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Edinburgh · May · relief from the heat

Coolest places to go from Edinburgh in May

In May, the coolest well-known place within 15 hours of Edinburgh is Tromsø, Norway, 6.0 °C cooler than Edinburgh and 7.0 h sun a day, about 6h each way by air. Nowhere on the list is reachable by train within 15 hours in May.

The 10 coolest places within 15 hours of Edinburgh

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.

  1. Tromsø, Norway6.0 °C cooler · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.9 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h · 471 kg CO₂e return
  2. Reykjavik, Iceland5.3 °C cooler · 6.4 h sun a day · 5.9 mm rain a day · sea 7.5 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 345 kg CO₂e return
  3. Rovaniemi, Finland4.1 °C cooler · 13.4 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 6h · 481 kg CO₂e return
  4. Luleå, Sweden4.0 °C cooler · 14.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 1.5 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 434 kg CO₂e return
  5. Bodø, Norway3.6 °C cooler · 9.4 h sun a day · 4.4 mm rain a day · sea 6.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 391 kg CO₂e return
  6. Oulu, Finland3.6 °C cooler · 14.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 2.2 °Cair ≈ 6h · 463 kg CO₂e return
  7. Umeå, Sweden2.9 °C cooler · 15.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 3.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 392 kg CO₂e return
  8. Erzurum, Turkey2.4 °C cooler · 10.8 h sun a day · 4.7 mm rain a dayair ≈ 8h 24m · 925 kg CO₂e return
  9. Kars, Turkey2.4 °C cooler · 10.5 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a dayair ≈ 8h 30m · 874 kg CO₂e return
  10. Vaasa, Finland2.1 °C cooler · 14.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 5.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 401 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 Edinburgh in May within 15 hours is Reykjavik, 5.3 °C cooler, costing 345 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Östersund at 322 kg — 1× less carbon, for 3.3 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.

ÖstersundReykjavik
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Edinburgh. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against relief from the heat, May, departing Edinburgh. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.2 destinations. Lowest carbon Östersund at 322 kilograms and 2.0 °C cooler; best for relief from the heat Reykjavik at 345 kilograms and 5.3 °C cooler. Östersund · 322 kgReykjavik · 345 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against relief from the heat, May, departing Edinburgh. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
May from Edinburgh — 2 destinations on the frontier, 0 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Östersund, SwedenAir322 kg9.9 °C14.2 h0.7 mm5h 12m
Reykjavik, IcelandAir345 kg6.6 °C6.4 h5.9 mm5h 18m

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.

The pick of them

Östersund, SwedenÖstersundSweden322 kg CO₂e return9.9 °C · 14.2 h sun · 5h 12m by aircold but brightReykjavik, IcelandReykjavikIceland345 kg CO₂e return6.6 °C · 6.4 h sun · 5h 18m by aircool

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 Reykjavik

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

Search places to stay in Reykjavik →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 Edinburgh

May from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Reykjavik, Iceland, at 5.3 °C cooler. Reaching it emits 345 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 18m each way by air (modelled).

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

Not within 15 hours. Every destination on this frontier requires flying in May.

How much carbon does a return trip from Edinburgh to Reykjavik produce?

345 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.