Bristol · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Bristol in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Bristol is Alexandria, Egypt, 11.9 h of sun a day and 27.4 °C, about 8h 6m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 10.7 h of sun a day, about 11h 54m each way by train, for about 20× less carbon (43.3 kg CO₂e return against 875 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Bristol

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 ≈ 8h 6m · 875 kg CO₂e return
Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 24m · 733 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 751 kg CO₂e return
Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 716 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 741 kg CO₂e return
Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 8h 18m · 900 kg CO₂e return
Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 24m · 930 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 8h · 853 kg CO₂e return
Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 36m · 889 kg CO₂e return
Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 715 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 10.7 h for 43.3 kg — about 20× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

Marseille, France10.7 h · 20.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 22.9 °Crail ≈ 11h 54m · 43.3 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France10.6 h · 21.3 °C · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 23.3 °Crail ≈ 12h 42m · 44.4 kg CO₂e return
Montpellier, France10.3 h · 20.1 °C · 3.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 12m · 41.1 kg CO₂e return
Avignon, France10.3 h · 20.1 °C · 3.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 30m · 40.8 kg CO₂e return
Eisenach, Germany10.1 h · 16.7 °C · 2.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h · 35.3 kg CO₂e return
Kassel, Germany10.0 h · 16.9 °C · 2.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 18m · 33.5 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 September within 15 hours is Izmir, 11.6 h, costing 685 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Hemel Hempstead at 12.2 kg — 56× less carbon, for 3.7 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 Bristol. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

September from Bristol — 7 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	15.6 °C	7.9 h	4.0 mm	3h 42m
Bognor Regis, United Kingdom	Rail	12.3 kg	16.5 °C	8.9 h	3.8 mm	3h 42m
Nijmegen, The Netherlands	Rail	26.0 kg	17.2 °C	9.6 h	2.3 mm	10h 24m
Düsseldorf, Germany	Rail	27.9 kg	17.5 °C	9.9 h	2.7 mm	10h 48m
Avignon, France	Rail	40.8 kg	20.1 °C	10.3 h	3.1 mm	11h 30m
Tomelloso, Spain	Air	344 kg	21.3 °C	11.1 h	1.4 mm	5h 18m
Izmir, Turkey	Air	685 kg	24.9 °C	11.6 h	1.0 mm	7h 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 Tomelloso (344 kg, 11.1 h) to Izmir (685 kg, 11.6 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 341 kg — 683 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 return15.6 °C · 7.9 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm but wet

AvignonFrance40.8 kg CO₂e return20.1 °C · 10.3 h sun · 11h 30m by railwarm but wet

IzmirTurkey685 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 Bristol

September 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
Izmir: Rafaela Ely, 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
Fethiye: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astolath/, CC BY 2.0, 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
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
Kassel: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Bristol 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 Bristol in September without flying?

Yes. Avignon reaches 10.3 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 11h 30m (modelled), emitting 40.8 kg CO₂e return — though Izmir is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Bristol 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.