Bristol · August · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Bristol in August

In August, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Bristol is Ankara, Turkey, 13.2 h of sun a day and 26.5 °C, about 7h 30m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 12.7 h of sun a day, about 11h 54m each way by train, for about 17× less carbon (43.3 kg CO₂e return against 754 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Bristol

Ranked on sunshine in August 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.

Ankara, Turkey13.2 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 30m · 754 kg CO₂e return
Cosenza, Italy13.0 h · 25.4 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 28.3 °Cair ≈ 6h 12m · 500 kg CO₂e return
Catanzaro, Italy13.0 h · 26.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 12m · 514 kg CO₂e return
Mytilene, Greece13.0 h · 28.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.0 °Cair ≈ 7h · 663 kg CO₂e return
Konya, Turkey13.0 h · 26.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 42m · 784 kg CO₂e return
Izmir, Turkey13.0 h · 29.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.8 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 685 kg CO₂e return
Potenza, Italy13.0 h · 23.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h · 466 kg CO₂e return
Athens, Greece12.9 h · 28.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 639 kg CO₂e return
Korçë, Albania12.9 h · 22.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 24m · 542 kg CO₂e return
Pristina, Kosovo12.9 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 12m · 512 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 12.7 h for 43.3 kg — about 17× less carbon than flying to Ankara.

Marseille, France12.7 h · 24.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.8 °Crail ≈ 11h 54m · 43.3 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France12.6 h · 26.0 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 24.2 °Crail ≈ 12h 42m · 44.4 kg CO₂e return
Montpellier, France12.6 h · 25.5 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 12m · 41.1 kg CO₂e return
Avignon, France12.6 h · 25.6 °C · 1.3 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 30m · 40.8 kg CO₂e return
Turin, Italy12.2 h · 25.3 °C · 3.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 30m · 40.9 kg CO₂e return
Pamplona, Spain12.1 h · 21.1 °C · 1.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 15h · 42.5 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 Bristol in August within 15 hours is Guarda, 13.0 h, costing 318 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Hemel Hempstead at 12.2 kg — 26× less carbon, for 3.2 hours less sunshine.

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

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, August, departing Bristol. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Guarda can only be reached by air — 318 kg CO₂e, in 5h 12m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 53.2 kg in 22h 18m — 6× less carbon for 17h 6m more travelling.

August from Bristol — 6 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom	Rail	12.2 kg	16.8 °C	9.8 h	1.8 mm	3h 42m
Bognor Regis, United Kingdom	Rail	12.3 kg	17.5 °C	10.8 h	2.4 mm	3h 42m
Dunkirk, France	Rail	19.1 kg	18.5 °C	11.3 h	2.5 mm	8h
La Rochelle, France	Rail	31.4 kg	20.5 °C	12.0 h	1.9 mm	12h 36m
Avignon, France	Rail	40.8 kg	25.6 °C	12.6 h	1.3 mm	11h 30m
Guarda, Portugal	Air	318 kg	21.6 °C	13.0 h	0.0 mm	5h 12m

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 Avignon (40.8 kg, 12.6 h) to Guarda (318 kg, 13.0 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 278 kg — 694 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Hemel HempsteadUnited Kingdom12.2 kg CO₂e return16.8 °C · 9.8 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm overall

AvignonFrance40.8 kg CO₂e return25.6 °C · 12.6 h sun · 11h 30m by railwarm overall

GuardaPortugal318 kg CO₂e return21.6 °C · 13.0 h sun · 5h 12m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

August 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 Guarda

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

Search places to stay in Guarda →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 Bristol

August from elsewhere

Photo credits

Hemel Hempstead: Nigel Cox, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Avignon: Jean-Marc Rosier (de/from http://www.cjrosier.com + http://www.gordes-immobilier.com), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Guarda: Alexa Pinto, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ankara: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mytilene: SilentResident (compilation, sources to attribute see above; if any of the sources used in the Montage are removed from , CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Izmir: Rafaela Ely, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athens: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
Korçë: Joergsam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pristina: Arben Llapashtica, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Montpellier: Assembled by DePlusJean, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pamplona: Nafarroako Gobernua, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Bristol in August?

Guarda, Portugal, at 13.0 h. Reaching it emits 318 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 12m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Bristol in August without flying?

Yes. Avignon reaches 12.6 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 11h 30m (modelled), emitting 40.8 kg CO₂e return — though Guarda is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Bristol to Guarda produce?

318 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.