Where to go in January
Road trips that our season estimate rates as best in January: 55 routes in Europe, North America and Oceania.
Wondering where to go in January by RV or camper? Look south. January is the heart of winter in Europe and North America, with short days, closed mountain passes and many campgrounds shut for the season. Southern Spain and Portugal stay mild, and so do the deserts of Arizona and Southern California. In Australia and New Zealand it’s high summer. The roads are quiet almost everywhere, except around the ski resorts.
The routes below are the ones our season estimate rates as good in January, based on long-term temperature averages, terrain and pass opening seasons. Our tip: in Australia, January falls in the long summer school holidays, so popular coastal campgrounds fill up early. Book ahead, or plan your stops away from the most famous beaches. In Europe, bring a reliable heater even for the south, because nights are cool.
USA · 21 routes
© Hans Stieglitz · CC BY-SA 3.0Florida Gulf Coast and the Everglades
© Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view from Los Angeles, USA · CC BY 2.0Pacific Coast Highway south: Malibu to San Diego
© Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Oʻahu circle: Diamond Head to the North Shore
© Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Kohala and the Hāmākua Coast: Kona to Hilo the northern way
© LuidmilaKot · Pixabay Content LicenseManatees, cypress swamps and shell beaches – by camper along Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Everglades
© Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Lava fields, black beaches and cloud forest – a campervan loop around Hawaiʻi Island
© Kirt Edblom from Kihei, Hi, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Single-lane bridges, bamboo forest and sunrise above the clouds – by campervan along the Road to Hāna and up Haleakalā
© DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0Coquina forts, sand tracks and launch pads – by camper along Florida's Atlantic coast from Amelia Island to Vero Beach
© User:Genoist · CC BY-SA 3.0Spring pools, manatees and sand pines – by camper from Orlando through the Ocala National Forest to the springs of Central Florida
© Håkan Dahlström from Malmö, Sweden · CC BY 2.0Florida’s Space Coast: Kennedy Space Center to Daytona
© Kalisa66 · CC0A1A from Jacksonville to Daytona: forts, lighthouses and coquina
© User:Genoist · CC BY-SA 3.0Central Florida springs: Wekiwa to the Ichetucknee
© David Broad · CC BY 3.0Turquoise to the Horizon – Along the Overseas Highway to Key West
Photo by Pascal Bernardon on UnsplashThe Overseas Highway to Key West
Photo by Cesar Cid on UnsplashJoshua trees, salt lake and palm oases: by camper through the deserts of Southern California
Photo by Royce Fonseca on UnsplashOrange groves, the Pink Moment and island hopping – by camper through Ventura, Ojai and to the Channel Islands
© Boydsk2000 · CC BY-SA 4.0Road to Hana, Maui
© Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Hawaiʻi Island: Kona to the volcano
© GB11111 · CC BY-SA 4.0Anza-Borrego and the Salton Sea
Photo by Marc Szeglat on UnsplashKauaʻi from Hanalei to Waimea Canyon
© Tupelo the typo fixer · CC BY-SA 4.0Manatees and springs on Florida’s Nature Coast
Europe · 3 routes
© jairo_83_0 · Pixabay Content LicenseLaurel forest, lava fields and trade-wind clouds – by camper across Tenerife and La Gomera
Photo by Michael Schreiber on UnsplashLava fields, wine hollows and shifting dunes – by camper across Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
© Felix König · CC BY 3.0Rock needles, pine forest and shifting dunes – by camper around Gran Canaria
Oceania · 31 routes
The newest 24 are shown here; all routes are in the trip guide catalogue.
Photo by Ms M on UnsplashSurf breaks, limestone stacks and sandstone ridges – by camper along the Great Ocean Road to the Grampians
Photo by RE Walsh on UnsplashRainforest, granite bays and wombats at dusk – a campervan loop around Tasmania
Photo by Laura Cros on UnsplashBays, bush and penguins – by camper along the Princes Highway from Sydney to Melbourne
Photo by Urlaubstracker on UnsplashMountain ash, muscat and snow poles – by camper through Victoria’s High Country
Photo by Caleb on UnsplashSandstone gorges, gold-rush villages and snow-grass plains – through the mountains of New South Wales by camper
Photo by Urlaubstracker on UnsplashMineral springs, steam trains and gold-rush towns – by campervan through the Macedon Ranges and the Victorian Goldfields
Photo by Dominic Kurniawan Suryaputra on UnsplashBlue Mountains and the Central West
© LaurindaRB · CC BY-SA 4.0Apple orchards, wooden boats and the end of the road – by camper through southern Tasmania to Cockle Creek
Photo by RE Walsh on UnsplashTulip fields, a flat-topped mountain and the end of the world – by camper through Tasmania’s north-west and the Tarkine
© Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 4.0South Coast: Kiama to Narooma
Photo by kylie De Guia on UnsplashCanberra and the Snowy Mountains
Photo by Jamie Davies on UnsplashGreat Ocean Road: Torquay to Warrnambool
Photo by Mike Newbry on UnsplashMornington Peninsula and Phillip Island
Photo by Leo Foureaux on UnsplashGrampians (Gariwerd) from Melbourne
© Michael Coghlan from Adelaide, Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0Wilsons Promontory and Gippsland
© Philip Mallis from Melbourne · CC BY-SA 2.0Victorian High Country and Yarra Valley
Photo by Jeff Ochoa on UnsplashGoldfields and the Murray River
Photo by Nico Smit on UnsplashSandstone villages, convict bridges and trout lakes – by campervan along Tasmania’s Heritage Highway into the highlands
© Janvanbizar · Pixabay Content LicenseGranite coves, gold-rush valley and lake country – by camper through Gippsland from Wilsons Promontory to Cape Conran
© Graeme Bartlett · CC BY-SA 3.0Kangaroos on the beach, orcas in the museum, a lighthouse in the bush – along the NSW south coast by camper
Photo by Gino Marcelo Hernandez Sanchez on UnsplashConvict traces, dolerite columns and the wombats of Maria Island – by motorhome through Tasmania’s south-east
© Mjw1990 · CC BY-SA 4.0Ferry, lighthouse and little penguins – by camper around the Mornington Peninsula, Phillip Island and the Bass Coast
Photo by Michael SKOPAL on UnsplashLimestone Coast: Coorong to Mount Gambier
© NUNZG · Pixabay Content LicenseTall Timber and the South Coast to Albany
FAQs
Where is it warm enough to camp in January?
In Europe, mainly in the far south: Andalusia and the Algarve often have mild, sunny days, though nights are cool. In the US, the deserts of Arizona and Southern California are pleasant. If you want real summer, look to the Southern Hemisphere: Australia and New Zealand have the opposite seasons, so January is midsummer there.
Are campgrounds open in January?
Some are. Many campgrounds in central and northern Europe close from autumn until around Easter. Winter campgrounds in the Alps and many sites in southern Spain and Portugal stay open all year, often with long-stay winter guests. In the US desert Southwest, January is peak season. Always check opening dates before you go.
How are the routes for January chosen?
Our season estimate combines long-term temperature averages, terrain and the opening seasons of mountain passes for every stop of a route. These 55 routes are rated “good” in January. Weather varies from year to year, so check the forecast before you go.