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Copenhagen · February · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Copenhagen in February

In February, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Copenhagen is Maspalomas, Spain, 10.4 h of sun a day and 18.8 °C, about 8h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Vienna, Austria, 6.8 h of sun a day, about 14h 36m each way by train, for about 35× less carbon (25.7 kg CO₂e return against 897 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Copenhagen

Ranked on sunshine in February 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. Maspalomas, Spain10.4 h · 18.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 8h 36m · 897 kg CO₂e return
  2. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain10.3 h · 17.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 36m · 888 kg CO₂e return
  3. Aswan, Egypt10.3 h · 17.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 42m · 909 kg CO₂e return
  4. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain10.1 h · 18.0 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 8h 36m · 887 kg CO₂e return
  5. Luxor, Egypt10.1 h · 17.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 24m · 868 kg CO₂e return
  6. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt10.0 h · 18.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 891 kg CO₂e return
  7. Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.1 °Cair ≈ 8h · 857 kg CO₂e return
  8. Funchal, Portugal9.5 h · 14.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 19.6 °Cair ≈ 8h 6m · 862 kg CO₂e return
  9. Fethiye, Turkey9.5 h · 10.7 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 618 kg CO₂e return
  10. Rhodes, Greece9.5 h · 13.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 615 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Vienna is 6.8 h for 25.7 kg — about 35× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

  1. Vienna, Austria6.8 h · 6.0 °C · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 36m · 25.7 kg CO₂e return
  2. Bratislava, Slovakia6.4 h · 5.7 °C · 1.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 26.3 kg CO₂e return
  3. Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany6.3 h · 6.3 °C · 2.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 15h · 26.9 kg CO₂e return
  4. Nitra, Slovakia6.3 h · 5.0 °C · 1.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 15h · 26.6 kg CO₂e return
  5. Ulm, Germany6.1 h · 4.1 °C · 1.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h · 24.4 kg CO₂e return
  6. Munich, Germany6.0 h · 4.5 °C · 2.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 24m · 24.8 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 Copenhagen in February within 15 hours is Icod de los Vinos, 10.7 h, costing 895 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Stralsund at 4.6 kg — 195× less carbon, for 6.1 hours less sunshine.

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

StralsundIcod de los Vinos
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Copenhagen. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, February, departing Copenhagen. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.12 destinations. Lowest carbon Stralsund at 4.6 kilograms and 4.6 h; best for sunshine Icod de los Vinos at 895 kilograms and 10.7 h. Stralsund · 4.6 kgBulqize · 421 kgFethiye · 618 kgIcod de los Vinos · 895 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, February, departing Copenhagen. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Graz can only be reached by air — 246 kg CO₂e, in 4h 48m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 28.8 kg in 16h 6m — 9× less carbon for 11h 18m more travelling.

February from Copenhagen — 12 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Stralsund, GermanyRail4.6 kg4.1 °C4.6 h2.4 mm4h 12m
Drammen, NorwayRail14.0 kg-1.2 °C5.1 h2.7 mm8h 48m
České Budějovice, CzechiaRail22.3 kg4.0 °C5.7 h1.5 mm12h 54m
Sankt Pölten, AustriaRail25.3 kg4.8 °C6.2 h1.8 mm14h 24m
Vienna, AustriaRail25.7 kg6.0 °C6.8 h1.4 mm14h 36m
Graz, AustriaAir246 kg4.1 °C7.4 h0.7 mm4h 48m
Bolzano, ItalyAir258 kg7.3 °C8.1 h1.8 mm4h 54m
Gap, FranceAir332 kg5.4 °C8.5 h2.0 mm5h 18m
Bulqize, AlbaniaAir421 kg4.5 °C9.1 h1.7 mm5h 42m
Fethiye, TurkeyAir618 kg10.7 °C9.5 h1.6 mm6h 48m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, SpainAir888 kg17.6 °C10.3 h0.9 mm8h 36m
Icod de los Vinos, SpainAir895 kg17.3 °C10.7 h0.4 mm8h 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 Bulqize (421 kg, 9.1 h) to Fethiye (618 kg, 9.5 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 197 kg — 493 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

The same month, asked differently

February 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 Icod de los Vinos

Places to stay in Icod de los Vinos, Spain, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Icod de los Vinos →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 Copenhagen

February from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Copenhagen in February?

Icod de los Vinos, Spain, at 10.7 h. Reaching it emits 895 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 36m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Copenhagen in February without flying?

Yes. Vienna reaches 6.8 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 36m (modelled), emitting 25.7 kg CO₂e return — though Icod de los Vinos is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Copenhagen to Icod de los Vinos produce?

895 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.