Winter Sun Holidays
Winter sun holidays offer UK travellers something genuinely precious during the colder months — warmth, light, and the restorative pleasure of stepping off a plane into sunshine when the days at home are at their shortest and greyest. Whether you are looking to escape the post-Christmas lull, make the most of a February half-term, or simply recharge during a quiet period at work, a winter sun holiday delivers the kind of physical and emotional lift that nothing else quite matches. Johnson Holidays offers a thoughtfully curated range of winter sun packages built around the destinations, hotels, and travel dates that suit UK travellers best during the colder half of the year.
The appeal of winter sun is broad and consistent across all traveller types. Families seek reliable warmth and pool time during school holiday periods without the premium pricing of peak summer. Couples look...
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Featured Winter Sun Holidays Deals
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Playa del Inglés, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
4,018
reviews
Any London
3 Nights
Bed & Breakfast
£175pp
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Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
470
reviews
Any London
3 Nights
Bed & Breakfast
£213pp
Popular Winter Sun Holidays destinations
Frequently Asked Questions
The Canary Islands remain the most popular choice for UK winter sun travellers, offering guaranteed warmth, short flight times of around four hours, and an excellent range of resorts and hotels across Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, and Fuerteventura. For those seeking something more exotic, Cape Verde, Egypt, Dubai, the Maldives, Barbados, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius all deliver outstanding conditions between November and March. Johnson Holidays covers a wide portfolio of winter sun destinations to suit every budget and travel style.
The winter sun season for UK travellers broadly covers October through to March, with November, December, January, and February representing the core months when the desire to escape cold and grey British weather is at its peak. December and January are particularly popular for longer-haul destinations, while the Canary Islands and Red Sea perform strongly throughout the entire winter period. Half-term weeks in February and the post-Christmas period in early January are among the busiest booking windows of the winter sun calendar.
The Canary Islands enjoy a remarkably mild and consistent climate throughout the winter months, making them one of Europe's most reliable warm-weather destinations for UK travellers. Daytime temperatures in December, January, and February typically range between 19 and 23 degrees Celsius across the islands, with Tenerife's south coast and Lanzarote generally recording the highest winter temperatures. While sea temperatures drop slightly from their summer highs, they remain warm enough for swimming for most visitors, and sunshine hours are considerably higher than anywhere in the UK during the same period.
For those with the time and budget, longer-haul winter sun destinations offer an experience that closer options simply cannot replicate. The Caribbean, Maldives, Mauritius, and Thailand are all at or near their seasonal best between November and March, combining perfect weather with the kind of natural beauty and resort quality that justifies the additional journey time. Long-haul winter sun holidays also tend to align well with the UK's main holiday periods, including Christmas, New Year, and February half-term, making them a popular choice for special celebrations and milestone trips.
Absolutely. Winter sun holidays are one of the most popular choices for UK families, particularly during the October half-term, Christmas and New Year school holidays, and February half-term. The Canary Islands are ideally suited to families during winter, offering short flight times, a wide range of family-friendly all inclusive resorts, reliable warmth, and calm swimming conditions. For families able to travel outside of school holiday periods, destinations such as Egypt, Cape Verde, and the UAE offer exceptional value alongside outstanding facilities and child-friendly resort environments.