Where to Go in Winter? Winter Destinations 2026/27
27 October 2026 · interactive guide · 12 min read
In winter, travellers head in two directions: towards the sun (Egypt, the Canary Islands, the tropics) or into the snow, in the Alps. This guide isn't a top list. Pick what you're after and the month you're going, say how many days you're away — and for every destination you'll see the daytime temperature and the sea temperature, how to get there, the time difference, whether you need to think about roaming, and which of our data plans is enough for your trip. The prices are the same ones the checkout charges. One destination calls for caution right now: Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently advises travel to the United Arab Emirates only in urgent cases — the card says so too.
Which winter destination suits you?
What are you looking for?
When are you going?
How much data do you use?
Estimate: a little ≈ 0.2 GB/day (maps, messages, ride app), average ≈ 0.6 GB/day (plus social media, photos), a lot ≈ 1.5 GB/day (video, video calls, hotspot). The price is the plan price; on your first purchase a one-off €1.36 eSIM fee is added.
Destinations: 13
Sunshine
Outside EU – roaming charges
Egypt
Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh, Marsa Alam
now
Daytime
23 °C
Sea
24 °C
Travel
4 h, direct
Time diff.
+1 h
Weather
dry, sunny
7 days
Long-term monthly average (daytime high, sea).
The shortest way to winter sun: about 4 hours direct from Budapest, with a one-hour time difference. In December expect daytime highs around 23 °C and a 24 °C sea; by February the water cools to 22 °C, its coldest month. Hungarian passport holders can buy the visa at the airport for 30 USD in cash, or in advance at visa2egypt.gov.eg (only .gov.eg is official). If you stay only in Sharm el-Sheikh for less than 15 days, the Sinai stamp is enough — but a trip to Cairo or Luxor requires a visa.
What do you need data for here?
Ride apps: both Uber and inDrive work in Hurghada
Maps, and a message home from the desert or boat trip
If the hotel Wi-Fi is weak: video calls, sharing photos
The only EU beach destination in winter: in southern Tenerife the days reach 22–23 °C, with rain on 2–4 days a month. The water is 19–21 °C, so swimming is more for the brave. About 5.5 hours direct from Budapest. It's EU territory, so if your plan is from an EU country, roaming here also comes from your domestic allowance — you need an eSIM only if your home data allowance is small.
What do you need data for here?
Navigation in a rental car in the mountains (Teide)
Ferry and bus tickets between the islands
Weather: the north coast and the mountains are cooler than the south
On the Andaman coast (Phuket, Krabi) December to March is the dry season — December is still a transition month, January–February the most reliable. In the Gulf of Thailand (Koh Samui), however, October to December is the wettest period, and it dries out from mid-January. An important change: since 15 September 2026 Hungarian passport holders can stay in Thailand as tourists for 30 days without a visa (previously 60), and the free TDAC digital arrival card must be completed within 3 days before arrival. From Budapest with a change; to Phuket there is also a charter flight between 22 February and 29 March 2027.
What do you need data for here?
Ride apps: Grab or Bolt (there is no Uber in Thailand)
Filling in the TDAC — it doesn't work without data
Ferry and boat tickets, a translation app for the menu
According to the Maldives Meteorological Service, the dry north-east monsoon runs January to March; December is a transition month, and in Malé it rains more then than in January and February combined. The water is 28–29 °C all winter. For Hungarian passport holders the 30-day tourist visa on arrival is free, but the IMUGA traveller declaration must be completed within 96 hours before the flight — for both arrival and departure. The only hospital is in Malé, so travel insurance with good cover is a must.
January and February are the driest and warmest (days around 31 °C, a 29 °C sea); December is still part of the short rainy season. Hungarian passport holders need a visa for Tanzania (50 USD, on arrival or online), and on Zanzibar the local insurer's 44 USD traveller insurance has been mandatory since 2024 — even alongside your own. Since May 2025 you can pay only in Tanzanian shillings, by card too.
