Barcelona · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Barcelona in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Barcelona is Alexandria, Egypt, 11.9 h of sun a day and 27.4 °C, about 7h 6m each way by air. Without flying, it is Granada, Spain, 11.5 h of sun a day, about 8h 18m each way by train, for about 34× less carbon (20.1 kg CO₂e return against 684 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Barcelona

Ranked on sunshine in September 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.

Alexandria, Egypt11.9 h · 27.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 684 kg CO₂e return
Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 36m · 578 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 42m · 598 kg CO₂e return
Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 30m · 559 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 581 kg CO₂e return
Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 719 kg CO₂e return
Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 24m · 732 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 701 kg CO₂e return
Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 42m · 797 kg CO₂e return
Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 530 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Granada is 11.5 h for 20.1 kg — about 34× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

Granada, Spain11.5 h · 21.6 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 8h 18m · 20.1 kg CO₂e return
Marbella, Spain11.3 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.4 °Crail ≈ 8h 54m · 24.0 kg CO₂e return
Almería, Spain11.3 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.1 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 19.0 kg CO₂e return
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain11.1 h · 22.6 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 22.6 °Crail ≈ 9h 18m · 26.2 kg CO₂e return
Anzio, Italy10.9 h · 22.7 °C · 2.4 mm rain a day · sea 25.0 °Crail ≈ 14h 36m · 25.7 kg CO₂e return
Rome, Italy10.8 h · 22.3 °C · 2.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 30m · 25.4 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 September within 15 hours is Fethiye, 11.8 h, costing 598 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Tortosa at 4.5 kg — 133× less carbon, for 1.5 hours less sunshine.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in September 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 Barcelona. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, September, departing Barcelona. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

September from Barcelona — 4 destinations on the frontier, 3 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Tortosa, Spain	Rail	4.5 kg	22.3 °C	10.3 h	2.5 mm	3h 42m
Aix-en-Provence, France	Rail	10.6 kg	19.3 °C	10.8 h	2.1 mm	6h 48m
Granada, Spain	Rail	20.1 kg	21.6 °C	11.5 h	0.9 mm	8h 18m
Fethiye, Turkey	Air	598 kg	26.0 °C	11.8 h	1.6 mm	6h 42m

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 Granada (20.1 kg, 11.5 h) to Fethiye (598 kg, 11.8 h) buys 0.3 hours more sunshine for an extra 578 kg — 1927 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 return22.3 °C · 10.3 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm overall GranadaSpain20.1 kg CO₂e return21.6 °C · 11.5 h sun · 8h 18m by railwarm, bright and dry

FethiyeTurkey598 kg CO₂e return26.0 °C · 11.8 h sun · 6h 42m by airwarm overall

The same month, asked differently

September 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 Fethiye

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

Search places to stay in Fethiye →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

September from elsewhere

Photo credits

Fethiye: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astolath/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Alexandria: ASaber91, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marmaris: Mstyslav Chernov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bodrum: The 3B's, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rhodes: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Damietta: Mohamed Eissa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Al Fayyum: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Limassol: Xaris333, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amman: David Bjorgen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Heraklion: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jerez de la Frontera: Jerezplataforma, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rome: Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Fethiye, Turkey, at 11.8 h. Reaching it emits 598 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 42m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Granada reaches 11.5 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 8h 18m (modelled), emitting 20.1 kg CO₂e return — though Fethiye is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

598 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.