Sunniest places to go from Brussels in January
The sunniest place you can reach from Brussels in January within 15 hours is Arona at 9.9 h, costing 776 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Nijmegen at 4.5 kg — 172× less carbon for 6.3 h less.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else in Europe is both sunnier in January and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.
By rail or ferry By air
What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Olot can only be reached by air — 245 kg CO₂e, in 4h 48m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 28.8 kg in 15h 18m — 9× less carbon for 10h 30m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nijmegen, The Netherlands | Rail | 4.5 kg | 4.2 °C | 3.6 h | 2.9 mm | 4h 6m |
| Boulogne-sur-Mer, France | Rail | 5.7 kg | 5.9 °C | 4.4 h | 4.3 mm | 4h 36m |
| London, United Kingdom | Rail | 9.5 kg | 5.0 °C | 4.7 h | 2.0 mm | 6h 24m |
| Chur, Switzerland | Rail | 17.2 kg | 1.8 °C | 5.9 h | 3.0 mm | 10h |
| Bellinzona, Switzerland | Rail | 18.3 kg | 5.7 °C | 6.6 h | 1.3 mm | 10h 30m |
| Marseille, France | Rail | 24.9 kg | 8.5 °C | 7.4 h | 0.9 mm | 13h 30m |
| Olot, Spain | Air | 245 kg | 6.5 °C | 7.7 h | 0.5 mm | 4h 48m |
| Santa Eulària des Riu, Spain | Air | 336 kg | 12.7 °C | 8.5 h | 0.6 mm | 5h 18m |
| Almería, Spain | Air | 415 kg | 13.3 °C | 8.8 h | 0.2 mm | 5h 42m |
| Errachidia, Morocco | Air | 559 kg | 10.2 °C | 9.5 h | 0.1 mm | 6h 30m |
| Arona, Spain | Air | 776 kg | 15.2 °C | 9.9 h | 0.3 mm | 7h 36m |
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 (24.9 kg, 7.4 h) to Olot (245 kg, 7.7 h) buys 0.3 hours more sunshine for an extra 220 kg — 734 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
January answers differently depending on what you're after. The warmest destinations from Brussels in January 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 Brussels
January from elsewhere
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Brussels
- Cardiff
- Copenhagen
- Dublin
- Edinburgh
- Frankfurt
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- Liverpool
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Milan
- Munich
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Oslo
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from Brussels in January?
Arona, Spain, at 9.9 h. Reaching it emits 776 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 36m each way by air.
Can I get somewhere sunny from Brussels in January without flying?
Yes. Marseille reaches 7.4 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 30m, emitting 24.9 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Brussels to Arona produce?
776 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.