De beste bestemmingen in Januari, gerangschikt op twintig jaar klimaatdata. Kies wat voor jou telt — zon, sightseeing of gewoon ontspannen — en verfijn daarna in de tool.
Choosing where to go on holiday in Januari comes down to one question: which destinations are actually warm, sunny and dry that month — not in general, but in Januari specifically? This ranking is built from twenty years of historical climate records (ECMWF ERA5, served by Open-Meteo). For each destination we average the daily mean temperature, sunshine hours, rainfall and wind speed across every Januari on record, then score the result against three traveller profiles: all-round, beach and city-break.
Januari sits in the European winter, so the field splits sharply. Long-haul tropical destinations (Caribbean, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bali) are at or near their best, while most of mainland Europe is mild but unreliable. The strongest short-haul options are the Canary Islands, Madeira, the southern coast of Cyprus, the Red Sea and Marrakech — all of which stay warm and dry enough to score well. The current top five for Januari are Phuket, Maldives, Gambia, Zanzibar, Tenerife.
The tables below are split into three bands. All-round (the default) rewards destinations that are simply comfortable in Januari — mild temperatures, decent sun, low rain. Beach holiday tightens the criteria for swimming and sunbathing (22–33°C, 7+ hours of sun, fewer than two rainy days per week). City break loosens the temperature range to 15–26°C for sightseeing. Each row links to the destination's full guide and the live weather tool so you can check the specific dates you have in mind.
In Januari the warmest, sunniest spots in our dataset are Phuket (26.7°C, 10.6h sun/day); Maldives (27.4°C, 11.1h sun/day); Gambia (26.5°C, 10.1h sun/day). The full ranking averages temperature, sunshine, rainfall and wind over twenty years of historical climate data.
Januari sits between the main travel seasons; the ranking below is the cleanest way to find a destination that genuinely works this month rather than relying on guesswork. The ranking above shows the top destinations for Januari across three traveller profiles: all-round, beach and city-break.
Januari is one of the strongest shoulder-season months — fewer crowds, lower prices and weather that still works for most beach and city destinations in the ranking.
Januari is a strong shoulder-season month for several Mediterranean and Atlantic-island destinations. Look outside the top three for places that score well but get less mainstream coverage — Madeira, Cape Verde, Sicily, the Algarve and Croatia are often overlooked.
Our sightseeing band ranks destinations by mild temperatures (15–26°C) and low rainfall in Januari, so you can pick a trip with comfortable walking weather. Phuket, Maldives, Gambia score well this month.
Each row in the ranking shows the average rainfall (days per week) and sunshine hours for Januari, based on twenty years of historical data. Sea temperatures lag air temperatures by about a month — so for swimming, look for destinations that were already warm in the previous month too.