Travel in January

I have a week of vacation in the middle of January and I haven't planned anything yet. Where is good to go in January?
My criteria: very cheap, preferably Europe, cityish. The best deals I've found so far have been Reykjavik and Prague.
But I fear the lack of light in Iceland and the cold in the Czech Republic.

Iceland may give you a shot at seeing the aurora borealis which would be cool. Reykjavik is lovely but it will be dark.

My guess is that anywhere warm would be more expensive.

A small Prague-Vienna-Budapest tour would be lovely.

How about watching camel wrestling on the western coast of Turkey?

uh Reykjavik is not cheap. at all.

I bet that Prague would be nice cold (i.e. brisk and bracing).

there is also southern Europe.

dear ilx,

May i elicit recommendations for places to travel that fit the following criteria

- in the USA
- reasonably warm in January
- super beautiful nature
- nice hiking or camping

tia,

-flops

I am going to the northwesternmost part of Finland at the end of January. I think it will not be reasonably warm.

beautiful is subjective

but in terms of warm weather, you're mostly looking at the southwest and the south

hiking/camping narrows it down even further to just the southwest

look into hiking the santa catalina mountains or the santa rita mountains in tucson -- so-called islands in the sky, especially because the former is a beautiful forest in the middle of the desert. it's about ~20F degrees cooler up there, so you'll lose the 'warmth' but it's relatively warm down in tucson

ime

also there's an observatory up in the santa catalinas (mt lemmon observatory), but i'm not sure it's open to the public

i think you have to make an appointment or look to see when they are open (i recall it being open very few times a year and for a very limited time slot)

here we go

http://www.as.arizona.edu/telescopes-public-viewing

Kitt Peak is open: https://www.noao.edu/kpno/

The whole area from Tucson east to Big Bend in Texas is worth checking out. See this thread:
Thread of West Texas/Southern New Mexico & Arizona/CaliMex Border Adventures

conversely you can reserve a spot in a campground/campsite in california -- they're everywhere and, if you've ever been backcountry camping in british columbia, you'll notice it is vastly different and not too nature-like

the big hikes in california (eg the half dome) require permits and there is a bit of a wait, so plan ahead, especially if you want to camp overnight; but be aware that it is not warm

you might be able to find some short trails where it is still relatively warm in the san diego and la areas, but no camping (see campgrounds for that)

might be of use:

http://www.reserveamerica.com/outdoors/california-camping.htm

(camping at or close to beaches is extremely popular here from what i've heard/seen)

thank you all

joshua tree?