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London · December · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from London in December

In December, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of London is Aswan, Egypt, 10.1 h of sun a day and 18.7 °C, about 9h each way by air. Without flying, it is Reus, Spain, 7.9 h of sun a day, about 14h 24m each way by train, for about 28× less carbon (34.1 kg CO₂e return against 970 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of London

Ranked on sunshine in December 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.

  1. Aswan, Egypt10.1 h · 18.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h · 970 kg CO₂e return
  2. Luxor, Egypt10.0 h · 18.0 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 48m · 932 kg CO₂e return
  3. Hurghada, Egypt9.8 h · 19.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 8h 42m · 915 kg CO₂e return
  4. Maspalomas, Spain9.4 h · 19.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 740 kg CO₂e return
  5. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain9.3 h · 18.9 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 22.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 728 kg CO₂e return
  6. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain9.3 h · 19.1 °C · 2.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 729 kg CO₂e return
  7. Ouarzazate, Morocco9.3 h · 10.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 36m · 593 kg CO₂e return
  8. Aqaba, Jordan9.2 h · 18.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 886 kg CO₂e return
  9. Ifrane, Morocco9.2 h · 6.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 12m · 513 kg CO₂e return
  10. Oujda, Morocco9.1 h · 11.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h · 472 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Reus is 7.9 h for 34.1 kg — about 28× less carbon than flying to Aswan.

  1. Reus, Spain7.9 h · 10.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.2 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 34.1 kg CO₂e return
  2. Barcelona, Spain7.7 h · 9.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 33.6 kg CO₂e return
  3. Nice, France7.5 h · 9.2 °C · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 11h 30m · 30.4 kg CO₂e return
  4. Marseille, France7.5 h · 9.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 14.5 °Crail ≈ 8h 54m · 29.6 kg CO₂e return
  5. Zaragoza, Spain7.5 h · 8.0 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h · 32.4 kg CO₂e return
  6. Toulon, France7.4 h · 10.2 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 15.2 °Crail ≈ 9h 42m · 30.6 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 London in December within 15 hours is Luxor, 10.0 h, costing 932 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Calais at 4.5 kg — 207× less carbon, for 7.1 hours less sunshine.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in December and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.

CalaisLuxor
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from London. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, December, departing London. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.14 destinations. Lowest carbon Calais at 4.5 kilograms and 2.9 h; best for sunshine Luxor at 932 kilograms and 10.0 h. Calais · 4.5 kgBouarfa · 532 kgLuxor · 932 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, December, departing London. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Alicante can only be reached by air — 368 kg CO₂e, in 5h 30m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 43.2 kg in 19h — 9× less carbon for 13h 30m more travelling.

December from London — 14 destinations on the frontier, 10 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Calais, FranceRail4.5 kg7.8 °C2.9 h2.8 mm5h 24m
Caen, FranceRail7.6 kg7.9 °C3.4 h2.3 mm8h 12m
Rennes, FranceRail11.6 kg7.8 °C4.0 h1.9 mm7h 12m
Saint-Nazaire, FranceRail14.6 kg9.0 °C4.5 h2.5 mm9h 12m
Geneva, SwitzerlandRail22.1 kg3.3 °C5.0 h4.9 mm8h 54m
Romans-sur-Isère, FranceRail24.0 kg4.7 °C5.5 h3.0 mm9h 24m
Montélimar, FranceRail25.2 kg6.4 °C6.2 h1.6 mm10h 6m
Avignon, FranceRail27.1 kg6.9 °C6.8 h1.0 mm8h 42m ✓
Marseille, FranceRail29.6 kg9.0 °C7.5 h1.1 mm8h 54m
Barcelona, SpainRail33.6 kg9.7 °C7.7 h0.6 mm12h 30m
Alicante, SpainAir368 kg13.3 °C8.5 h0.2 mm5h 30m
Melilla, SpainAir457 kg15.2 °C8.9 h0.4 mm5h 54m
Bouarfa, MoroccoAir532 kg8.7 °C9.6 h0.0 mm6h 18m
Luxor, EgyptAir932 kg18.0 °C10.0 h0.0 mm8h 48m

The flights, in practice

The model measures to the town, not to a runway. For the destinations above reached by air, this is the nearest airport, how far it is, and whether a direct flight from London is listed on the airport's own destination page (researched 2026-09-15; route existence, not availability on a date). "Not checked" means no destination list was read for that airport.

Airports for the air destinations on this frontier, checked 2026-09-15.
DestinationAirportFrom townDirect from LondonOnward
Alicante, SpainAlicante–Elche Miguel Hernández ALC12 kmyes LGW, LTN, STN, SENAirport bus to central Alicante; tram connections require a bus or taxi transfer.
Melilla, SpainMelilla MLN4 kmnoLocal bus or taxi into Melilla.
Bouarfa, MoroccoOujda Angads OUD115 kmnot checkedLong road transfer from Oujda; Bouarfa Airport's current scheduled service was not established.
Luxor, EgyptLuxor International LXR9 kmyes LGWTaxi or arranged transfer into Luxor.
Sources for this table

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 Bouarfa (532 kg, 9.6 h) to Luxor (932 kg, 10.0 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 400 kg — 1000 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

CalaisFrance4.5 kg CO₂e return7.8 °C · 2.9 h sun · 5h 24m by railcoolBarcelonaSpain33.6 kg CO₂e return9.7 °C · 7.7 h sun · 12h 30m by railcold but brightLuxor, EgyptLuxorEgypt932 kg CO₂e return18.0 °C · 10.0 h sun · 8h 48m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

December 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 Luxor

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

Search places to stay in Luxor →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 London

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from London in December?

Luxor, Egypt, at 10.0 h. Reaching it emits 932 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 48m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from London in December without flying?

Yes. Barcelona reaches 7.7 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 12h 30m (modelled), emitting 33.6 kg CO₂e return — though Luxor is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from London to Luxor produce?

932 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.