Winter sun

I'm in Cascais near Lisbon for work next week. It's 15*c, sunny and apparently lovely. Flights were £70 return, a (looks nice 4* hotel) £62 a night for two of us.

https://www.hotelinglaterra.com.pt/m/

I’m currently I Cape Verdi, goes up to 25 degrees and a pleasant breeze.
But fails in just about all your other requirements. I’m in a hotel, no real runs from here and no culture. Tis nice and warm though.

Obvious answers for reliable sun are Morocco or canaries. The former we've only done once this time of year - Marrakech and a day in the Atlas - so not exactly experts, but would not do the same again. Not v relaxed if you're trying to be a bit independent.

Canaries have their pros (cheap, easy to get to, everything right there including plenty outdoor stuff, mountains and sea inc surf which frankly is my motivator, zero hassle) and cons (not much culture bar Cesar manrique, we felt like the youngest people on the plane and we are not young, some nasty looking concrete resorts on the south and west of the islands full of Europe's red of face. My prejudice is showing) . Er that's it. Just back from Mogan, gran Canaria which is really nice. Been to all the islands Jet2 fly to a couple of times each now. Fuerte is my preferred but that's the surf.

Algarve and Andalusia I'd wait until mid march and it's still more like Spring

Girona is beautiful, very cultural, warm enough (low/mid-teens at this time of year) plus it's easy access into the mountains, the coast or the train down to Barcelona if you want the full Gaudi / Sagrada Familia culture.

Have a look at the canaries smaller islands, La Palma and La Gomera, also the west coast of Tenerife or a quiet Gran Canaria resort are good options.

Cape Verde is nice and warm but only if you like sand! ace for surfers and Kitesurfers but that's it.

TUI flys to Senegal and The Gambia from Gatwick, could give you that culture bit.

We went to Gran Canaria (Puerto de Mogan) at the beginning of Jan. Definitely one of the nicer resorts. Great beach and restaurants, and superb access to the mountains for road biking / hiking etc. Was 25C some of the days we were there. Probably going back next year.

Been to PdM a few times albeit a while back, seemed to be getting more popular year on year - last time we were there 2018

Also Playa del Cura down the coast a bit, pretty quiet and not much going on but it's an easy bus journey up to PdM or down to Puerto Rico if you need something a bit livlier on the night.

I'm not a runner though so not sure what's accessible from there.

I’m currently I Cape Verdi, goes up to 25 degrees and a pleasant breeze.
But fails in just about all your other requirements. I’m in a hotel, no real runs from here and no culture. Tis nice and warm though.

I'm off to Cape Verde with the family in a couple of weeks, wife booked for us to go for two weeks. I'm expecting to be bored.

We went to Gran Canaria (Puerto de Mogan) at the beginning of Jan. Definitely one of the nicer resorts. Great beach and restaurants, and superb access to the mountains for road biking / hiking etc. Was 25C some of the days we were there. Probably going back next year.

Ha, we were there the same time. Felt a lot warmer than 25 at times in suntrap bits. It's a really nice resort with pretty streets and a bit of and old town which is rare in canaries. Full of the haves and have yachts.

Freemotion are good for bike hire and guided mtb rides, good bikes and reasonable prices.

Downside to Puerto de Mogan is it's difficult to get out of on foot. We always rent a car but parking is a nightmare...

Thanks for all the suggestions so far
I will probably look at just booking flights and then an air bnb, with some character
Seen some interesting ones in the centre of Gran Canaria
Anyone know what weathers usually like in Mallorca?

Seen some interesting ones in the centre of Gran Canaria

We've always stayed in Teror (mid/northern end of GC) which was nicer than the resorts at the southern end although not as warm. Buses in GC are pretty cheap and reliable so day trips out on the bus are certainly an option and you can get all round the island in a day easily enough.

Anyone know what weathers usually like in Mallorca?

It can be highly variable. Sunny and warm some days, torrential rain on others.

Essaouira in Morocco is waaay more chilled out than Marrakech. If I ever went back to Morocco I'd go there. It's worth a look, Google it.

Essaouira is lovely and v chilled. I m going to Barcelona in 2 weeks I m not expecting beach type weather, may get sunny days but it's chilly when the sun goes down.

It is cheap, well for Barcelona, paying c80 GBP per night, decent central hotel, it's 250 per night when weather picks up.

