Where to go
The best places to travel in January, when everyone else has gone home
January is the quiet month, and quiet can be a luxury. Seven places that are at their best right now, from the Florida Keys and the Red Sea to the winter sales in Madrid and Milan.
This page contains affiliate links. If you book through them, Picolo earns a commission at no extra cost to you. Our picks are made independently by our editors.
Every evening in Key West, a crowd gathers on Mallory Square to watch the sun drop into the Gulf of Mexico, and when it disappears, people applaud. In January, with the decorations back in the loft at home, that small ritual feels like a reward.
January suits two kinds of traveller. One wants sunshine before winter wins. The other has worked out that southern Europe's great cities are at their calmest and cheapest right now. This list serves both, with seven places where January is an advantage rather than a compromise.
Short answer: where should you go in January?
For sunshine, Key West, the Bahamas and Hurghada on the Red Sea are among the best choices in January. For cities, Madrid and Milan come alive with the winter sales, and Florence is quieter than at any other time of year.
Best for sunshine: Key West
Best for diving and snorkelling: Hurghada
Best for shopping: Milan
Best for art without queues: Florence
Best for families: Orlando
Hotel Lungarno
Hotel Lungarno on the Arno in Florence.
Florence: the Uffizi to yourself
In summer the queue for the Uffizi reaches round the corner. On a January weekday you can walk straight in and stand in front of Botticelli's Birth of Venus with no one at your shoulder. The same goes for Michelangelo's David at the Accademia.
The city is still, the light is low over the Arno and the trattorias serve winter dishes such as ribollita, a thick soup of bread, beans and vegetables. Climb to San Miniato al Monte before sunset and look back over the domes.
The catch: Pitti Uomo, the menswear fair, fills Florence's hotels in mid-January. Check the dates before you book.
Hotel Lungarno: beside the Ponte Vecchio
Hotel Lungarno sits on the south bank of the Arno, a few steps from the Ponte Vecchio, and belongs to the Ferragamo family. Many rooms look straight onto the river and the bridge. For travellers who want Florence framed in the window.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Lungarno
The Marquesa
The garden pool at The Marquesa, Key West.
Key West: sunset as a nightly ritual
Key West is the last island in the chain of the Florida Keys, and January falls in the dry season. Drive down the Overseas Highway from Miami, across the long bridges between the islands, and give it a whole day. The view is half the trip.
Once there, cycle between the wooden houses of Old Town, visit the house where Hemingway wrote, still home to the descendants of his six-toed cats, and be on Mallory Square for sunset. Buskers, jugglers and a hundred strangers all facing the same way.
The catch: January is high season, and cruise passengers can fill Duval Street during the day. Head out early.
The Marquesa: wooden houses in Old Town
The Marquesa is made up of restored nineteenth-century wooden houses in Old Town, with two pools set in a dense, leafy garden. Duval Street is round the corner, but the garden keeps the noise out. For couples who prefer a small hotel with character.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at The Marquesa
Park Hyatt Milano
Park Hyatt Milano beside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Milan: the sales, La Scala and The Last Supper
Italians wait all year for the saldi, and in Milan the winter sales begin in the first days of January. The city shops from the glass fronts of Via Montenapoleone to the high street of Corso Buenos Aires, and prices become easier to live with.
The season at La Scala is under way, and January is a good month to find tickets. Book Leonardo's Last Supper at Santa Maria delle Grazie well ahead, as slots are limited.
The catch: Milan in January is grey and often foggy, and men's fashion week in mid-month pushes up hotel prices. Avoid that week unless you are going for it.
Park Hyatt Milano: next door to the Galleria
Park Hyatt Milano occupies a nineteenth-century building beside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a few steps from the Duomo. You can drop your shopping bags in two minutes and head straight out to dinner. For travellers who want to be in the middle of everything.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Park Hyatt Milano
Kempinski Soma Bay
The beach at Kempinski Soma Bay.
Hurghada: coral reefs and winter sun on the Red Sea
The Red Sea has some of the world's most accessible coral reefs, and in January Hurghada offers dependable sunshine within a few hours' flight of most of Europe. At many hotels you can snorkel straight from the beach, and day boats head out to reefs where the fish are so used to people they swim right up to your mask.
If you prefer dry land, day trips run to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. It is a long day, and worth it.
The catch: evenings are cool in January and the wind can be brisk. Pick a hotel with a sheltered pool.
