Where is hot in December, January and February? Winter sun you can reach with Avios

Where is hot in winter? The quick answer

Every destination below is warm right through winter. We've placed each one in the month its weather is at its best, which usually means the driest. Temperatures are the average daily high for that month, taken from the national weather service's climate records published by the World Meteorological Organization. Avios are per person for an off-peak Economy return from London, with taxes and fees on top, checked in our Avios Calculator on 9 November 2026.

Month	Destination	Average high	BA flight from London	Off-peak Economy return
December	Cancún, Mexico	28°C	Gatwick, around 11 hours	66,000 Avios + £190
December	Dubai, UAE	26°C	Heathrow, around 7 hours	55,000 Avios + £150
December	Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt	23°C	Gatwick, around 5.5 hours	49,500 Avios + £120
January	Cape Town, South Africa	26°C	Heathrow, around 12 hours	66,000 Avios + £190
January	Colombo, Sri Lanka	31°C	Gatwick, around 10.5 hours	66,000 Avios + £190
January	Bangkok, Thailand	32°C	Gatwick, around 12 hours	77,000 Avios + £240
February	The Maldives	31°C	Heathrow, around 10.5 hours	66,000 Avios + £190
February	Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia	28°C	Gatwick, around 9 hours (Barbados also from Heathrow)	66,000 Avios + £190

Flight times are approximate and vary with the wind. Every long-haul BA flight on this list leaves from Heathrow or Gatwick, so from Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow or another UK airport you'd add a connection, and the Avios and taxes change. Run your own airport through the Avios Calculator to see the difference.

Where is hot in December?

December is the month when the short and medium-haul options come into their own. All three picks below are under 12 hours away, and two of them are under eight.

Cancún, Mexico

Mexico's National Meteorological Service records a 28°C average high for Cancún in December, and the Caribbean Sea stays warm enough for long, lazy swims. It isn't bone dry yet: December still averages around ten rainy days, usually short tropical showers. If you can wait, February is the driest month of the three.

The Hotel Zone's long ribbon of white sand is the obvious draw, but the real reward is what sits within a day trip. Chichén Itzá, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, is a two to three-hour drive inland, so arrive at opening time to beat both the coaches and the midday heat. Tulum's clifftop ruins frame the bluest view on the coast, and the Yucatán's cenotes, freshwater sinkholes the Maya held sacred, are the coolest place to spend a hot afternoon. The Riviera Maya is more spread out than the map suggests, so base yourself in one Riviera Maya resort and pick your day trips carefully.

Getting there with Avios: BA flies to Cancún from Gatwick. An off-peak return costs 66,000 Avios plus £190 in Economy, 104,500 Avios plus £460 in Premium Economy or 198,000 Avios plus £599 in Business Class.

Dubai, UAE

Dubai is at its most comfortable in December. The UAE's National Center of Meteorology records an average high of 26°C, with only two rainy days in the month. That's beach weather without the blast-furnace heat of summer, which makes it the easiest month to combine Jumeirah's beaches with the desert, the souks and the skyline.

At around seven hours from Heathrow, it's one of the shorter hops on this list, and the four-hour time difference is gentle on your body clock. Spend a morning in the old Al Fahidi quarter, cross the Creek on an abra (a wooden water taxi), and save an evening for the desert, where the temperature drops fast once the sun goes down.

Getting there with Avios: BA flies to Dubai from Heathrow. An off-peak return costs 55,000 Avios plus £150 in Economy, 93,500 Avios plus £410 in Premium Economy or 176,000 Avios plus £499 in Business Class.

Egypt's Red Sea and the Nile

Let's be straight: Egypt in December is warm rather than scorching. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority puts Sharm el Sheikh's average high at 23°C, with almost no rain. What it does offer is near-certain sunshine, Red Sea reefs and the shortest flight on this list, at around five and a half hours.

The reefs off Sharm are easy to reach, and you can snorkel straight off many hotel jetties. For the pharaohs rather than the fish, BA also flies to Cairo from Heathrow. December is one of the best times of year for the Pyramids of Giza and a Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan, because the desert heat that makes summer sightseeing a slog has gone.

