Updated 19 September 2026
None of these is a hot-summer beach in November through February. That trip needs a long-haul flight this guide does not cover. Below are the five places within reach of a UK winter flight that stay mild, going by their monthly climate averages, and what you give up to reach the warmer end of that range.
Average daytime highs, November to March
Five destinations with real UK flight data, ranked here by their coldest winter month (February) so the comparison is about the WORST day you might get, not the best one.
| Destination | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Shortest UK flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenerife, Canary Islands | 25.6 | 23 | 21.9 | 21.9 | 22 | 4h 30m |
| Larnaca, Cyprus | 22.7 | 19.3 | 16.7 | 16.8 | 18.7 | 4h 35m |
| Faro, Algarve | 20.3 | 17.6 | 16.9 | 17.8 | 18.4 | 2h 50m |
| St Julian’s, Malta | 21.4 | 17.7 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 17.1 | 3h 15m |
| Funchal, Madeira | 19.9 | 17.6 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 17.3 | 3h 50m |
Multi-year historical averages, not a standard 30-year climate normal or a forecast: they tell you what a typical month looks like, not what the weather will do on your dates.
The five, one at a time
Tenerife
The clear outlier on warmth, low-to-mid 20s every month from November to March, well ahead of everywhere else here. It's also the longest flight, and the site's own trip-length note asks for at least five days to cover both coasts and Teide.
Recent nonstop fares from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester
Larnaca
Cyprus runs mild in December and February, high teens by day. November holds up much better, close to 23°C, and we’ve seen nonstop fares from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester, more choice than for any other pick here.
Recent nonstop fares from Heathrow and Gatwick
Faro
The Algarve is the coolest of the five on paper, but it's also by far the shortest flight, under three hours. February here (17.8°C) edges out January and December too, an odd pattern when December is the mildest month everywhere else here.
Recent nonstop fares from Gatwick and Stansted
St Julian’s
A resort town rather than a beach island in winter. Restaurants and coastal walks around Spinola Bay stay open when the peak-season crowds go home, with a shorter flight than Cyprus or the Canaries and similar daytime highs to Madeira.
Recent nonstop fares from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted
Funchal
Madeira's own seasonal note is upfront about the trade. Close to 14–17°C is "the reason many choose Funchal for winter sun while northern Europe is much colder", but December to February is also one of the wetter stretches of its year, the highest winter rainfall of the five destinations here.
Recent nonstop fares from Gatwick and Stansted
The tradeoffs
- Want the warmest air you can get without a long-haul flight? Tenerife, by a clear margin, at the cost of the longest flight and a trip-length note that assumes a week.
- Want the shortest flight? The Algarve, under three hours, though it is also the coolest destination here and one of the wetter ones in March specifically.
- Want the widest choice of UK airports? Cyprus. We've seen nonstop fares to Larnaca from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester alike.
- Want an off-season, quieter trip instead of a beach holiday? Malta or Madeira both read that way in winter, resort towns with fewer crowds rather than swimming weather.
How long to go for
As a rule, the longer the flight, the longer the trip needs to be to be worth it. Tenerife’s own editorial note asks for five nights or more given a four-and-a-half-hour flight each way, and Cyprus and Madeira sit in a similar multi-night bracket. The Algarve (under three hours) and Malta (just over three) are the two viable for a long weekend, though Malta’s own trip-length note still suggests four nights or more to make full use of its bus and ferry links.
December versus February
December is the mildest of the three deep-winter months at four of the five destinations here: Tenerife, Larnaca, St Julian’s and Funchal all read warmer in December than in January or February. The Algarve is the one exception. February (17.8°C) is slightly milder there than December (17.6°C), because December is also its rainiest month of the five shown (74.7mm, more than double January’s or February’s). Rainfall, and not only temperature, is worth checking before picking a date: Madeira’s December and January both run wetter than its own November and March.
If you’re tied to half-term, or your dates run into spring
Everything above holds across the whole November-to-March window covered here. If your dates are fixed to February half-term specifically, and half-term itself is not one national week, February half-term 2027 checks the actual dates and narrows this same choice to what has real flights for that fortnight. If your dates are March–April instead, several of these destinations, Cyprus especially, change character by April: spring sun 2027 covers that shift, plus what the Easter school holidays do to prices and crowds.
Next steps
Related guides
- Christmas and New Year sun 2026 from the UK — What is confirmed for 24–31 December across the mildest UK-reachable destinations, and how mild each one is by the numbers.
- Weekend city breaks from Stansted & Manchester — Which city fits a Friday-to-Monday trip, grouped by whether Stansted, Manchester, Gatwick or Heathrow gets you there fastest.
- Long-haul winter sun: Dubai, Egypt, Turkey — Dubai, Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and Antalya, compared on real climate averages and nonstop flights, including where Antalya is not winter sun.
- Christmas in Egypt 2026: Cairo, Sharm, Hurghada — Which of Cairo, Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada suits a Christmas 2026 trip, with 4- and 7-night shapes and how 7 January differs from 25 December.
- February half-term 2027 from the UK — Which February half-term dates apply where, and how to choose between sun, a city break and a short winter break, with real flight times.
- Spring sun 2027, March-April breaks from the UK — Which UK spring-sun destinations are worth it in March versus April, and what Easter 2027 changes about when to go.