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London · March · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from London in March

In March, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of London is Luxor, Egypt, 11.4 h of sun a day and 22.7 °C, about 8h 48m each way by air. Without flying, it is Lleida, Spain, 10.4 h of sun a day, about 14h 18m each way by train, for about 29× less carbon (32.5 kg CO₂e return against 932 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of London

Ranked on sunshine in March 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. Luxor, Egypt11.4 h · 22.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 48m · 932 kg CO₂e return
  2. Maspalomas, Spain11.3 h · 21.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 740 kg CO₂e return
  3. Assiut, Egypt11.3 h · 20.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 30m · 881 kg CO₂e return
  4. Aswan, Egypt11.2 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h · 970 kg CO₂e return
  5. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain11.1 h · 18.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 728 kg CO₂e return
  6. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain11.1 h · 18.9 °C · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 20.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 729 kg CO₂e return
  7. Ouarzazate, Morocco10.8 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 36m · 593 kg CO₂e return
  8. Essaouira, Morocco10.8 h · 17.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 593 kg CO₂e return
  9. Agadir, Morocco10.7 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.6 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 622 kg CO₂e return
  10. Sousse, Tunisia10.6 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 489 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Lleida is 10.4 h for 32.5 kg — about 29× less carbon than flying to Luxor.

  1. Lleida, Spain10.4 h · 12.9 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 18m · 32.5 kg CO₂e return
  2. Reus, Spain10.2 h · 13.3 °C · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 13.9 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 34.1 kg CO₂e return
  3. Barcelona, Spain10.2 h · 12.9 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.0 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 33.6 kg CO₂e return
  4. Girona, Spain9.9 h · 12.5 °C · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 30m · 32.0 kg CO₂e return
  5. Toulon, France9.7 h · 12.3 °C · 3.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.1 °Crail ≈ 9h 42m · 30.6 kg CO₂e return
  6. Andorra la Vella, Andorra9.7 h · 7.6 °C · 2.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 54m · 29.8 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 March within 15 hours is Arona, 11.5 h, costing 741 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Calais at 4.5 kg — 165× less carbon, for 5.7 hours less sunshine.

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

CalaisArona
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from London. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, March, departing London. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.11 destinations. Lowest carbon Calais at 4.5 kilograms and 5.8 h; best for sunshine Arona at 741 kilograms and 11.5 h. Calais · 4.5 kgLleida · 32.5 kgPalma · 338 kgArona · 741 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, March, departing London. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
March from London — 11 destinations on the frontier, 9 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Calais, FranceRail4.5 kg8.3 °C5.8 h3.6 mm5h 24m
Dieppe, FranceRail5.8 kg8.8 °C6.3 h3.2 mm6h 24m
Caen, FranceRail7.6 kg8.9 °C6.9 h2.5 mm8h 12m
Vannes, FranceRail13.8 kg9.5 °C7.4 h4.7 mm9h 12m
Clermont-Ferrand, FranceRail20.1 kg8.5 °C8.1 h2.9 mm10h 12m
Saint-Etienne, FranceRail22.2 kg8.1 °C8.6 h4.3 mm9h
Montpellier, FranceRail27.4 kg11.6 °C9.2 h2.7 mm9h 54m ✓
Marseille, FranceRail29.6 kg11.6 °C9.6 h2.6 mm8h 54m
Lleida, SpainRail32.5 kg12.9 °C10.4 h0.8 mm14h 18m
Palma, SpainAir338 kg14.4 °C10.7 h1.4 mm5h 18m
Arona, SpainAir741 kg16.1 °C11.5 h1.2 mm7h 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.

Airports for the air destinations on this frontier, checked 2026-09-15.
DestinationAirportFrom townDirect from LondonOnward
Palma, SpainPalma de Mallorca PMI10 kmyes LHR, LGW, LCY, LTN, STNAirport bus or taxi to central Palma.
Arona, SpainTenerife South TFS20 kmyes LHR, LGW, LTN, STNPublic bus or taxi from Tenerife South; this is the London-served airport.
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 Lleida (32.5 kg, 10.4 h) to Palma (338 kg, 10.7 h) buys 0.3 hours more sunshine for an extra 306 kg — 1019 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 return8.3 °C · 5.8 h sun · 5h 24m by railcoolLleida, SpainLleidaSpain32.5 kg CO₂e return12.9 °C · 10.4 h sun · 14h 18m by railmild and brightArona, SpainAronaSpain741 kg CO₂e return16.1 °C · 11.5 h sun · 7h 24m by airwarm overall

The same month, asked differently

March 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 Arona

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

Search places to stay in Arona →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

March from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Arona, Spain, at 11.5 h. Reaching it emits 741 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 24m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Lleida reaches 10.4 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 18m (modelled), emitting 32.5 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

741 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.