Best Holiday Destinations in February, Compared by Weather and Flight Time

Whichever you choose, HelloRoam has an eSIM for it, so maps, transfer apps and booking emails work from the moment you land.

All 12 February destinations side by side

Each average high below comes from the national weather service for that place, most of them published through the World Meteorological Organization's World Weather Information Service. Flight times come from the airlines' own timetables and route pages for direct flights, except Madeira, where the figure is the island tourist board's.

Read the rain-day column as a rough guide. The WMO warns that countries may define a rain day differently and average over different periods. Spain's AEMET counts days with at least 1 mm of rain, while Funchal's figure counts days with 0.1 mm or more. The Stansted times are the flight times London Stansted Airport gives on its destination pages. For scale, Heathrow's average February high is 8.98°C in the Met Office's 1991-2020 averages.

Short-haul sun under five hours: Tenerife, Morocco and Madeira

Tenerife: dry, sunny and four and a half hours away

AEMET's weather station at Tenerife South airport records an average February high of 22.0°C (1981-2010). It logs only 2.2 days of 1 mm of rain or more and 195 hours of sunshine across the month. Heathrow gets 78.81 hours of sunshine in an average February. Our guide to Tenerife weather month by month adds sea temperatures and the rest of the year.

Ryanair flies to Tenerife South from Stansted, and Stansted Airport gives the flight time as 4 hours 30 minutes. Santa Cruz, on the north-east coast, runs a little cooler and wetter, averaging a 21.2°C high and 3.8 rain days.

Santa Cruz is also home to the Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The official 2027 programme takes it onto the streets from Friday 19 February, with the Coso Apoteósico parade on Tuesday 23 February and a closing firework display on Sunday 28 February. If you plan to travel across the island for it, set up mobile data for the Canary Islands before you fly.

Agadir and Marrakech: beach or city in Morocco

Morocco gives you two different February trips from Stansted. Agadir, on the coast, has an average high of 22.0°C and 4 rain days, while inland Marrakech is cooler by day at 20.7°C, with 6 rain days, in normals from Morocco's Direction de la Météorologie Nationale (1991-2020).

From Stansted, the airport gives the flight time as 4 hours to Marrakech and 3 hours 55 minutes to Agadir. If you split a week between the two, one data plan for Morocco covers both cities.

Plan around Ramadan too. As of October 2026, the FCDO's Morocco advice says it next starts in February 2027, with dates that vary by year and country. It advises checking shop and restaurant opening hours, and notes that eating, drinking or smoking in public in the daytime may cause offence.

Madeira: cooler, with more showers

Funchal's daytime highs average 19.1°C in February, a few degrees below the Canaries, and its normals count 11 days with at least 0.1 mm of rain (Portugal's Instituto de Meteorologia, 1961-1990). A light waterproof earns its place in the case.

Visit Madeira lists Carnival from 3 to 14 February 2027, with allegoric parades through central Funchal on 5 and 6 February. The tourist board puts flights from major European cities at about three to four hours.

Medium-haul sun under eight hours: The Gambia and Dubai

The Gambia: the hottest pick under seven hours

Banjul's February highs average 33.2°C, and the 1991-2020 normals from The Gambia's Department of Water Resources record no rain days.

TUI runs a weekly Monday service from Birmingham to Banjul from 2 November 2026, which it says takes around six hours, alongside its existing flights from Gatwick and Manchester. The FCDO's advice for The Gambia asks visitors to be respectful of people fasting during Ramadan and to check opening hours.

Dubai: warm rather than hot

Dubai's average February high is 24.6°C, with 3.7 rain days, in normals from the UAE's National Center of Meteorology (1974-1991). That makes it the coolest of the warm picks beyond Europe and Morocco.

Emirates flies Heathrow to Dubai in 6 hours 45 minutes to 7 hours 5 minutes, depending on the flight. The FCDO's UAE advice covers Ramadan too, including local dress codes and opening hours, and mobile data for the UAE makes it simple to check what is open.

Long-haul sun: Barbados, the Maldives, Cancún, Cape Town and Phuket

All five have direct Virgin Atlantic flights from Heathrow in February 2027, according to the airline's route pages.