What do you need data for here?
Proof of the mandatory Zanzibar insurance and the e-visa
Winter is the rainy season: it rains on 16–19 days a month, typically in short, heavy showers with sunshine in between; the sea is 29 °C. On entry, Hungarian passport holders get a 30-day visa on arrival (500,000 IDR); since 1 October 2025 the "All Indonesia" digital registration is mandatory (no earlier than 3 days before arrival), and you must also pay the 150,000 IDR Love Bali tourist levy. Grab and Gojek work, but reports say that in some places (central Ubud, parts of Canggu, Uluwatu) local drivers don't allow app-based pickups.
What do you need data for here?
The "All Indonesia" registration and the Love Bali levy
On the Caribbean coast, winter brings 27 °C days and a 25–26 °C sea; the hurricane season ends in November. Hungarian passport holders can enter without a visa, but the border officer may grant a stay well under 180 days — check the stamp. In the state of Quintana Roo (Cancún, Tulum) there is a separate visitor levy (VISITAX), which you should pay only on the official visitax.gob.mx site. In town Uber is legal, but don't count on app-based pickups at the airport — use a transfer or an official taxi there.
What do you need data for here?
Maps to the cenotes and the Maya ruins
Uber in town (not at the airport)
Keeping the digital immigration form (QR code) handy
In winter expect 27–28 °C days and a 26–28 °C sea, with plenty of short, light showers. Hungarian passport holders can stay 30 days without a visa, but the free e-Ticket is mandatory before both entry AND exit, on the official eticket.migracion.gob.do site — fraudulent sites charge for it. Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends the official airport taxi or your accommodation's transfer.
Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently classifies the United Arab Emirates in security category II and recommends travel only in urgent cases (27 October 2026). Check your own foreign ministry's latest advice before travelling.
now
Daytime
27 °C
Sea
26 °C
Travel
direct flights
Time diff.
+3 h
Weather
rare rain
7 days
Long-term monthly average (daytime high, sea).
Winter is the most pleasant time (25–27 °C by day, a 22–26 °C sea), but caution is needed now: because of the situation in the Middle East, European airlines are not flying to the Emirates, while flydubai's direct Budapest flight is operating. In the Emirates, unauthorised internet voice calls are prohibited — WhatsApp and FaceTime are not on the approved list (Botim, Zoom and Teams are); sending messages is fine.
What do you need data for here?
Ride apps and the metro
Messages home (WhatsApp is not allowed for voice calls)
Average: Ramsau am Dachstein (1,207 m) weather station, long-term monthly mean.
The nearest ski areas: Schladming is about 5.5 hours by car from Budapest. Some official 2026/27 season dates: Kitzbühel 6 November – 4 April, Ischgl 26 November – 2 May, St. Anton 2 December – 18 April. It's an EU country, so if your plan is from an EU country, roaming comes from your domestic allowance. Watch out in Ischgl: the ski area crosses into Switzerland (Samnaun), where your phone may switch to a Swiss network — which is no longer EU roaming.
What do you need data for here?
Piste map and lift status
Avalanche report: in Tyrol the Euregio one (avalanche.report)
Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno
now
Village
avg -3 °C
Snow
lifts up to 2,518 m
Travel
~8.5 h by car
Time diff.
none
Season
28 Nov – 4 Apr
7 days
Average: Selva di Val Gardena (1,594 m) weather station, long-term monthly mean.
Dolomiti Superski opens on 28 November 2026 (Plan de Corones, Val di Fiemme), Alta Badia, Val Gardena and Val di Fassa from 4 December; most areas run until 4 April. About 8.5 hours by car from Budapest to Cortina. It's an EU country, so if your plan is from an EU country, roaming comes from your domestic allowance.
What do you need data for here?
Piste map, lifts
Avalanche report: AINEVA (for the whole Italian Alps)
Average: Davos (1,594 m) weather station, long-term monthly mean.
