Where to go in January for the sea: Egypt and the UAE

Contents

City weather in January

2015–2024 averages. Values refer to the listed cities.
City	Country or territory	Daytime high	Nighttime low	Precipitation	Days with at least 1 mm	Daylight
Singapore	Singapore	28.7 °C	24.5 °C	295.0 mm	24.0	12.1 h
New York City	United States	4.2 °C	-0.7 °C	146.4 mm	10.9	9.6 h
London	United Kingdom	7.1 °C	1.3 °C	66.9 mm	13.6	8.4 h
Paris	France	6.6 °C	0.6 °C	64.5 mm	12.7	8.8 h
Berlin	Germany	3.3 °C	-1.7 °C	55.3 mm	12.9	8.2 h
Chicago	United States	0.1 °C	-4.4 °C	47.1 mm	8.0	9.5 h
Hong Kong	Hong Kong	20.3 °C	13.4 °C	51.9 mm	5.9	10.9 h
Sydney	Australia	25.9 °C	20.9 °C	105.0 mm	14.1	14.1 h
Washington	United States	5.0 °C	-2.9 °C	76.9 mm	8.1	9.8 h
Amsterdam	The Netherlands	6.0 °C	2.3 °C	80.6 mm	15.6	8.3 h
Tokyo	Japan	9.6 °C	1.2 °C	66.3 mm	5.4	10.0 h
Istanbul	Turkey	8.9 °C	4.1 °C	92.4 mm	13.7	9.6 h
Vienna	Austria	3.1 °C	-3.2 °C	40.4 mm	12.1	8.8 h
Bangkok	Thailand	33.2 °C	20.9 °C	17.4 mm	3.1	11.4 h
Budapest	Hungary	3.2 °C	-3.4 °C	41.1 mm	8.9	8.9 h
San Francisco	United States	13.9 °C	7.2 °C	129.0 mm	10.4	9.9 h
Stockholm	Sweden	-0.4 °C	-4.6 °C	51.8 mm	11.4	7.0 h
Helsinki	Finland	-0.8 °C	-3.6 °C	63.5 mm	15.0	6.8 h
Madrid	Spain	9.9 °C	-0.1 °C	39.6 mm	7.4	9.6 h
Delhi	India	21.7 °C	6.7 °C	27.3 mm	3.5	10.5 h
Munich	Germany	2.7 °C	-3.7 °C	84.2 mm	15.2	8.8 h
Copenhagen	Denmark	3.4 °C	0.5 °C	67.6 mm	14.0	7.7 h
Mexico City	Mexico	19.7 °C	4.6 °C	5.7 mm	2.0	11.1 h
Dubai	United Arab Emirates	23.9 °C	18.3 °C	25.5 mm	2.9	10.8 h
Lisbon	Portugal	15.0 °C	11.3 °C	50.3 mm	9.0	9.8 h
Saint Petersburg	Russia	-6.2 °C	-11.3 °C	52.6 mm	13.7	6.8 h
Melbourne	Australia	26.0 °C	15.4 °C	76.3 mm	9.4	14.5 h
Barcelona	Spain	13.1 °C	4.1 °C	37.3 mm	5.0	9.6 h
Venice	Italy	8.0 °C	3.7 °C	53.2 mm	6.9	9.1 h
Oslo	Norway	-3.5 °C	-8.7 °C	80.6 mm	14.6	6.8 h
Cape Town	South Africa	21.4 °C	18.0 °C	12.9 mm	2.2	14.1 h
Dublin	Ireland	7.6 °C	4.1 °C	84.4 mm	15.4	8.1 h
Buenos Aires	Argentina	28.1 °C	22.2 °C	86.4 mm	9.1	14.2 h
Seattle	United States	7.7 °C	2.3 °C	186.4 mm	19.5	8.9 h
Vancouver	Canada	6.5 °C	3.3 °C	200.5 mm	20.6	8.7 h
Hamburg	Germany	4.0 °C	-0.3 °C	75.0 mm	15.3	8.1 h
Rome	Italy	11.8 °C	3.6 °C	67.7 mm	10.7	9.5 h
Moscow	Russia	-7.2 °C	-13.4 °C	54.3 mm	14.4	7.7 h
Manchester	United Kingdom	6.1 °C	1.8 °C	92.6 mm	17.5	8.1 h
Jakarta	Indonesia	29.0 °C	25.6 °C	303.4 mm	29.7	12.4 h
Las Vegas	United States	14.9 °C	2.9 °C	23.0 mm	3.9	10.0 h
Milan	Italy	8.1 °C	0.6 °C	51.7 mm	6.7	9.1 h
Los Angeles	United States	17.9 °C	8.2 °C	91.9 mm	5.6	10.2 h
Ottawa	Canada	-6.3 °C	-16.7 °C	62.2 mm	11.5	9.2 h
Boston	United States	1.3 °C	-6.4 °C	108.1 mm	9.8	9.5 h
Quebec City	Canada	-8.5 °C	-18.3 °C	73.6 mm	12.7	9.0 h
Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	32.7 °C	21.6 °C	10.7 mm	2.5	11.6 h
Lyon	France	5.7 °C	-1.0 °C	62.9 mm	11.9	9.1 h
