Where to Go in Winter? Winter Destinations 2026/27
28 October 2026 · interactive guide · 10 min read
In winter, travellers head in two directions: towards the sun — the Red Sea, the Canary Islands, the tropics — or into the snow of the Alps. This guide isn't a top-ten list. Choose what you're after and the month you're going, set how many days you'll be away, and for each destination you'll see the average daytime and sea temperature, live conditions, the time difference, whether roaming is a question, and which of our data plans is enough for the trip. The prices are exactly what our checkout charges.
Which winter destination suits you?
What are you looking for?
When are you going?
How much data do you use?
Estimate: a little ≈ 0.2 GB/day (maps, messages, ride apps), average ≈ 0.6 GB/day (plus social media, photos), a lot ≈ 1.5 GB/day (video, video calls, hotspot). The price is the plan price; a one-off $1.63 eSIM fee is added at checkout.
Destinations: 14
Sunshine
Outside the EU
Egypt (Red Sea)
Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh, Marsa Alam
now
Daytime
23 °C
Sea
24 °C
Time zone
UTC+2
Weather
dry, sunny
7 days
Monthly average 2021–2025 (daytime high, sea).
The closest reliable winter sun for much of Europe: warm days, a sea still comfortable for snorkelling, and practically no rain. February is the coolest month. Many nationalities can get a visa on arrival or an e-Visa in advance — the only official e-Visa site is visa2egypt.gov.eg. Many visitors staying only around Sharm el-Sheikh for under 15 days get a free Sinai-only stamp, but trips to Cairo or Luxor need a full visa.
What do you need data for here?
Ride apps: Uber and inDrive both work in Hurghada
Maps, and a message home from a desert or boat trip
Before you travel, check your own foreign ministry's current travel advice for the United Arab Emirates.
now
Daytime
27 °C
Sea
25 °C
Time zone
UTC+4
Weather
rare rain
7 days
Monthly average 2021–2025 (daytime high, sea).
Winter is Dubai's most pleasant season: warm days, a sea still fine for swimming, and rain is rare. Flight routes to the Gulf are affected by the situation in the Middle East, so check your airline before you book. In the Emirates, internet voice calls are limited to licensed apps: WhatsApp and FaceTime calls are not on the regulator's approved list (Botim, Zoom and Teams are), while messaging works normally.
The EU's winter beach: mild, sunny days in the south of Tenerife, while the water is cool enough that swimming is for the brave. The north coast and the mountains are noticeably cooler and cloudier than the south. It's EU territory, so with an EU or EEA plan you roam on your home allowance; with a plan from elsewhere, check your operator's prices.
What do you need data for here?
Navigation with a rental car in the mountains (Teide)
Ferry and bus tickets between the islands
Weather: the north and the mountains differ from the south
On the Andaman coast (Phuket, Krabi) December to March is the dry season — December is still a transition month, January and February are the most reliable. In the Gulf of Thailand (Koh Samui) the rainy season lasts until about mid-January. Since 15 September 2026 Thailand's visa-free tourist stay has been 30 days instead of 60 — check whether your passport qualifies — and every foreign visitor must complete the free TDAC digital arrival card within 3 days before arrival.
What do you need data for here?
Ride apps: Grab or Bolt (there's no Uber in Thailand)
Completing the TDAC — it doesn't work without data
Ferry and boat tickets, a translation app for menus
According to the Maldives Meteorological Service, the dry north-east monsoon runs from January to March; December is a transition month and noticeably wetter. The sea stays warm all winter. Every visitor gets a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival, but the IMUGA traveller declaration must be completed within 96 hours before the flight — for both arrival and departure. The country's main hospital is in Malé, so travel insurance with good cover matters.
The south-west coast's main season runs from December to April, while the east coast is in its rainy season. Showers are still common in December, and in our data February is clearly the driest of the three months. It's warm by day and in the water all winter. Most visitors need an ETA before travelling — apply only on the official eta.gov.lk site.
January and February are the driest and hottest months; December still belongs to the short rains. Visa rules for Tanzania depend on your passport, but on Zanzibar the local insurer's travel insurance (44 USD) has been mandatory for every foreign visitor since 2024 — even if you have your own. Since 2025 prices must be paid in Tanzanian shillings, by card as well.
Winter is the rainy season: typically short, heavy showers with sunshine in between, and a warm sea. Visa rules depend on your passport; every foreign visitor must also complete the "All Indonesia" arrival registration (no earlier than 3 days before arrival) and pay the Love Bali tourist levy of 150,000 IDR. Grab and Gojek work, but in some places (central Ubud, parts of Canggu, Uluwatu) local drivers don't allow app pickups.
What do you need data for here?
The "All Indonesia" registration and the Love Bali levy
On the Caribbean coast winter means warm days and a warm sea, and the hurricane season ends in November. In the state of Quintana Roo (Cancún, Tulum) every foreign visitor pays a visitor levy (VISITAX) — use only the official visitax.gob.mx site. Uber is legal in town, but don't count on app pickups at the airport; use a transfer or an official taxi there.
What do you need data for here?