Kempinski Soma Bay: a reef on the doorstep
Kempinski Soma Bay is on the Soma Bay peninsula, south of Hurghada, with its own beach and a reef just offshore. The peninsula is known for steady wind and good kitesurfing. A strong choice if you want calm and something to do.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Kempinski Soma Bay
Hotel Orfila
Hotel Orfila in Chamberí, Madrid.
Madrid: the Three Kings and the rebajas
In Spain, presents arrive on 6 January with the Three Kings. The evening before, they ride through Madrid in the Cabalgata de Reyes, a parade where children line the streets to catch sweets thrown from the floats. The next day everyone eats roscón, a ring cake with a small figure hidden inside.
Then the winter sales (rebajas) begin in earnest, and the Gran Vía and the Salamanca district fill up. The Prado and the Reina Sofía are calmer than in spring, while the tapas bars of La Latina are as busy as ever.
The catch: Madrid sits high on the plateau, and January mornings are cold. Dress for winter, even in bright sunshine.
Hotel Orfila: a small palace with a garden
Hotel Orfila is a nineteenth-century mansion in Chamberí with a garden where breakfast is served when the weather allows. It sits in a residential street about ten minutes' walk from Salamanca. Book it if you like hotels with few rooms and plenty of quiet.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Orfila
Rosewood Baha Mar
Rosewood Baha Mar on Cable Beach, Nassau.
The Bahamas: Junkanoo on New Year's Day
In the small hours of 1 January, Bay Street in Nassau fills with Junkanoo, the Bahamian street parade of cardboard and crêpe-paper costumes, cowbells, goatskin drums and brass. Groups spend months building their costumes, and the rivalry is fierce.
After that come long beach days. From Nassau, boats and small planes run to the Exumas and Eleuthera, where the water is clear and the beaches empty. The pink sand of Harbour Island looks exactly as it does in the photographs.
The catch: cold fronts from the north can bring wind and cooler days in January. Pack a layer for the evenings.
Rosewood Baha Mar: the quiet end of Cable Beach
Rosewood Baha Mar is the smallest of the hotels in the Baha Mar complex on Cable Beach. You can use the casino and restaurants next door, yet you sleep at the calmer end of the beach. Well suited to couples.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Rosewood Baha Mar
Four Seasons Resort Orlando
The pools at Four Seasons Resort Orlando.
Orlando: the parks after the holiday rush
Once the holidays are over, American families head home and the queues at the theme parks shorten. January is one of the best months for Disney and Universal, and Epic Universe, Universal's newest park, is easier to get round than in the school holidays.
Days are sunny, though mornings can be cool, which is no bad thing when you are walking miles between rides.
The catch: the Martin Luther King Day weekend, around the third Monday of January, is busy. Avoid it if you can.
Four Seasons Resort Orlando: fireworks from the rooftop
Four Seasons Resort Orlando sits within Walt Disney World, with a lazy river and water slides around the pools. From the rooftop restaurant you can watch the fireworks over Magic Kingdom. Ideal when the children want the parks and the adults want calm afterwards.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Four Seasons Resort Orlando
Good to know before you book
January is low season in Europe: southern European cities offer some of the year's best hotel rates, except during trade fairs.
Check the fair calendar: Pitti Uomo in Florence and men's fashion week in Milan fill hotels in mid-January.
Sunshine costs more: Key West and the Bahamas are in high season. Book early.
The first week is busy: many people travel until 6 January. From the week after, it gets quieter and cheaper.
January travel: your questions answered
Where is the best place to travel in January?
For sunshine, Key West, the Bahamas and Hurghada are among the best. For city breaks, Florence, Madrid and Milan are good value thanks to low season and the winter sales.
When do the January sales start in Spain and Italy?
In Spain the rebajas get going after the 6 January holiday. In Italy the saldi begin in the first days of January.
Is January a good time to visit Orlando's theme parks?
Yes, January is one of the quietest months in the parks. Avoid the Martin Luther King Day weekend around the third Monday.
Where can I dive or snorkel in January?
The Red Sea around Hurghada and the Bahamas both offer good conditions in January. Bring a wetsuit for the Red Sea, where the water is cooler in winter.
Where is cheap to travel in January?
Southern European cities such as Madrid and Florence are among the best value in January. Sun destinations like Key West and the Bahamas, by contrast, are in high season.