Hanoi	Vietnam	21.4 °C	12.1 °C	50.3 mm	6.0	11.0 h
Prague	Czechia	2.4 °C	-3.5 °C	40.5 mm	12.3	8.6 h
Guangzhou	China	21.8 °C	10.1 °C	61.5 mm	5.9	10.9 h
Cologne	Germany	4.9 °C	-0.3 °C	79.8 mm	16.0	8.5 h
Macau	Macao	18.8 °C	16.7 °C	66.4 mm	5.7	10.9 h
Beijing	China	2.0 °C	-9.7 °C	1.8 mm	0.3	9.7 h
Glasgow	United Kingdom	4.7 °C	1.1 °C	127.8 mm	20.2	7.7 h
Montreal	Canada	-5.7 °C	-16.4 °C	72.0 mm	13.5	9.1 h
Nairobi	Kenya	28.2 °C	14.8 °C	34.3 mm	7.1	12.2 h
Toronto	Canada	0.3 °C	-4.3 °C	56.0 mm	14.9	9.3 h
Kyoto	Japan	6.6 °C	-0.4 °C	95.3 mm	16.3	10.1 h
Seoul	South Korea	1.5 °C	-6.1 °C	19.9 mm	3.2	9.9 h
Brussels	Belgium	6.0 °C	0.7 °C	77.8 mm	14.9	8.5 h
Tallinn	Estonia	-1.5 °C	-4.8 °C	58.0 mm	14.6	6.9 h
Krakow	Poland	1.5 °C	-4.7 °C	47.1 mm	11.7	8.6 h
Naples	Italy	11.3 °C	4.3 °C	70.4 mm	12.0	9.6 h
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	24.1 °C	7.6 °C	12.6 mm	2.5	11.7 h
Shanghai	China	9.4 °C	1.9 °C	70.1 mm	9.7	10.4 h
Athens	Greece	12.6 °C	6.9 °C	65.0 mm	11.1	9.9 h
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	28.9 °C	23.9 °C	246.3 mm	21.1	13.4 h
Zurich	Switzerland	3.2 °C	-2.8 °C	117.8 mm	16.4	8.9 h
Geneva	Switzerland	3.2 °C	-3.2 °C	109.0 mm	13.1	9.1 h
Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	28.9 °C	21.9 °C	239.5 mm	22.1	12.0 h
Warsaw	Poland	0.7 °C	-4.6 °C	47.9 mm	12.4	8.3 h
Hiroshima	Japan	7.1 °C	-1.1 °C	69.4 mm	10.1	10.1 h
Canberra	Australia	27.8 °C	13.8 °C	84.4 mm	12.5	14.2 h
Chiang Mai	Thailand	25.5 °C	13.9 °C	25.9 mm	3.1	11.1 h
Mumbai	India	31.4 °C	16.6 °C	1.5 mm	0.4	11.1 h
Tel Aviv	Israel	16.3 °C	8.0 °C	155.7 mm	11.8	10.3 h
Ljubljana	Slovenia	3.4 °C	-3.5 °C	82.1 mm	9.7	9.1 h
Dresden	Germany	2.2 °C	-3.0 °C	59.2 mm	14.9	8.5 h
Frankfurt	Germany	4.2 °C	-1.4 °C	64.8 mm	13.0	8.6 h
Gothenburg	Sweden	2.7 °C	-0.0 °C	95.2 mm	16.0	7.3 h
Baku	Azerbaijan	7.6 °C	4.6 °C	28.6 mm	6.4	9.6 h
Perth	Australia	26.8 °C	19.7 °C	23.2 mm	2.4	14.0 h
Calgary	Canada	-2.7 °C	-11.3 °C	15.6 mm	5.2	8.5 h
Kyiv	Ukraine	-1.8 °C	-7.8 °C	44.4 mm	11.5	8.5 h
Bucharest	Romania	3.9 °C	-3.8 °C	45.1 mm	7.4	9.3 h
Turku	Finland	-2.2 °C	-6.6 °C	64.9 mm	15.4	6.7 h
Florence	Italy	6.8 °C	0.0 °C	50.0 mm	9.6	9.3 h
Porto	Portugal	13.5 °C	8.1 °C	125.4 mm	12.4	9.6 h
Seville	Spain	15.8 °C	4.6 °C	40.3 mm	5.2	9.9 h
Bergen	Norway	0.1 °C	-3.5 °C	329.4 mm	22.4	6.7 h
Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	23.2 °C	18.5 °C	15.6 mm	2.4	10.8 h
Malaga	Spain	15.3 °C	11.6 °C	47.2 mm	6.5	10.0 h
Antalya	Turkey	12.0 °C	3.7 °C	168.1 mm	14.1	9.9 h
Hurghada	Egypt	21.2 °C	15.3 °C	1.0 mm	0.3	10.6 h
Funchal	Portugal	17.9 °C	16.1 °C	33.0 mm	6.5	10.3 h
Sharm El Sheikh	Egypt	21.9 °C	14.5 °C	1.9 mm	0.3	10.6 h
Larnaca	Cyprus	15.9 °C	12.2 °C	84.0 mm	12.5	10.1 h
Paphos	Cyprus	13.8 °C	9.5 °C	100.0 mm	13.8	10.1 h
Puerto de la Cruz	Spain	19.0 °C	16.6 °C	20.0 mm	3.9	10.6 h

