Hot places in February: weather and entry rules for 9 destinations from the UK

Seven of the nine places we checked average 30°C or more by day in February: Banjul in The Gambia (33.2°C), Accra in Ghana (33.1°C), Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (32.9°C), Siem Reap in Cambodia (32.3°C), Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago (31.5°C), Cartagena in Colombia (30.6°C) and Metro Manila in the Philippines (30.5°C). The Cayman Islands (28.6°C) and Nassau in The Bahamas (25.7°C) are warm rather than hot. The figures come from each country's national weather service.

February is also the dry season at several of them. Banjul gets 0.9 mm of rain in the month and Cartagena 1 mm, while Kuala Lumpur, at 165.4 mm, is the one place on the list that is wet and hot at once. GOV.UK says school term and holiday dates vary across the UK and tells you to find your half-term dates on your local council's website, so check them before you compare fares.

Airlines, airports and the time of year all change how long a journey takes, so no flight times appear here. Look at the timetable for your own departure airport. The tables below give the heat and the rain, show where February sits in the year at each station, and set out what a British passport holder needs. For other trip ideas, see our holiday ideas from the UK.

The reference periods run from 1961 to 1990 at Port of Spain to 1982 to 2024 at Siem Reap, so read a gap of a degree or so between two rows as a tie. The wider gaps are reliable: Banjul's high is 7.5 degrees above Nassau's.

Banjul, Accra and Kuala Lumpur lead, within 0.3 degrees of one another, with Siem Reap close behind. Cartagena and Metro Manila only just clear 30°C, at 30.6°C and 30.5°C. The Cayman Islands fall 1.4 degrees short of the line, and Nassau, at 25.7°C, sits 4.3 degrees under it.

Nights tell a different story. Accra is the warmest after dark, at 25.0°C, with Cartagena (24.0°C) and Metro Manila (23.8°C) next. Banjul has the biggest swing from day to night: 33.2°C falls to 18.3°C, a drop of 14.9 degrees, and Nassau's 17.3°C is the coolest night on the list.

At three places February is the driest month of the year: Siem Reap (3.8 mm), Cartagena (1 mm) and Metro Manila (7.9 mm). Banjul is just as dry in February, with 0.9 mm, though its driest month is April at 0.0 mm. Accra is wetter than those four, with 14.2 mm, but its driest month, January, has 9.5 mm.

The Caribbean stations are in a drier part of their year than the summer, but not in a dry spell: Port of Spain has 39.8 mm in February against 16.9 mm in March, and Nassau has 49.0 mm against 235.5 mm in August. Kuala Lumpur has no dry season on these figures, since its driest month, June, still brings 125.3 mm.

Only in Accra, where February is the hottest month on average at 33.1°C, a tenth of a degree above March. Everywhere else the peak comes later or earlier. Siem Reap reaches 35.3°C in May, 3.0 degrees above its February high, and Metro Manila reaches 33.5°C in April. At Nassau the gap is the widest on the list: 32.1°C in August against 25.7°C in February, 6.4 degrees.

So February suits you if you want warmth with little rain, and not if you want the most extreme heat. The two Caribbean outliers show why: the Cayman Islands and Nassau are pleasant in February, and noticeably hotter, and wetter, in summer.

Two entries need the most lead time: Ghana, whose visa takes 10 to 15 days by post, and Cambodia, whose e-visa should be applied for at least 4 days ahead. The longest stays without a visa are the Cayman Islands (6 months), Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago (90 days each) and Malaysia (normally 90 days). For a wider look at British passport rules, see our entry requirements hub.

Ghana asks every traveller: its GOV.UK page says you must have a certificate proving a yellow fever vaccination, and it is among the documents for the visa application. The Gambia, Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines and The Bahamas ask for one if you are coming from a country listed as a transmission risk. Colombia asks if you arrive from certain countries with a transmission risk, and says you may be asked for it if you travel to areas it considers high risk.

The Trinidad and Tobago and Cayman Islands pages do not mention a certificate. The Philippines page also names a polio vaccination certificate for travellers coming from certain countries. We give no health advice here: each page links to TravelHealthPro for full details, and your GP or pharmacist can answer questions about your own situation.

