Lisbon · February · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Lisbon in February

In February, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Lisbon is Maspalomas, Spain, 10.4 h of sun a day and 18.8 °C, about 5h 18m each way by air. Without flying, it is Almería, Spain, 9.2 h of sun a day, about 11h each way by train, for about 19× less carbon (18.4 kg CO₂e return against 341 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Lisbon

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.

Maspalomas, Spain10.4 h · 18.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 341 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain10.3 h · 17.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.5 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 331 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt10.3 h · 17.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 12m · 998 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain10.1 h · 18.0 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 331 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt10.1 h · 17.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h · 971 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt10.0 h · 18.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 9h 6m · 977 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.1 °Cair ≈ 9h · 971 kg CO₂e return
Funchal, Portugal9.5 h · 14.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 19.6 °Cair ≈ 4h 48m · 245 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey9.5 h · 10.7 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Cair ≈ 8h · 843 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece9.5 h · 13.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 54m · 825 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Almería is 9.2 h for 18.4 kg — about 19× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

Almería, Spain9.2 h · 14.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.7 °Crail ≈ 11h · 18.4 kg CO₂e return
Seville, Spain9.1 h · 12.8 °C · 1.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 6h 30m · 9.3 kg CO₂e return
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain9.1 h · 13.2 °C · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 7h · 10.3 kg CO₂e return
Granada, Spain9.0 h · 9.2 °C · 2.8 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 9h 24m · 15.2 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal8.9 h · 13.7 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 16.2 °Crail ≈ 4h 6m · 5.4 kg CO₂e return
Porto, Portugal8.4 h · 11.5 °C · 4.0 mm rain a day · sea 14.1 °Crail ≈ 4h 24m · 8.1 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 Lisbon in February within 15 hours is Icod de los Vinos, 10.7 h, costing 339 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Portalegre at 4.8 kg — 71× less carbon, for 2.3 hours less sunshine.

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.

Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Lisbon. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, February, departing Lisbon. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

February from Lisbon — 5 destinations on the frontier, 2 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Portalegre, Portugal	Rail	4.8 kg	10.3 °C	8.4 h	2.3 mm	3h 48m
Portimão, Portugal	Rail	5.4 kg	13.7 °C	8.9 h	1.6 mm	4h 6m
Beni Mellal, Morocco	Air	190 kg	14.0 °C	9.4 h	3.0 mm	4h 30m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain	Air	331 kg	17.6 °C	10.3 h	0.9 mm	5h 18m
Icod de los Vinos, Spain	Air	339 kg	17.3 °C	10.7 h	0.4 mm	5h 18m

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 Portimão (5.4 kg, 8.9 h) to Beni Mellal (190 kg, 9.4 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 184 kg — 369 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

PortalegrePortugal4.8 kg CO₂e return10.3 °C · 8.4 h sun · 3h 48m by railmild and bright

PortimãoPortugal5.4 kg CO₂e return13.7 °C · 8.9 h sun · 4h 6m by railmild and bright Icod de los VinosSpain339 kg CO₂e return17.3 °C · 10.7 h sun · 5h 18m 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 Icod de los Vinos

Places to stay in Icod de los Vinos, Spain, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Icod de los Vinos →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 Lisbon

February from elsewhere

Photo credits

Portalegre: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Funchal: Dr. Thomas Liptak, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fethiye: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astolath/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rhodes: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Seville: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jerez de la Frontera: Jerezplataforma, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Icod de los Vinos, Spain, at 10.7 h. Reaching it emits 339 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 18m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Portimão reaches 8.9 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 4h 6m (modelled), emitting 5.4 kg CO₂e return — though Icod de los Vinos is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Lisbon to Icod de los Vinos produce?

339 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.