Where to Spend Winter 2026-27 as a Digital Nomad

For winter 2026-27, the warmest base in or near Europe is the Canary Islands: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria averages 66°F (19.1 °C) in December and 63.5°F (17.5 °C) in February, and Madeira runs 1.2 to 1.4 °C cooler. If you want every winter month to average 64.4°F (18 °C) or more, you have to leave Europe. In Nostos, Navoy's free city chooser, 140 of 413 cities clear that bar, and none of them is European. Chiang Mai is one of the 140, but book it for December and January only: the burning season usually starts in February.

We pulled every number below from the Nostos dataset (version 2026.10.4), which uses NASA climate normals for 2001 to 2020. These are monthly means of day and night together, so afternoons are warmer and nights cooler than the figures suggest.

Where is actually warm in December, January and February?

Nowhere in Europe, if warm means a monthly average of 64.4°F (18 °C) or more. The 140 cities that manage it for all three months are spread across Asia (58), Latin America (44), Africa (17), Oceania (12), the Middle East (7) and North America (2: Honolulu and Miami).

Rank those 140 by the Nostos balanced score and the top of the list is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, where December to February is summer. The Top 10 warm-winter cities are led by Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, followed by Port Louis in Mauritius, Honolulu and Buenos Aires.

The catch is price. Brisbane costs about $2,806 a month for one person in Nostos and Sydney $3,599. Buenos Aires is the exception at $781, with a summer that averages 74-77°F (23.1-24.8 °C).

Warm is not the same as pleasant. Nostos counts a month as comfortable when the mean is 15-28 °C, with at most 150 mm of rain and 85% humidity. Many tropical cities pass on temperature and fail on rain, so the tables below show both.

What are the warmest places in Europe in winter?

The Canary Islands, then Madeira. After those come Malta and Cyprus, and only then the warm corners of mainland Spain and Portugal, which are 4 to 5 °C cooler than the Canaries in January.

The Canaries are the warmest and driest part of Europe in winter; Las Palmas and Lanzarote never fall more than a degree below 18 °C. Source: Nostos dataset 2026.10.4 (NASA POWER climate normals 2001-2020, balanced scores), 7 October 2026.

Las Palmas misses the Nostos warm-winter list by half a degree: its February mean is 17.5 °C, and the cut-off is 18 °C (64.4°F). It still ranks second of all 413 cities overall, and Las Palmas is one of only 18 cities in the dataset where all 12 months count as comfortable.

Funchal is cooler and twice as wet, but its air is cleaner: annual PM2.5 of 5.2 µg/m³, just above the WHO's 2021 guideline of 5, against 10.4 in Las Palmas. If you are choosing between the two, compare Funchal and Las Palmas side by side.

On the mainland, Málaga and Faro both average 55-57°F (12.9-13.9 °C), with Lisbon a fraction behind. Faro has a different claim: at 2.9 µg/m³ it tops the Top 10 cleanest-air cities of the whole dataset.

Morocco's Taghazout is nearly as warm as Madeira, but Nostos has no reliable internet measurement for it, a real risk for a work base.

Where to go in Asia and Latin America, and when to leave

Much of mainland Southeast Asia and the Caribbean coast of South America is hot and dry from December to February, at well under European prices. The trap is timing: Northern Thailand's burning season usually starts in February.

Chiang Mai: go in December, leave by February

Chiang Mai has close to ideal weather in early winter: 66°F (18.9 °C) in December and 67°F (19.3 °C) in January, with just 13-15 mm of rain a month. It costs about $984 a month in Nostos, with a central one-bedroom at $417.

A study by Chiang Mai University researchers, published in the journal Toxics on 17 January 2026, says biomass-burning haze in Northern Thailand typically peaks from February to April, when weak winds and temperature inversions trap it in the valleys. It reports, citing earlier studies, that burning accounts for nearly 49% of Chiang Mai's PM2.5 over a year and more than 70% in April. The authors add that dry-season PM2.5 across the region often exceeds Thailand's 24-hour standard of 37.5 µg/m³ even on days with little burning.

Nostos puts Chiang Mai's annual mean PM2.5 at 26.5 µg/m³ (WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, 2021), more than five times the WHO annual guideline of 5 µg/m³. Its air-quality score is 52 out of 100. An annual average hides the season: a large share of that pollution arrives in the burning months, so February to April are much worse than the yearly figure.

The practical rule: treat Chiang Mai as a December-to-January base and be gone by early February.

Where else in Asia

• Ho Chi Minh City is hot and dry all winter: 78-82°F (25.7-28.0 °C), 49 mm of rain over the three months, and $677 a month. Its annual PM2.5 is 23.5 µg/m³, so it is no clean-air escape either.
• Phuket averages 80-82°F (26.9-27.6 °C) and dries out as winter goes on, from 137 mm of rain in December to 27 mm in February.
• Penang is warm (78°F, 25.3-25.8 °C) but wet early, with 233 mm in December.
• Bali is in its wet season. Canggu gets 841 mm over December to February.

