0xCarbon
London · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from London in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of London is Alexandria, Egypt, 11.9 h of sun a day and 27.4 °C, about 7h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 10.7 h of sun a day, about 8h 54m each way by train, for about 28× less carbon (29.6 kg CO₂e return against 838 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of London

Ranked on sunshine in September 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. Alexandria, Egypt11.9 h · 27.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 54m · 838 kg CO₂e return
  2. Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 12m · 695 kg CO₂e return
  3. Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 712 kg CO₂e return
  4. Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 678 kg CO₂e return
  5. Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 702 kg CO₂e return
  6. Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 8h 6m · 862 kg CO₂e return
  7. Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 12m · 894 kg CO₂e return
  8. Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 814 kg CO₂e return
  9. Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 24m · 916 kg CO₂e return
  10. Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 678 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 10.7 h for 29.6 kg — about 28× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

  1. Marseille, France10.7 h · 20.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 22.9 °Crail ≈ 8h 54m · 29.6 kg CO₂e return
  2. Toulon, France10.6 h · 21.3 °C · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 23.3 °Crail ≈ 9h 42m · 30.6 kg CO₂e return
  3. Lleida, Spain10.5 h · 21.7 °C · 2.3 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 18m · 32.5 kg CO₂e return
  4. Zaragoza, Spain10.4 h · 20.8 °C · 2.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h · 32.4 kg CO₂e return
  5. Nice, France10.3 h · 21.2 °C · 3.3 mm rain a day · sea 24.2 °Crail ≈ 11h 30m · 30.4 kg CO₂e return
  6. Avignon, France10.3 h · 20.1 °C · 3.1 mm rain a dayrail 8h 42m ✓ · 27.1 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 September within 15 hours is Izmir, 11.6 h, costing 646 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Calais at 4.5 kg — 144× less carbon, for 2.8 hours less sunshine.

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

CalaisIzmir
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from London. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, September, departing London. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.6 destinations. Lowest carbon Calais at 4.5 kilograms and 8.8 h; best for sunshine Izmir at 646 kilograms and 11.6 h. Calais · 4.5 kgTomelloso · 350 kgIzmir · 646 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Tomelloso can only be reached by air — 350 kg CO₂e, in 5h 24m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 41.1 kg in 18h 6m — 9× less carbon for 12h 42m more travelling.

September from London — 6 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Calais, FranceRail4.5 kg17.2 °C8.8 h3.3 mm5h 24m
Goes, The NetherlandsRail8.2 kg17.5 °C9.3 h3.1 mm6h 12m
Düsseldorf, GermanyRail14.2 kg17.5 °C9.9 h2.7 mm7h 48m
Avignon, FranceRail27.1 kg20.1 °C10.3 h3.1 mm8h 42m ✓
Tomelloso, SpainAir350 kg21.3 °C11.1 h1.4 mm5h 24m
Izmir, TurkeyAir646 kg24.9 °C11.6 h1.0 mm6h 54m

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
Tomelloso, Spainnone within 150 km—not checkedMadrid or Alicante requires a lengthy onward road or rail-and-bus journey.
Izmir, Turkeyİzmir Adnan Menderes ADB18 kmyes — The airport's page lists London without identifying which London airport.İZBAN suburban train, airport bus or taxi into İzmir.
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 Tomelloso (350 kg, 11.1 h) to Izmir (646 kg, 11.6 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 296 kg — 592 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 return17.2 °C · 8.8 h sun · 5h 24m by railwarm but wetAvignon, FranceAvignonFrance27.1 kg CO₂e return20.1 °C · 10.3 h sun · 8h 30m by railwarm but wetIzmir, TurkeyIzmirTurkey646 kg CO₂e return24.9 °C · 11.6 h sun · 6h 54m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

September 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 Izmir

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

Search places to stay in Izmir →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

September from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Izmir, Turkey, at 11.6 h. Reaching it emits 646 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 54m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Avignon reaches 10.3 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 8h 42m by timetable, emitting 27.1 kg CO₂e return — though Izmir is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

646 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.