Getting there with Avios: Off-peak returns to Sharm el Sheikh (from Gatwick) and Cairo (from Heathrow) cost the same: 49,500 Avios plus £120 in Economy or 154,000 Avios plus £350 in Business Class. Our calculator shows no Premium Economy reward fare on either route.

Where is hot in January?

So where is hot in January? Look south: South Africa and South Asia are at their best just as the UK reaches its gloomiest weeks. These are longer flights, but the weather at the other end is about as reliable as winter sun gets.

Cape Town, South Africa

While the UK settles into its greyest month, Cape Town is in high summer. The South African Weather Service puts the January average high at 26°C, with only about five rainy days. The time difference is just two hours, so you arrive after an overnight flight without the jet lag that comes with Asia.

The trick with Cape Town is realising how close everything is. You can ride the cable car up Table Mountain in the morning, drive the Cape Peninsula to Cape Point after lunch, stop to watch the penguins at Boulders Beach on the way back and eat in Camps Bay as the sun drops into the Atlantic. The Winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are an easy day trip, and the V&A Waterfront is touristy for good reason: it's the simplest place to combine harbour views, good food and a sunset drink.

Getting there with Avios: BA flies to Cape Town from Heathrow, and it has added extra capacity on the route this winter, according to its winter 2026 schedule announcement. An off-peak return costs 66,000 Avios plus £190 in Economy, 104,500 Avios plus £460 in Premium Economy or 198,000 Avios plus £599 in Business Class. If you're spending Business Class Avios, use our Club Suite filter to find the departures with BA's newest seat and its sliding privacy door.

Sri Lanka

January is when Sri Lanka's west and south coasts are at their best. Sri Lanka's National Meteorological Centre records a 31°C average high in Colombo in January and about 58mm of rain, against 175mm in December. That drop is the difference between occasional downpours and long, settled beach days on the southern coast.

Getting there just got easier. BA's first flight from Gatwick to Colombo left on 23 October 2026, and British Airways says the route runs three times a week through the winter season. Give Colombo itself a couple of days before you head for the coast or the tea country, and read our full Sri Lanka reward flight guide for where to go next.

Getting there with Avios: An off-peak return to Colombo costs 66,000 Avios plus £190 in Economy, 104,500 Avios plus £460 in Premium Economy or 198,000 Avios plus £599 in Business Class. With only three flights a week, reward seats are scarcer than on daily routes, so set an alert early.

Thailand: Bangkok, then the beach

Bangkok in January is hot and almost dry. The Thai Meteorological Department records a 32°C average high and roughly one rainy day in the month. It's the coolest, most comfortable stretch of the Thai year, which is exactly why it's the busiest.

Give Bangkok a few days. The Grand Palace and Wat Pho are worth the queues, but the city gets more interesting once you stop ticking things off, so take a longtail boat along the Chao Phraya at dusk and wander until you stumble on a market that wasn't in the guidebook. Then head to the coast. Pattaya, around two hours away by road, is better than its nightlife reputation suggests: take the ferry to Koh Larn for clearer water and set aside an afternoon for the Sanctuary of Truth, a vast carved-teak temple that's still being worked on decades after building started.

Getting there with Avios: BA flies to Bangkok from Gatwick. An off-peak return costs 77,000 Avios plus £240 in Economy, 110,000 Avios plus £510 in Premium Economy or 220,000 Avios plus £699 in Business Class.

Where is hot in February?

Where is hot in February and dry as well? Both of these picks reach their driest month of the three in February, the sweet spot for a beach trip where the weather really matters.

The Maldives

Malé averages a 31°C high in February and just 38mm of rain over about three days. December, by contrast, sees more than 200mm, according to the Maldives Meteorological Service. If your Maldives trip is a once-in-a-decade splurge, February gives you the best odds of the calm seas and clear water you're picturing.

Each resort occupies its own island, so there's no sharing a beach with the hotel next door. Snorkel straight off an overwater villa, book a dive trip to Ari Atoll to look for whale sharks, and ask your resort about a private sandbank dinner. Make time for a local island too: it's a reminder that the Maldives is a country, not just a collection of resorts. The time difference is five hours. Our Maldives reward seat guide has more on bagging seats on this popular route.