Where in Latin America

• Cartagena is the hottest and driest: 81-82°F (27.3-27.8 °C), with 2 mm of rain in January and 3 mm in February, for about $1,042 a month.
• Playa del Carmen is a little cooler at 76-78°F (24.6-25.3 °C), and its annual PM2.5 of 8.9 µg/m³ (a satellite estimate) ties with Buenos Aires for the cleanest air of the Latin American options here.
• Buenos Aires has the highest overall score of any warm-winter city under $1,000 a month, 69.9 (59th of 413), and its summer is in full swing.
• Medellín is nicknamed the city of eternal spring, but its winter averages 63-64°F (17.3-17.9 °C) with 417 mm of rain, below the warm-winter bar and wet.

What does a winter month cost in each?

In the comparison table below, from about $677 in Ho Chi Minh City to $2,806 in Brisbane, for one person in Nostos. Da Nang is cheaper at $469 but still rainy in December, and Sydney costs $3,599. The European winter bases sit between $1,719 (Faro) and $2,499 (Lisbon), so the Canaries and Madeira cost two to three times what Chiang Mai or Buenos Aires do. For the best places to live for a month in winter on a tight budget, look at the top four rows: all cost under $1,000.

The cheapest warm, dry winter in this comparison is Ho Chi Minh City; the Canaries cost about three times as much but score 20 points higher overall. Source: Nostos dataset 2026.10.4, costs as of July to September 2026; * marks a country-level estimate for Portugal or Spain, not an island figure.

Three things to know about these costs. First, the Nostos monthly total is for one person and is built on an outskirts one-bedroom rent, so a central flat costs more. Second, the Canaries and Madeira figures are national estimates; there is no island-level cost row, and winter is their busy season, so budget above the line. Third, the scores are 0-100 under equal weights across nine factors, and safety and healthcare are measured at country level. The Nostos methodology explains each one.

Should you split winter between two bases?

Often, yes. Several of the strongest winter bases work best for part of the season, because the air turns, the rain arrives or a visa limit runs out.

Three splits the data supports:

1. Chiang Mai, then the coast. December and January in Chiang Mai, then February in Phuket (27 mm of rain) or February and March in Ho Chi Minh City (6 mm and 13 mm), just as Northern Thailand gets smoky.
2. Two islands, one Schengen clock. Gran Canaria or Lanzarote for the coldest weeks, then Madeira. Spain and Portugal are both in the Schengen area, which the European Commission says allows short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period (as of October 2026). Moving between them does not reset the count. 1 December 2026 to 28 February 2027 is exactly 90 days, so a full winter uses the whole allowance. For longer, read the Spain digital nomad visa guide and confirm the details with the Spanish authorities.
3. Southern summer. Buenos Aires for December to February, then north before autumn arrives there. By April it averages 66°F (18.8 °C).

Whichever pair you choose, you can plan the trip with Navoy, including both stays and the flight in between.

Related on the Navoy blog: where is warm in December, countries where $1,200 a month is comfortable.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Chiang Mai burning season?

Typically February to April. A Chiang Mai University study published in January 2026 says biomass-burning haze in Northern Thailand peaks in those months, when weak winds and temperature inversions trap smoke in the valley. The same study says burning causes more than 70% of Chiang Mai's PM2.5 in April. December and January are the better months to be there.

Can I spend the whole winter in the Canary Islands without a visa?

On a US or UK passport, only up to 90 days in any 180-day period, the Schengen short-stay limit, as of October 2026. 1 December 2026 to 28 February 2027 is exactly 90 days, but any days you spent in another Schengen country in the previous 180 days count too. Staying longer needs a visa, such as Spain's digital nomad visa.

Is Madeira or the Canary Islands warmer in winter?

The Canaries, by 1.2 to 1.4 °C in each winter month. Las Palmas averages 63.5°F (17.5 °C) in its coolest winter month and Funchal 61°F (16.1 °C). The Canaries are also drier, with 68 mm of rain over December to February in Las Palmas against 135 mm in Funchal. Funchal has the cleaner air.

What is the cheapest warm place to spend a winter month?

Among the 140 cities in Nostos that stay at 64.4°F (18 °C) or above all winter, Da Nang ($469 a month) and Ho Chi Minh City ($677) are the cheapest. Da Nang is still in its rainy season in December, so Ho Chi Minh City is the safer bet for dry weather. Buenos Aires, at $781, has the highest overall score of any warm-winter city under $1,000 a month.

Is Bali good for digital nomads in winter?

It is warm, but December to February is Bali's wet season. Canggu averages about 78°F (25.5-25.9 °C) but gets 841 mm of rain across the three months, and every one of them is above the 150 mm Nostos uses as its limit for a comfortable month. Ho Chi Minh City and Cartagena are much drier at similar temperatures.

Sources

• Nostos digital nomad city dataset 2026 (version 2026.10.4: NASA POWER 2001-2020 climate normals, WHO Ambient Air Quality Database and city cost estimates), Navoy, https://nostos.navoy.io/data, accessed 2026-10-07
• Near Real-Time Biomass Burning PM2.5 Emission Estimation to Support Environmental Health Risk Management in Northern Thailand Using FINNv2.5, Toxics 14(1):84, 17 January 2026, Chiang Mai University (via PubMed Central), https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12846012/, accessed 2026-10-07
• Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment, 2024 update, chapter 2, Table 2.1 (WHO 2021 air quality guideline levels), World Health Organization, https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/who-compendium-on-health-and-environment/who_compendium_chapter2.pdf, accessed 2026-10-07
• Schengen area, European Commission (Migration and Home Affairs), https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/schengen-area_en, accessed 2026-10-07