Countries and territories

Singapore — 1 destinations
United States — 8 destinations
United Kingdom — 3 destinations
France — 2 destinations
Germany — 6 destinations
Hong Kong — 1 destinations
Australia — 4 destinations
The Netherlands — 1 destinations
Japan — 3 destinations
Turkey — 2 destinations
Austria — 1 destinations
Thailand — 2 destinations
Hungary — 1 destinations
Sweden — 2 destinations
Finland — 2 destinations
Spain — 5 destinations
India — 2 destinations
Denmark — 1 destinations
Mexico — 1 destinations
United Arab Emirates — 2 destinations
Portugal — 3 destinations
Russia — 2 destinations
Italy — 5 destinations
Norway — 2 destinations
South Africa — 1 destinations
Ireland — 1 destinations
Argentina — 1 destinations
Canada — 6 destinations
Indonesia — 1 destinations
Vietnam — 2 destinations
Czechia — 1 destinations
China — 3 destinations
Macao — 1 destinations
Kenya — 1 destinations
South Korea — 1 destinations
Belgium — 1 destinations
Estonia — 1 destinations
Poland — 2 destinations
Ethiopia — 1 destinations
Greece — 1 destinations
Brazil — 1 destinations
Switzerland — 2 destinations
Malaysia — 1 destinations
Israel — 1 destinations
Slovenia — 1 destinations
Azerbaijan — 1 destinations
Ukraine — 1 destinations
Romania — 1 destinations
Egypt — 2 destinations
Cyprus — 2 destinations

Cities with daytime temperatures closest to 21 °C

2015–2024 averages. Values refer to the listed cities.
City	Country or territory	Daytime high	Nighttime low	Precipitation	Days with at least 1 mm	Daylight
Hurghada	Egypt	21.2 °C	15.3 °C	1.0 mm	0.3	10.6 h
Cape Town	South Africa	21.4 °C	18.0 °C	12.9 mm	2.2	14.1 h
Hanoi	Vietnam	21.4 °C	12.1 °C	50.3 mm	6.0	11.0 h
Delhi	India	21.7 °C	6.7 °C	27.3 mm	3.5	10.5 h
Hong Kong	Hong Kong	20.3 °C	13.4 °C	51.9 mm	5.9	10.9 h
Guangzhou	China	21.8 °C	10.1 °C	61.5 mm	5.9	10.9 h
Sharm El Sheikh	Egypt	21.9 °C	14.5 °C	1.9 mm	0.3	10.6 h
Mexico City	Mexico	19.7 °C	4.6 °C	5.7 mm	2.0	11.1 h

