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Birmingham · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Birmingham in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Birmingham is Alexandria, Egypt, 11.9 h of sun a day and 27.4 °C, about 8h 12m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 10.7 h of sun a day, about 11h 42m each way by train, for about 21× less carbon (42.6 kg CO₂e return against 878 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Birmingham

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.

  1. Alexandria, Egypt11.9 h · 27.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.7 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 878 kg CO₂e return
  2. Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 24m · 734 kg CO₂e return
  3. Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 751 kg CO₂e return
  4. Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 717 kg CO₂e return
  5. Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 741 kg CO₂e return
  6. Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 8h 18m · 902 kg CO₂e return
  7. Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 30m · 869 kg CO₂e return
  8. Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 8h · 852 kg CO₂e return
  9. Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 36m · 888 kg CO₂e return
  10. Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 718 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 10.7 h for 42.6 kg — about 21× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

  1. Marseille, France10.7 h · 20.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 22.9 °Crail ≈ 11h 42m · 42.6 kg CO₂e return
  2. Toulon, France10.6 h · 21.3 °C · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 23.3 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 43.7 kg CO₂e return
  3. Montpellier, France10.3 h · 20.1 °C · 3.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 54m · 40.4 kg CO₂e return
  4. Avignon, France10.3 h · 20.1 °C · 3.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 12m · 40.2 kg CO₂e return
  5. Hamburg, Germany10.1 h · 16.8 °C · 2.0 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 34.3 kg CO₂e return
  6. Eisenach, Germany10.1 h · 16.7 °C · 2.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 48m · 34.6 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 September within 15 hours is Izmir, 11.6 h, costing 685 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Preston at 12.2 kg — 56× less carbon, for 4.3 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.

PrestonIzmir
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Birmingham. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, September, departing Birmingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.8 destinations. Lowest carbon Preston at 12.2 kilograms and 7.3 h; best for sunshine Izmir at 685 kilograms and 11.6 h. Preston · 12.2 kgAix-en-Provence · 42.0 kgTomelloso · 373 kgIzmir · 685 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, September, departing Birmingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
September from Birmingham — 8 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Preston, United KingdomRail12.2 kg14.7 °C7.3 h4.2 mm3h 42m
London, United KingdomRail13.1 kg16.6 °C8.6 h3.8 mm2h 54m
Bury St Edmunds, United KingdomRail14.4 kg16.2 °C8.7 h2.8 mm4h 6m
Clacton-on-Sea, United KingdomRail17.9 kg16.9 °C9.3 h1.8 mm4h 42m
Düsseldorf, GermanyRail27.2 kg17.5 °C9.9 h2.7 mm10h 30m
Aix-en-Provence, FranceRail42.0 kg19.3 °C10.8 h2.1 mm12h 36m
Tomelloso, SpainAir373 kg21.3 °C11.1 h1.4 mm5h 30m
Izmir, TurkeyAir685 kg24.9 °C11.6 h1.0 mm7h 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 Aix-en-Provence (42.0 kg, 10.8 h) to Tomelloso (373 kg, 11.1 h) buys 0.3 hours more sunshine for an extra 331 kg — 1104 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 return14.7 °C · 7.3 h sun · 3h 42m by railmild and brightAix-en-ProvenceFrance42.0 kg CO₂e return19.3 °C · 10.8 h sun · 12h 36m by railwarm overallIzmir, TurkeyIzmirTurkey685 kg CO₂e return24.9 °C · 11.6 h sun · 7h 6m by airwarm, bright and dry

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 Izmir

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

Search places to stay in Izmir →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

September from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Izmir, Turkey, at 11.6 h. Reaching it emits 685 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 6m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Aix-en-Provence reaches 10.8 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 12h 36m (modelled), emitting 42.0 kg CO₂e return — though Izmir is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

685 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.