0xCarbon
Birmingham · March · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Birmingham in March

The sunniest place you can reach from Birmingham in March within 15 hours is Arona at 11.5 h, costing 748 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Preston at 12.2 kg — 61× less carbon for 5.9 h less.

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

PrestonArona
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Birmingham. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, March, departing Birmingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.11 destinations. Lowest carbon Preston at 12.2 kilograms and 5.6 h; best for sunshine Arona at 748 kilograms and 11.5 h. Preston · 12.2 kgLleida · 308 kgSan Pawl il-Bahar · 564 kgArona · 748 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Marseille can only be reached by air — 291 kg CO₂e, in 5h. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 42.6 kg in 17h 54m — 7× less carbon for 12h 54m more travelling.

March from Birmingham — 11 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Preston, United KingdomRail12.2 kg7.0 °C5.6 h4.4 mm4h 6m
Le Havre, FranceRail19.7 kg8.8 °C6.6 h3.7 mm7h 18m
Caen, FranceRail20.7 kg8.9 °C6.9 h2.5 mm7h 48m
Vannes, FranceRail26.9 kg9.5 °C7.4 h4.7 mm10h 36m
Clermont-Ferrand, FranceRail33.1 kg8.5 °C8.1 h2.9 mm13h 30m
Saint-Etienne, FranceRail35.3 kg8.1 °C8.6 h4.3 mm14h 30m
Montpellier, FranceAir270 kg11.6 °C9.2 h2.7 mm4h 54m
Marseille, FranceAir291 kg11.6 °C9.6 h2.6 mm5h
Lleida, SpainAir308 kg12.9 °C10.4 h0.8 mm5h 6m
San Pawl il-Bahar, MaltaAir564 kg15.5 °C11.0 h0.7 mm6h 30m
Arona, SpainAir748 kg16.1 °C11.5 h1.2 mm7h 30m

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 Lleida (308 kg, 10.4 h) to San Pawl il-Bahar (564 kg, 11.0 h) buys 0.6 hours more sunshine for an extra 256 kg — 427 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

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

Where to stay in Arona

Places to stay in Arona, Spain, 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 Birmingham

March from elsewhere

Questions

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

Arona, Spain, at 11.5 h. Reaching it emits 748 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 30m each way by air.

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

Yes. Saint-Etienne reaches 8.6 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 30m, emitting 35.3 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

748 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.