Five of the nine pages name an area. On 1 November 2026 they read as follows:

• Malaysia
  All but essential travel to all islands and dive sites off the coast of eastern Sabah, from Sandakan to Tawau, because of the threat of kidnapping. The mainland of Sabah is not covered.
• Cambodia
  All but essential travel to within 20 km of the land border with Thailand. A ceasefire was signed on 27 December, land crossings with Thailand remain suspended, and there are unexploded ordnance and landmines in the border area.
• Philippines
  All travel to western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, and all but essential travel to the rest of Mindanao except Camiguin, Dinagat and Siargao. The page adds that most typhoons occur between June and November.
• Colombia
  All but essential travel to several areas, among them the Venezuelan border, parts of the Pacific coast, the Ecuadorian border and some interior departments. Read the full list before choosing a region; the Cartagena del Chairá it names, in Caquetá, is a different place from the coastal city.
• Ghana
  All but essential travel to the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East region.

The pages for The Gambia, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands name no such area. The Malaysia, Cambodia and Philippines pages also carry a notice about travel disruption from the escalation in the Middle East, including airspace closures and cancelled flights, and tell you to check the advice for every country you transit and the latest word from your airline or tour operator.

• Hottest by day
  Banjul (33.2°C), Accra (33.1°C) and Kuala Lumpur (32.9°C).
• Driest
  Banjul (0.9 mm), Cartagena (1 mm) and Siem Reap (3.8 mm).
• Warmest nights
  Accra (25.0°C), Cartagena (24.0°C) and Metro Manila (23.8°C).
• Gentlest warmth
  Nassau (25.7°C) and the Cayman Islands (28.6°C).
• Most paperwork
  Ghana, with a visa and a yellow fever certificate, and Cambodia, with a visa and an arrival card.
• Longest stay without a visa
  The Cayman Islands, up to 6 months.

Choose the row that matters most, then read the entry row for that country. Our travel tips for UK travellers list what else to check before you go.

• Which countries are hot in February?

  Among the places we checked, The Gambia, Ghana, Malaysia, Cambodia, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia and the Philippines all average 30°C or more by day in February. The Cayman Islands (28.6°C) and The Bahamas (25.7°C) are warm rather than hot, according to national weather services.

• What are the hot countries in February for half-term?

  Banjul in The Gambia (33.2°C), Accra in Ghana (33.1°C) and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (32.9°C) are the hottest of the nine on our list. GOV.UK says school dates vary across the UK and tells you to find yours on your local council’s website.

• Where is hot and dry in February?

  Banjul averages 0.9 mm of rain in February, Cartagena 1 mm and Siem Reap 3.8 mm. Banjul is also the hottest of the three, at 33.2°C by day.

• Is February the dry season in Cambodia?

  At Siem Reap, yes on the long-term figures: February is the driest month of the year, with 3.8 mm of rain, and the daytime high is 32.3°C. Rain builds from March and peaks at 305.2 mm in September.

• Is Kuala Lumpur rainy in February?

  Yes. It averages 165.4 mm in February, at a high of 32.9°C, and no month is dry there: even June, the driest, has 125.3 mm.

• Is it hot in the Bahamas in February?

  Warm, not hot: Nassau averages 25.7°C by day and 17.3°C at night, with 49.0 mm of rain. It reaches 32.1°C in August.

• Do British passport holders need a visa for Ghana?

  Yes. GOV.UK says you must have a visa, applied for online with supporting documents sent by post, and that processing takes 10 to 15 days. A yellow fever certificate is required, and your passport must expire at least 6 months after you arrive.

• Do British passport holders need a visa for Cambodia?

  Yes. GOV.UK says to apply for an e-visa at least 4 days ahead, or get a visa on arrival with a photo and US dollars. A tourist visa is valid for 30 days, and your passport needs at least 6 months from the date you arrive.

• Which of these places can I visit without a visa for the longest?

  The Cayman Islands, for up to 6 months. Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago allow up to 90 days, Malaysia normally 90 days, and the Philippines up to 30 days, as GOV.UK reads them on 1 November 2026.

• Is February the hottest month in Accra?

  Yes, narrowly. Accra averages 33.1°C in February and 33.0°C in March, the hottest two months of its year, with 14.2 mm of rain in February.