Hello all
I have 9 sits under my belt & would really like to sit for a furry cat friend for 1 month In Feb next year.
Do any sitters out there have suggestions on places to apply for that will be mostly 15 degrees & above? Also no flights over 5 hours too
If you have experience of 1 months sits during winter in warm locations Id love to hear 
where you went.
It would be great to know the best time to start searching too between mid January & February end 2027 sit?
It seems to early at the moment
Thanks very much 
Hey @Chez78 ; welcome to the Forums.
I’m something of a snowbird as well & try to get away in Jan/Feb for either a few short trips to break up the SAD, or a longer one if I can make it work.
You say “no flights over 5h,” but don’t mention where you’d be starting from. Also, do you mean no direct flights over 5h, or would a layover or multi-day stopover as part of your journey be do-able?
(I’ll wait to hear more about your criteria before offering any specific suggestions.) 
You do not say where you are from, so don’t know where would be 5 hours or less from you by air. I am guessing you are likely in the UK or Europe since you noted the temperature in Celcius? I have done a winter sit in Cyprus and it was very nice and definitely above 15 degrees daily–I actually found it quite hot and this was January. We also did a sit in the Turkish Mediterranean during the winter a couple of times and the weather is milder but it can still get chilly–it is often very sunny though so that makes it feel warmer.
But as for some general advice, while hosts can vary in how far ahead they post sits, the majority don’t seem to post 6 months or more ahead. So right now you would probably not get an accurate read on the number of opportunities available. You may of course see some, but from what I have observed, the farthest ahead people tend to post a listing seems to be about 3 months out on average. But you may find plenty 4 or 5 months out or just one or two.
Warmer destinations in winter are going to be more competitive so you want to check listings a lot in particular locations of interest and create a saved search. You might even look up some areas now to see sits not currently accepting applications and ‘favorite’ any of interest. Then in the event they happen to post a new listing, you will be notified. Unless something has changed and I am not aware of it, the only way to see sits not currently accepting applications is to just do a search on the location without any filters set up–dates, pets,etc…
Given that you are probably going to be focusing on more desirable locations, the favorites and saved searches may not be super valuable since they don’t appear to come in ‘real time’ when the listing goes live, meaning they may already be ‘in review’ by time you see it if it is a really popular place.
But it certainly can’t hurt to set them up.
I’ve already got a Christmas sit in Cyprus, (Repeat sit)which is quite warm in January, although it can rain. Last January I was in Malta, warm but rainy. Assuming you’re in Europe, southern Spain is also not bad. Be warned, these sits are very competitive and go almost immediately.
Hello.. thanks for your reply. Im aiming to sit & also combat MS symptoms experienced in very cold Edinburgh. Travelling on a direct flight only really as i fatigue easy when travelling..
I also don’t drive & look for sits close to amenities and good transport.. flatter areas too as hills climbs & stairs are a challenge.
i guess this will help anyone suggest appropriate areas..
Thanks very much
Thanks so much for your reply. Noting all your tips. I live in Edinburgh & have Cyprus/Turkey are now on my radar. Interesting info about saved searches.. Think I will stick to searching the top favourites regular when it’s a bit closer to February
Thank you. I sat in Valencia Dec last year & it was unusually cold & wet.. Its getting trickier I guess with climate change.
I really like the idea of Cyprus as enjoy when visited many years ago. I had no idea it eould be warmer there..
Its great you have a repeat sit there
We live in SW Türkiye and Feb can be glorious! If you save any Kaş, Kalkan, Fethiye, Demre, Antalya, Datça sits you could be lucky, there are probably a dozen hosts or so listed on THS who regularly post sits. Morocco would be a good option for warmth & there are quite a few sits there, ditto Tunisia. Cyprus too & also the Canaries in Feb. They’re probably the best if weather is important but 5 hours is your max. As @KC1102 says it’s early for Feb 2027 but save the individual sits you like as favourites and also the date range for the locations and that should help alerts. #winterwarmth
The warmest places in Europe are the Canaries.
Northern Africa, Cyprus, and southern Turkey are all lovely during the day. However, it can be a bit chilly at night. Also, many of the homes do not have any heating .. so … brrr
The worst January I ever experienced was in … Ayia Napa, Cyprus.
@Chez78, welcome to THS Forum.
We’ve completed quite a lot of housesits over one month duration, including winter months.
Southern Europe can be very pleasant indeed - not summer temperatures but certainly many degrees warmer than UK. Last year we concluded a Crete Greece housesit mid December - still wearing shorts and shirt many days.
We have similarly housesit in Algarve - not quite as far south but still very temperate by UK standards.
But we’d agree with @august to be careful, as quite a few houses in such locations have no/poor heating facilities. Some may rely on wood burning fireplaces. May be cold at night.
We also love to winter housesit in Canada. Definitely below your desired temperatures but houses are built for that weather and some places are simply lovely. But that’s bad fit for your flight duration max and temperature target.
If you struggle with Southern Europe housesit then suggest not discard idea of renting a property. Off-season pricing. We have met UK folks that winter rent in Algarve as, they tell us, that the cost of property rental in winter Algarve is less than their UK winter heating bills!
Are you looking for direct flights from Edinburgh Airport only ?
There are no direct flights from Edinburgh to Cyprus in February, and the only direct flights to Turkey are to Istanbul. As a result, what would be a five-hour flight during the summer schedule becomes a 7–9 hour journey with a connection. By comparison, Portugal still has several direct flights from Edinburgh throughout February, making it a much easier winter destination for you to travel too.
You can also fly to Antalya in SW Turkiye direct from Edinburgh through the winter @silversitters. Not every day but there are some Jet2 flights. #antalyaintel
Oh yes I missed that one - Jet2 flys on a Friday each week .
Thank you all for these super replies. Very helpful. I do have the option to fly direct from Glasgow also as my mum lives closeby
You are in very good (and large) company of sitters wishing for long winter sits in mild climates.
Not to discourage you, but keep in mind that these kinds of sits in winter are in high demand and low supply. Especially somewhere you don’t need a car! I would look for any amount of time and supplement with your own Airbnb in between sits or before and after to extend the time. If you are not fussy, I see small apartments in cities in Italy sometimes.
I don’t know how many sits you’ve done, how many reviews and stars - so you may be well positioned to land a winter sits in a warm place for a month, just know those are highly desirable and hard to get (we are also warm weather seekers in winter and it’s challenging!).
Go through all the warm winter places and start “saving” or “favoriting” ones that would appeal to you so if they post dates you’ll get an alert.
Good luck.
PS we just did an amazing sit in Edinburgh (my first time to Scotland) in July and loved it!! We were SO lucky with the weather. 9 days and never saw any rain at all.