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Where is hot in December?
If the UK’s winter weather is beginning to bite, we’ve rounded up some great sunny escapes for a pre-Christmas break or New Year’s trip in 2025-2026.
Thailand is balmy at this time of year and it’s also affordable – a bottle of beer typically costs just £2.20 on the island of Phuket, while a cocktail is less than £6.
The Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde is just a six-hour flight away, yet you’ll enjoy highs in the mid twenties, making it the perfect fly and flop destination.
It’s also a great month to visit Taiwan. As humidity eases off in the capital, Taipei, it leaves behind the perfect temperatures for exploring.
Even in the depths of December, you can find sunshine and hot weather in Europe: Lanzarote is the warmest of the Canary Islands – and it also came out on top as visitors' favourite in our latest survey.
Or get into the festive spirit with Christmas markets aplenty in the UK and further afield — and perhaps the chance of snow in Vienna.
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Best places to visit in December
- Malta 17°C
- Wells 7°C
- Vienna 3°C
- Lanzarote 21°C
- Cape Verde 26°C
- Thailand 31°C
- Taipei 19°C
Where is hot and cheap in December?
Valletta, Malta
December high 17°C
Heading closer to the equator is your best bet for finding a warm getaway in December. With return flights from London to Valletta at just £53 for a return flight from London, Malta is a clever choice for a budget-friendly escape from the UK’s winter winds.
Don’t expect a beach break — you’ll still have the occasional, albeit brief, rain shower — but Malta’s mild December climes make for excellent sightseeing and hiking weather. There’ll be shorter queues for temples and other cultural attractions and, because the streets are lit up with Christmas decorations, evening walks are atmospheric and packed with photo opportunities.
Speaking of festivities, if you can’t resist a Christmas market, head to ‘Fairyland’ on the Pjazza Tritoni, for rides, ice skating, and vendors selling roast chestnuts, Maltese sweets, pastries and more — it’s open from 6 December 2025 to 6 January 2026.
Find trips to Malta with Which? Recommended provider Jet2holidays and Destination2.
Lanzarote
December high 21°C
With the mercury hovering just above 20°C, Lanzarote is typically a little balmier than Gran Canaria and Tenerife this time of year. Fringed with sandy beaches, its volcanic landscape provides the backdrop to sugar cube houses and otherworldly national parks such as the red lava fields of the Montañas del Fuego (mountains of fire).
When we asked 1,900 holidaymakers about their Canarian holidays, Playa Blanca – named for its talcum-powder main beach – was crowned the top resort in Lanzarote. Situated in the south, it’s famed for its yacht-lined marina and upmarket seafood restaurants.
Package tourism also centres around older Puerto del Carmen, with visitors awarding its beach and eateries four stars in our survey of the best Canary Islands resorts. Both Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen have festive markets in December.
Find package deals to Lanzarote with Which? Recommended Providers Jet2holidays or Destination2.
Where’s best for a UK trip in December?
Wells, UK
December high 7°C
Though big cities like London and Edinburgh are the UK’s go-to Christmas market destinations, for something smaller and more intimate, head to the stunning city of Wells, tucked just beneath Somerset.
Wells Christmas Market is short but sweet — it runs for one day only, this year on 6 December — but it’s well worth the visit for its authentic, locally produced gifts, trinkets and treats. Expect a refreshingly local feel, far removed from the mass-produced offerings at larger, more commercial events.
And even if you visit on a different weekend, there’s plenty to enjoy in Which? members’ favourite small city. Wells scored 86% in our UK citybreak survey and earned four stars for its cultural sites and tourist attractions, from Vicars’ Close — the oldest continuously inhabited street in Europe — to the moated Bishop’s Palace and Gardens.
Read more about the UK’s top Christmas markets in 2025-2026 and book your holiday cottage with a reputable provider like Landmark Trust or Rural Retreats.
Where’s best for a city break abroad in December?
Vienna
December high 3°C
The Austrian capital is enchanting at any time of year, but December is the perfect time to wrap up warm and soak up its art, café culture and historic grandeur. You’ll find its cinematic streets crammed with opulent statues, marble fountains and imperial palaces – don’t miss the sprawling decadence of the Hofburg.
No wonder Vienna’s cultural sights clinched the full five stars in our survey of Europe's best city breaks. Climb the 343 steps to the watchmen’s chamber at the top of St Stephen’s Cathedral to take it all in.
At this time of year, you’ll also find lamp-lit Christmas markets spread in front of the city’s grandest buildings. The Christmas-tree-dominated offering at Rathaus city hall is its most famous: where artisans sell handcrafted gifts, candied nuts and steaming mugs of festive punch to take the edge off the crisp winter chill.
Find holidays to Vienna with Which? Recommended Providers Jet2holidays.
Top long-haul December holidays
Cape Verde
December high 26°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 will be jet-lag free.
Most visitors flock to the isle of Sal or Boa Vista to flop on white-sand beaches. Sal’s lively resort town, Santa Maria, has plenty of beach bars and restaurants, plus watersports galore. Boa Vista also has miles of unspoilt beaches where you can learn to surf, windsurf, kiteboard or wreck dive. Inland, there are dramatic lunar landscapes to explore.
Find holidays to Cape Verde with Which? Recommended Providers Exodus and Trailfinders.
Thailand
December high 31°C
Winter is the best time of year to visit Thailand, when the weather is cooler and a lot less sticky than during the monsoon months. The starting point for most trips is Bangkok, which offers a heady mix of temples, street markets and air-conditioned shopping malls.
Thailand’s tropical islands are in the south: palm-fringed Koh Samui, Ko Phangan and Koh Tao off the east coast, and more upmarket Phuket and Krabi to the west. In the north, Chiang Mai's Buddhist temples, jungle-covered national parks and traditional hill villages await.
Once you’re there, you can easily live on a shoestring budget. Just £5 will typically buy you a Pad Thai and a couple of Chang beers at simple restaurants and street food carts. And you can expect even more bang for your baht when you veer away from tourist hotspots.
Find package holidays to Thailand with Which? Recommended Providers Kuoni and Trailfinders.
Taipei
December high: 17°C
By January, Taiwan’s humidity has dropped right down, with temperatures settling at around 17°C — a welcome change after the sweltering 32°C+ highs of summer. It’s an ideal time to explore the capital and its surrounding national parks, like Yangmingshan, as well as its soothing hot springs.
The milder nights make for a more relaxing experience at the city’s famed night markets too, where you can feast on everything from baos to Taiwanese fried chicken, oyster omelettes to tofu.
And, if the rain rolls in, there’s plenty to explore indoors, from climbing a 101-story-tall skyscraper to visiting the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, along with national museums, libraries, concert halls and more.
And if you can’t resist a touch of the festive spirit, visit Christmasland — Taipei City’s annual winter spectacular of lights, decorations, events and market stalls, which takes place throughout the month of December, typically kicking off in mid-November.
Visit Taipei with Which? Recommended Providers Trailfinders.
Weather data taken from weather2travel.com
Where is hot in December in Europe?
The hottest destinations in Europe during December are:
- Canary Islands (averaging at highs of 19°C)
- Cyprus (17°C)
- Malta (17°C)
- The Algarve, Portugal (17°C)
- Benidorm and Ibiza, Spain (16°C)
Weather data taken from weather2travel.com