Trip ideas in January

A January trip to the sea can combine swimming during the warmer hours with walks away from summer heat. Compare Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi for water temperatures, cool evenings and things to do beyond the beach.

Egypt in January: Red Sea weather and resorts

Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh offer a base on the Red Sea. When choosing a beach, consider shelter from the wind and access to the water; bring a warm layer for evening walks.

The UAE in January: weather, sea and where to go

In Dubai, alternate the beach with the Creek and modern city architecture. Abu Dhabi combines the Corniche, museums and Saadiyat beaches; allow time for transport between districts.

Hurghada in January

January is Hurghada’s coolest winter month, at about 21 °C by day and 15 °C at night. Alternate a day at sea with a museum visit and a walk around town.

Sharm el Sheikh in January

Sharm el Sheikh stays warm during the day in January, while evenings are cool. Bring a sweater and plan sea activities with the wind in your chosen bay in mind.

Dubai in January

January is a good month for full days of walking among old quarters, promenades and open city spaces. Nights are cooler than daytime, so bring an extra layer for a late dinner or the trip back from the beach. If daily swimming is the main goal, choose accommodation with a pool or close to the beach.

Abu Dhabi in January

January is a good month for an active city itinerary with long walks and stops by the sea. Pair the Corniche with parks and historic places during the day, and make separate trips to Saadiyat and the mosque. Evenings by the water can feel cooler than sunny afternoons, so plan a convenient route back.

Where to swim in January

Average sea temperatures are around 23°C in Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh and Dubai, and around 21°C in Abu Dhabi. For a short swim, choose the middle of the day; have dry clothes and a windproof layer ready afterwards. For a trip with plenty of swimming, especially with children, look for accommodation with a heated pool.

Winter warmth and city walks

Spend Dubai’s winter days exploring the old districts by the Creek, waterfronts and contemporary architecture. Abu Dhabi offers the Corniche, the Louvre and Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque; spread these visits across different days to leave time between journeys. In Egypt, keep more hours free by the sea and add a city walk to a beach day.

Planning a week by the sea

Choose one city and stay close to the activities you want to do most often. In Egypt, your hotel beach shapes much of the seaside holiday; in the UAE, consider the journey to the beach and public transport. Alternate beach days with walks and choose a suitable day for a boat outing. Pack a jumper, long trousers and a light jacket for evenings.

Compare destinations

Hurghada or Sharm el Sheikh in January: which to choose?

Hurghada or Sharm el Sheikh in January: choose between two Red Sea bases by the beach, district and plans beyond the hotel. For a winter trip, consider access to the water and what you want to do after the beach.

Dubai or Abu Dhabi in January: which to choose?

Dubai or Abu Dhabi in January: Dubai combines older districts with modern city life, while Abu Dhabi offers the Corniche, museums and separate days on Saadiyat. Compare the sea and the distances between stops on your route.

Trip ideas

Where to go for winter sun: four sea breaks in January

Compare a stay in Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi in January. They offer different ways to spend a week: a beach base on the Red Sea, walks through a large city, or museums combined with time on the waterfront.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I go swimming in January?

Compare Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh and Dubai for a winter sea trip: average water temperatures are around 23°C. Swim around the middle of the day and choose a hotel with a heated pool if you want to swim every day.

Where can I spend a mild winter with city walks?

Dubai offers old districts, waterfront walks and architecture. In Abu Dhabi, combine the Corniche, museums and a beach visit. Plan transport between the islands and more distant sights.

What should I pack for Egypt or the UAE in January?

Bring light daytime clothes, closed shoes for walks and a warm layer for evenings. A dry T-shirt and towel are useful after swimming; a light windproof layer helps on walks by the shore.

Where to travel in January: weather by city

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