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Where Is Hot in January Near UK Time? 37 Places Compared

By The Expat Club · Updated November 2026

Of the 37 places we compared, four are hot and dry in January within two hours of UK time: Cape Town, The Gambia (Banjul), Senegal (Dakar) and Cape Verde (Sal). Hot here means an average daytime high of 25C or more, and dry means fewer than five rain days. Cape Verde passes on its airport weather station, not on the modelled figures used in the tables. Everything that averages 25C or more at that time gap is in Africa. Nothing in Europe, the Canaries or Madeira reached 25C on either measure, and the closest, southern Tenerife, averages about 23C at its airport station.

How we picked hot and dry

We pulled daily weather for 2011 to 2025 for 37 places that UK winter-sun readers tend to consider, plus some long-haul ones. We then set three tests for January: an average high of 25C or more, fewer than five rain days (a rain day is 1mm or more), and a time difference from the UK of two hours or less. Among the places we compared, the hot ones that keep exactly UK time in January are Accra, Banjul and Dakar.

Everywhere within two hours of UK time

Every place we compared within two hours of the UK in January, with London for scale.

Ten of these places average 25C or more in January on the modelled figures, and all ten are in Africa. Sal makes eleven on its station record, and it is in Africa too. Johannesburg averages 24.9C, just below the 25C line, so it shows as 25C in the table but is not counted in the ten.

The four that are hot and dry

Cape Town averages a high of 26C in January with about three rain days, and February is the same with two. It is two hours ahead of UK time in winter, and our guide to moving to Cape Town from the UK covers the direct flights. Hermanus, about an hour and a half along the coast, averages the same heat with 5.1 rain days, a hair above our line.

Banjul in The Gambia is the hottest of the four at 31C, with no rain days in January and 32C in February, on UK time. Dakar in Senegal averages 27C, again with no rain days. English is an official language in The Gambia, and Senegal is French-speaking. On weather alone, both are good answers to the question, and we are not claiming South Africa beats them. Check the FCDO travel advice for The Gambia, Senegal and South Africa before you book anything.

Sal in Cape Verde is the one to read carefully. The model gives it 22C, which we think is too low: the island is small, so the model's grid is probably reading mostly sea. Its airport station averaged about 26C over the five Januaries on record, and Which? gives Cape Verde a 25C January high. So we count it. It is one hour behind the UK, with no rain days on the model, and Portuguese is the official language. See the FCDO advice for Cape Verde too.

Hot, but a different trip: Lagos, Accra and the rest

Lagos and Accra both average 31C. Their January rain days run to seven and six. Windhoek (30C, 12 rain days), Maputo (29C, 13) and Livingstone (28C, 22) are hot too, but they are wetter again, with Livingstone raining on most January days. Durban fits here too, at 27C and 12 rain days. These can suit a different kind of trip, but they fall outside a hot and dry search. Read the FCDO travel advice for any country you are considering.

Europe and the Canaries

Nothing in Europe, the Canaries or Madeira reached 25C in January. On the modelled figures, southern Tenerife and southern Gran Canaria average 21C, Funchal 19C, Faro and Paphos 16C, and Malaga and Valletta 15C. Airport stations read a little warmer, with about 23C in southern Tenerife and 18C in Malaga, and that still leaves them short of the line. Sharm el-Sheikh and Luxor reach 22C, and Agadir 20C. London averages 7C, so even 21C is a big step up, and flights are much shorter. For many readers that is a real alternative: pleasant, light-jacket weather without a night on a plane.

Long-haul heat and the time shift

Further away, heat is easy to find and the time gap grows with it.

Perth and Goa reach 32C, but Perth is eight hours ahead of the UK. Port Louis in Mauritius reaches 30C with 25 rain days in January, and Denpasar in Bali 28C with 29. For warmth through the whole year, our sister site covers retiring in Mauritius, though Port Louis has many rain days in January.

And in February?

The same four places pass all the tests in February: Banjul at 32C, Dakar at 26C, Cape Town at 26C with two rain days, and Sal at about 26C on its station record. Sharm el-Sheikh and Luxor warm up to 24C, and Eilat to 22C. Southern Tenerife stays at 21C. The answer to where is warm in February shifts little from January.

Little jet lag, long flight

South Africa is on UTC+2 all year with no daylight saving, so it is two hours ahead of the UK from late October to late March and one hour ahead in UK summer. That is little jet lag. The flight is the harder part: London to Cape Town non-stop takes about 11.5 hours going south and about 12 coming back, mostly overnight, with direct flights from Heathrow and Gatwick (checked October 2026 for our Cape Town guide).

The limits of South Africa

Cape Town is a November to March answer. Here is the whole year, in the same measures as above.

Winters are cool and wet: June averages 17C with 11 rain days, and July 16C with nine. January is also peak season, so expect higher prices. Our summer versus winter guide covers the seasons by region.

Durban is warmer all year, but its summer is the rainy season, and its driest months are the cooler winter ones. For a longer comparison of the two cities, see Cape Town vs Durban for expats.

Safety needs a plain mention. South African Police Service figures show 5,181 murders from January to March 2026, about 58 a day and 9.5% fewer than a year earlier. UK government advice says violent crime can happen anywhere, including tourist destinations, and that most of it occurs in townships, informal settlements and other high-density areas, as well as some city centres and isolated areas. Our safety guide has the detail.

On visas, ordinary UK passports get up to 90 days for tourism without a visa, and Home Affairs says the exemption is subject to change without notice. If you are thinking of a whole winter rather than a holiday, see spending winter in South Africa and snowbirds in South Africa: 90 days or 180 days.

Method and caveats

The tables use ERA5, a modelled dataset on a grid, rather than a thermometer at a station, because it gives every place the same method. We then checked it against airport and city stations, and it mostly reads cooler, by about 1C to 3C at the stations below. The gap is largest on small islands such as Sal. Airports also differ from town centres, and some stations have only a few Januaries on record.

Banjul and Dakar have too few Januaries in this station record to compare (two and one), so treat their figures as modelled only. The 37 places are a sample chosen by us, not every town on Earth, so a place missing here may be hot and dry too. Time differences are for January. You can download the monthly figures as a CSV file, and the station comparison as a second one. Weather data by Open-Meteo, using ERA5 from Copernicus, under CC BY 4.0. Station averages from NOAA's Global Summary of the Month.

Frequently asked questions

Sources, checked 5 November 2026

• Historical Weather API (Open-Meteo): ERA5 daily data for 2011 to 2025.
• Exempt countries (Department of Home Affairs): 90 days for UK passports.
• South Africa entry requirements (GOV.UK): 90 days without a visa for tourism.
• South Africa travel advice (FCDO): where violent crime happens.
• Global Summary of the Month (NOAA): station January and February highs, 2011 to 2025.
• The Gambia, Senegal and Cape Verde travel advice (FCDO)
• South African Police Service quarterly crime statistics, released 22 May 2026: the January to March murder figure, as repeated in our safety guide.

General information only, not immigration/tax/legal/financial advice: confirm current rules and consult a qualified professional.