Published 18 October 2026 | Updated 18 October 2026 by Kate Acaster
The cheapest winter sun destinations for UK travellers in 2026/27 are the Gambia and Hurghada, on hotel prices for one week in January 2027. Dubai and Madeira come next, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Fuerteventura sit in the middle, and Lanzarote and Sal, in Cape Verde, cost the most. Flights change the picture, so read the section on flights before you book. We priced nine places on the same week, for two adults, on one booking site.
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How we priced it
- DatesMonday 11 to Monday 18 January 2027, seven nights
- TravellersTwo adults sharing one room
- HotelsFour-star hotels on Expedia UK, rated 8.0 or higher from at least 20 reviews, with the taxes and fees Expedia shows. We took the five cheapest in each place
- Read on18 October 2026. Flights, food, transfers and activities are not included
The cheapest winter sun destinations for 2026/27, ranked by four-star hotel price
We ranked each place on the average price of its five lowest-priced well-reviewed four-star hotels. The range runs from the lowest of the five to the highest. Each figure is a hotel listed on Expedia for that week. These are cheap-end prices for good hotels, not typical resort prices.
| # | Destination | Five cheapest, a week for two | Flight time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Gambia | £240 to £660 | About 6h30 |
2 | Hurghada, Egypt | £330 to £600 | About 5h30 |
3 | Dubai | £380 to £550 | About 7h |
4 | Madeira | £460 to £610 | About 3h45 |
5 | Gran Canaria | £510 to £740 | About 4h |
=6 | Tenerife | £580 to £720 | About 4h15 |
=6 | Fuerteventura | £630 to £750 | About 4h |
8 | Lanzarote | £900 to £990 | About 4h |
9 | Sal, Cape Verde | £750 to £1,130 | About 6h |
"A low price usually tells you where the hotel is, and it's rarely the best beach. On Tenerife and Gran Canaria, the cheapest rooms mostly sit away from the main beach resorts and the sunniest coast. That's fine for a city break with some warmth, but check the map before you book a week of sunbathing."
Kate Acaster, Chief Editor, Flight Tribe
Cheap rooms and cheap flights are different things
Hotel prices are only part of the cost. Our where's hot in January page checked the cheapest non-stop fares for the week from 16 January, five days after our hotel week. They are flights only, with no hold bag, checked on 1 October 2026 from different airports.
- A return to Sal from Manchester cost about three and a half times the cheapest Tenerife return from Gatwick.
- Dubai, from Heathrow, cost more than eight times as much as Tenerife.
- That page has no fare check for Hurghada, the Gambia or Madeira, so price those flights yourself.
Flights can change the order. Dubai has the third-cheapest rooms and, of the routes checked, the dearest flights. Tenerife costs more to sleep in and far less to reach. Packages keep Egypt ahead: in our all-inclusive holiday pricing for January, Hurghada's price range started and ended below Tenerife's.
How warm is it in January?
A cheap week still needs some warmth. This table gives the typical daytime temperature for each place.
| Destination | Typical daytime temperature | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sal, Cape Verde | About 25°C | National weather service, via our January page |
| Dubai | About 24°C | National weather service, via our January page |
| The Gambia | 24 to 30°C, November to February | Our Gambia guide |
| Tenerife | About 23°C | National weather service, via our January page |
| Hurghada, Egypt | 22 to 23°C | Our Hurghada guide |
| Fuerteventura | About 21°C | AEMET airport figures, 1981 to 2010 |
| Gran Canaria and Lanzarote | A little cooler than Tenerife | Our January page |
| Madeira | Around 18°C, winter average | Our Madeira guide |
The sea is usually cooler than the air in January, so check whether the hotel pool is heated.
Hurghada's hotels sit along a long strip of Red Sea coast. Our guide covers which areas suit which budget, and how to get there.
Check before you book
| Destination | What to check | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | Foreign Office advice for the UAE reports regional tensions, including strikes by Iran since 8 July. It does not advise against travel to the UAE. Check your insurer's position and the latest advice before you pay. | |
| Sal, Cape Verde | You must fill in a traveller entry form at least five days before you arrive and pay the airport security fee online. Since 1 July 2026 you pay double at the border if you haven't done it. | |
| Hurghada | The Foreign Office page for Egypt lists areas it advises against visiting. Hurghada isn't among them. Read the page before you go. |
Where to look at hotel prices
Each link below opens an Expedia search for the same week we priced, 11 to 18 January 2027, for two adults.
| Destination | Check hotel prices |
|---|---|
| The Gambia | |
| Hurghada, Egypt | |
| Dubai | |
| Madeira | |
| Gran Canaria | |
| Tenerife | |
| Fuerteventura | |
| Lanzarote | |
| Sal, Cape Verde |
How to spend less on winter sun
| Do this | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Fly after the schools go back | Most schools in England go back in the first week of January. On three of the four routes in our January page (Tenerife, Sal and Dubai), the mid-January week cost less than the first week. |
| Read the range, not the floor | The gap between the cheapest and fifth-cheapest hotel is about £420 in the Gambia and about £90 on Lanzarote. Where the range is wide, check reviews and location before you chase the lowest figure. |
| Add the flights before you choose | Dubai has cheap rooms and the dearest flights we checked. Price the flights for your airport and dates, then compare destinations on the total. |
For the Canaries in more depth, see our Canary Islands holidays guide. For other months, our where's hot each month guide covers the year.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the cheapest winter sun destination from the UK?
On hotel prices for a week in January 2027, the Gambia. The five cheapest well-reviewed four-stars on Expedia ran from about £240 to £660. Hurghada was next, then Dubai and Madeira. Flights change the order, so check them too.
Is Tenerife cheaper than Lanzarote for winter sun?
On our measure, yes, by a wide margin. Tenerife's five cheapest four-stars ran from about £580 to £720 for the week, against about £900 to £990 on Lanzarote.
Is Egypt cheaper than the Canary Islands for winter sun?
On hotel prices, yes. The five cheapest well-reviewed four-stars in Hurghada averaged less than those on Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. The flight takes about five and a half hours, against about four to the Canaries.
When do winter sun fares fall?
On three of the four routes we checked, a mid-January week cost less than the first week of January. Most schools in England go back in the first week of January.
Do these prices include flights?
No. They are hotel prices for seven nights, for two adults sharing a room. Flights, food, transfers and activities are extra.
More winter sun guides
Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
How Kate works
Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
Editorial standards
Flight Tribe covers deals and travel advice for readers first. Affiliate links do not decide whether an offer is worth writing about.
