Please recommend somewhere sunny in February.

[pharmachameleon]

My DH is ramping up for a really tough few months in work and should be out of the woods by Jan next year. Therefore we've decided to go on holiday in Feb to relax afterwards. It's me, DH and DS age 13. DS is off school for a week but we could stretch out the holiday to 10 days if necessary.
The only place I can think of to get some sun is Dubai but I'm not sure that option fills me with much excitement . We like chilling out on a beach but also like to do some active stuff like diving, water sports etc. Budget is probably £5-6k.

Any ideas? I'm really stumped. I love Europe but realise we won't get much sun in Feb so probably need to think further afield.

We went to Cape Verde at the start of March and was perfect weather, I think Feb should be okay but maybe not scorching. There’s not much on the island (just desert landscape) but hotel resorts are nice and most attached to beaches with activities to do. It can get windy - didn’t bother us but it might stop some water sports or sea swimming if you are bothered about things like that.

Not the Canary Islands. I went in Feb this year and it wasn't warm enough. The Spanish and French people in the resort were wearing jeans and puffa jackets! My family and I were in summer dresses and shorts because that's all we had packed. I ended up walking to the shopping mall along the coast and buying leggings for everyone to keep warm 😂

Seville or Madeira

Thanks all. Not the Canary Islands? That was my back up place 😂 To be fair I went to Tenerife in June one year and it rained quite a bit and was not that warm so would be taking a chance going in Feb.
Cape Verde-I've had a look before and don't really see any nice hotels that I fancy. I'll have another look though as things may have changed.
Seville-I would love to go to Seville but temps look an average of 18 degrees C in February. I need to feel the heat! I get really low and fed up over the long, dark winter months and would love wall to wall sunshine and heat when we go away in February so don't think I could take the chance with Seville.

Barbados is perfect in Feb.

Movenpick El Gouna movenpick.accor.com/en/africa/egypt/el-gouna/things-to-do/watersports.html

Palm Royale Soma Bay https://www.palmroyaleresort.com/wellbeing

Caribbean is your best bet if you’ve only got a week or 10 days. A £6k budget for 3 people might be tight though. DP and I spent £3k on food and drink in Antigua over 10 days earlier this year (and we’re not big eaters/heavy drinkers). If you can stretch to £8-9k then that would work fine.

@Fivemoreminutes1 these look great thanks

Egypt. 4.5 hour flight

Dubai - will be about 28 degrees. Expensive when you are there, lots to do though.
Egypt - I think this is the best bet for your budget and 7 nights.
Canaries?
Or you fly 8hrs+
Mexico, Caribbean - Aruba, Barbados, Thailand.

depends how hot you want it. we have been to lanzarote several times in Feb, and whilst its not been wall to wall sunshine its been similar temps to here at the moment with more wind and less rain. There are always a lot of divers in peurto del carmen, so i'm guessing it must be pretty good.

If you don’t fancy Dubai, Oman is nicer, more chill.

Marrakech is also lovely, stay in one of the western hotels outside of the medina and visit if you wish

I’ve been to southern Spain fairly regularly that time of year and in the day it’s regularly been early 20s.

we had a fab Nile cruise in January.

marrakech and fez, you can get a driver to take you out to the mountains l

Lots of great ideas thanks. I know I'm probably way off here but I fear I may get food poisoning in Egypt. A few of my friends have been over the years and each one got really sick while on holiday there. To be fair they probably weren't in nice hotels.
Oman really appeals to me.
Canaries might be the best affordable option.

@BarrelOfOtters I really love Spain-I'm in Spain right now! We were here in April last year and while the weather was beautiful the pool was freezing as it wasn't heated. Would be absolutely perfect for a city break type holiday though.

pharma is correct. if you want to swim you need a heated pool in the canaries in winter. And check if they charge extra as it can sometimes be quite a lot

Cape Verde
Some of the hotels are huge places that will probably give you food poisoning so look at the Melia Tortuga on Sal

@Hoppinggreen that hotel looks nice thanks. I can't really check prices easily as I'm in Spain just now but I'll have a look when I'm home.

We loved it, there are a lot of negative stories about CV and to be fair there’s not a lot to do but you can just chill and do water sports plus there are island tours by jeep that are quite interesting.
That hotels main buffet restaurant is ok but the a la carte ones (included if you book) were excellent

My recommendation was Oman, which I can see has also been recommended above. It’s a fabulous country to visit IME, great mix of culture and relaxation. Much nicer than Dubai / Abu Dhabi imo.

Al Baleed by Anantara would be my recommendation https://www.anantara.com/en/al-baleed-salalah - has gorgeous private villas too which might work well with your DS being 13. This requires flying in to Salalah though, which requires a connection in Muscat and so does add on a bit of travelling time.

There are also several great resorts around Muscat where there is more choice of direct flights from the UK.

Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah
Jumeirah Muscat Bay
W Muscat
The Chedi
Al Bustan Palace

My daughter and I went to Egypt in March this year. We stayed in a 5 ⭐️ all inclusive resort and no one got sick! The hotel was incredibly clean and the food nice although it got a bit samey after a week. It wasn't a particularly cultural holiday but it was very chilled, more of a reading whilst sipping a cocktail or two kind of holiday. Plus there were opportunities for diving and snorkelling, tennis, aqua aerobics and football.

It was very warm every day except one and we swam lots in the pool although the sea was definitely on the cool side.

@cherryassam those hotels look fabulous. I think Oman ticks a lot of boxes. I don't really want to just lie around a pool so looks as if there's lots of other activities and culture in Oman. Thanks

It’s a brilliant place to visit!

If you’d like to do a package, have a look at Trailfinders. Oman Air also do holiday packages which can work out better value.

If you’re in Muscat, do a day trip to Wadi Shab if you can, just breathtakingly beautiful.

Egypt
Tunisia
Morocco
UAE (Abu Dhabi or Dubai)

I’d do Dubai …. The weather will be perfect, there’s so much to do and see for a 13yo, nice beaches ,water sports, dune bashing/dune surfing , go up burj khalifa, see fountains , try ski Dubai, water parks, cruise on marina at night. You could stay out of the city if you want a more peaceful stay Marjan island has some nice hotels . If you into history and old buildings etc then not the place to go.. but my Dcs 15, 12 , 8 love escaping the uk winter to Dubai I have to admit it’s not always a relaxing holiday but with 3dcs I’m yet to find that.