As the cold starts to bite, it’s no wonder people are looking to book sunshine holidays to escape the winter blues. But with so much choice at our fingertips, which getaways will you get the most bang (AKA sunshine) for your buck?
Intrigued by this question, FindMyCasino set out to find out the ultimate sunshine holiday: in other words, which getaways get the most sun, as well as the most value for money. To do this, we analysed sunshine hours and crunched the numbers against the total cost of each destination to calculate the ‘pounds per sunshine hour’ of every getaway. And the results are in. Here are the best holiday destinations to go to for a sunny retreat without breaking the bank.
The Top 10 Destinations To Get the Most Winter Sun for Your Money
Marrakesh, Morocco
Marrakesh, Morocco is the destination which provides the most sunshine hours per pound. The total holiday cost for two adults from London is £644.32 on average, the lowest-priced destination of all cities analysed. Holidaymakers in Marrakesh will experience 10.06 hours of winter sun per day, 6.53 hours more than in London.
The cost for each sunshine hour gained is just £96.68, making Marrakesh the best-value winter sun destination. This means the destination is almost three times better value than Ibiza, where the cost of each sunshine hour gained on the island is £263.29.
Cairo, Egypt
Coming in second place as the best value destination in terms of cost per sunshine hour gained. A holiday for two adults from London costs £868.36 on average, making it £224.04 more expensive than Marrakesh.
Don’t let that put you off though, with average winter sunshine hours clocking in at 10.65 per day. 7.12 hours more than London, Cairo offers a warm and relatively affordable getaway for anyone feeling the winter blues. This is the reason Cario ranks at number two, with the cost per sunshine hour valued at £122.
Cairo’s cost per sunshine hour gained is around twice as better value as Tanzania, Zanzibar, which clocks in at £244.56.
Madeira, Portugal
Portugal’s remote island of Madeira takes third place as the best value for sunshine per hour gained. Taking a trip to Madeira from London will cost an average of £770.30 for 2 adults from London, a respectable price for a gorgeous island getaway. Vacationers in Madeira would expect to see an average of 9.35 sunshine hours a day, clocking in at 5.82 hours a day more than London. The ultimate cost per sunshine hour gained is £132.27.
A sunny beach holiday in Madeira costs almost half of what the same holiday would cost in Ibiza, which clocks in at £263.29 per sunshine hour gained.
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Tenerife, located in the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, is the fourth best value for sunshine per hour gained. You’ll be able to relax on gorgeous beaches and soak in 10.35 of winter sunshine hours (on average) — an increase of 6.82 hours compared to London.
The value of sun for money for a trip to Tenerife, at £136.58 per sunshine hour gained, is around three times cheaper than a similar trip to Mahé in the Seychelles, which costs £399.57 for each sunshine hour.
Fuerteventura, Spain
Coming in as the first most cost-efficient holiday destination per sun hour gained is Fuerteventura, Spain. Similar to Tenerife, Fuerteventura is located off the west coast of Africa and is known for its warm weather, beautiful beaches and clear blue waters. The average holiday cost for two adults from London is £1122.96, and during the winter months, the island receives an average of 10.35 sunshine hours per day (6.82 more hours of sunshine per day than London). In total, Fuerteventura clocks in at £164.57 per sunshine hour gained, making it a worthwhile winter getaway to consider.
Compared to other destinations, Fuerteventura has great sun for money value. A similar trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, for instance, is almost twice the price at £327 per sunshine hour gained.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
For luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and great weather, look no further than Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which ranks sixth as the sixth most cost-efficient holiday destination per sun hour gained.
As the only Arab city in our top ten list, this destination is a worthwhile choice if you’re looking for a metropolitan, multicultural holiday with a Middle-Eastern twist. Although Dubai is known for its wealth, the average cost from London isn’t the highest on the list, coming in at £1458.02 for two adults.
Moreover, the city receives an average of 9.94 sunshine hours per day in the winter, which is 6.41 more hours of sunshine per day than in London. This equates to the total cost per sunshine hour gained per day being £227.40.
Cancun, Mexico
Coming in as the seventh most cost-effective holiday getaway, per sun hours gained, is Cancun. Located in the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, this destination is well-known for its beautiful beaches, clear waters and warm weather. A holiday trip for two adults from London to Cancun costs an average of £1505.52.
