Best holiday destinations for January

As UK temperatures plunge, escape into Seville’s sunny Moorish courtyards or fly long-haul to palm-fringed beaches in the Caribbean.

Jetting off in dreary January is a great way to start the year. Not only can you escape the chill back home, but it also offers low-season prices and crowd-free sightseeing. And you don’t necessarily have to venture far. Tenerife, and its otherworldly volcanic landscapes, still clock up to six hours of sunshine a day. 

Or hop on the Eurostar for fairy-tale medieval streets and piping hot waffles in Bruges – the perfect winter warmer.

Read on for our picks of the hottest and cosiest places to go this January.

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Best holiday destinations for January

• Bruges 6°C 
• Seville 16°C 
• Tenerife 18°C 
• Cape Verde 25°C 
• Dominican Republic 28°C 
• Vietnam 20°C 
• Namibia 30°C

The best rail break for January

Bruges

January high 6°C 

January isn’t always about escaping the heat. It’s also a time to wrap up warm and embrace fairy-tale charm, and Bruges has plenty. 

Take in the city’s splendour from the 83-metre lantern-towered belfry, which has loomed over the Markt square since the 15th century. You’ll also find a superb collection of paintings by Flemish Primitives at the Groeningemuseum. 

But Bruges’s real pleasure is exploring its glassy canals shaded by willows and lined with gable-topped townhouses. The heady scent of chocolate and freshly cooked waffles lingers on countless cobblestone corners. 

Or stop for a Trappist beer in one of the many snug candlelit bars. Best of all, you can get there by Eurostar in 3h 20min from London, changing at Brussels. 

When to book the cheapest Eurostar tickets

Seville

January high 16°C

Visit anywhere in the Andalusia region of southern Spain and you’ll find plenty of sunshine, even in January. But during winter, skip the coastal spots and head inland to Seville for less of a sea breeze. We found return tickets for as low as £38 flying from London for a trip in January.

Seville can be crowded in summer, but by January the tourists have departed, meaning you’ll have its Moorish castles, palaces and cathedrals practically to yourself – and likely without even having to queue. If you’re visiting at the start of the month, don’t miss the Three Kings’ Day parades, complete with colourful floats, live music and lashings of sweets thrown into the street.

If you do fancy a seaside stroll, the beaches of Huelva and Cadiz are under an hour’s drive away. Head out in the morning to enjoy the five to six hours of sun (luxurious compared to the UK’s two hours during January). Temperatures will cool off in the evenings (the sun sets between 6 and 7pm), so hunker down in a taberna with hearty Andalusian stews, or head to the tablaos for a night of flamenco.

Find a Seville holiday with Which? Recommended providers Trailfinders, Jet2 and Olympic Holidays

Tenerife

January high 18°C

Don’t let its reputation as a party island put you off – Tenerife has so much more to offer. Beyond the karaoke bars, you’ll find craggy volcanic landscapes and timeless villages. 

Puerto de la Cruz – with its black-sand beaches, 17th and 18th-century sites and saltwater pool – is among Tenerife’s top picks according to our survey of the best Canary island resorts. 

Costa Adeje, the quietly upmarket town on the south coast, is another favourite with its classy restaurants, designer boutiques, and golf course. At this time of year, its waters are home to pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins.

January return flights were as cheap as £44 from London when we checked.

Find a Tenerife holiday with Which? Recommended Providers Kuoni, Jet2 and Trailfinders

Hottest jet-lag-free destination for January

Cape Verde

January high 25°C 

Marooned off the west coast of Africa, this archipelago of volcanic islands enjoys year-round sunshine and is less than six hours from the UK. What’s more, it’s only an hour behind GMT at this time of year, so your holiday won't leave you with jet lag.

Most visitors flock to the isle of Boa Vista or Sal to flop on white-sand beaches. Boa Vista also has miles of unspoilt beaches where you can learn to surf, windsurf, kiteboard or wreck dive. Sal’s lively resort town, Santa Maria, has plenty of beach bars and restaurants; inland, there are dramatic lunar landscapes to explore.

Highlights include seeing the Terra Boa mirage, where the refraction of light through layers of hot air gives the appearance of a lagoon, visiting the Blue Eye marine cave in Buracona, and wading thigh-deep with baby lemon sharks near Pedra de Lume. You can do all of them on a Jeep day tour.

Find holidays to Cape Verde with Which? Recommended Providers Destination2 and HF Holidays

Best long-haul destinations for January

Dominican Republic

January high 28°C

The Dominican Republic is not only one of the Caribbean’s best-value destinations but also ticks all the boxes: blonde beaches, translucent sea, balmy winters. Venture beyond the compound of your all-inclusive hotel and you’ll find historic towns, secluded beaches, and peaks carpeted in pine and palm. 

The Dominican Republic has the Caribbean’s oldest city, Santo Domingo, where you can explore the Spanish colonial quarter’s sleepy streets. Puerto Plata, the largest town on the north coast, has typical 19th-century gingerbread houses, a fortress and a seafront promenade where locals stroll in the late afternoon sunshine.

At this time of year, the sheltered waters of the Samana Peninsula are the breeding ground of humpback whales. If you’re lucky, you’ll see these graceful giants surge from the water. Boats can also take you to the dense forests of Los Haitises National Park.

Find a Dominican Republic holiday with Which? Recommended Providers Kuoni, Destination2 and Trailfinders

Vietnam

January high 20°C

Vietnam’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City, is a whirl of constant commotion where history seeps from every temple and elegantly restored colonial villa. You’ll have to dodge a swarm of motorbikes every time you cross the road; red lights are routinely ignored.

January is typically the driest, least sticky month. If it’s still too hot in the city, the Mekong Delta and the beautiful beach-lined Phu Quoc and Con Dao islands are within easy reach.

The capital, Hanoi, is more laid-back and much cooler, with January highs of 20°C. Shop for silk clothes and lacquerware in the old quarter, pausing for lunch at an authentic bun cha (grilled pork and noodles) shop.

The country’s showstopper is Halong Bay, where thousands of limestone islets tower from emerald waters. This tourist hotspot was designated a World Heritage Site in 1994.

Find a Vietnam holiday with Which? Recommended Providers Trailfinders, Kuoni and Destination2

Namibia

January high 30°C

January is mid-summer and falls in the rainy season in southern Africa’s desert state. The dusty savannah in Etosha National Park turns green, and you can spot springbok, zebra and wildebeest with their newborns – plus the odd predator.

Expect cooler temperatures on the Skeleton Coast, where Cape fur seals and their plump pups loll at Cape Cross. This northern coastline is named for the animal bones and shipwrecks scattered across its wild shores. You can explore the southern shores in a catamaran or SUV or on a quadbike.

Another must is a trip to Sossusvlei – a white-salt and clay pan surrounded by soaring rust-red dunes. 

Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, has German colonial architecture, great restaurants and the sobering Independence Memorial Museum. 

Find a Namibia holiday with Which? Recommended Providers Kuoni and Trailfinders

Where is it hottest in Europe in January?

• Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, Canary Islands (20°C)
• Fuerteventura, Canary Islands (19°C) 
• Tenerife, Canary Islands (18°C) 
• Algarve, Portugal (18°C) 
• Ayia Napa, Larnaca and Paphos, Cyprus (16°C) 
• Seville, Spain (16°C) 
• Lisbon, Madeira and the Azores (15°C) 
• Valletta, Malta (15°C) 
• Crete, Greece (14°C) 
• Dalaman and Marmaris, Turkey (13°C)

Weather data from weather2travel.com.