Winter Sun Holidays 2026/27

Every winter sun holiday at a glance

All sixteen packages, cheapest first. Every price is per person and includes return flights from London, your hotel and ATOL protection under licence 10713. The December column is what the same holiday costs over the Christmas and New Year peak.

What winter sun actually costs over Christmas

The honest headline is that December is the most expensive month on thirteen of these sixteen packages, and the premium is bigger than most people expect. Measured against each holiday's own cheapest month, the median December premium is 28%. At the top end the Dubai and Maldives honeymoon rises 57% and the Mauritius all-inclusive beach package 54%. At the bottom, Jamaica moves only 11% and Barbados 15%. In cash terms the December range across the whole programme runs from £649pp in Dubai to £2,799pp for the Dubai and Maldives honeymoon. Dubai is the cheapest way to get genuine winter sun with flights over the peak, by a wide margin. Our where is hot in December guide ranks eighteen places by official December temperature and rain, with each one's December price.

The Caribbean peak runs into January, and that changes the advice

This is the one thing the pricing shows that the usual advice does not. St Lucia and Antigua are the only two packages here that cost more in January than in December — £2,049pp against £1,999pp. Jamaica is within £20 of level between the two months. Barbados does drop, from £1,949pp to £1,729pp. Everywhere else in the programme, January is cheaper than December: Thailand falls £200pp, Mauritius family £250pp, the Seychelles £250pp, the 5★ Mauritius £300pp and the Dubai and Maldives honeymoon £400pp. So "book January instead of Christmas to save money" holds for the Indian Ocean, Dubai and Asia, and does not hold for the eastern Caribbean. If the Caribbean is where you want to be and the dates are flexible, the saving is in late spring rather than the new year. Jamaica is the clearest example of the trade. February averages 8 rain days in Montego Bay and costs £1,779pp for eight nights all-inclusive — £180 more than September, which falls in hurricane season. The Jamaica guide prices every month against the weather. The Caribbean in January guide compares Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua and Jamaica on official weather averages and January prices.

Winter sun after Christmas: January, February and March

Winter sun is not only a Christmas holiday, and for anyone whose dates are not fixed by school terms the weeks after the new year are where this programme is at its best value. Across the sixteen packages, January is cheaper than December on thirteen of the fifteen that carry a January price. The gap is largest where the December premium was largest: the Dubai and Maldives honeymoon falls £400pp, the 5★ Mauritius escape £300pp, the Seychelles £250pp, the Mauritius family getaway £250pp, Thailand £200pp. The practical reading: if you want the Indian Ocean, Dubai or Asia and you can travel in January rather than over Christmas, you are looking at up to £400 per person saved on the same holiday. If you want St Lucia or Antigua, waiting for January saves nothing at all. Two people travelling together turn a £250pp saving into £500 on the trip, which on the Mauritius packages is roughly the difference between four-star and five-star. If the question is where is actually hottest rather than cheapest, we have set the official temperature and rain-day figures for eleven of these destinations against what each one costs that month: where is hot in January and February. The short version is that Langkawi leads January at 33.0°C and Phuket February at 33.3°C, and Dubai is the coolest of the lot in midwinter. In the Seychelles, February is the better winter month: at £1,999pp it costs £300 less than December, with 13 rain days in Victoria against December's 21, and 249.2mm of rain against 305.9mm. The Seychelles guide covers the weather, the prices and the travel authorisation. In Dubai, January is the coolest month of the year, at an average high of 24.0°C; the Dubai in January guide sets its weather against every Dubai package's January price. For January on its own, our where is hot in January guide ranks eighteen places by official temperature and rain, with each one's January 2027 price.

Where to go, and what each one is for

If you want the cheapest way into winter sun

Dubai, at £529pp for three to five nights and £649pp in December. It is a short-haul-feeling long-haul trip — around seven hours, no jet lag worth mentioning — and it is the only package here that stays under £700pp over Christmas.

If you want a beach and nothing else

The Indian Ocean. Mauritius runs from £1,049pp for the family getaway up to £1,549pp for the 5★ luxury escape, the Maldives from £1,369pp, the Seychelles from £1,799pp and Zanzibar from £1,249pp. Zanzibar is the one people overlook and the cheapest of the four.

If you want all-inclusive

The Caribbean. Barbados, St Lucia and Antigua all run seven nights all-inclusive from £1,699pp, and Jamaica eight nights from £1,599pp. All four are genuinely all-inclusive rather than half-board with extras.

If you want more than a beach

Thailand across Bangkok and Phuket from £849pp, or Malaysia across Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi from £1,149pp — a city and an island on one trip, with the internal flights included. Mauritius and Dubai pairs a beach with a city from £1,599pp.

If it is a honeymoon

Dubai and Maldives, ten nights, from £1,779pp. It is the most expensive package here over Christmas at £2,799pp, and the widest gap between low and peak season of any trip in the programme. Zanzibar is the one that rewards a bit of reading before you book — there are no direct flights from the UK, and every visitor has to buy travel insurance from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation on top of their own policy. The Zanzibar holidays guide sets out both, with the month-by-month prices.

How many nights, and when to commit

Seven nights is the working minimum for the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, and every package here reflects that — the shortest beach trips run seven nights, and only Dubai goes shorter. Ten nights is where the long flight starts to pay for itself, and it is why most of these packages offer a ten-night option at a modest step up from seven. Christmas and New Year sell out earliest. Peak-season flight seats and resort rooms are the scarcest things in this programme, and the December prices above are starting points that rise as availability goes. If your dates are fixed by school holidays, booking early is worth more than waiting for a deal that historically does not arrive.

What is included

Every package on this page includes return flights from London, your accommodation and full ATOL protection under licence 10713. Regional departures are available on request across all sixteen — tell us your nearest airport and we will price the same holiday from there. Board varies by package and is stated on each deal page, as are transfers. Most are held with a deposit from £99 per person. Not included: travel insurance, visas where they apply, and anything you spend once you are there.

Practical things worth knowing

Entry rules differ sharply across this list. Thailand, Malaysia and the Maldives need no visa in advance for British passport holders but do require an online form or card before you travel; Dubai issues a free visa on arrival; the Caribbean islands each have their own arrival requirements. We confirm what applies to your specific trip in writing before you pay. Weather is not uniform across a "winter sun" list. These destinations sit in different hemispheres and different rainfall patterns, and December suits some better than others. Tell us your dates before you fix on a destination and we will tell you honestly which of them works best for that week — including when the answer is somewhere other than the one you asked about. Flight times run from about seven hours to over twelve. Dubai is the short one. The Indian Ocean and the Caribbean are long-haul proper, and worth building an extra night around at each end.