Likewise, Cancun boasts 10 hours of sunshine on average during winter, 6.47 more hours per day than London, totalling up to £232.67 per extra sunshine hour gained.
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Zanzibar, an island located off the coast of East Africa, is known for its stunning beaches and rich culture. Although this isn’t the cheapest destination, coming in at £2085.98 for two adults from London, the amount of sunlight hours makes up for this.
During the winter, the island receives an average of 12.06 sunshine hours per day, which is 8.53 more hours of sunshine per day than in London. This equates to a cost of £244.56 per sunshine hour gained, making it eighth on our top list of winter getaways.
A trip to Zanzibar is almost double the value per sunshine hour gained than San Diego, California, which costs £480 per sunshine hour gained.
Cape Town, South Africa
Not only is Cape Town world-renowned wineries and iconic views of Table Mountain, it’s also a worthwhile choice to consider for your winter holiday too. Costing £1980.92 for two adults from London, Cape Town receives plentiful sun over the winter, at 11.47 sunshine hours per day — 7.94 sunshine hours more than London. This ranks Cape Town, South Africa, ninth on the list with the cost per sunshine hour gained at £249.45.
Despite coming far from first, Cape Town is still twice as better value as Barbados, which costs a whopping £564.51 per sunshine hour gained.
Ibiza, Balearic Islands
Coming in tenth on the list is Ibiza, known for its sandy beaches and unbeatable nightlife. Here, the average holiday for two adults from London will set you back £1192.54, making it a relatively affordable option compared to other destinations on this list.
Unfortunately, the average winter sunshine hours are less than other locations mentioned above, coming in at 8.06 hours per day — although still 4.53 hours more than London. This equates to a cost per sunshine hour gained of £263.29, a notable contender for anyone looking for a winter clubbing and beach break.
The Best Locations To Fly From Other Than London
Flying from outside of the capital? Have no fear. Here’s the best value for sunshine holiday destinations for other major airports across the UK.
Marrakech, Morocco, Scored the Highest for All Airports
Across the board, Marrakech scores the highest for the best winter sun for money of all major airports we surveyed. For Manchester, a trip to Marrakech equated to £74.45 per sunshine hour gained, Birmingham was £87.15, Newcastle was £89.14, and Edinburgh £86.08.
The Best Locations To Fly To From Different UK Airports
Manchester and Edinburgh: Tenerife, Canary Islands
For those flying out of Manchester and Edinburgh, Tenerife ranked as the second-best value for sunlight winter holiday destination. This destination totals £86.41 per sunshine hour gained for Manchester and £93.38 for Edinburgh.
Birmingham: Fuerteventura, Spain
Fuerteventura ranked as the second-best value destination in terms of sunlight for flyers departing from Birmingham. Coming in at £92.48 hours gained, this sunny island is a strong contender for your much-needed beach holiday fix.
Newcastle: Madeira, Portugal
For flyers departing from Newcastle, the Portuguese island of Madeira ranked second as the most sun for your money. Coming in at £110.72 per sunshine hour gained, this idyllic and remote island is a great option to escape the winter blues at an affordable price.
Methodology
FindMyCasino conducted the following research to identify holiday destinations providing the greatest amount of sunshine per pound spent. This research used net surface solar radiation by hour of day acquired from the ERA-Land reanalysis dataset to compute sunshine hours, and collect cost estimates for flights, hotel stays, restaurant meals, and drinks from a multitude of reliable data sources.
Global gridded net surface solar radiation (J/m2) during the winter months–December, January, and February–between 2016 and 2021 were then collected from the Era5-Land monthly averaged reanalysis dataset, provided by the Copernicus Climate Data Store.
A spatial join between the solar radiation grids and selected holiday destination locations was then performed together with an aggregation to compute for each destination, the total solar radiation by month. A rate of 1000W/m2 was used to calculate the average sunshine hour duration per winter month.
Return flight prices for two adults, together with 3-star hotel stay prices, were collected from google flights and google hotels respectively. Restaurant meals and beer prices were collected from Numbeo. The total estimated holiday cost for two adults was then calculated assuming holidaymakers bought two 2 meals and 1 beer per day from a restaurant.
The estimated total cost of the holiday was then divided by the total sunshine hours gained for each destination to rank the holiday destinations that provide the most sunshine hours per pound in cost.
