Escape the Cold: Best Caribbean Destinations with Direct Flights from the UK

Craving a change from the UK’s grey, drizzly days? The Caribbean’s warm sea and palm-fringed beaches are the perfect antidote. Escape the cold and experience life in technicolour again – with the help of the golden sun and the Caribbean’s candy-coloured towns.

It just sounds so lovely, but long journeys aren’t everyone’s bag. With these destinations, you can cut to the chase, and be among happy locals, good music, and delicious food in the time it takes to watch three films. Fly direct to these Caribbean destinations.

Jamaica

Average temperature in winter: 28°

UK airports with direct flights to Jamaica:

• London Heathrow Airport

• London Gatwick Airport

• Manchester International Airport

• Birmingham International Airport

Swap cold weather for a cold Red Stripe on the easy breezy isle of Jamaica. The sun shines year-round, the Caribbean Sea is the perfect temperature for morning dips, and everyone is in a permanent good mood.

As the Caribbean’s musical heart, reggae is the lifeblood of Jamaicans. Bob Marley really is king in Jamaica, not just for his poetic, smooth tones but for popularising the Rastafarian lifestyle. You can visit his birthplace in the mountains or his last home in Kingston.

There’s a lot of history in Jamaica, particularly in Kingston, but the island is also full of natural beauty. Exploring lush jungles, caves, white-sand beaches, and rushing waterfalls – the 960-foot cascading Dunn’s River falls are particularly beautiful – is a welcome change from hiding under your brolly in the UK. With direct flights from several UK airports to Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston and Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, escaping the cold is easier than ever.

Barbados

Average temperature in winter: 25°

UK airports with direct flights to Barbados:

• London Heathrow Airport

After a 9-hour hop from Heathrow Airport, you’ll land in beautiful Barbados. This all-rounder island has everything going for it – it’s great for families, the beaches are next-level, the hotels are fantastic, and the food is delicious. And unlike many Caribbean islands, there are no private beaches – all are accessible to the public. Barbados is also known for its surrounding reefs, where you can snorkel with sea turtles, seahorses, and schools of colourful fish. Carlisle Bay is one of the best areas for snorkelling – there are six shipwrecks just off-shore.

It’s not all sun, sand, sea, and snorkelling – although that is a big part of the Bajan lifestyle. St Nicholas Abbey is a three-in-one: plantation house, a museum, and a rum distillery. There’s a 250-metre-high lookout point too – Cherry Tree Hill Reserve – with gorgeous views. We recommend hiking up there before hitting the rum distillery!

Dominican Republic

Average temperature in winter: 28°

UK airports with direct flights to the Dominican Republic:

• London Gatwick Airport

The Dominican Republic is quintessentially Caribbean. It’s bending palm trees, straw umbrellas on the beach, soft white sands, and blue-green seas. But it’s also one of the most geographically diverse countries in the Caribbean. With rainforests, mountains, evergreen valleys, and colonial towns, there’s a lot to be discovered in the Dom Rep. Flit between sipping rum cocktails on the beach to exploring the mangroves of ⁦Los Haitises National Park – that’ll certainly curb the winter blues.

If you can tear yourself away from the all-inclusive rum cocktails, we recommend taking a trip to the capital city, Santo Domingo. This treasure trove is full of culture, music, pretty colonial architecture, good food, history, and locals who greet you with a smile.

Antigua

Average temperature in winter: 27°

UK airports with direct flights to Antigua:

• London Heathrow Airport

• London Gatwick Airport

Antigua’s lush, mountainous landscape and azure waters make for the perfect Caribbean cocoon when the UK weather starts to take its toll. Swap vitamin D capsules for the real thing, sipping coconuts on a sheltered bay.

The beach towns with their colourful houses and laidback atmosphere are the perfect antidote to drizzly, grey days. But if you get itchy feet and want to explore, Antigua’s capital city, St John’s is bustling with historical forts, colonial architecture, and its glamorous English Harbour. Or, you can stick to the beach, but take a 90-minute walk through the rainforest to get there. Rendezvous Bay is one of the island’s most secluded, beautiful beaches, with an exciting pre-amble to make it all the more worthwhile. You could take the shorter stony path, but where’s the fun in that?

St Lucia

Average temperature in winter: 28°

UK airports with direct flights to St Lucia:

• London Heathrow Airport

• London Gatwick Airport
  

Few destinations conjure romance like St Lucia. The cone-shaped Piton mountains have become synonymous with Caribbean honeymoons, and while they are St Lucia’s calling card, there’s a lot more to be discovered than the iconic twin peaks.

No one would blame you for spending a much-needed break from the UK sprawling on pristine beaches, relaxing in your room-with-a-view, and sipping rum-spiked cocktails by the pool. But there’s an adventure to be had here. Natural beauty doesn’t scratch the surface with St Lucia, and the best way to see it is by hiking. The island is full of trails – whether that’s climbing up the Gros Piton, making your way through earthy, rich rainforests, or the rejuvenating Sulphur Springs. Or, you can get a bird's eye view on an exhilarating zipline over the rainforest.