Winter Sun Europe: Where Is Warm in Dec, Jan and Feb

Winter sun in Europe: what the met services actually say

Most winter-sun lists put the Algarve, the Costa del Sol, Cyprus and the Canaries side by side as if they were the same trip. In December, January and February they are not.

The difference is about 5 °C by day and 7 °C at night. That gap is the line between lying on a beach and walking around in a jacket.

VoyageHacks last verified the facts and figures on this page on 2 October 2026.

The winter sun table: December, January and February

VoyageHacks pulled every figure below from the national meteorological service that publishes it, on 2 October 2026. The normal periods differ because the agencies do not share one: AEMET’s station pages carry 1981-2010, IPMA 1991-2020, HNMS 1955-2010 and MGM a series from 1930. Malta, Cyprus, Morocco and Egypt come from each national service’s data on the WMO World Weather Information Service.

Mean daily maximum and January night temperature

Rainfall, December to February

Sunshine, hours per day

Only AEMET and MGM publish sunshine on the pages we read. AEMET gives monthly totals, which we divided by the days in the month; MGM gives a daily average directly. IPMA’s Funchal and Faro normals, HNMS and the WMO pages carry no sunshine figure.

Three numbers in those tables carry the decision.

The 15 °C nights. Every Canary station keeps its January mean minimum between 14.0 °C and 15.4 °C. Outside the Canaries and Madeira (14.3 °C in Funchal), nothing in the table stays above 10 °C after dark, and that is what makes an evening outside possible without a coat.

Antalya’s 225.5 mm. The Turkish Riviera is a summer star and a winter trap. January is its wettest month, with about 12 rainy days, and the same goes for Rhodes at 151.8 mm.

Hurghada’s 0.6 mm. If dry is the priority and Europe is not a requirement, the Red Sea coast is the driest place on this page by a long way.

The Canaries: the only beach-warm option in Europe

The Canary Islands are the one winter-sun destination in Europe where a beach day in January is the normal outcome, not a lucky one. Every Canary station in the AEMET table holds a daily maximum between 20.7 °C and 22.8 °C through all three winter months.

Pick the island by rain and sunshine, not by heat. The differences in temperature are a degree at most.

• South Tenerife (Tenerife Sur airport): the warmest January in the table at 21.7 °C, 17 mm of rain and 193 hours of sunshine. This is the side for Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje.
• North Tenerife (Santa Cruz): 21.0 °C, but nearly double the rain at 32 mm and less sun. Greener, better for walking, worse for sunbathing.
• Gran Canaria: 20.8 °C and 25 mm at the airport, on the island’s east coast. The south of the island is the beach side.
• Lanzarote: the driest and sunniest January, 16 mm and 203 hours, with slightly cooler nights at 14.0 °C.

AEMET’s station pages publish no sea temperature, and we found no official Canary sea normal to quote, so this page leaves the water out rather than guess. For prices, ferries and island-by-island costs, see the Canary Islands budget guide; for getting there, cheap flights London to Tenerife; for driving, car rental in Tenerife.

Month by month, the January guide compares all four main Canaries including Fuerteventura, and the December guide covers the Christmas weeks.

Cyprus, Malta and Madeira: mild, not hot

These three are the right answer if you want 17 to 20 °C, a short flight and something to see, and the wrong answer if you want to swim.

Madeira is the closest to the Canaries. Funchal’s 20.0 °C January maximum and 14.3 °C minimum are within a degree of Gran Canaria, by IPMA’s normal. The catch is rain: 67.1 mm in January and 94.8 mm in December, and IPMA counts 0.4 days above 25 °C in December and none in January.

Cyprus is the warmest Mediterranean option, especially in December. The Cyprus Department of Meteorology figures put Paphos at 19.6 °C in December, falling to 17.7 °C in January. Nights are cool at 9.4 °C, and January brings 91.5 mm of rain.