I d get a villa where u can cook, laze about, walk on beach. I find city breaks really tiring.

Essaouira in Morocco

Thought about it fwiw. There's surf, making it another surf hol in my wife's eyes meaning she gets to spend a fair bit of time reading books. (And I've surfed in barcelona on a meant to be romantic winter weekend break, tho I may no longer be quite that keen.) I mean what's wrong with that?

Anyway Essaouira is on my list. As is Senegal which I'd be keen to hear more about

We are just at the end of 10days in Collarejo Fuerteventura, first time we've been . I have to say the weather has not been what I was expecting. It's been around 19° most days but cloudy with it . We had a brilliant week in Menorca in October sun , warmth wise I was expecting the same . Has been really windy some days you wouldn't stay on the beach long . I just wanted to get away from our weather might look at Cape Verde for next January.

Collarejo Fuerteventura,

North coast. Better for surf, worse for sun

La Gomera in the Canaries has fantastic places for running in wild landscapes, and has a culture of its own. It has retained this because it can only be reached by boat, well worth the effort.

johnx2 wish our travel agent had told us that 😔😔😔😔😔

@oldfart Cape Verde is good weather wise. It’s still reasonably cheap as not fully developed yet. I paid £900 for a week in a 5 star all inclusive….it’s not really 5 star.
Not a massive deal to do here though. I arrived on Tuesday. Been 24 degrees with a bit of overcast on one day, but mainly clear blue skies and hot. There’s a few excursions, I’d imagine for surfers it’s pretty good, red flags on the beach everyday so far so no swimming.
The hotel is very clean. Pools are decent. Food is hit and miss though.

We did El Cotillo on Fuerteventura in December and really liked it. Lots of great little bars and restaurants, some nice beaches and enough places to go for a walk. Landscape is very lunar though so don’t expect much in the way of vegetation.

Last winter we went to north Lanzarote and stayed in an Airbnb in Arrieta. Quite a nice little fishing village essentially. A few good quality fish restaurants along the waterside and not a lot else. Made a nice change to the tourist towns further south, which I don't mind either to be honest. Certainly won't offer anything too cultural bar the Cesar Manrique spots, but scenery is wonderful. Lava fields, a volcano to walk up, and you're at the bottom of the best road climbs on the island if you're planning on riding. A short walk to the ocean swimming pools at Punta Mujeres and a few more bars and restaurants. More chance of cloud being so close to the mountains than the southern resorts though.

For those who are going to Cape Verde, which island are you going to Sal or Boa Vista? Both Islands have kitesurfing/windsurfing and quite hardcore surfing (think gnarly reef breaks) quad bike tours on Boa Vista look like fun, don't know about Sal.

Big game fishing should be available and diving/snorkelling trips on Boa Vista.

I did rent a Asda style mountain bike on Sal once, lots of dirt tracks to explore and some hills and there is a beach e-bike rental place in Santa Maria, Sal.

I'm in north Gran Canaria at the moment, it's fab, went south today and it was horrid. Back up north is quite lovely.
Wish you were all here.
Boobs
XXX

Madeira is our go to winter sun destination, great weather, loads of interesting walking/hiking/riding/activities, lovely food and a bit more civilized then the canaries IMO.

Oooh Madeira hadn’t crossed my mind, just had a look and it looks pretty cool, with some interesting air bnbs too
Any recommendation on best areas in Madeira?

Think I’m going to try and find somewhere in Gran Canaria or Madeira
Swimming, running, reading, eating interesting food and some exploring g, should keep whole family happy

Bikes and surf might be lower down the priority list than usual

We had a week in southern Spain in December in granada and córdoba.

Cold at night but nothing a light down jacket and beanie would not fix.

Clear blue skies every day, perhaps we were lucky. But it was great.

We travelled about by train which I highly recommend.

Pre-covid we used to do a couple of weeks in February in Altea, mainly road biking just to get rid of the winter pies that were accumulating around our waistlines. You could tell the Brits, we were always in short sleeves lapping up what seemed like all the rays… whilst locals were only venturing out in tights and full buffs, maybe with overshoes for good measure. If you do look at Altea, Jet2 did a great deal with Cap Negret which caters really well for cyclists.

Post-covid we realised we could just move to Europe and it would be much nicer.