Copenhagen · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Copenhagen in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Copenhagen is Alexandria, Egypt, 11.9 h of sun a day and 27.4 °C, about 7h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Suwałki, Poland, 10.4 h of sun a day, about 11h 54m each way by train, for about 38× less carbon (20.2 kg CO₂e return against 765 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Copenhagen

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 ≈ 7h 36m · 765 kg CO₂e return
Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 42m · 605 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 618 kg CO₂e return
Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 592 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 615 kg CO₂e return
Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 7h 36m · 777 kg CO₂e return
Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 54m · 822 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 707 kg CO₂e return
Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 48m · 806 kg CO₂e return
Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 618 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Suwałki is 10.4 h for 20.2 kg — about 38× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

Suwałki, Poland10.4 h · 17.4 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 11h 54m · 20.2 kg CO₂e return
Bialystok, Poland10.4 h · 18.0 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 42m · 21.9 kg CO₂e return
Płock, Poland10.2 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 10h 24m · 17.1 kg CO₂e return
Warsaw, Poland10.2 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 11h 42m · 19.8 kg CO₂e return
Hamburg, Germany10.1 h · 16.8 °C · 2.0 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 6h 12m · 8.5 kg CO₂e return
Dessau, Germany10.1 h · 18.1 °C · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 8h 12m · 12.6 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 September within 15 hours is Fethiye, 11.8 h, costing 618 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Stralsund at 4.6 kg — 134× less carbon, for 2.0 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 Copenhagen. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

September from Copenhagen — 5 destinations on the frontier, 2 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Stralsund, Germany	Rail	4.6 kg	17.2 °C	9.8 h	2.0 mm	4h 12m
Kętrzyn, Poland	Rail	17.4 kg	17.8 °C	10.3 h	1.3 mm	10h 30m
Rome, Italy	Air	386 kg	22.3 °C	10.8 h	2.6 mm	5h 30m
Akhisar, Turkey	Air	548 kg	24.0 °C	11.6 h	0.4 mm	6h 24m
Fethiye, Turkey	Air	618 kg	26.0 °C	11.8 h	1.6 mm	6h 48m

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 Kętrzyn (17.4 kg, 10.3 h) to Rome (386 kg, 10.8 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 368 kg — 736 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

StralsundGermany4.6 kg CO₂e return17.2 °C · 9.8 h sun · 4h 12m by railwarm overall

KętrzynPoland17.4 kg CO₂e return17.8 °C · 10.3 h sun · 10h 30m by railwarm overall

FethiyeTurkey618 kg CO₂e return26.0 °C · 11.8 h sun · 6h 48m by airwarm overall

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 Fethiye

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

Search places to stay in Fethiye →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

September from elsewhere

Photo credits

Kętrzyn: Halibutt, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fethiye: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astolath/, 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
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
Suwałki: Sławomir Milejski, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bialystok: Emilia Ernst, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Płock: Aquarius 24, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Warsaw: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hamburg: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dessau: Sven Scharr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Fethiye, Turkey, at 11.8 h. Reaching it emits 618 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 48m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Kętrzyn reaches 10.3 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 10h 30m (modelled), emitting 17.4 kg CO₂e return — though Fethiye is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Copenhagen to Fethiye produce?

618 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.