Where to go in January
The places at their best in January, ranked by what the weather actually does — not by what a brochure says it does.
1. Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Superlatives, desert dunes, and a very long brunch.
Highs around 24° (75°) · about 2 wet days a month · 347 airlines fly there
2. Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
Grand mosque, desert dunes, and a Louvre on the water.
Highs around 24° (74°) · about 2 wet days a month · 232 airlines fly there
3. Kolkata
India
Colonial bones, Bengali sweets, and India's literary heart.
Highs around 25° (77°) · about 2 wet days a month · 97 airlines fly there
4. Guadalajara
Mexico
Mariachi's birthplace, tequila country, and colonial plazas.
Highs around 25° (77°) · about 2 wet days a month · 92 airlines fly there
5. Muscat
Oman
White low-rise city between mountains and the Gulf of Oman.
Highs around 25° (76°) · about 2 wet days a month · 104 airlines fly there
6. Lima
Peru
Ceviche, the world's best restaurants, and clifftop Pacific fog.
Highs around 25° (76°) · about 4 wet days a month · 113 airlines fly there
7. Sanya
China
China's tropical island resort coast.
Highs around 25° (76°) · about 4 wet days a month · 109 airlines fly there
8. Mexico City
Mexico
High-altitude megacity with world-class museums and markets.
Highs around 22° (72°) · about 2 wet days a month · 237 airlines fly there
9. Doha
Qatar
Museums, a rebuilt souq, and desert an hour out.
Highs around 23° (73°) · about 2 wet days a month · 187 airlines fly there
10. Cabo San Lucas
Mexico
Desert meets sea at the tip of Baja.
Highs around 26° (78°) · about a wet day a month · 50 airlines fly there
11. Jeddah
Saudi Arabia
Red Sea corniche and a coral-stone old town.
Highs around 28° (82°) · about 3 wet days a month · 181 airlines fly there
12. Karachi
Pakistan
Pakistan's enormous coastal city, and its best food.
Highs around 24° (75°) · about a wet day a month · 61 airlines fly there