Manchester Airport has done the hard work of planning your escape a little easier again, sharing a list of 10 places you can fly to for a bit of last-minute winter sun.
The airport has selected destinations that involve plenty of vitamin D, beaches, and warm seas, even at this time of year.
And the best bit is that return flights start from just £30 per person.
The list of 10 winter sun escapes from Manchester covers everything from classic holiday destinations like the Canary islands, as well as more far-flung adventures.
There’s even a brand-new route to Thailand on the cards.
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So here are 10 last-minute winter sun escapes from Manchester Airport to help you beat those January blues.
Tenerife
You can fly to Tenerife from just £30 from Manchester. Credit: Unsplash, Fausto Garcia Menendez
It’s one of Britain’s favourite holiday destinations, thanks to its reliable sunshine year-round and family-friendly attractions like the gigantic Siam Park water park.
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In January and February, temperatures sit around the low- to mid-twenties, which feels practically roasting compared to the UK, and there’s not a lot of rain to worry about either.
Younger travellers might want to head to Playa de las Americas for the nightlife, but there’s bags of things to do for families and for those looking for a quieter winter holiday too.
Fly with Ryanair from only £30pp*.
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Fuerteventura
All the climate wins of Tenerife, but generally a little quieter, Fuerteventura is another great place to jet off to for some winter sun.
The entire island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, so if you love nature and outdoors adventures, you’ll love it here.
It’s a paradise for marine and desert habitats – and outstanding beaches to unwind on once you’re done exploring too.
Fly with Ryanair from only £32pp*.
Paphos
Paphos offers a winter sun escape from Manchester. Credit: Unsplash, Datingjungle
Cyprus has a very Brit-friendly climate in the off-season, with temperatures in the high teens but with plenty of sunshine.
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It’s much quieter (and cheaper) now than it is in the heat of the summer months, but the slightly cooler weather makes it the perfect time to explore the island’s great outdoors and historic sites.
Visit the ruins of Ancient Paphos and the Tombs of the Kings, then refuel on souvlaki and seafood.
Fly with Ryanair from only £38pp*.
Agadir
This has become a hotspot for tourists visiting Morocco, thanks to its pleasant year-round climate, wide beach, and seafront strips of restaurants and cafes.
In January, temperatures reach about 22 degrees, but it gets a little warmer than that as we head into February and March – you might just manage a day on the beach.
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There’s also the Museum of Arts, which explores the surrounding region’s Berber heritage, and a visit to the Souk El Had market will let you practice your haggling skills.
Fly with Ryanair from only £49pp*.
Sal
Cape Verde is another firm favourite for winter sun from Manchester, with a similar climate to the Canary Islands (it’s just a little south of them).
Sal is an island that’s part of the African nation, but almost has a Caribbean vibe.
Expect colonial architecture, waterfront barbecues, and palm tree-lined beaches.
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Fly with easyJet from only £134pp*.
Sharm el Sheikh
Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. Credit: Unsplash, Karine Avetisyan
Sharm el Sheikh is the most famous and popular resort of Egypt’s bustling Red Sea coastline, and January is a great month to visit.
There’s comfortable temperatures around the low- to mid-twenties, blazing winter sun, and clear skies (though it does get chilly in the evening, it’s nothing like the Manchester weather).
This place is paradise for scuba diving and snorkelling too, with incredible diverse reefs just off the shore.
Fly with easyJet from only £237pp*.
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Montego Bay
Montego Bay in Jamaica. Credit: Unsplash, ROMAIN TERPREAU
Now we’re getting serious about our winter sun suggestions, and getting a long way from Manchester.
Montego Bay is Jamaica’s most-loved beach resort, with year-round temperatures of around 30 degrees and a gorgeous Caribbean atmosphere.
It’s the dry season right now, which means you can make the most of those white sands, turquoise waters, and mouthwatering food.
Fly with TUI from only £363pp*.
Cancun
Previously tarnished as being a Spring Break destination for American students seeking a wild party, Cancun has developed a more family-orientated reputation in recent years.
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There are more than 60 miles of golden sands in the surrounding Riviera Maya, plus water parks, historic sites like Chichen Itza, and amazing natural landscapes.
As for the weather – temperatures in January and February are similar to what you’d find in the Mediterranean in the height of summer. Toasty.
Fly with TUI from only £433pp*.
Bangkok
You can fly direct to Bangkok from Manchester and access Southern Thailand for witner sun. Credit: Unsplash, Sumit Chinchane
This is a brand-new direct route for Manchester Airport, with flights whizzing passengers straight to Bangkok for some winter sun.
We’re now linked to the world’s most-visited city, which is a vibrant and busy hub with great food and cultural wonders.
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But it also acts as a gateway to the islands and beaches of Southern Thailand, including Koh Phi Phi, Phuket, and Koh Samui.
Fly with Norse from only £598pp*.
Dubai
Dubai offers winter sun from Manchester. Credit: Unsplash, Christopher Moreno Stokoe
It’s a lot of people’s dream destination (and a lot of people’s worst nightmare), but you can’t deny the weather in Dubai is pretty tempting at this time of year.
The impressive high-rise city also has some amazing white-sand beaches, and temperatures in the mid-twenties in January and February.
You can also escape into the nearby desert for a day in a 4×4 safari.
Whitemoor Trail – a little wander off the beaten track in one of Cheshire’s best walking spots
Danny Jones
We’re trying to do more walking and outdoorsy stuff in 2026, and whether it’s here in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, or somewhere else nearby in the North West, we intend to lap up as much natural splendour as we can.
