Madrid · February · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Madrid in February

In February, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Madrid is Maspalomas, Spain, 10.4 h of sun a day and 18.8 °C, about 5h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Almería, Spain, 9.2 h of sun a day, about 6h 54m each way by train, for about 37× less carbon (12.2 kg CO₂e return against 448 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Madrid

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 ≈ 5h 54m · 448 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain10.3 h · 17.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.5 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 441 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt10.3 h · 17.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 36m · 902 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain10.1 h · 18.0 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 437 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt10.1 h · 17.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 30m · 872 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt10.0 h · 18.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 873 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 929 kg CO₂e return
Funchal, Portugal9.5 h · 14.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 19.6 °Cair ≈ 5h 24m · 367 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey9.5 h · 10.7 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 722 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece9.5 h · 13.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 704 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Almería is 9.2 h for 12.2 kg — about 37× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

Almería, Spain9.2 h · 14.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.7 °Crail ≈ 6h 54m · 12.2 kg CO₂e return
Seville, Spain9.1 h · 12.8 °C · 1.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 3h 54m · 11.5 kg CO₂e return
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain9.1 h · 13.2 °C · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 5h 42m · 13.7 kg CO₂e return
Granada, Spain9.0 h · 9.2 °C · 2.8 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 4h 48m · 10.6 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal8.9 h · 13.7 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 16.2 °Crail ≈ 8h 18m · 16.4 kg CO₂e return
Lisbon, Portugal8.7 h · 12.7 °C · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 15.7 °Crail ≈ 9h 18m · 14.9 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 Madrid in February within 15 hours is Icod de los Vinos, 10.7 h, costing 450 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Ciudad Real at 4.7 kg — 96× less carbon, for 2.0 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.

Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Madrid. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, February, departing Madrid. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

February from Madrid — 5 destinations on the frontier, 2 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Ciudad Real, Spain	Rail	4.7 kg	7.9 °C	8.7 h	1.1 mm	3h 48m
Montilla, Spain	Rail	9.6 kg	11.1 °C	9.2 h	2.5 mm	4h 24m
Missour, Morocco	Air	206 kg	11.5 °C	9.7 h	0.5 mm	4h 36m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain	Air	441 kg	17.6 °C	10.3 h	0.9 mm	5h 48m
Icod de los Vinos, Spain	Air	450 kg	17.3 °C	10.7 h	0.4 mm	5h 54m

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 Montilla (9.6 kg, 9.2 h) to Missour (206 kg, 9.7 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 197 kg — 393 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Ciudad RealSpain4.7 kg CO₂e return7.9 °C · 8.7 h sun · 3h 48m by railcold but bright MontillaSpain9.6 kg CO₂e return11.1 °C · 9.2 h sun · 4h 24m by railmild and bright Icod de los VinosSpain450 kg CO₂e return17.3 °C · 10.7 h sun · 5h 54m by airwarm, bright and dry

The 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 Madrid

February from elsewhere

Photo credits

Ciudad Real: Vanbasten 23, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Seville: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jerez de la Frontera: Jerezplataforma, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lisbon: Lacobrigo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Madrid in February?

Icod de los Vinos, Spain, at 10.7 h. Reaching it emits 450 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 54m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Madrid in February without flying?

Yes. Montilla reaches 9.2 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 4h 24m (modelled), emitting 9.6 kg CO₂e return — though Icod de los Vinos is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Madrid to Icod de los Vinos produce?

450 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.