5 Warm And Wonderful Destinations In Asia To Escape The Winter Weather

Perhaps you're living in one of the snowiest states in America and want to escape those sub-zero temperatures. Maybe you're fresh from the slopes of Colorado, the state with the absolute best skiing in the U.S., and now find yourself pining after beach days and snorkeling instead of salopettes and après ski. Well, Asia has you covered.

Yep, the largest continent plays host to some of the finest winter vacation options around. This guide has a curated list of five of the best. It's backed up by over a decade of personal travel experience, including countless trips to the warm and wonderful corners of Asia specifically to get away from the chills of winter back at home.

You'll find options to suit all budgets and a variety of travel types. From mystical medieval cities in the desert to classically tropical islets bathed in bath-warm seas, there are places here to sate the sun seeker or the culture vulture. All of them tend to see their best weather conditions sometime between November and March, meaning North America and Europe's winter months are prime times to jet across.

If there's one winter destination that I'd return to time and time again, it's the southern Thai island of Koh Lanta. Arcing along the edge of the Andaman Sea, it's managed to stay a bit on the sidelines compared to the other big-name isles of Krabi Province. It's most certainly not the sleepless backpacker party mecca of Koh Phi Phi, but rather a chilled land of sunset-kissed beaches where days are spent chasing waterfalls and swinging in hammocks.

As with all the islands off the western haunch of the Land of Smiles, Koh Lanta comes into season just as the snow and ice is beginning to descend on the U.S. Peak vacation time runs from November to April, seeing temperatures hover between the high-70s and the low-90s, rainfall counts dip to an annual low, and the humidity is at more tolerable levels.

You might say it's perfect beach weather, which is just as well, since the whole western side of Lanta is a string of tropical sands and coves that are angled just right for sunset viewing. Up north, you can drop onto 1.8-mile Long Beach to spread out on the shoreline or sip cocktails in the bars just behind. But past travelers on the /ThailandTourism subreddit recommend the south for quieter sands. It's the home of Kantiang Bay, often hailed as one of the best beaches in Thailand, what with its bisque-hued sand and backdrop of forest-covered hills.

Prefer temples to palm-topped beaches? Crave the buzz of the city over the lap of the Indian Ocean? George Town might just be the place you've been looking for. The main urban center on the Malaysian island of Penang is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, cited for its centuries of trading history and rich cultural makeup. The New York Times even dubbed it a "jewel box packed with color and spice," waxing lyrical about the town's vintage rowhouses, its secret alleyways, and its tamarind-infused cuisine.

George Town is a patchwork of different quarters that each ooze their own style, smells, and stories. Take the Colonial District, where grand heritage homes sit cheek by jowl with age-stained Fort Cornwallis, which still has cannons atop its walls. My personal favorite, however, has to be Little India. It's a thrumming hubbub of textile bazaars, spice emporiums, and cooking shops set to a Bollywood backing track. And it's home to Penang Famous Samosa, a street-food joint that's made its way into the Michelin Guide by serving up chili-packed Indian pastries and sweet jalebi.

The months between December and February are peak season in George Town, mainly because it's the dry season. That's great for wandering the streets and seeing the sights, but also good for excursions out of town, up to the Penang National Park, for example, where you can go in search of lemurs in the coastal jungles. The one downside? According to a post on the r/Penang subreddit, the beaches here suffer from jellyfish blooms and occasional pollution, so it's maybe not the finest pick if you're after sunbathing and splashing in the sea. 

If surf, sun, sand, sea, and spicy curries are your idea of the perfect winter escape, then Sri Lanka's Ahangama has you covered. Hailed by Nerd Nomads as "Sri Lanka's hippest beach spot" and lauded by SUITCASE Mag for its mix of bohemian, boutique, community-minded businesses, the area has been riding something of a wave (no pun intended) in the last few years. It's now firmly established as one of the coolest beach enclaves in the south, offering rest, relaxation, gastronomy, and great hotels in equal measure.