It goes without saying that we’re unbelievably lucky to have both the Peak and the Lake District not too far from us, but we’ll admit that sometimes we want something close by, super easy and family-friendly.
Now, that’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of that in both the Peaks and the Lakes, but when our mates asked us to come along on a slightly hungover but frosty and super picturesque morning, a key condition we expressed was that it needed to be very low difficulty.
All that being said, we’d argue you might not get a better balance of accessible and enjoyable than the Whitemoor Trail up in Delamere Forest.
Credit: The Manc Group
For starters, that level of ease begins with how you get there; put simply, not only is it less than an hour’s drive away in the car, but it’s just over a 40-minute train ride to Delamere Station, which drops you not too far from the Forest itself – especially if you’re already gearing up for a day of walking.
You can even get the bus there, if you so wish.
Ran by Forestry England, it’s a fairly popular local attraction, as you’ll see upon arrival at the car park, but the art is in figuring out which route you want to take through the stunning hills, nature reserve and expansive treeline.
Trust us, it’s in finding these lesser-tread trails and preferred paths that you end up finding some of the most beautiful vistas, glimpses of the native wildlife, and the most serene, sometimes impossibly quiet spots at times.
Of course, there are still plenty of people about on the site, in particular on the weekends, but it doesn’t take long to find your own slice of solace and let the outside world slowly fall away and disappear into the periphery. Go and seek your own quiet moment – you won’t regret it.
Soon, all you’ll see is the incredible landscape around you, the forest continuing to unfold in front of you
It goes without saying that wandering through the woods is obviously some of the cleanest oxygen you might ever suck into your lungs, but it felt like the biggest breath of fresh air for our brains, too.
We can all be guilty of spending far too long sat it front of screens, staying inside – especially when it’s cold and wet out (as it often is in this region) – but we were definitely very pleased with ourselves for getting out of bed to soak in this simple morning splendour.
Of course, it doesn’t matter how early you get there, so long as you do, as the various parts of Delamere Forest each have their own special little bit of magic.
For instance, for those looking to keep the little ones engaged, there’s an official Gruffalo Trail: a beginner’s level walk with minimal elevation but plenty of hand-carved statues of the classic children’s characters.
Credit: The Manc
You’ll pass everything from almost perfectly still lakes and ponds, connecting up with Black Lake and Blakemere, as well as all types of trunks and foliage stretching far into the main Delamere Circular and well beyond that.
Whether you want to walk it, trail run, cycle, or even go off-road and sample the different kinds of terrain, this place offers great versatility, so while it’s a perfect entry-level ramble, you can spice things up if you want to make it more of a challenge.
Finally, once you’ve checked off everything you want to see, you can take a well-earned rest at the Forest cafe and stop to get a pretty picture of any and all precious pups who’ve definitely earned a nap on the way home.
As for you lot, reward yourselves however you see fit, but please make sure to try out Whitemoor Trail and Delamere Forest: the experience won’t let you down, no matter the season.
And if you fancy getting out in the hills with even more of a spring in your step, why not try dipping your toes into trail running this year?
Manc rock band left ‘broke as f***’ despite just finishing EU arena tour as industry concerns grow
Danny Jones
Manchester musicians Witch Fever have revealed that they are now almost completely “broke” despite having just finished touring with a major rock band on a lengthy arena run across Europe, as concerns continue to grow around shows in the EU.
Post-Brexit, it has become increasingly more difficult for UK bands not only to make money playing around the mainland but to even book support slots in the first place.
From more stringent visa requirements that limit the amount of time they can perform on the road, as well as other essential work permits, to tax, transport and wider logistics, almost every aspect of the live music landscape has become more complicated on the continent.
Unfortunately, ‘Doom-punk’ outfit Witch Fever is one of countless groups being affected by these issues; opening up on a recent podcast appearance, they said that this is simply “what the music industry is like at the moment.”
As you can see, speaking in the most recent episode of the 101 Part Time Jobs with Giles Bidder – a fellow artist as well as pod and radio host – two members of the local outfit put it as plainly as they could: “we’re broke as f***”.
Breaking things down into as basic terms as possible, bassist Alex Thompson said that while the “fees are [already] low, the costs are getting higher and higher” relative to what they can afford.
Thompson went on to admit that she is now relying on the remainder of her late mother’s pension to get by and that no one in the band can even get a steady enough job right now because they’re heading back out on tour again this March.
As explained by lead singer Amy Walpole, the band has only just finished supporting Danish veterans Volbeat, but any potential ‘profit’ from the two-months’ worth of shows is currently “stuck in withholding taxes across Europe” – a common problem for most British artists trying to play overseas right now.
Surprisingly, they even received a little bit of backlash on social media since the interview (which you can watch in full HERE) went live.
This just in, JK Rowling super fan celebrating us struggling coz the music industry is impossible rn because *checks notes* it’s karma for disagreeing with JKs views lol
It wasn’t long ago that the Witch Fever gang booked a big hometown gig here in the city centre, either, as their warm-up shows for Volbeat also involved a trip to the AO Arena back in November.
We’ve seen them live a couple of times now, and if those shows were anything to go by, we really think you should go see them on their upcoming tour.
As it happens, we put them on our artists of the month round-up in January 2024, and they’ve only got bigger since then; it’s more important than ever that we support rising bands and grassroots venues on our doorstep when we can.
If you’re interested, you can grab your tickets now. Even if not, in the meantime, you can see what we had to say about them and four other fantastic Greater-Manchester-based bands down below.
Daisy Jackson -
24th January 2026 