Getting there with Avios: BA flies to Malé from Heathrow. An off-peak return costs 66,000 Avios plus £190 in Economy, 104,500 Avios plus £460 in Premium Economy or 198,000 Avios plus £599 in Business Class. Business Class seats here go fast, so check the Club Suite filter as soon as you've picked dates.

The Caribbean: Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia

The Caribbean is warm all winter, but February is when the dry season really settles in. Antigua averages a 28°C high in February with about eight rainy days, down from 13 in December, according to Antigua and Barbuda Meteorological Services. Neighbouring Barbados and St Lucia have a similar dry season.

Each island has its own personality. Barbados pairs calm west-coast beaches with Friday-night fish fries at Oistins and a proud rum heritage. Antigua claims a beach for every day of the year, and its UNESCO-listed Nelson's Dockyard is worth an afternoon. St Lucia is the dramatic one: climb Gros Piton, soak in the mud baths at the Sulphur Springs and swim off Anse Chastanet. For more ideas, see our guide to alternative Caribbean islands when Barbados is full.

Getting there with Avios: BA flies to Antigua, Barbados and St Lucia from Gatwick, and to Barbados from Heathrow too. Each island costs the same: an off-peak return is 66,000 Avios plus £190 in Economy, 104,500 Avios plus £460 in Premium Economy or 198,000 Avios plus £599 in Business Class.

How many Avios do you need for winter sun?

Here's every destination side by side. All figures are per person for a return from London, checked in our Avios Calculator on 9 November 2026. Taxes and fees are payable on top of the Avios and vary by cabin, departure airport and date.

Destination	Economy (off-peak / peak)	Premium Economy (off-peak / peak)	Business Class (off-peak / peak)	Taxes and fees from
Sharm el Sheikh or Cairo	49,500 / 60,500	Not offered	154,000 / 176,000	£120 Economy, £350 Business
Dubai	55,000 / 66,000	93,500 / 132,000	176,000 / 198,000	£150, £410, £499
Cancún, Cape Town, Colombo, the Maldives, Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia	66,000 / 77,000	104,500 / 148,500	198,000 / 220,000	£190, £460, £599
Bangkok	77,000 / 88,000	110,000 / 170,500	220,000 / 242,000	£240, £510, £699

Two things stand out. First, five of the eight destinations cost exactly the same, because BA prices reward seats by distance band rather than by how popular a place is. That means Cape Town in summer costs no more than Colombo, so let the weather and the seat availability decide. Second, the peak premium is far bigger in Premium Economy than in Economy, so off-peak dates matter most if you're flying in the middle cabin.

How to bag the seats

Winter sun is popular for obvious reasons, so a little planning goes a long way.

• Check whether your dates are peak or off-peak. British Airways prices each travel date as one or the other, and you can mix the two on a single return. Shifting a trip by a few days can save 11,000 Avios in Economy and much more in the premium cabins.
• Use a Companion Voucher if you have one. A Companion Voucher lets a second person travel on a reward flight for no extra Avios, though you still pay taxes and fees for both of you. Two people flying Business Class to Cape Town off-peak would need 198,000 Avios between them, plus £599 each in taxes and fees.
• Know the guaranteed minimum. On BA flights to and from Heathrow and Gatwick, BA's Reward Flights page guarantees at least eight Economy, two Premium Economy and four Business Class reward seats per flight. Those few premium seats are what everyone is chasing.
• Let the seats come to you. Searching ba.com every morning gets old fast. Set up Availability Alerts on your route and we'll tell you when reward seats appear on your dates.
• Check the travel advice. Read the FCDO's foreign travel advice for your destination before you book and again before you fly.

Once the flights are booked, you can sort the rest: parking at Gatwick or Heathrow is worth booking ahead, and our Avios destination for every month will help you plan the next escape.

Ready to swap the dark evenings for a sunbed?

Pick your month, check the Avios in the table above, then search BA reward seat availability on Reward Flight Finder to see which dates are open right now. If your route is full, set an alert and let us do the watching. Winter doesn't have to be endured. With the right Avios, it can mostly be avoided.