Amsterdam · May · relief from the heat

Coolest places to go from Amsterdam in May

In May, the coolest well-known place within 15 hours of Amsterdam is Tromsø, Norway, 8.0 °C cooler than Amsterdam and 7.0 h sun a day, about 6h 12m each way by air. Without flying, it is Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 3.2 °C cooler than Amsterdam, about 14h 24m each way by train, for about 8× less carbon (62.0 kg CO₂e return against 516 kg).

The 10 coolest places within 15 hours of Amsterdam

Ranked on relief from the heat in May alone, among well-known places (a Wikivoyage travel guide and at least 40,000 Wikipedia readers a year), one per area and at most three per country. The carbon is shown, not used to choose: the list further down is the other question, how much relief from the heat each extra kilogram buys.

Tromsø, Norway8.0 °C cooler · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.9 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h 12m · 516 kg CO₂e return
Reykjavik, Iceland7.3 °C cooler · 6.4 h sun a day · 5.9 mm rain a day · sea 7.5 °Cair ≈ 6h 12m · 507 kg CO₂e return
Rovaniemi, Finland6.1 °C cooler · 13.4 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 6m · 489 kg CO₂e return
Luleå, Sweden6.0 °C cooler · 14.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 1.5 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 442 kg CO₂e return
Bodø, Norway5.6 °C cooler · 9.4 h sun a day · 4.4 mm rain a day · sea 6.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 437 kg CO₂e return
Oulu, Finland5.6 °C cooler · 14.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 2.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 459 kg CO₂e return
Umeå, Sweden4.9 °C cooler · 15.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 3.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 391 kg CO₂e return
Erzurum, Turkey4.4 °C cooler · 10.8 h sun a day · 4.7 mm rain a dayair ≈ 7h 36m · 776 kg CO₂e return
Kars, Turkey4.4 °C cooler · 10.5 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a dayair ≈ 7h 42m · 794 kg CO₂e return
Vaasa, Finland4.1 °C cooler · 14.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 5.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 388 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The coolest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Aberdeen is 3.2 °C cooler for 62.0 kg — about 8× less carbon than flying to Tromsø.

Aberdeen, United Kingdom3.2 °C cooler · 9.5 h sun a day · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 9.0 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 62.0 kg CO₂e return
La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland3.1 °C cooler · 9.6 h sun a day · 4.8 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 10h 42m · 17.8 kg CO₂e return
Buxton, United Kingdom2.8 °C cooler · 10.4 h sun a day · 2.8 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 10h 12m · 29.0 kg CO₂e return
Dundee, United Kingdom2.6 °C cooler · 8.7 h sun a day · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 10.0 °Crail ≈ 13h 12m · 57.3 kg CO₂e return
Scarborough, United Kingdom2.4 °C cooler · 10.9 h sun a day · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 9.8 °Crail ≈ 10h 42m · 35.4 kg CO₂e return
Bergen, Norway2.4 °C cooler · 9.9 h sun a day · 3.0 mm rain a day · sea 9.7 °Crail ≈ 14h 54m · 26.3 kg CO₂e return

≈ is the model's estimate (air times include getting to and through the airport); ✓ is a rail journey checked against a real timetable, with the date it was checked. Temperatures are historical daily means for 2023–2024, averaged across day and night, so afternoons run warmer.

The low-carbon trade-off

The coolest place you can reach from Amsterdam in May within 15 hours is Tromsø, 8.0 °C cooler, costing 516 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is La Chaux-de-Fonds at 17.8 kg — 29× less carbon, for 4.9 degrees less relief from the heat.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both cooler in May and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.

Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Amsterdam. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against relief from the heat, May, departing Amsterdam. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Östersund can only be reached by air — 335 kg CO₂e, in 5h 18m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 39.2 kg in 21h 12m — 9× less carbon for 15h 54m more travelling.

May from Amsterdam — 7 destinations on the frontier, 2 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland	Rail	17.8 kg	10.8 °C	9.6 h	4.8 mm	10h 42m
Aberdeen, United Kingdom	Rail	62.0 kg	10.7 °C	9.5 h	2.2 mm	14h 24m
Östersund, Sweden	Air	335 kg	9.9 °C	14.2 h	0.7 mm	5h 18m
Umeå, Sweden	Air	391 kg	9.0 °C	15.0 h	0.6 mm	5h 36m
Luleå, Sweden	Air	442 kg	7.9 °C	14.8 h	0.6 mm	5h 48m
Reykjavik, Iceland	Air	507 kg	6.6 °C	6.4 h	5.9 mm	6h 12m
Tromsø, Norway	Air	516 kg	5.9 °C	7.0 h	4.9 mm	6h 12m

Warm is not the same as pleasant, which is why sunshine and rainfall are shown alongside temperature. All three are ERA5 monthly means for 2023–2024.

Where the curve breaks

The frontier is gentle until it isn't. Going from La Chaux-de-Fonds (17.8 kg, 3.1 °C cooler) to Aberdeen (62.0 kg, 3.2 °C cooler) buys 0.1 °C more relief from the heat for an extra 44.2 kg — 442 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive relief from the heat on the whole curve.

The pick of them

La Chaux-de-FondsSwitzerland17.8 kg CO₂e return10.8 °C · 9.6 h sun · 10h 42m by railmild and bright

AberdeenUnited Kingdom62.0 kg CO₂e return10.7 °C · 9.5 h sun · 14h 24m by railmild and bright

TromsøNorway516 kg CO₂e return5.9 °C · 7.0 h sun · 6h 12m by aircold but bright

The same month, asked differently

May answers differently depending on what you are after, and the lists genuinely diverge: the brightest places are not the hottest, and in summer the useful question stops being where is warm at all.

Where to stay in Tromsø

Places to stay in Tromsø, Norway, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Tromsø →Opens the booking search in a new tab. Same partners as the map below.

Affiliate disclosure. A booking made through this map may earn 0xCarbon a commission, at no extra cost to you. It changes nothing above it: the emissions figures come from UK Government conversion factors and are computed before anyone is paid anything.See the method.

Other months from Amsterdam

May from elsewhere

Photo credits

Aberdeen: Ragazzi00, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tromsø: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Reykjavik: Hedwig Storch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luleå: Andreas Harnemo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bodø: Røed 20:41, 24 July 2006 (UTC), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Umeå: Jonipoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kars: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Buxton: Andrew Hill, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dundee: File:442 dundee header.png (Tay Bridge and RSS Discovery images):- Original: PlutosAcademy File:V&A Dundee Near Completi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Scarborough: Thomas Tolkien, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bergen: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the coolest place to go from Amsterdam in May?

Tromsø, Norway, at 8.0 °C cooler. Reaching it emits 516 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 12m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere cool from Amsterdam in May without flying?

Yes. Aberdeen reaches 3.2 °C cooler and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 24m (modelled), emitting 62.0 kg CO₂e return — though Tromsø is cooler still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Amsterdam to Tromsø produce?

516 kg CO₂e for one person, return, by air. That uses the UK Government's 2026 conversion factors, including radiative forcing for flights.

Carbon uses UK Government (DESNZ/DEFRA) 2026 conversion factors applied to great-circle distance, with radiative forcing included for flights. Rail journey times are modelled estimates, not timetabled services. Full method · download the data.