Where to travel in January: five places for the darkest weeks at home

Sri Lanka: the south coast and the tea hills

Sri Lanka has two monsoons, which means it has a 'right' coast in almost any month. In January that is usually the south and west: from the ramparts of Galle to Mirissa and Tangalle the sea is often calmer, the skies clearer and the evenings warm. From around December to April, whale-watching trips regularly head out off the south coast, though no sighting can ever be promised.

Higher up, in the tea country between Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ella, January mornings are cool and misty and the days often clear enough for walking. It's a good time for trails through the estates or a slow train through the hills. The north and east may still be feeling the north-east monsoon, so the east-coast beaches are better left for summer.

What to watch: early January overlaps with Europe's winter-holiday peak, so the best villas by the sea and the most popular train seats go early. The flight is long but the time difference modest, so even ten days doesn't feel too short.

Oman: the desert when it's kind

For much of the year Oman's desert is hot; in January it's simply warm. Days in Muscat and Nizwa are usually comfortable for souqs and forts, and in the Wahiba Sands the evenings become the reason you came: long shadows on the dunes and a silence that has all but vanished from Europe. Nights in the desert and mountains can be genuinely cold – on Jebel Akhdar sometimes close to freezing – so pack something warm.

Oman suits travellers who want clear, quiet landscape rather than a beach: wadis with green pools, mud-brick villages on terraces, long drives on empty roads. The flight from Europe is mid-length and the time difference small, so a week here is a proper journey, not a compromise.

Costa Rica: the start of the dry season

On the Pacific side the dry season usually starts in December, so in January the forests are still green from the rains while the trails are drier. It's one of the easiest times for families and first-time visitors to the tropics: the country around Arenal volcano, the cloud forest at Monteverde and beaches on the Nicoya Peninsula or down by the Osa come together without many weather surprises. Monteverde is often windy and damp in January – that's what a cloud forest is, not bad luck.

Costa Rica is popular in January, so wildlife lodges near Corcovado and small hotels in Monteverde are worth booking well ahead. The second half of the month is usually calmer than the holiday weeks.

January isn't a month for escaping anywhere. It's a month for going where it's at its best.

Patagonia: summer at the end of the world

When Lithuania's days are at their shortest, Patagonia's are at their longest: in January it can stay light until ten at night, which means long hiking days in Torres del Paine or around El Chaltén without racing the dark. This is the height of the Patagonian summer – the warmest months, with the most trails and ferries running.

But summer here isn't the warmth you might picture. January winds are often at their strongest, the weather can turn several times a day, and snow can fall higher up in any month. It's also the busiest season: park accommodation and the best lakeside lodges are worth booking more than six months ahead. The flight is the longest of these five, so anything under two weeks usually feels too short.

Thailand: the cool north

Thailand in January usually means beaches, and the Andaman islands are indeed generally calm then. But for January we'd choose the north. It's the coolest time of year: fresh mornings in Chiang Mai, sometimes properly cold ones in the Doi Inthanon hills, and the valleys of Mae Hong Son and Nan usually still clear before the smoky season of March. Slow days in craft villages, temples without crowds, markets in the middle of the vegetable season.

The north pairs well with a few days by the sea at the end. Just know that January is high season in Thailand, so the best-known islands are busy and quieter places take deliberate choosing.

How to choose between the five

January breaks are rarely long, so choose not only by the weather but by how much time you have and how easily you take a long journey.

• A week, and warmth without a big time difference – Oman.
• Ten days to two weeks, with sea, tea hills and culture – Sri Lanka.
• Travelling with children and wanting wildlife and active days – Costa Rica, though the time difference is large and the first days can be sleepy.
• Hiking, wind and long days – Patagonia, but give it at least two weeks.
• A slow pace, food and crafts – northern Thailand, with a few days on the Andaman Sea to finish.