After the coldest March for half a century, many of us are longing for a dose of sunshine. Beverley Fearis uncovers the best destinations where you can get a dose of vitamin D and brighten up your spring. Introduction by Eva Wiseman
We can't go out at the moment, obviously, what with this tantrum of a weather, so what we do is sit on the sofa under a blanket in our slipper socks and browse Whereisitsunny.com. The website is on Twitter, too, updating us British masochists with news of Acharavi, Luxor, Delhi and Puerto Plata. Places where you can breakfast outside, where you have to shower twice a day because it's just too hot. Places where you hang your swimming costume on a tree and it dries in the time it takes for you to cut up a mango. I want to go to there.
This was the coldest March in 50 years. Do you remember sun? What it feels like to be warm? As I write, there is ice on the window ledge, and my colleague is wearing double fleece. Never have we been more in need of half an hour lying in dappled sunlight with a book and a drink.
So here. Here you go. Here is a list of the places where it is sunny, because they do exist. If you go, please send a postcard. For us to burn for heat.
1 Morocco
April highs 24C; sunshine hours 10
After all the rain in Blighty, where better to escape to than the desert? A camel safari in the Sahara is just one of the wonderful experiences promised on this eight-day guided Morocco and Sahara tour which also takes in the medieval medinas of Marrakech and the Gorges du Dades.
Getting there The £720 price includes six nights' accommodation, overnight camel safari, most meals, excursions, transfers and flights from Heathrow to Marrakech, departing 20 April (tucantravel.com, 020 8896 1600)
2 Northern Cyprus
April highs 22C; sunshine hours 9
If the heat gets too much at this hillside resort, there are not just one but three pools to cool off in. The family-run Riverside Garden Resort in Alsancak, close to Kyrenia, has studio and villa-style accommodation and is set in pretty gardens.
Getting there Stay seven nights half-board for £299pp, based on two sharing, with transfers and flights from Stansted. Northern Cyprus uses the Turkish lira so is unaffected by the euro crisis that has hit the south (cyprusparadise.com, 020 8343 8888)
3 Egypt
April highs 27C; sunshine hours 11
Mix sunshine with culture on an eight-night Nile Explorer tour. Expert guides introduce you to the pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, Cairo's mosques and the Egyptian Museum, the temples and markets of Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and more. The tour also includes a two-night cruise down the Nile in a traditional felucca.
Getting there The price is £794pp, including accommodation and flights with British Airways from London leaving 27 April (egypt-uncovered.com, 0845 130 4849)
4 Tenerife
April highs 20C; sunshine hours 7
Catch some rays at the Finca el Lance in Tenerife's north-western Teno mountains. This rural retreat is on the edge of a nature reserve and a 10-minute walk from the village of El Tanque Alto. It has five houses, all with views of the coast and of Mount Teide, Spain's highest mountain.
Getting there A week's self-catering costs from £119pp, based on five sharing. Flights with BA (ba.com) from Gatwick to Tenerife start at around £200 per person (spain-holiday.com, 020 3384 7066)
5 Dubai
April highs 33C; sunshine hours 10
Jet off to Dubai for a luxurious beach-and-shopping break at the four-star Ocean View Hotel. This beachside hotel overlooks the Arabian Gulf and Dubai's famous manmade island, the Palm Jumeirah. If the 30C-plus temperatures get too much, take the free shuttle to the city's air-conditioned shopping malls.
Getting there Departing on 22 April, a three-night trip costs £699pp, including half-board accommodation, return Emirates flights from London Gatwick and transfers (hayesandjarvis.co.uk, 0844 415 1918)
6 Alicante
April highs 21C; sunshine hours 5
For those who can't keep still, this eco campsite could be the perfect solution. The Marjal Costa Blanca Resort, just 25 minutes from Alicante Airport, has mobile homes for up to six people, plus a large outdoor pool with waterfall and slides, a heated indoor pool complex, spa, fitness area, and tennis and basketball courts.
Getting there Seven nights cost from £148pp, based on two sharing a mobile home, while flights with Ryanair to Alicante cost from £66, based on 1 May departures (europarcs.com, 08448 24 35 36)
7 Paxos
April highs 19C; sunshine hours 7
Hide yourself away in a waterfront house on the sunny but wonderfully sleepy Greek island of Paxos. Mermaid Cottage, in the pretty fishing village of Loggos, has a balcony with direct views of the sea.
Getting there A week's self-catering costs from £250pp, based on two sharing. Flights with EasyJet (easyjet.com) to Corfu cost around £120; the hydrofoil ride to Paxos is £17pp each way (ionian-villas.co.uk, 01935 477196)
8 Sicily
April highs 18C; sunshine hours 7
Turn up the heat on a romantic break at the 16th-century Badia Tower, on Sicily's west coast. Set in the lush gardens and grounds of an aristocratic estate, this self-catering tower is straight out of a fairy tale. Take an evening stroll around the nearby medieval town of Erice but remember: once the sun goes down you might need a cardigan.
Getting there A three-night stay, with EasyJet flights from Gatwick to Palermo departing 18 April, costs £320pp, based on two sharing (solosicily.com, 020 7097 1413)
9 Gran Canaria
April highs 22C; sunshine hours 10
Treat yourself to an all-inclusive week's holiday at the four-star Seaside Sandy Beach Hotel in Gran Canaria. It's in Playa del Ingles, the island's most famous resort. The hotel's 10th-floor wellness centre has wonderful sea views and offers lemon and lavender body scrubs, Cleopatra baths and other indulgences.
Getting there Seven nights, with flights from Luton on 20 April and transfers, cost from £625pp, based on two adults sharing on an all-inclusive basis (firstchoice.co.uk, 0871 200 7799)
10 Malta
April highs 20C; sunshine hours 8.5
Explore underwater caves and some of the best wrecks in the Mediterranean on a diving holiday in Malta. Stay at Hotel Roma on the Sliema seafront, a short walk from Selkies Dive Centre and from the resort's shops, bars and restaurants.
Getting there Seven nights' B&B, with return flights, transfers and a Dive Pack (five days' diving, 10 boat dives, tanks and weights), costs from £645pp, based on two sharing, throughout April (diveworldwide.com, 01962 302087)