Switzerland is not in the EU, so the EU roaming rules don't apply here: many home operators charge it separately, while some include it at the home rate — check your plan. Davos is about 10 hours by car from Budapest. The avalanche situation is published by the Swiss SLF, also in the White Risk app.
What do you need data for here?
Piste map and train tickets
Avalanche report: SLF / White Risk
If home roaming is expensive: an eSIM for the slopes
Average: Val d'Isère (1,850 m) weather station, long-term monthly mean.
The Three Valleys (Les 3 Vallées) lift connections run between 5 December 2026 and 18 April 2027; Val Thorens opens as early as 21 November and runs until 2 May. About 14 hours by car from Budapest, so many people fly to Geneva or Lyon. It's an EU country: if your plan is from an EU country, roaming comes from your domestic allowance.
Climate figures are multi-year averages (not a forecast), rounded to whole degrees; for ski resorts we show the monthly mean temperature of the nearest official weather station (name and altitude on the card), not a model estimate. Travel times are from Budapest; for trips with a change no hours are given. Entry rules apply to Hungarian passport holders — check the rules for your own nationality. Checked: 27 October 2026. Prices are today's plan prices. The images of Hurghada, Tenerife, Zanzibar, Punta Cana and the Alpine ski resorts are AI-generated illustrations.
The two weeks between Christmas and New Year (roughly 20 December to 4 January) are the most expensive and most crowded period at almost every winter destination. According to the travel agency Invia's autumn 2026 data, winter trips average 7–8 nights, and 85% of bookings are made at most 120 days before departure — so the holidays are worth deciding on now. If you're flexible, the weeks between mid-January and early February are calmer, and at several tropical destinations (Koh Samui, the Maldives, Zanzibar) the weather is more reliable from January, too.
You don't have to leave your data to the last minute: the eSIM's QR code arrives by email within minutes, and the plan's validity starts neither at purchase nor at installation, but with the first data use. So it's worth installing it a few days before departure, at home on Wi-Fi — that way there's nothing left to do at the airport, and on landing you only need to switch on mobile data. Also check in advance that your phone is eSIM-compatible.
Skiing: in the EU your home plan works — Switzerland is the exception
In Austria, Italy and France, EU roaming rules mean that a plan from an EU country works there just as it does at home, using your domestic allowance (operators may apply a fair-use limit). A separate eSIM makes sense there if your home data allowance is small, or if you don't want to burn through the family allowance on the slopes. Switzerland, however, is not in the EU, so the EU roaming rules don't apply there: many home operators charge it separately, while some include it at the home rate — check your plan. Near the border (Ischgl–Samnaun) your phone may also switch to a Swiss network on its own — then choose the network manually.
On the slopes, mobile data isn't a question of comfort: the piste map, lift status and avalanche report are all in an app or on the web, and if something goes wrong, your phone is what gives your position. Phone batteries drain faster in the cold — kept in an inside pocket, it lasts longer.
Faraway destinations: what to watch for at the stopover
To Thailand, Bali, the Maldives, Zanzibar or the Caribbean you usually fly from Europe with a change. Two things are worth knowing. An eSIM plan gives you data in the destination country — not necessarily in the country of your layover airport. And on your home SIM, the mobile network on board planes and ships counts as satellite roaming: according to the NMHH, Hungary's communications authority, not even the EU rules apply to it, and for one traveller a walk around a port caused a bill of about HUF 4 million. You can ask your provider, free of charge, to block non-land networks; and before take-off, switch off data roaming on your home line. More: how to avoid roaming charges.
Pre-departure checklist
Check whether you're inside the EU: outside it (and in Switzerland) most home operators charge roaming separately.
Check your foreign ministry's travel advice for entry rules: Thailand, the Maldives, Bali and the Dominican Republic require an online form, and Zanzibar requires mandatory local insurance.
Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi; your home SIM can stay in for banking texts — just switch off data roaming on it.
You can check today's sea temperature at the beach destinations live on our sea temperature page.
