European vacation spots with the most sun in winter

Even if they are us,and just keep the prospect of Christmas afloat: We have absolutely no desire for winter. It gets cold, it gets wet and it gets dark. We'll sort of get over it by the end of December, but then January comes and with it the temperature really drops again. All we want then is sun, warmth and vitamin D. Instead of complaining about the lack like we do every year, we want to do it differently in 2025Use January for a little “summer vacation” in winter. You don't even have to go to the South Seas for that,or jet to the Maldives. There are also some places in Europe that are perhaps not quite as warm, but are at least nice and sunny. We'll tell youwhere you get the most sun.

Well, the summer vacation thing is a bit exaggerated, even in the south of Europe it gets cooler in the winter. If we think about the past summers in Germany, some European holiday resorts can keep up with these temperatures even in January. Besides, our trip in January isn't about being as warm as possible, but rather about being as warm as possible. Unfortunately, this is in short supply in our latitudes at this time of year. That's why we looked at where we could get more vitamin D, compared the hours of sunshine in January and thelocated. And now we are so kind and share the results with you too.

Portugal is not just a place of longing,and students who are fulfilling their dream of studying abroad at the University of Economics in Lisbon, but also from sun worshipers who are in the mood for a vitamin D boost in winter. In the very south of the country lies the Algarve, a picturesque stretch of coast with impressive limestone and sandstone formations, directly on the Atlantic Ocean. You can't necessarily swim here in winter unless you want toin Germany (the water temperatures are around 14 degrees). But you get a lot of sun in the Algarve in January. Aroundsix hours a dayThe sun shines here, which is four hours more than in cold Berlin. It's worth getting on the plane to Faro, leaving the uncomfortable winter in Germany behind you and topping up your vitamin D supplies with Bica and Pastei de Nata.

On the other side of the Spanish-Portuguese border lies Andalusia, a region that is also blessed with sun and mild temperatures in winter. No wonder that the tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries that we can buy in the supermarket in February often come from Andalusian greenhouses; it is one of the very few regions in Europe where fruit and vegetable cultivation is possible all year round. But okay, we don't want to go to southern Spain to look at the plantations, but to distract ourselves from the German winter - and that works damn well here. The average duration of sunshine is alsosix hours a day, the temperatures range between a pleasant 15 to 20 degrees during the day. Ideal for a city trip to Seville,or Granada, which you can take off your make-up straight away in midsummer (far too hot). If you're lucky, you can even go outside in a T-shirt in January; as soon as the sun shines, the outside temperature feels much warmer. Not just vitamin D, but also a real mood booster!

When it comes to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, many people don't even think about themgoes. You should put the Spanish archipelago straight on your bucket list, especially if you are still looking for a sunny travel destination in winter. Due to their geographical location, the Canary Islands are beautiful all year round; the seasons here are not nearly as pronounced as in our latitudes. Plus there are a lot of them here, some of which take you into spectacular worlds. A sandy desert on Gran Canaria, for example, an active volcano on La Palma that only erupted in 2021, we remember, or spectacular surf spots where the Atlantic demonstrates its power. The maximum daily temperatures are around 20 degrees, the hours of sunshine are around 20 degreessix hours a daya. The only thing you should be careful about is precipitation. While the rest of the islands tend to get a few showers in January, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are mostly dry.

As soon as summer ends in Central Europe, Cyprus becomes interesting for us. Not because the island state has nothing to offer in summer, but it is simply too hot there at this time of year. And because we don't want to burn our feet and other body parts, we just don't head to Cyprus until October. Then you will be rewarded there with warm temperatures and sun, while here it will be gray and dreary again. Cyprus was even named by Lonely Planet as one of thenominated. We would like to extend this title to cover the whole winter. Because even in January we get what we sorely miss in Germany: sun, summer and a good mood. Of course it doesn't get too warm in Cyprus at the beginning of the year, but at least the sun can be seen for an average of six hours a day. Compared to the othersLike Sicily or Malta, it doesn't rain quite as much in Cyprus. The umbrella can be converted directly into a parasol.

There is less rain and more sun in the western Mediterranean. There lies the archipelago of the Balearic Islands, better known as, Menorca, Cabrera, Ibiza and Formentera. I bet almost all of you have been stranded on at least one of these islands. If not, you can do it now in January, which is also much more relaxed than in high season. The beaches are empty, the hotel prices are cheap and the restaurants are not exclusively overcrowded with German tourists who fly to the Ballermann every year and are proud of it. Well, all as you like. That's why you'll be on the Balearic Islands in Januaryfive hours of sunshine dailyrewarded, the temperatures are correspondingly mild and the weather conditions are similar on all islands. That's why it doesn't matter which of the islands you choose, at least when it comes to the weather. You get more sun everywhere than here.