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Cardiff · May · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Cardiff in May

In May, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Cardiff is Sundsvall, Sweden, 15.1 h of sun a day and 11.7 °C, about 5h 48m each way by air. Without flying, it is Truro, United Kingdom, 12.0 h of sun a day, about 4h 12m each way by train, for about 29× less carbon (15.2 kg CO₂e return against 433 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Cardiff

Ranked on sunshine in May 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. Sundsvall, Sweden15.1 h · 11.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.0 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 433 kg CO₂e return
  2. Umeå, Sweden15.0 h · 9.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 3.8 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 487 kg CO₂e return
  3. Luleå, Sweden14.8 h · 7.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 1.5 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 534 kg CO₂e return
  4. Vaasa, Finland14.8 h · 9.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.2 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 490 kg CO₂e return
  5. Tallinn, Estonia14.7 h · 12.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.8 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 491 kg CO₂e return
  6. Turku, Finland14.4 h · 12.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h · 466 kg CO₂e return
  7. Helsinki, Finland14.4 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 499 kg CO₂e return
  8. Pärnu, Estonia14.3 h · 13.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.8 °Cair ≈ 6h · 480 kg CO₂e return
  9. Riga, Latvia14.2 h · 13.6 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 10.4 °Cair ≈ 6h · 468 kg CO₂e return
  10. Tartu, Estonia14.1 h · 12.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 12m · 513 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Truro is 12.0 h for 15.2 kg — about 29× less carbon than flying to Sundsvall.

  1. Truro, United Kingdom12.0 h · 12.6 °C · 2.5 mm rain a day · sea 12.8 °Crail ≈ 4h 12m · 15.2 kg CO₂e return
  2. Brest, France11.9 h · 13.4 °C · 3.0 mm rain a day · sea 13.4 °Crail ≈ 12h 36m · 30.7 kg CO₂e return
  3. Toulon, France11.8 h · 17.7 °C · 2.3 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Crail ≈ 13h · 47.6 kg CO₂e return
  4. Canterbury, United Kingdom11.6 h · 12.7 °C · 2.6 mm rain a day · sea 13.1 °Crail ≈ 5h 36m · 23.8 kg CO₂e return
  5. Amsterdam, The Netherlands11.6 h · 13.9 °C · 3.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 9h 18m · 27.5 kg CO₂e return
  6. Nice, France11.5 h · 17.6 °C · 2.4 mm rain a day · sea 17.8 °Crail ≈ 14h 48m · 47.3 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 Cardiff in May within 15 hours is Gävle, 14.7 h, costing 405 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Coventry at 12.4 kg — 33× less carbon, for 4.5 hours less sunshine.

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

CoventryGävle
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Cardiff. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, May, departing Cardiff. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.8 destinations. Lowest carbon Coventry at 12.4 kilograms and 10.2 h; best for sunshine Gävle at 405 kilograms and 14.7 h. Coventry · 12.4 kgNewquay · 14.3 kgOdense · 251 kgGävle · 405 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, May, departing Cardiff. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
May from Cardiff — 8 destinations on the frontier, 3 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Coventry, United KingdomRail12.4 kg12.9 °C10.2 h2.5 mm3h 42m
Portsmouth, United KingdomRail13.2 kg13.3 °C11.3 h2.0 mm3h 54m
Newquay, United KingdomRail14.3 kg12.9 °C12.1 h2.1 mm4h 6m
Odense, DenmarkAir251 kg12.9 °C12.6 h1.5 mm4h 48m
Aalborg, DenmarkAir264 kg13.3 °C13.1 h1.5 mm4h 54m
Elsinore, DenmarkAir290 kg13.5 °C14.0 h0.5 mm5h
Karlstad, SwedenAir343 kg13.6 °C14.3 h1.1 mm5h 18m
Gävle, SwedenAir405 kg12.6 °C14.7 h0.7 mm5h 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 Newquay (14.3 kg, 12.1 h) to Odense (251 kg, 12.6 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 236 kg — 473 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Coventry, United KingdomCoventryUnited Kingdom12.4 kg CO₂e return12.9 °C · 10.2 h sun · 3h 42m by railmild and brightNewquay, United KingdomNewquayUnited Kingdom14.3 kg CO₂e return12.9 °C · 12.1 h sun · 4h 6m by railmild and brightGävle, SwedenGävleSweden405 kg CO₂e return12.6 °C · 14.7 h sun · 5h 36m by airmild and bright

The same month, asked differently

May 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 Gävle

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

Search places to stay in Gävle →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 Cardiff

May from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Cardiff in May?

Gävle, Sweden, at 14.7 h. Reaching it emits 405 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 36m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Cardiff in May without flying?

Yes. Newquay reaches 12.1 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 4h 6m (modelled), emitting 14.3 kg CO₂e return — though Gävle is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Cardiff to Gävle produce?

405 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.