Lisbon · January · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Lisbon in January

In January, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Lisbon is Aswan, Egypt, 10.0 h of sun a day and 16.8 °C, about 9h 12m each way by air. Without flying, it is Almería, Spain, 8.8 h of sun a day, about 11h each way by train, for about 54× less carbon (18.4 kg CO₂e return against 998 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Lisbon

Ranked on sunshine in January 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.

Aswan, Egypt10.0 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 12m · 998 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt10.0 h · 18.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 9h 6m · 974 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt9.9 h · 16.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h · 971 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 9h · 971 kg CO₂e return
Ouarzazate, Morocco9.7 h · 10.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 4h 42m · 224 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain9.6 h · 19.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 341 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco9.6 h · 17.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 4h 42m · 233 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain9.5 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 331 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco9.5 h · 16.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 4h 36m · 202 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain9.4 h · 18.8 °C · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 331 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Almería is 8.8 h for 18.4 kg — about 54× less carbon than flying to Aswan.

Almería, Spain8.8 h · 13.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.2 °Crail ≈ 11h · 18.4 kg CO₂e return
Elche, Spain8.5 h · 11.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.3 °Crail ≈ 12h 36m · 21.7 kg CO₂e return
Granada, Spain8.3 h · 8.8 °C · 2.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 9h 24m · 15.2 kg CO₂e return
Marbella, Spain8.2 h · 13.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.5 °Crail ≈ 8h 24m · 13.2 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal8.0 h · 13.4 °C · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 17.0 °Crail ≈ 4h 6m · 5.4 kg CO₂e return
Coimbra, Portugal6.5 h · 10.5 °C · 5.3 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 4h 6m · 5.2 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 January within 15 hours is Safaga, 10.0 h, costing 983 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Portalegre at 4.8 kg — 205× less carbon, for 3.3 hours less sunshine.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in January 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, January, departing Lisbon. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

January from Lisbon — 6 destinations on the frontier, 3 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Portalegre, Portugal	Rail	4.8 kg	9.4 °C	6.7 h	4.2 mm	3h 48m
Portimão, Portugal	Rail	5.4 kg	13.4 °C	8.0 h	1.9 mm	4h 6m
Almuñécar, Spain	Rail	15.6 kg	13.4 °C	8.5 h	0.8 mm	9h 36m
El Jadida, Morocco	Air	154 kg	14.9 °C	9.0 h	0.8 mm	4h 18m
Essaouira, Morocco	Air	202 kg	16.0 °C	9.5 h	0.3 mm	4h 36m
Safaga, Egypt	Air	983 kg	18.9 °C	10.0 h	0.0 mm	9h 6m

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 Essaouira (202 kg, 9.5 h) to Safaga (983 kg, 10.0 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 781 kg — 1562 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 return9.4 °C · 6.7 h sun · 3h 48m by railcool

AlmuñécarSpain15.6 kg CO₂e return13.4 °C · 8.5 h sun · 9h 36m by railmild and bright

SafagaEgypt983 kg CO₂e return18.9 °C · 10.0 h sun · 9h 6m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

January 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 Safaga

Places to stay in Safaga, Egypt, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Safaga →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

January from elsewhere

Photo credits

Portalegre: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Almuñécar: Zarateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Safaga: User:MatthiasKabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hurghada: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ouarzazate: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Essaouira: Kayaky, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Coimbra: Luca Boldrini, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Safaga, Egypt, at 10.0 h. Reaching it emits 983 kg CO₂e return, travelling 9h 6m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Almuñécar reaches 8.5 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 9h 36m (modelled), emitting 15.6 kg CO₂e return — though Safaga is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Lisbon to Safaga produce?

983 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.