Cardiff · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Cardiff in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Cardiff 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 12h 12m each way by train, for about 19× less carbon (46.6 kg CO₂e return against 884 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Cardiff

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 12m · 884 kg CO₂e return
Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 24m · 743 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 761 kg CO₂e return
Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 726 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 750 kg CO₂e return
Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 8h 18m · 909 kg CO₂e return
Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 30m · 874 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 8h 6m · 863 kg CO₂e return
Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 36m · 898 kg CO₂e return
Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 724 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 10.7 h for 46.6 kg — about 19× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

Marseille, France10.7 h · 20.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 22.9 °Crail ≈ 12h 12m · 46.6 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France10.6 h · 21.3 °C · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 23.3 °Crail ≈ 13h · 47.6 kg CO₂e return
Montpellier, France10.3 h · 20.1 °C · 3.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 30m · 44.4 kg CO₂e return
Avignon, France10.3 h · 20.1 °C · 3.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 48m · 44.1 kg CO₂e return
Eisenach, Germany10.1 h · 16.7 °C · 2.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 18m · 38.5 kg CO₂e return
Kassel, Germany10.0 h · 16.9 °C · 2.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 36m · 36.7 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 September within 15 hours is Izmir, 11.6 h, costing 695 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Reading at 12.3 kg — 57× 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 Cardiff. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

September from Cardiff — 7 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Reading, United Kingdom	Rail	12.3 kg	16.1 °C	7.9 h	4.1 mm	3h 42m
Portsmouth, United Kingdom	Rail	13.2 kg	16.6 °C	8.6 h	3.5 mm	3h 54m
Leiden, The Netherlands	Rail	26.6 kg	17.0 °C	9.3 h	3.7 mm	10h 30m
Düsseldorf, Germany	Rail	31.2 kg	17.5 °C	9.9 h	2.7 mm	11h 6m
Aix-en-Provence, France	Rail	45.9 kg	19.3 °C	10.8 h	2.1 mm	13h 12m
Tomelloso, Spain	Air	345 kg	21.3 °C	11.1 h	1.4 mm	5h 18m
Izmir, Turkey	Air	695 kg	24.9 °C	11.6 h	1.0 mm	7h 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 Aix-en-Provence (45.9 kg, 10.8 h) to Tomelloso (345 kg, 11.1 h) buys 0.3 hours more sunshine for an extra 299 kg — 996 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

ReadingUnited Kingdom12.3 kg CO₂e return16.1 °C · 7.9 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm but wet Aix-en-ProvenceFrance45.9 kg CO₂e return19.3 °C · 10.8 h sun · 13h 12m by railwarm overall

IzmirTurkey695 kg CO₂e return24.9 °C · 11.6 h sun · 7h 12m 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 Cardiff

September from elsewhere

Photo credits

Reading: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0, 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
Avignon: Jean-Marc Rosier (de/from http://www.cjrosier.com + http://www.gordes-immobilier.com), 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 Cardiff in September?

Izmir, Turkey, at 11.6 h. Reaching it emits 695 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 12m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Aix-en-Provence reaches 10.8 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 12m (modelled), emitting 45.9 kg CO₂e return — though Izmir is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

695 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.