Malta is a city-break island in winter. The Malta Meteorological Office figures give Luqa 15.2 °C in January and about 14 rainy days in December and January. Pack a waterproof.

We have no destination guide for Cyprus or Malta yet, so the links above go to Madeira only.

Mainland Spain and Portugal: city breaks in the sun

The mainland is where winter sun means a coffee on a terrace at lunchtime, not a beach. Málaga, Almería, Valencia, Seville and Faro all sit between 16.0 °C and 16.9 °C in January, with nights of 5.7 to 8.3 °C.

• Almería is the driest and sunniest mainland station: 24 mm of rain and 194 hours of sunshine in January.
• Málaga has the same daytime warmth but wetter winters: 100 mm in December, 69 mm in January. Flights are easy; see Munich to Málaga.
• Valencia (city) holds 16.4 °C with 37 mm of rain and 171 hours of sunshine in January.
• Seville is the coldest at night (5.7 °C at the airport) but warms fastest: 18.1 °C in February. Pair it with the rest of Andalusia.
• Faro in the Algarve is 16.3 °C in January by IPMA, with 49.3 mm of rain; see London to Faro.

February is the better mainland month: every station in this group warms by 0.7 to 2.1 °C, and rainfall drops at all of them except Almería. The February guide has the full calendar.

Greece and Turkey: winter is their wet season

The eastern Mediterranean is the right summer pick and the wrong winter one. Rhodes (15.1 °C), Heraklion on Crete (15.3 °C) and Antalya (15.0 °C) all sit at the bottom of the temperature table in January and the top of the rain table.

MGM records about 4.9 hours of sunshine a day in Antalya in January, against 6.2 at Tenerife Sur. The Mediterranean sea off Turkey averages 18.5 °C in December, 16.7 °C in January and 16.0 °C in February, per MGM’s 1970-2025 series. Go in October, or in May and June, instead.

Just outside Europe: Egypt and Morocco

If “winter sun” does not have to mean “Europe”, two coasts match the Canaries by day.

• Hurghada on the Red Sea: 21.7 °C in January and 0.6 mm of rain, by the Egyptian Meteorological Authority. The driest place on this page. Nights are cooler than the Canaries at 11.2 °C. We found no official Red Sea temperature normal to quote.
• Agadir on Morocco’s Atlantic coast: 21.1 °C in January and 31.6 mm, by Morocco’s Direction de la Météorologie Nationale. Nights drop to 8.4 °C, so evenings need a jumper.
• Marrakech is a city break, not a beach: 19.1 °C by day and 5.9 °C at night in January.

The practical trade: Egypt and Morocco can be cheaper and drier, but neither gives you the Canaries’ 15 °C nights. Check the entry rules first: Egypt visa and Morocco visa.

Where winter sun goes wrong

You booked the Algarve or Costa del Sol for a beach week

16 to 17 °C by day and 7 to 8 °C at night is pleasant walking weather. For swimming and sunbathing, book the Canaries.

You chose Antalya because it was hot in August

January is Antalya’s wettest month, at 225.5 mm. The resorts are quiet for a reason.

You booked the north of Tenerife for the sun

Santa Cruz gets nearly double the January rain of Tenerife Sur, 32 mm against 17 mm. Stay south if the beach is the point.

You assumed Morocco is always warm

Agadir averages 8.4 °C on January nights and Marrakech 5.9 °C. Pack for both halves of the day.

Sources

VoyageHacks checked every figure on this page against the organisation that publishes it, on 2 October 2026. None of these numbers are forecasts. Where a figure comes through the WMO World Weather Information Service, the national met service named in the row supplied it.

