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Barcelona · December · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Barcelona in December

The sunniest place you can reach from Barcelona in December within 15 hours is Aswan at 10.1 h, costing 863 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Tortosa at 4.5 kg — 192× less carbon for 2.2 h less.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else in Europe is both sunnier in December and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.

TortosaAswan
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Barcelona. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, December, departing Barcelona. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.5 destinations. Lowest carbon Tortosa at 4.5 kilograms and 7.9 h; best for sunshine Aswan at 863 kilograms and 10.1 h. Tortosa · 4.5 kgBouarfa · 264 kgAswan · 863 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, December, departing Barcelona. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
December from Barcelona — 5 destinations on the frontier, 3 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Tortosa, SpainRail4.5 kg11.0 °C7.9 h0.4 mm4h 6m
Benidorm, SpainRail11.0 kg12.8 °C8.4 h0.2 mm7h 6m
Almería, SpainRail19.0 kg13.5 °C8.9 h0.2 mm10h 48m
Bouarfa, MoroccoAir264 kg8.7 °C9.6 h0.0 mm4h 54m
Aswan, EgyptAir863 kg18.7 °C10.1 h0.0 mm8h 6m

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 Bouarfa (264 kg, 9.6 h) to Aswan (863 kg, 10.1 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 599 kg — 1197 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

If you'd rather have heat than sunshine

December answers differently depending on what you're after. The warmest destinations from Barcelona in December are a different list — hours of sunshine and degrees of warmth come apart, especially early and late in the year.

Where to stay in Aswan

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

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 Barcelona

December from elsewhere

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Barcelona in December?

Aswan, Egypt, at 10.1 h. Reaching it emits 863 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 6m each way by air.

Can I get somewhere sunny from Barcelona in December without flying?

Yes. Almería reaches 8.9 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 10h 48m, emitting 19.0 kg CO₂e return — though Aswan is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Barcelona to Aswan produce?

863 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.