Winter Sun holidays

Short-Haul Winter Sun

These five are the warmest winter corners of Europe and its nearest islands — the classic short haul winter sun routes where the flight is over before the second coffee.

• Tenerife: January highs around 21°C on the sheltered south coast, with the snow-dusted cone of Mount Teide rising behind the resort beaches as proof of how unusual that warmth is. The deepest winter flight programme of any island we sell, which keeps midwinter fares genuinely keen.
• Lanzarote: Low rainfall, steady 20°C winter days, and the Martian landscapes of Timanfaya's volcanic park for the one day you leave the lounger. Resorts here are compact and flat — easy walking between hotel, beach, and dinner, which matters more in the shorter days.
• Madeira: A subtropical garden island where winter means 19°C, flowers in December, and the famous New Year fireworks over Funchal's amphitheatre bay. Less about lying flat, more about levada walks, sea-water lidos, and long lunches with a view — winter sun for the restless.
• Malta: The mildest corner of the Mediterranean within a short flight, with 16–17°C winter days made for exploring Valletta's honey-stone streets rather than swimming. The right pick when winter warmth means coats off and coffee outside, not a beach towel.
• Algarve: Winter brings 16°C sunshine, empty golden beaches for walking, and golf courses at their green best, with resort towns like Albufeira running at a gentler off-season pace. Hotel rates drop hard after October — the value months are precisely the cold ones.