• AEMET, Valores climatológicos normales, stations Tenerife Sur Aeropuerto, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Gran Canaria Aeropuerto, Lanzarote Aeropuerto, Málaga Aeropuerto, Almería Aeropuerto, Valencia and Sevilla Aeropuerto, 1981-2010, https://www.aemet.es/en/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatologicos/valoresclimatologicos, checked October 2026
• Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Normal Climatológica Funchal and Faro 1991-2020, https://www.ipma.pt/bin/file.data/climate-normal/cn_91-20_FUNCHAL.pdf, checked October 2026
• Hellenic National Meteorological Service, climatic data by city, stations Rodos and Iraklio, 1955-2010, http://oldportal.emy.gr/emy/en/climatology/climatology_city?perifereia=South%20Aegean&poli=Rodos, checked October 2026
• Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM), Antalya il ve ilçeler istatistik, 1930-2025, https://www.mgm.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?k=A&m=ANTALYA, checked October 2026
• Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM), Akdeniz deniz suyu sıcaklık 1970-2025, https://www.mgm.gov.tr/FILES/resmi-istatistikler/denizSuyu/2025-Akdeniz.pdf, checked October 2026
• WMO World Weather Information Service, climate data for Luqa (Malta Meteorological Office, 1961-1990), Paphos Airport and Larnaka Airport (Cyprus Department of Meteorology, 2002-2011), Agadir Inezganne and Marrakech (Direction de la Météorologie Nationale, 1991-2020) and Hurghada (Egyptian Meteorological Authority, 1981-2010), https://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=42, checked October 2026

What changed

• 2026-10-02: first published.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the warmest place in Europe in winter?

The Canary Islands. AEMET’s 1981-2010 normals give Tenerife Sur airport a 22.8 °C mean daily maximum in December, 21.7 °C in January and 22.0 °C in February, with nights around 15 °C. Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Santa Cruz de Tenerife all stay above 20.7 °C. Funchal in Madeira is next at 20.0 °C in January by IPMA’s 1991-2020 normal.

Is anywhere in Europe warm enough for the beach in January?

Only the Canaries, and only just. Tenerife Sur airport averages 21.7 °C by day and 15.2 °C at night in January, with 17 mm of rain, per AEMET. Everywhere on the Mediterranean sits between 15 °C and 18 °C, and MGM measures the average Mediterranean sea temperature off Turkey at 16.7 °C in January and 16.0 °C in February.

Is Cyprus or Malta warm in winter?

Mild, not warm. The Cyprus Department of Meteorology figures on the WMO service give Paphos a 17.7 °C January maximum and Larnaca 17.4 °C, with 91.5 mm and 102.0 mm of rain. Malta’s Meteorological Office gives Luqa 15.2 °C and 89.0 mm. Both are good for walking and old towns, not for a beach week.

Which Canary Island is best for winter sun?

The south of Tenerife or Gran Canaria for warmth, Lanzarote for dry weather. In January AEMET records 21.7 °C and 17 mm of rain at Tenerife Sur airport, 20.8 °C and 25 mm at Gran Canaria airport, and 20.7 °C and 16 mm at Lanzarote airport. Santa Cruz, on Tenerife’s north-east coast, is wetter at 32 mm.

Is the Costa del Sol warm in winter?

Pleasant for a city break, not for the beach. AEMET’s normals give Málaga airport a 16.8 °C January maximum and a 7.4 °C minimum, with 69 mm of rain and around 180 hours of sunshine. That is about 5 °C cooler by day and 8 °C cooler at night than Tenerife Sur, according to the same agency.

Are Morocco and Egypt warmer than the Canaries in winter?

By day, roughly the same; at night, colder. VoyageHacks read the national met-service normals on the WMO service: Hurghada averages 21.7 °C by day and 11.2 °C at night in January, and Agadir 21.1 °C and 8.4 °C. Tenerife Sur matches them at 21.7 °C by day but stays at 15.2 °C after dark.

Ready to book some winter sun?

Decide first what you are buying. For a beach in December, January or February, the Canaries are the only European answer; for mild sightseeing, Madeira, Cyprus or Malta; for a sunny city break, Almería, Málaga, Valencia or Seville.

Then pick the month. The December, January and February guides carry the holiday calendars, and the when to go hub has the rest of the year. If the beach matters more than the month, the beach style guide covers it.