter month: NovemberOne of the best months: highs around 31°C, nights near 20°C and the sea at about 27°C, still warm enough for long swims.
Best winter month: DecemberExcellent nationwide except the Gulf, where the rains tail off. Bangkok reaches about 31°C; Chiang Mai has about eight hours of sunshine a day.
Best winter month: JanuaryThe classic month. The west and south coasts and the Cultural Triangle are at their clearest, and the hill country is sunny by day and cool at night. The east is still wet.
Best winter month: JanuaryClassic Barbados: dry, sunny days of 27 to 30°C, cool trade-wind nights and a glassy Caribbean Sea on the west coast. The best all-round month after the festive rush.
Best winter month: NovemberThe dry season begins and the month opens with Día de Muertos. Pleasant at 10 to 22°C in Mexico City and 27°C in Acapulco.
Best winter month: NovemberSummer begins in the Cape, with highs around 23°C and long, bright evenings. Kruger is green, hot and full of birdlife and young animals.
Best winter month: FebruaryOften the hottest month and one of the driest, with around 56mm of rain. In 2027 Ramadan is expected to begin on 8 February, which quietens Stone Town by day.
Best winter month: NovemberPleasant days around 20 to 22°C but cooler evenings, and the wettest month of the year around Marrakech. Rain also returns to the north and the mountains.
Not this winterWhy to waitThe wettest month, around 20 rainy days, though storms tend to pass in a few hours. Quiet and cheap once the New Year crowds leave.
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Christmas and New Year
Sri Lanka, Thailand and Barbados are all in their dry seasons, and the Maldives is at its best. The classic month. The west and south coasts and the Cultural Triangle are at their clearest, and the hill country is sunny by day and cool at night. The east is still wet.
Of our ten, Marrakech is the shortest flight at 3h 45m, but it's mild rather than hot: Sunny and mild by day in Marrakech, with highs around 20°C, but nights can fall close to freezing. The High Atlas is under snow and the desert is cold after dark. Dubai, at 7h, is the nearest reliable warmth.
Bali, where November to March is the wet season: The wettest month, around 20 rainy days, though storms tend to pass in a few hours. Quiet and cheap once the New Year crowds leave. Zanzibar's long rains start in March, and its short rains begin in November.
The Maldives, Barbados, Dubai and Cape Town are all dry over Christmas, and all at their most expensive and most booked, so book early.
From our own month-by-month guides: each place's season, line and flight time come from its guide, checked against the sources listed there. We picked three per month where the guide calls that month dry or among the best.
