Sunniest places to go from Glasgow in January
The sunniest place you can reach from Glasgow in January within 15 hours is Arona at 9.9 h, costing 816 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Inverness at 14.4 kg — 57× less carbon for 6.7 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 — 392 kg CO₂e, in 5h 36m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 74.2 kg in 23h 18m — 5× less carbon for 17h 42m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness, United Kingdom | Rail | 14.4 kg | 3.4 °C | 3.2 h | 2.9 mm | 4h 30m |
| Aberdeen, United Kingdom | Rail | 15.6 kg | 4.3 °C | 3.6 h | 2.5 mm | 4h 42m |
| Barrow in Furness, United Kingdom | Rail | 16.5 kg | 5.3 °C | 4.2 h | 6.3 mm | 4h 48m |
| Leicester, United Kingdom | Rail | 33.1 kg | 4.4 °C | 4.7 h | 1.6 mm | 7h 36m |
| Vannes, France | Air | 231 kg | 6.8 °C | 5.3 h | 3.8 mm | 4h 42m |
| Chur, Switzerland | Air | 348 kg | 1.8 °C | 5.9 h | 3.0 mm | 5h 18m |
| Bellinzona, Switzerland | Air | 356 kg | 5.7 °C | 6.6 h | 1.3 mm | 5h 24m |
| Marseille, France | Air | 392 kg | 8.5 °C | 7.4 h | 0.9 mm | 5h 36m |
| Tortosa, Spain | Air | 430 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 | 594 kg | 11.1 °C | 8.9 h | 0.8 mm | 6h 36m |
| Errachidia, Morocco | Air | 669 kg | 10.2 °C | 9.5 h | 0.1 mm | 7h |
| Arona, Spain | Air | 816 kg | 15.2 °C | 9.9 h | 0.3 mm | 7h 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 Errachidia (669 kg, 9.5 h) to Arona (816 kg, 9.9 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 146 kg — 365 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 Glasgow 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 Glasgow
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 Glasgow in January?
Arona, Spain, at 9.9 h. Reaching it emits 816 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 48m each way by air.
Can I get somewhere sunny from Glasgow in January without flying?
Yes. Leicester reaches 4.7 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 7h 36m, emitting 33.1 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Glasgow to Arona produce?
816 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.