Sunniest places to go from London in February
In February, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of London is Maspalomas, Spain, 10.4 h of sun a day and 18.8 °C, about 7h 24m each way by air. Without flying, it is Zaragoza, Spain, 8.6 h of sun a day, about 14h each way by train, for about 23× less carbon (32.4 kg CO₂e return against 740 kg).
The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of London
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 ≈ 7h 24m · 740 kg CO₂e return- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain10.3 h · 17.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 728 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt10.3 h · 17.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h · 970 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain10.1 h · 18.0 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 729 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt10.1 h · 17.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 48m · 932 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt10.0 h · 18.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 42m · 909 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 886 kg CO₂e return
Funchal, Portugal9.5 h · 14.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 19.6 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 629 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey9.5 h · 10.7 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 712 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece9.5 h · 13.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 702 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Zaragoza is 8.6 h for 32.4 kg — about 23× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.
Zaragoza, Spain8.6 h · 8.8 °C · 1.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h · 32.4 kg CO₂e return- Reus, Spain8.6 h · 10.5 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 13.6 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 34.1 kg CO₂e return
- Huesca, Spain8.6 h · 6.9 °C · 1.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 18m · 30.8 kg CO₂e return
- Barcelona, Spain8.6 h · 10.2 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 13.5 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 33.6 kg CO₂e return
Andorra la Vella, Andorra8.5 h · 5.4 °C · 1.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 54m · 29.8 kg CO₂e return
Marseille, France8.3 h · 9.3 °C · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 13.7 °Crail ≈ 8h 54m · 29.6 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 February within 15 hours is Icod de los Vinos, 10.7 h, costing 735 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Calais at 4.5 kg — 163× less carbon, for 6.2 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.
By rail or ferry By air
What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Puertollano can only be reached by air — 367 kg CO₂e, in 5h 24m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 43.1 kg in 19h 18m — 9× less carbon for 13h 54m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calais, France | Rail | 4.5 kg | 7.6 °C | 4.5 h | 3.0 mm | 5h 24m |
| Lorient, France | Rail | 14.1 kg | 8.7 °C | 5.5 h | 2.8 mm | 9h 48m |
| Dijon, France | Rail | 17.6 kg | 5.6 °C | 5.9 h | 1.5 mm | 7h 24m |
| Neuchâtel, Switzerland | Rail | 21.2 kg | 4.8 °C | 6.6 h | 1.2 mm | 10h 36m |
| Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland | Rail | 21.3 kg | 5.0 °C | 7.0 h | 1.5 mm | 10h 30m |
| Geneva, Switzerland | Rail | 22.1 kg | 5.1 °C | 7.7 h | 1.5 mm | 8h 54m |
| Orange, France | Rail | 26.5 kg | 8.1 °C | 8.0 h | 1.7 mm | 9h 24m |
| Gap, France | Rail | 26.6 kg | 5.4 °C | 8.5 h | 2.0 mm | 10h 30m |
| Puertollano, Spain | Air | 367 kg | 8.3 °C | 9.0 h | 1.4 mm | 5h 24m |
| Errachidia, Morocco | Air | 555 kg | 10.6 °C | 9.7 h | 0.6 mm | 6h 24m |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain | Air | 728 kg | 17.6 °C | 10.3 h | 0.9 mm | 7h 24m |
| Icod de los Vinos, Spain | Air | 735 kg | 17.3 °C | 10.7 h | 0.4 mm | 7h 24m |
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.
| Destination | Airport | From town | Direct from London | Onward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puertollano, Spain | none within 150 km | — | not checked | Madrid is the practical air gateway, followed by an AVE train. |
| Errachidia, Morocco | Moulay Ali Cherif ERH | 3 km | not checked | Taxi to Errachidia. |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain | Tenerife South TFS | 60 km | yes LHR, LGW, LTN, STN | London-served airport; interurban bus or taxi to Santa Cruz. |
| Icod de los Vinos, Spain | Tenerife South TFS | 45 km | yes LHR, LGW, LTN, STN | London-served airport; reach Icod by bus with a change or by taxi. |
Sources for this table
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife: www.aena.es
- Icod de los Vinos: www.aena.es
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 Gap (26.6 kg, 8.5 h) to Puertollano (367 kg, 9.0 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 340 kg — 681 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.
The pick of them
GapFrance26.6 kg CO₂e returncold but brightIcod de los VinosSpain735 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe 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 London
February 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
Photo credits
- Gap: Le corrigateur, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Zaragoza: Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Andorra la Vella: Tiia Monto, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from London in February?
Icod de los Vinos, Spain, at 10.7 h. Reaching it emits 735 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 24m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere sunny from London in February without flying?
Yes. Gap reaches 8.5 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 10h 30m (modelled), emitting 26.6 kg CO₂e return — though Icod de los Vinos is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from London to Icod de los Vinos produce?
735 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.