Maps to the cenotes and the Maya ruins
Uber in town (not at the airport)
Keeping the digital immigration form (QR code) to hand
Warm days and a warm sea all winter, with frequent short showers. Every traveller must complete the free e-Ticket before both entry and departure, on the official eticket.migracion.gob.do site — look-alike sites charge for it. For the ride from the airport, use an official taxi or your accommodation's transfer.
Average: Ramsau am Dachstein (1,207 m) weather station, long-term monthly mean.
Some official 2026/27 season dates: Kitzbühel 6 November – 4 April, Ischgl 26 November – 2 May, St. Anton 2 December – 18 April. Austria is in the EU, so EU and EEA plans roam on their home allowance. Watch out in Ischgl: the ski area crosses into Switzerland (Samnaun), where your phone may switch to a Swiss network — and that's no longer EU roaming.
What do you need data for here?
Piste map and lift status
Avalanche report: in Tyrol the Euregio one (avalanche.report)
Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno
now
Village
avg -3 °C
Snow
lifts up to 2,518 m
Time zone
UTC+1
Season
28 Nov – 4 Apr
7 days
Average: Selva di Val Gardena (1,594 m) weather station, long-term monthly mean.
Dolomiti Superski opens on 28 November 2026 (Plan de Corones, Val di Fiemme), with Alta Badia, Val Gardena and Val di Fassa from 4 December; most areas run until 4 April. Italy is in the EU, so EU and EEA plans roam on their home allowance.
Average: Davos (1,594 m) weather station, long-term monthly mean.
Switzerland isn't in the EU, so the EU roaming rules don't apply: many operators charge it separately, some include it — check your plan. The avalanche situation is published by the Swiss SLF, also in the White Risk app. Trains reach most resorts, and the timetable app is worth having.
What do you need data for here?
Piste map and train tickets
Avalanche report: SLF / White Risk
If home roaming is expensive: an eSIM for the slopes
Average: Val d'Isère (1,850 m) weather station, long-term monthly mean.
The Three Valleys (Les 3 Vallées) lift links run from 5 December 2026 to 18 April 2027; Val Thorens opens as early as 21 November and runs until 2 May. Many visitors fly to Geneva or Lyon and transfer. France is in the EU, so EU and EEA plans roam on their home allowance.
Beach destinations: the average daily high and sea surface temperature for each month, 2021–2025, from Open-Meteo's historical data (ERA5 reanalysis and marine model), rounded to whole degrees — an average, not a forecast. Ski resorts: the long-term monthly mean temperature of the nearest official weather station (name and altitude on the card). The time zone is given in UTC for mid-January. The “now” column and the 7-day forecast come live from Open-Meteo via our own server. Entry rules depend on your passport — always check them for your nationality. Checked: 28 October 2026. Prices are today's plan prices. The images of Hurghada, Tenerife, Zanzibar, Punta Cana and the Alpine resorts are AI-generated illustrations.
The two weeks around Christmas and New Year are the busiest and most expensive at almost every winter destination. If your dates are flexible, mid-January to early February is calmer — and at several tropical destinations (the Maldives, Zanzibar, the south coast of Sri Lanka) the weather is also more settled from January.
Your data doesn't need to wait until the last minute: the eSIM's QR code arrives by email within minutes, and the plan's validity starts with the first data use at your destination, not at purchase or installation. So install it a few days before you leave, at home on Wi-Fi — on landing you only need to switch on mobile data. Check in advance that your phone is eSIM-compatible.
Skiing in the EU: it depends on where your plan is from
In Austria, Italy and France the EU's roam-like-at-home rules apply — but only to plans from EU and EEA countries. If your plan is from one of them, you browse on your home allowance (operators may apply a fair-use limit), and a separate eSIM only makes sense if that allowance is small. If your plan is from anywhere else — the UK, the US, Serbia, Türkiye or beyond — these rules don't cover you, and your operator's roaming prices apply even in the Alps. Switzerland is not in the EU, so EU plans aren't covered there either; near the border (Ischgl–Samnaun) your phone may switch to a Swiss network on its own.
On the slopes, mobile data isn't a luxury: the piste map, lift status and avalanche report are all in an app or on the web, and if something goes wrong, your phone is what shares your position. Batteries drain faster in the cold — keep the phone in an inside pocket.
Faraway destinations: what to watch at the stopover
To Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bali, the Maldives, Zanzibar or the Caribbean you often fly with a change. Two things are worth knowing. An eSIM plan gives you data in the destination country — not necessarily in the country of your layover airport. And on your home SIM, the mobile networks on board planes and ships are satellite networks that roaming bundles usually don't cover, so they can be very expensive. Before boarding, switch off data roaming on your home line. More: how to avoid roaming charges.
Pre-departure checklist
Check where your home plan works without extra charges — and where it doesn't.
Check your own government's travel advice and the entry rules for your passport: Thailand, the Maldives, Bali and the Dominican Republic require an online form before arrival, and Zanzibar requires mandatory local insurance.
Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi; your home SIM can stay in for bank text messages — just switch off data roaming on it.
At the beach destinations you can check today's sea temperature live on our sea temperature page.