The thing about the seasons in Sri Lanka is that there's always somewhere to go, no matter the time of the year. During the North American summer months from May to September, the east and the north get fine weather. Meanwhile, the south — Ahangama included — hits its stride from December through to April. In fact, according to Climate-data.org, February is the driest month of all, while average temperatures remain above a balmy 77 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the winter. Talk about beach weather!

But it's not just about having the Vitamin D to top up the tan. Surf is a huge part of the draw in Ahangama, and that also hits a zenith in the winter. According to The Surf Atlas, the period between late October and March is prime for surfing clean, punchy swells all over the south of the island. Ahangama, for its part, lays claim to a mix of cruisy reefs and more accessible waves to suit beginners, not to mention a wealth of surf camps that are usually in full swing come December time.

The long, thin island of Palawan forms the divide between the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea. Its geography reads like a roll call of everything associated with a tropical paradise: Craggy limestone rock formations, rainforests that shimmer in thousands of shades of green, beaches of talcum-white powder, lagoons filled with tropical fish, and coral gardens aplenty. Tempted? Thought you might be, and there's more good news, because winter is prime time for the best weather.

The folks over on the Desert Island Survival blog say that December to May is the tip-top time to visit the island of Palawan, pointing out that it's the peak period for lazing on the beaches, diving in the coral reefs, and hopping the little islets and cays that pepper the surrounding seas. That's backed up further by the cold, hard statistics. According to numbers published on Weatherandclimate.com, average rainfall starts to dip just before the New Year, hitting annual lows in February and March.

Getting to Palawan can be a hefty undertaking. You'll either need to hop on a 20-ish-hour ferry or hitch a domestic flight in from Manila, though there are now some long-haul international flights coming in from Kuala Lumpur. Once on the ground, you could make for the diving mecca of El Nido in the north, where a variety of island-hopping excursions whisk you around secret lagoons and Robinson Crusoe beaches. Alternatively, there's chilled Port Barton, which is closer to the island's main airport, offering wild swims in waterfalls and lazy days on postcard-worthy sands.

Last but most certainly not least on this list of the five best winter-sun escapes in Asia is the princely state of Rajasthan. A vast land that spreads from the arid Thar Desert in the east across the wild hills of the Aravalli Range, it's regularly among the most-visited states in northern India. It's easy to see why — a Rajasthan bucket list includes everything from stalking tigers in the national parks to touring centuries-old Mughal forts.

But before I get too carried away about the reasons why Rajasthan remains a winter escape of choice for me, a note on the weather: It is at its most perfect during the dry season, which lasts from October all the way to March. As subzero temperatures are hitting New York and Chicago, it's pleasantly cool yet balmy in this corner of India, with thermometers peaking at 77 degrees Fahrenheit. There's also hardly a jot of rain — just a single day of the wet stuff on average throughout January.

The cities, especially, are sure to enthrall. Take India's picturesque "Pink City" of Jaipur, where frenetic bazaars burst with spices, gemstones, and street food. Meanwhile, romance will flow in the "Venice of the East," Udaipur, a city of lake palaces, guilded with carved domes and courtyards befitting the maharajas. And there's Jaisalmer, the outpost on the edge of the desert, where a maze-like old town is packed into the walls of an ancient fort.

I've been escaping winter for warmer climes in Asia for 10 years now. Every single season, I've packed my bag and jetted off in search of higher temperatures, endless sunshine, still seas, and sunbathing from morning until night. From the surf reefs of southern Sri Lanka to the frenetic cities of northern India, I've enjoyed a variety of destinations across this diverse and enthralling continent, and this guide is based on the places that have impressed me the most. 

In creating my shortlist of the finest warm and wonderful destinations in Asia, I also consulted a host of leading travel blogs and travel publications from the region to ensure picks suited a range of travelers, from beach lovers to culture buffs. I also referenced climate data and weather reports for each place to ensure that the generally accepted peak season for each matched the winter months in North America.