Sunniest places to go from Edinburgh in January
The sunniest place you can reach from Edinburgh in January within 15 hours is Arona at 9.9 h, costing 825 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Sunderland at 13.1 kg — 63× less carbon for 6.1 h less.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else in Europe is both sunnier in January and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.
By rail or ferry By air
What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Marseille can only be reached by air — 386 kg CO₂e, in 5h 30m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 72.5 kg in 23h — 5× less carbon for 17h 30m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunderland, United Kingdom | Rail | 13.1 kg | 4.8 °C | 3.8 h | 2.3 mm | 4h 12m |
| Hull, United Kingdom | Rail | 24.6 kg | 4.8 °C | 4.6 h | 1.7 mm | 6h 12m |
| Peterborough, United Kingdom | Rail | 33.9 kg | 5.0 °C | 4.9 h | 1.6 mm | 7h 48m |
| La Teste-de-Buch, France | Air | 319 kg | 8.4 °C | 5.4 h | 3.7 mm | 5h 12m |
| Chur, Switzerland | Air | 337 kg | 1.8 °C | 5.9 h | 3.0 mm | 5h 18m |
| Nîmes, France | Air | 365 kg | 6.9 °C | 7.0 h | 1.2 mm | 5h 24m |
| Marseille, France | Air | 386 kg | 8.5 °C | 7.4 h | 0.9 mm | 5h 30m |
| Tortosa, Spain | Air | 429 kg | 10.2 °C | 7.9 h | 0.6 mm | 5h 48m |
| Torrevieja, Spain | Air | 505 kg | 12.5 °C | 8.6 h | 0.4 mm | 6h 12m |
| Oujda, Morocco | Air | 595 kg | 11.1 °C | 8.9 h | 0.8 mm | 6h 42m |
| Errachidia, Morocco | Air | 672 kg | 10.2 °C | 9.5 h | 0.1 mm | 7h 6m |
| Arona, Spain | Air | 825 kg | 15.2 °C | 9.9 h | 0.3 mm | 7h 54m |
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 Peterborough (33.9 kg, 4.9 h) to La Teste-de-Buch (319 kg, 5.4 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 285 kg — 570 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.
The pick of them
If you'd rather have heat than sunshine
January answers differently depending on what you're after. The warmest destinations from Edinburgh in January are a different list — hours of sunshine and degrees of warmth come apart, especially early and late in the year.
Where to stay in Arona
Places to stay in Arona, Spain, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.
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
January from elsewhere
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Brussels
- Cardiff
- Copenhagen
- Dublin
- Edinburgh
- Frankfurt
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- Liverpool
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Milan
- Munich
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Oslo
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from Edinburgh in January?
Arona, Spain, at 9.9 h. Reaching it emits 825 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 54m each way by air.
Can I get somewhere sunny from Edinburgh in January without flying?
Yes. Peterborough reaches 4.9 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 7h 48m, emitting 33.9 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Edinburgh to Arona produce?
825 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.