The best mid-haul luxury winter sun destinations within six hours of the UK - including Dubai, where holidays are 'back to normal'

Oh it's nippy out there, with temperatures this week across the UK set to range from sub-zero at night to not much more than 8° or 9° in the day.

If you're already fearing for your vitamin D levels, and really can't contemplate three months of hats, scarves and gloves...then now is the time to plot an easy winter sun getaway that doesn't take a whole day to get to.  

Where to go? If you're swayed by cost then avoid Christmas and New Year like the plague, for prices spiral if you want the gift of sunshine. 

November, early December and January and February are safer bets, with plenty of luxury winter sun getaways offering great value. 

Where to go? The Canaries remain the easiest shout, faithfully delivering sunshine in the mid-20s throughout our winter, and it's only a four-hour flight, with flop-and-drop resorts galore when you get there. 

Elsewhere, the UAE's tourist destinations are deemed safe to travel to by the UK Foreign Office following this year's conflict, putting Dubai and Abu Dhabi back on the map, with Egypt, Qatar and Oman also deemed low risk for British visitors. 

Here's our pick, then, of the best winter sun destinations for 2026-27... 

CYPRUS  

While the mountainous interior is a chillier affair come November, the larger Cypriot coastal resorts – think British-friendly Paphos and Limassol – are perfect for warming one’s bones. Restaurants tend to lay out the red carpet in the later months, too, with meze-based feasts surprisingly wallet-friendly.

The Columbia Beach Resort hotel in the south-west of the island has indoor and outdoor pools, plenty of places to soak up the sun and a pleasing Mediterranean feel to the architecture.

THE CANARIES  

For decent odds on close-to-home autumnal sunshine, the subtropical charms of the Canaries are hard to beat. October in Lanzarote is a balmy affair, with swaying palms and the famous charcoal-black sands baking under a 27° sun.

Adult-only H10 White Suites is one of the island’s best smaller hotels with some great deals if you can travel in early December (when temperatures are around 23°).

MOROCCO 

Skip the colourful chaos of Marrakech and make for the coast if relaxation is high on your holiday wish-list. Halfway down the country’s Atlantic coast, Agadir is a lively resort town that was entirely re-built following the devastating 1960 earthquake. 

Arguably Morocco’s best lounger-in-the-sun option, there are plenty of big, roomy hotels with easy access to the sheltered, sandy hook of beach. 

TUNISIA 

Around three hours' flight from the UK, Tunisia has some of the cheapest winter sun deals on offer, with its sandy Mediterranean beaches lined with all-inclusive resorts. 

There are also excursions to see Roman ruins and discover the Sahara desert too, plus vibrant souqs and walled old towns.

EGYPT  

Busy, biblical and beautiful, Cairo isn't for the faint-hearted – but it is a deeply authentic snapshot of modern and ancient Egypt, with one of the world's best new museums – The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), and those famous pyramids, Between now and the spring is the best time to go. 

And for beach lovers? A raft of all-inclusive hotels line the beachfront on the Sinai peninsula and they're ideal if you want to truly relax, with Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada offering some of the best deals. 

DUBAI  

Following the Middle East conflict earlier this year, life has returned to normal in the glitzy UAE enclave, with the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) suggesting that while things remain unpredictable, it is currently safe to holiday there. 

And if only proper, all-day sunshine will do, then a week in Dubai is a tonic. Alternate lounging on sun-drenched beaches with taking a dip in the warm Gulf waters. And when you tire of the heat, visit the air-conditioned malls.

OMAN  

The thinking person's Dubai, Oman's capital, Muscat, has been an important trading port since the first century.

Enveloped by mountains, deserts and the ocean, this low-rise country remains a timeless desert destination with bags of Arabian history.

And holidaymakers can still get their fix of five-star hotels; singer Paloma Faith is a fan and there's plenty of luxury resorts to check into...but this isn't a destination to descend on if you want to see and be seen. 

ABU DHABI

Once riding on the coattails of Dubai's tourism success, Abu Dhabi is now a bona fide tourist destination in its own right – and has grand plans to entice nearly 40 million visitors to the largest Emirate by 2030.

Sunshine and culture? The city has thrown billions at carving out a more cultured path than its UAE sibling, making mega museums its personal Middle Eastern pet project.

It already has the Louvre, an outpost of the Paris museum that is a vision of polished concrete and flowing water (and probably more secure than its European counterpart) and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. And the Zayed National Museum (ZNM) and the Natural History Museum, on Saadiyat Island, opened in December.