February is the awkward month of the travel calendar: festive trips are a distant memory, spring still feels far off, and the pay-off is a date on the calendar that practically demands a holiday attached to it. Travel editors at Condé Nast Traveller UK have rounded up their top 15 destinations for guaranteed warmth, and the pattern is clear — go long-haul for real heat, or stay in Europe for manageable sun without jet lag.
If you want proper heat, the long-haul classics are the play. Thailand and Bali both sit firmly in dry season by February, meaning hot days without the monsoon risk, while Jamaica delivers Caribbean warmth at its most reliable. Thailand gets a specific nod as the safest tropical bet of the month: dry, sunny, and — crucially for anyone watching their budget — expensive to fly to but genuinely cheap once you land, with a level of luxury for the money that Europe can't match in February.
Not everyone wants a 12-hour flight, and the European fallback options are the practical heart of the list. Malta and Sicily offer milder winter weather and cultural depth without the summer crowds, while the Canary Islands are the standout for value. They're the editors' pick if budget is the deciding factor: good deals, easy flights, and a realistic chance of temperatures in the high teens to low 20s — not beach-bar weather everywhere, but a genuine dose of sunshine in the depths of winter.
There's a simple rule of thumb behind the whole list: the closer to the Equator, the more reliably warm it is year-round — the Caribbean, Singapore and Kenya all fit that bill. And don't forget the Southern Hemisphere is still in full summer in February, so South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and much of South America are hot when the Northern Hemisphere shivers. One caveat to weigh: in some tropical spots, warmth can come bundled with the odd tropical storm, which is exactly why Thailand's dry season makes it the low-risk choice.
Who is this for? Anyone with leave to burn and a budget to protect. February is genuinely a value month — crowds are thin outside half-term, and the Canaries in particular do winter sun cheaply. If you can stretch to a long-haul fare, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean offer the best weather-per-pound ratio of the entire year. Book soon, though: flights for February half-term and peak dry-season weeks in Thailand don't stay cheap for long.
