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Barcelona · March · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Barcelona in March

In March, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Barcelona is Luxor, Egypt, 11.4 h of sun a day and 22.7 °C, about 7h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Benidorm, Spain, 10.4 h of sun a day, about 6h 36m each way by train, for about 75× less carbon (11.0 kg CO₂e return against 829 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Barcelona

Ranked on sunshine in March 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.

  1. Luxor, Egypt11.4 h · 22.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 54m · 829 kg CO₂e return
  2. Maspalomas, Spain11.3 h · 21.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.2 °Cair ≈ 6h 30m · 557 kg CO₂e return
  3. Assiut, Egypt11.3 h · 20.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 36m · 774 kg CO₂e return
  4. Aswan, Egypt11.2 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 6m · 863 kg CO₂e return
  5. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain11.1 h · 18.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 24m · 554 kg CO₂e return
  6. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain11.1 h · 18.9 °C · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 20.2 °Cair ≈ 6h 24m · 547 kg CO₂e return
  7. Ouarzazate, Morocco10.8 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 24m · 357 kg CO₂e return
  8. Essaouira, Morocco10.8 h · 17.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.1 °Cair ≈ 5h 30m · 384 kg CO₂e return
  9. Agadir, Morocco10.7 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.6 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 406 kg CO₂e return
  10. Sousse, Tunisia10.6 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.0 °Cair ≈ 4h 48m · 242 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Benidorm is 10.4 h for 11.0 kg — about 75× less carbon than flying to Luxor.

  1. Benidorm, Spain10.4 h · 15.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.1 °Crail ≈ 6h 36m · 11.0 kg CO₂e return
  2. Elche, Spain10.2 h · 15.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.0 °Crail ≈ 7h 6m · 12.5 kg CO₂e return
  3. Almería, Spain10.2 h · 16.7 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 15.5 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 19.0 kg CO₂e return
  4. Valencia, Spain10.0 h · 15.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 14.3 °Crail ≈ 4h 30m · 8.9 kg CO₂e return
  5. Toulon, France9.7 h · 12.3 °C · 3.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.1 °Crail ≈ 7h 12m · 10.8 kg CO₂e return
  6. Marseille, France9.6 h · 11.6 °C · 2.6 mm rain a day · sea 13.9 °Crail ≈ 6h 36m · 10.0 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 Barcelona in March within 15 hours is Arrecife, 11.4 h, costing 498 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Tortosa at 4.5 kg — 111× less carbon, for 1.3 hours less sunshine.

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

TortosaArrecife
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Barcelona. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, March, departing Barcelona. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.3 destinations. Lowest carbon Tortosa at 4.5 kilograms and 10.1 h; best for sunshine Arrecife at 498 kilograms and 11.4 h. Tortosa · 4.5 kgPalma · 51.9 kgArrecife · 498 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, March, departing Barcelona. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
March from Barcelona — 3 destinations on the frontier, 1 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Tortosa, SpainRail4.5 kg14.4 °C10.1 h1.0 mm3h 42m
Palma, SpainAir51.9 kg14.4 °C10.7 h1.4 mm3h 48m
Arrecife, SpainAir498 kg18.4 °C11.4 h0.3 mm6h 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 Palma (51.9 kg, 10.7 h) to Arrecife (498 kg, 11.4 h) buys 0.7 hours more sunshine for an extra 446 kg — 638 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

TortosaSpain4.5 kg CO₂e return14.4 °C · 10.1 h sun · 3h 42m by railmild and brightArrecifeSpain498 kg CO₂e return18.4 °C · 11.4 h sun · 6h 6m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

March 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 Arrecife

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

Search places to stay in Arrecife →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 Barcelona

March from elsewhere

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Questions

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

Arrecife, Spain, at 11.4 h. Reaching it emits 498 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 6m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Tortosa reaches 10.1 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 3h 42m (modelled), emitting 4.5 kg CO₂e return — though Arrecife is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

498 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.