Barbados: Caribbean heat, daily from Heathrow

Barbados Meteorological Services gives a February mean maximum of 29.2°C, with 9 rain days and 41.7 mm of rain (1991-2020). Virgin Atlantic flies there daily from Heathrow with a 9 hour flight time, and four times a week direct from Manchester between 26 October 2026 and 19 March 2027.

The Maldives: 30.7°C highs and few rain days

Malé reaches an average high of 30.7°C in February, with 3 rain days (Maldives Meteorological Service, 1981-2000). Virgin Atlantic's seasonal Heathrow service runs daily from 1 December 2026 to 20 April 2027, and each flight takes 10 to 11 hours.

Cancún: Mexico on the Caribbean

Cancún has a 28.7°C average high in February, with 5.4 rain days, in normals from Mexico's national weather service (1971-2000). Virgin Atlantic flies direct from Heathrow on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays between 18 October 2026 and 11 April 2027, in 10 to 11 hours.

Cape Town: daily seasonal flights from Heathrow

Cape Town's February average high is 26.5°C, with 4.6 rain days (South African Weather Service, 1961-1990). Heathrow has a daily seasonal Virgin Atlantic flight between 15 October 2026 and 20 April 2027, taking 11 hours.

Phuket: the hottest pick

Phuket tops the table at 33.3°C, with 3 rain days, in Thai Meteorological Department figures. Virgin Atlantic's Phuket flights leave Heathrow three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays until 26 March 2027. The outbound flight runs overnight and takes 13 hours, Virgin Atlantic says.

Set up mobile data for Thailand before the overnight flight, so you can book a ride from the airport as soon as you land.

Snow instead of sun: Lapland and the northern lights

Not every February trip needs heat. Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, has an average February high of -8.1°C (Finnish Meteorological Institute, 1971-2000). Stansted Airport gives the flight time there as 2 hours 50 minutes.

Visit Rovaniemi says the northern lights appear on around 150 nights a year in Finnish Lapland, given good weather and viewing conditions.

The tourist board also points visitors to a Northern Lights Alert app that sends real-time alerts to your phone. Those alerts only reach you with a connection, so sort mobile data for Finland before you go.

The warmest places in Europe in February

Spain's Canary Islands are the warmest of the European winter-sun spots we compared. Málaga, Paphos, Faro and Malta have February highs averaging 15.5°C to 17.7°C. That is like a British spring, between Heathrow's average April high of 15.00°C and its May high of 18.37°C.

Ryanair also flies to Gran Canaria from Stansted, and Stansted Airport gives the flight time as 4 hours 35 minutes.

Where it is over 25°C in February

Six of the 12 picks have average February highs over 25°C: Phuket (33.3°C), The Gambia (33.2°C), the Maldives (30.7°C), Barbados (29.2°C), Cancún (28.7°C) and Cape Town (26.5°C). The Gambia is the only one within about six hours of the UK. Dubai falls just short at 24.6°C, and no European spot in our comparison gets close.

February 2027 dates to plan around

There are no bank holidays in February 2027 in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, according to GOV.UK's bank holiday list. Half-term is set locally, and for England and Wales the GOV.UK term dates service points you to your council.

Surrey and West Sussex councils set February half-term for Monday 15 to Friday 19 February 2027, and Bristol's spring terms break for the same week. Other schools can set their own dates, so check with yours before booking.

Before you book, read the FCDO travel advice for your destination.

Ofcom advises checking your phone package before you travel

Using your UK phone abroad can cost extra, and Ofcom advises checking your package or asking your provider before you travel. When you arrive in another country, your provider must send an automatic message explaining any roaming charges or usage limits, unless you have opted out.

On a short trip, your current plan may be enough. Ofcom notes that some providers offer a daily or weekly charge to use your usual allowance abroad, so check that first.

Ofcom also suggests a local SIM or an eSIM as a way to save. If you choose an eSIM, make sure your phone works with eSIM and install it before you fly.

To choose a plan size, work out your data needs from the apps you use most. HelloRoam's 24/7 support is there if a plan does not connect when you land, whatever the local time.