Sunniest places to go from Edinburgh in March
The sunniest place you can reach from Edinburgh in March within 15 hours is Arona at 11.5 h, costing 825 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Sunderland at 13.1 kg — 63× less carbon for 5.8 h less.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else in Europe is both sunnier in March 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 | 6.5 °C | 5.7 h | 2.5 mm | 4h 12m |
| Inverness, United Kingdom | Rail | 14.6 kg | 4.8 °C | 6.6 h | 2.6 mm | 4h 30m |
| Le Mans, France | Rail | 54.4 kg | 8.8 °C | 7.1 h | 2.9 mm | 14h 36m |
| Vichy, France | Air | 298 kg | 8.9 °C | 8.0 h | 3.7 mm | 5h 6m |
| Clermont-Ferrand, France | Air | 305 kg | 8.5 °C | 8.1 h | 2.9 mm | 5h 6m |
| Saint-Etienne, France | Air | 323 kg | 8.1 °C | 8.6 h | 4.3 mm | 5h 12m |
| Montpellier, France | Air | 368 kg | 11.6 °C | 9.2 h | 2.7 mm | 5h 24m |
| Marseille, France | Air | 386 kg | 11.6 °C | 9.6 h | 2.6 mm | 5h 30m |
| Lleida, Spain | Air | 407 kg | 12.9 °C | 10.4 h | 0.8 mm | 5h 42m |
| San Pawl il-Bahar, Malta | Air | 652 kg | 15.5 °C | 11.0 h | 0.7 mm | 7h |
| Arona, Spain | Air | 825 kg | 16.1 °C | 11.5 h | 1.2 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 Lleida (407 kg, 10.4 h) to San Pawl il-Bahar (652 kg, 11.0 h) buys 0.6 hours more sunshine for an extra 245 kg — 408 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
March answers differently depending on what you're after. The warmest destinations from Edinburgh in March 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
March 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 March?
Arona, Spain, at 11.5 h. Reaching it emits 825 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 54m each way by air.
Can I get somewhere sunny from Edinburgh in March without flying?
Yes. Le Mans reaches 7.1 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 36m, emitting 54.4 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.