Costa del Sol By The Golf Planet Holidays Team · Golf-travel specialists since 1981 · Published 12 June 2026 Around the middle of November your home club quietly gives up. Temporary greens appear, the trolley ban goes up on the noticeboard, and four months of mud begin. None of it is compulsory, because real golf […]
Four months of mud is a choice
From mid November to mid March, most UK clubs retreat to temporary greens, ban trolleys and send you off the first tee onto a mat. That is a third of your golfing year handed over to mud, frost delays and a 15th green mown onto the fairway. The fix is closer and cheaper than most golfers assume. A real, bookable winter golf break starts at
Every price below is a live package price in GBP per person sharing, hotel and golf together, arranged by one named specialist who handles your trip from first email to first tee. This guide maps the genuine warm options by flight time. Pick your radius.
Costa del Sol: the closest winter golf destination in Europe
Malaga is under three hours from most UK airports and the courses behind it never close. January afternoons run 16 to 19C, buggies go out every day of the year and the courses are in their best condition of the season because summer drought is months away. Greens stay true. The Algarve sits in the same flight band with the same open-all-winter calendar, and both coasts are at their quietest between November and February.
The ladder starts low. See the
Where our specialists would stay in Costa del Sol
Canary Islands: winter sun golf holidays with a 20C guarantee
If you want a guarantee rather than good odds, fly another ninety minutes. The Canaries sit off the Saharan coast at roughly the latitude of Florida, and they are the only place in Europe where a January afternoon reliably reaches 20C. January behaves here. Tenerife adds Mount Teide above the fairways and a hard Atlantic light that flatters every photo, if not every scorecard.
See the
Belek: all-inclusive value on Turkey's golf coast
Belek is a four hour flight to Antalya and built for exactly this. More than a dozen championship courses run through umbrella pines with the Taurus mountains behind, and the hotels are all-inclusive, so the buffet, the bar bill and most of the extras are settled before you land. For groups, that single fact ends most arguments about money. The maths works.
See the
Marrakech: the exotic short haul
Marrakech is the short haul that feels like a different continent. Three and a half hours from London, then olive groves on the fairway lines, snow on the Atlas behind the greens, and mint tea at the turn. Winter afternoons sit around 18 to 21C. Mornings start cool. Pack a jumper for the first three holes and you will be in shirtsleeves by the tenth.
See the
South Africa: February is high summer
South Africa flips the calendar. February is high summer in the Cape, the flight is overnight at around eleven hours, and the time difference is just two hours, so you land at breakfast and can play that afternoon. No jet lag. The ground costs are the pleasant shock: see the
South Africa earns its own guide on this site, covering the Garden Route and the Cape in proper detail. The short version: go in February.
Winter golf breaks compared, cheapest to dearest
Here is the whole winter in one view, using the lowest real package price in each destination.
| Venue | From (pp) | Nights / rounds | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Benjamin Hotel, Durban | 3 / 2 | High summer in February; long-haul flights extra | |
| Barcelo Occidental Fuengirola | 3 / 2 | Cheapest warm golf under three hours away | |
| Iberostar Bouganville Playa, Tenerife | 3 / 2 | The only guaranteed 20C January in Europe | |
| Kenzi Menara Palace, Marrakech | 3 / 2 | Five star with the Atlas behind the greens | |
| Sueno Golf Hotel, Belek | 5 / 2 | All-inclusive, 36 holes on site |
All prices are per person sharing a twin, ground package only. If you are travelling on your own, single rooms push winter prices up too, and our guide to solo golf holidays covers how to keep that supplement sensible. Tell us your dates, group size and budget, and one named specialist replies personally with a tailor-made quote. We have been arranging golf travel since 1981 and hold 4.9 from 98 Google reviews. Winter is optional.
Our specialists’ favourite stays in Costa del Sol
What our golfers say
4.997 reviews
Thanks Martin, glad you enjoyed your golf around Fuengirola
Hi David, glad you had another great golf trip at La Cala and the sun shone! Have ordered the same for next September…;)
Party of 16 to El Rompido- superb organisation- the best personal attention to detail of any company I have dealt with. Now into our 3rd year using their excellent rep- Simon Crawley
Frequently asked questions
Where is the warmest golf in Europe in winter?
The Canary Islands. January afternoons in southern Tenerife and Gran Canaria reliably reach 20 to 23C, which no mainland European destination can match. The Costa del Sol and the Algarve run 16 to 19C, perfectly playable, but it is a jumper-in-the-bag climate rather than a guarantee.
How much does a winter golf break cost?
Short haul starts at
Are golf courses in Spain open in winter?
Yes, fully. Winter is peak golf season on the Costa del Sol, with full greens, daily buggies and courses in their best condition of the year. The flip side is that the popular tee sheets fill early, so book two to three months ahead for January and February.
Can I take a winter golf break on my own?
Yes, and plenty of our customers do. Single rooms carry a supplement at most resorts, so the trick is choosing venues where it stays small. Our solo golf holidays guide covers the options, and your specialist can point you to courses where a single golfer slots into games easily.
Is Belek worth visiting for golf in January?
It is playable, with afternoons in the mid teens, but January carries the highest chance of a rain day on the Turkish coast. If your dates are flexible, late February and March bring warmer, more settled weather for the same all-inclusive package prices.
Come and play with us
Wherever you're travelling from, you're welcome on a Golf Planet hosted tour — a small group, a host with you from the first tee to the last, and every round, transfer and dinner taken care of. You just bring the clubs.
