0xCarbon
Edinburgh · February · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Edinburgh in February

The sunniest place you can reach from Edinburgh in February within 15 hours is Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 10.3 h, costing 812 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Whitehaven at 12.7 kg — 64× less carbon, for 6.0 hours less sunshine.

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Edinburgh

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 °Cair 7h 54m · 827 kg CO₂e return
  2. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain10.3 h · 17.6 °Cair 7h 48m · 812 kg CO₂e return
  3. Aswan, Egypt10.3 h · 17.7 °Cair 9h 36m · 1,075 kg CO₂e return
  4. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain10.1 h · 18.0 °Cair 7h 48m · 817 kg CO₂e return
  5. Luxor, Egypt10.1 h · 17.2 °Cair 9h 24m · 1,036 kg CO₂e return
  6. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt10.0 h · 18.6 °Cair 9h 12m · 1,008 kg CO₂e return
  7. Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.4 °Cair 9h 6m · 981 kg CO₂e return
  8. Funchal, Portugal9.5 h · 14.6 °Cair 7h 12m · 704 kg CO₂e return
  9. Fethiye, Turkey9.5 h · 10.7 °Cair 7h 48m · 813 kg CO₂e return
  10. Rhodes, Greece9.5 h · 13.4 °Cair 7h 48m · 805 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 8.3 h for 72.5 kg — about 11× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

  1. Marseille, France8.3 h · 9.3 °Crail 14h 42m · 72.5 kg CO₂e return
  2. Montpellier, France7.9 h · 8.6 °Crail 14h 54m · 70.3 kg CO₂e return
  3. Avignon, France7.9 h · 8.5 °Crail 14h 12m · 70.0 kg CO₂e return
  4. Geneva, Switzerland7.7 h · 5.1 °Crail 14h 42m · 64.9 kg CO₂e return
  5. Grenoble, France7.3 h · 7.5 °Crail 14h 36m · 67.3 kg CO₂e return
  6. Frankfurt am Main, Germany5.4 h · 5.8 °Crail 14h · 61.7 kg CO₂e return

Rail times are modelled; air times include getting to and through the airport.

The low-carbon trade-off

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.

WhitehavenSanta Cruz de Tenerife
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Edinburgh. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, February, departing Edinburgh. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.10 destinations. Lowest carbon Whitehaven at 12.7 kilograms and 4.3 h; best for sunshine Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 812 kilograms and 10.3 h. Whitehaven · 12.7 kgMarseille · 72.5 kgTeruel · 438 kgSanta Cruz de Tenerife · 812 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, February, departing Edinburgh. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
February from Edinburgh — 10 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Whitehaven, United KingdomRail12.7 kg6.6 °C4.3 h3.9 mm3h 48m
Sunderland, United KingdomRail13.1 kg6.8 °C4.8 h1.7 mm3h 48m
Skegness, United KingdomRail31.1 kg7.4 °C5.3 h2.2 mm7h 6m
Lyon, FranceRail64.7 kg6.1 °C6.3 h1.3 mm13h 24m
Geneva, SwitzerlandRail64.9 kg5.1 °C7.7 h1.5 mm14h 42m
Marseille, FranceRail72.5 kg9.3 °C8.3 h2.0 mm14h 42m
Teruel, SpainAir438 kg5.5 °C8.8 h0.4 mm5h 48m
Melilla, SpainAir578 kg14.9 °C9.3 h1.3 mm6h 36m
Recani, MoroccoAir690 kg12.8 °C9.8 h0.3 mm7h 12m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, SpainAir812 kg17.6 °C10.3 h0.9 mm7h 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 Marseille (72.5 kg, 8.3 h) to Teruel (438 kg, 8.8 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 366 kg — 731 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Whitehaven, United KingdomWhitehavenUnited Kingdom12.7 kg CO₂e return6.6 °C · 4.3 h sun · 3h 48m by railcoolMarseille, FranceMarseilleFrance72.5 kg CO₂e return9.3 °C · 8.3 h sun · 14h 42m by railcold but brightSanta Cruz de TenerifeSpain812 kg CO₂e return17.6 °C · 10.3 h sun · 7h 48m by airwarm, bright and dry

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 Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Places to stay in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Santa Cruz de Tenerife →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 Edinburgh

February from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, at 10.3 h. Reaching it emits 812 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 48m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Marseille reaches 8.3 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 42m (modelled), emitting 72.5 kg CO₂e return — though Santa Cruz de Tenerife is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Edinburgh to Santa Cruz de Tenerife produce?

812 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.