Amsterdam · April · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Amsterdam in April

In April, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Amsterdam is Ouarzazate, Morocco, 12.2 h of sun a day and 20.8 °C, about 6h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 11.7 h of sun a day, about 9h 18m each way by train, for about 22× less carbon (29.8 kg CO₂e return against 647 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Amsterdam

Ranked on sunshine in April 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 sunshine each extra kilogram buys.

Ouarzazate, Morocco12.2 h · 20.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 54m · 647 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco12.1 h · 20.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 682 kg CO₂e return
Ávila, Spain12.1 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 30m · 375 kg CO₂e return
Granada, Spain12.0 h · 16.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 54m · 456 kg CO₂e return
Cagliari, Italy12.0 h · 15.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 30m · 377 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco12.0 h · 18.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.3 °Cair ≈ 7h · 656 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal11.9 h · 17.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 12m · 501 kg CO₂e return
Madrid, Spain11.9 h · 15.6 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 30m · 373 kg CO₂e return
Olbia, Italy11.9 h · 15.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 332 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt11.9 h · 27.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 917 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 11.7 h for 29.8 kg — about 22× less carbon than flying to Ouarzazate.

Marseille, France11.7 h · 13.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 14.8 °Crail ≈ 9h 18m · 29.8 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France11.5 h · 14.5 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 15.1 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 30.4 kg CO₂e return
Lleida, Spain11.4 h · 16.3 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 42m · 36.6 kg CO₂e return
Huesca, Spain11.4 h · 14.0 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 13h 42m · 35.6 kg CO₂e return
Sanremo, Italy11.4 h · 14.2 °C · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 15.3 °Crail ≈ 13h 18m · 28.8 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France11.3 h · 14.4 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 15.4 °Crail ≈ 11h 54m · 28.9 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 sunniest place you can reach from Amsterdam in April within 15 hours is Bastia, 11.8 h, costing 284 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Houthalen at 4.5 kg — 63× less carbon, for 3.5 hours less sunshine.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in April 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 sunshine, April, departing Amsterdam. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

April from Amsterdam — 7 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Houthalen, Belgium	Rail	4.5 kg	9.6 °C	8.3 h	2.8 mm	4h 12m
Bruges, Belgium	Rail	5.1 kg	9.6 °C	8.8 h	3.4 mm	4h 30m
Norden, Germany	Rail	6.1 kg	8.8 °C	9.3 h	2.8 mm	5h
Hjørring, Denmark	Rail	19.3 kg	6.9 °C	10.1 h	2.6 mm	11h 24m
Trento, Italy	Rail	24.6 kg	12.7 °C	10.6 h	2.2 mm	13h 30m
Marseille, France	Rail	29.8 kg	13.7 °C	11.7 h	0.8 mm	9h 18m
Bastia, France	Air	284 kg	14.6 °C	11.8 h	1.6 mm	5h

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 Marseille (29.8 kg, 11.7 h) to Bastia (284 kg, 11.8 h) buys 0.1 hours more sunshine for an extra 254 kg — 2539 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

HouthalenBelgium4.5 kg CO₂e return9.6 °C · 8.3 h sun · 4h 12m by railcold but bright

MarseilleFrance29.8 kg CO₂e return13.7 °C · 11.7 h sun · 9h 18m by railmild and bright

BastiaFrance284 kg CO₂e return14.6 °C · 11.8 h sun · 5h by airmild and bright

The same month, asked differently

April 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 Bastia

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

Search places to stay in Bastia →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

April from elsewhere

Photo credits

Houthalen: Sonuwe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bastia: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ouarzazate: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ávila: Anual, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Essaouira: Kayaky, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Olbia: Gianni Careddu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lleida: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Amsterdam in April?

Bastia, France, at 11.8 h. Reaching it emits 284 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Amsterdam in April without flying?

Yes. Marseille reaches 11.7 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 9h 18m (modelled), emitting 29.8 kg CO₂e return — though Bastia is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

284 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.