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London · May · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from London in May

In May, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of London is Sundsvall, Sweden, 15.1 h of sun a day and 11.7 °C, about 5h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Zaragoza, Spain, 13.1 h of sun a day, about 14h each way by train, for about 12× less carbon (32.4 kg CO₂e return against 402 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of London

Ranked on sunshine in May 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. Sundsvall, Sweden15.1 h · 11.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.0 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 402 kg CO₂e return
  2. Umeå, Sweden15.0 h · 9.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 3.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 456 kg CO₂e return
  3. Luleå, Sweden14.8 h · 7.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 1.5 °Cair ≈ 6h 12m · 505 kg CO₂e return
  4. Vaasa, Finland14.8 h · 9.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 457 kg CO₂e return
  5. Tallinn, Estonia14.7 h · 12.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 449 kg CO₂e return
  6. Turku, Finland14.4 h · 12.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 48m · 427 kg CO₂e return
  7. Helsinki, Finland14.4 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 458 kg CO₂e return
  8. Pärnu, Estonia14.3 h · 13.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 436 kg CO₂e return
  9. Riga, Latvia14.2 h · 13.6 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 10.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 42m · 422 kg CO₂e return
  10. Tartu, Estonia14.1 h · 12.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h · 468 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Zaragoza is 13.1 h for 32.4 kg — about 12× less carbon than flying to Sundsvall.

  1. Zaragoza, Spain13.1 h · 18.8 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h · 32.4 kg CO₂e return
  2. Aarhus, Denmark13.0 h · 12.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.8 °Crail ≈ 15h · 25.1 kg CO₂e return
  3. Reus, Spain13.0 h · 18.1 °C · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 34.1 kg CO₂e return
  4. Lleida, Spain13.0 h · 19.1 °C · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 18m · 32.5 kg CO₂e return
  5. Huesca, Spain12.9 h · 16.7 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 13h 18m · 30.8 kg CO₂e return
  6. Rostock, Germany12.8 h · 13.9 °C · 1.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 30m · 25.7 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 May within 15 hours is Gävle, 14.7 h, costing 370 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Calais at 4.5 kg — 82× less carbon, for 3.5 hours less sunshine.

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

CalaisGävle
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from London. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, May, departing London. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.7 destinations. Lowest carbon Calais at 4.5 kilograms and 11.2 h; best for sunshine Gävle at 370 kilograms and 14.7 h. Calais · 4.5 kgAarhus · 25.1 kgElsinore · 245 kgGävle · 370 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Karlstad can only be reached by air — 307 kg CO₂e, in 5h 6m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 36.1 kg in 20h 48m — 9× less carbon for 15h 42m more travelling.

May from London — 7 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Calais, FranceRail4.5 kg12.9 °C11.2 h2.3 mm5h 24m
Leiden, The NetherlandsRail9.6 kg13.7 °C11.7 h3.9 mm7h 12m
Kiel, GermanyRail22.3 kg13.2 °C12.3 h1.9 mm13h
Aarhus, DenmarkRail25.1 kg12.7 °C13.0 h1.1 mm15h
Elsinore, DenmarkAir245 kg13.5 °C14.0 h0.5 mm4h 48m
Karlstad, SwedenAir307 kg13.6 °C14.3 h1.1 mm5h 6m
Gävle, SwedenAir370 kg12.6 °C14.7 h0.7 mm5h 30m

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
Elsinore, Denmarknot researched—not checked—
Karlstad, SwedenKarlstad KSD18 kmnoAirport bus, flight taxi or taxi to Karlstad.
Gävle, SwedenStockholm Arlanda ARN140 kmyes LGW, LHR, STNNorthbound train from Arlanda to Gävle.
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 Aarhus (25.1 kg, 13.0 h) to Elsinore (245 kg, 14.0 h) buys 1.0 hours more sunshine for an extra 220 kg — 220 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 return12.9 °C · 11.2 h sun · 5h 24m by railmild and brightAarhusDenmark25.1 kg CO₂e return12.7 °C · 13.0 h sun · 15h by railmild and brightGävle, SwedenGävleSweden370 kg CO₂e return12.6 °C · 14.7 h sun · 5h 30m by airmild and bright

The same month, asked differently

May 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 Gävle

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

Search places to stay in Gävle →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

May from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Gävle, Sweden, at 14.7 h. Reaching it emits 370 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 30m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Aarhus reaches 13.0 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 15h (modelled), emitting 25.1 kg CO₂e return — though Gävle is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

370 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.