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Birmingham · April · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Birmingham in April

In April, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Birmingham is Ouarzazate, Morocco, 12.2 h of sun a day and 20.8 °C, about 6h 42m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 11.7 h of sun a day, about 11h 42m each way by train, for about 14× less carbon (42.6 kg CO₂e return against 612 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Birmingham

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.

  1. Ouarzazate, Morocco12.2 h · 20.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 42m · 612 kg CO₂e return
  2. Agadir, Morocco12.1 h · 20.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.5 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 637 kg CO₂e return
  3. Ávila, Spain12.1 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 18m · 335 kg CO₂e return
  4. Granada, Spain12.0 h · 16.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 48m · 429 kg CO₂e return
  5. Cagliari, Italy12.0 h · 15.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 427 kg CO₂e return
  6. Essaouira, Morocco12.0 h · 18.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.3 °Cair ≈ 6h 42m · 608 kg CO₂e return
  7. Portimão, Portugal11.9 h · 17.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.7 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 448 kg CO₂e return
  8. Madrid, Spain11.9 h · 15.6 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 18m · 339 kg CO₂e return
  9. Olbia, Italy11.9 h · 15.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 389 kg CO₂e return
  10. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt11.9 h · 27.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 54m · 946 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 11.7 h for 42.6 kg — about 14× less carbon than flying to Ouarzazate.

  1. Marseille, France11.7 h · 13.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 14.8 °Crail ≈ 11h 42m · 42.6 kg CO₂e return
  2. Toulon, France11.5 h · 14.5 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 15.1 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 43.7 kg CO₂e return
  3. Nice, France11.3 h · 14.4 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 15.4 °Crail ≈ 14h 12m · 43.4 kg CO₂e return
  4. Avignon, France10.9 h · 13.5 °C · 1.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 12m · 40.2 kg CO₂e return
  5. Turin, Italy10.2 h · 12.5 °C · 2.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 12m · 40.2 kg CO₂e return
  6. Pamplona, Spain9.7 h · 11.1 °C · 1.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 48m · 41.8 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 Birmingham in April within 15 hours is Toledo, 12.1 h, costing 355 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Preston at 12.2 kg — 29× less carbon, for 4.1 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.

PrestonToledo
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Birmingham. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, April, departing Birmingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.7 destinations. Lowest carbon Preston at 12.2 kilograms and 8.0 h; best for sunshine Toledo at 355 kilograms and 12.1 h. Preston · 12.2 kgMarseille · 42.6 kgToledo · 355 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, April, departing Birmingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Toledo can only be reached by air — 355 kg CO₂e, in 5h 24m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 52.3 kg in 20h 18m — 7× less carbon for 14h 54m more travelling.

April from Birmingham — 7 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Preston, United KingdomRail12.2 kg8.8 °C8.0 h4.4 mm3h 42m
Kings Lynn, United KingdomRail12.7 kg9.2 °C9.1 h2.4 mm3h 48m
Margate, United KingdomRail20.6 kg9.5 °C9.7 h2.4 mm5h 12m
Romans-sur-Isère, FranceRail37.1 kg11.8 °C10.2 h1.8 mm12h 6m
Orange, FranceRail39.6 kg13.4 °C11.0 h1.3 mm12h 12m
Marseille, FranceRail42.6 kg13.7 °C11.7 h0.8 mm11h 42m
Toledo, SpainAir355 kg16.4 °C12.1 h0.4 mm5h 24m

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 (42.6 kg, 11.7 h) to Toledo (355 kg, 12.1 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 313 kg — 782 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Preston, United KingdomPrestonUnited Kingdom12.2 kg CO₂e return8.8 °C · 8.0 h sun · 3h 42m by railcold but brightMarseille, FranceMarseilleFrance42.6 kg CO₂e return13.7 °C · 11.7 h sun · 11h 42m by railmild and brightToledo, SpainToledoSpain355 kg CO₂e return16.4 °C · 12.1 h sun · 5h 24m by airwarm, bright and dry

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 Toledo

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

Search places to stay in Toledo →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 Birmingham

April from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Toledo, Spain, at 12.1 h. Reaching it emits 355 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 24m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Marseille reaches 11.7 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 11h 42m (modelled), emitting 42.6 kg CO₂e return — though Toledo is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Birmingham to Toledo produce?

355 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.