Madrid · January · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Madrid in January

In January, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Madrid is Aswan, Egypt, 10.0 h of sun a day and 16.8 °C, about 8h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Almería, Spain, 8.8 h of sun a day, about 6h 54m each way by train, for about 74× less carbon (12.2 kg CO₂e return against 902 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Madrid

Ranked on sunshine in January 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.

Aswan, Egypt10.0 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 36m · 902 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt10.0 h · 18.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 872 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt9.9 h · 16.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 30m · 872 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 929 kg CO₂e return
Ouarzazate, Morocco9.7 h · 10.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h · 275 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain9.6 h · 19.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 448 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco9.6 h · 17.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 5h 6m · 310 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain9.5 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 441 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco9.5 h · 16.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 5h · 284 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain9.4 h · 18.8 °C · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 437 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Almería is 8.8 h for 12.2 kg — about 74× less carbon than flying to Aswan.

Almería, Spain8.8 h · 13.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.2 °Crail ≈ 6h 54m · 12.2 kg CO₂e return
Elche, Spain8.5 h · 11.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.3 °Crail ≈ 4h 36m · 10.4 kg CO₂e return
Granada, Spain8.3 h · 8.8 °C · 2.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 4h 48m · 10.6 kg CO₂e return
Marbella, Spain8.2 h · 13.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.5 °Crail ≈ 5h 18m · 13.2 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal8.0 h · 13.4 °C · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 17.0 °Crail ≈ 8h 18m · 16.4 kg CO₂e return
Lisbon, Portugal7.5 h · 12.3 °C · 2.9 mm rain a day · sea 16.2 °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 January within 15 hours is Icod de los Vinos, 9.9 h, costing 450 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Tomelloso at 4.5 kg — 100× 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 January 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, January, departing Madrid. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

January from Madrid — 6 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Tomelloso, Spain	Rail	4.5 kg	6.7 °C	7.1 h	1.0 mm	3h 42m
Albacete, Spain	Rail	6.6 kg	6.7 °C	7.6 h	0.9 mm	4h 42m
Hellin, Spain	Rail	8.1 kg	9.2 °C	8.1 h	0.3 mm	5h 24m
Baza, Spain	Rail	9.9 kg	7.9 °C	8.6 h	0.7 mm	6h 18m
Missour, Morocco	Air	206 kg	10.0 °C	9.4 h	0.2 mm	4h 36m
Icod de los Vinos, Spain	Air	450 kg	18.2 °C	9.9 h	0.2 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 Missour (206 kg, 9.4 h) to Icod de los Vinos (450 kg, 9.9 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 244 kg — 488 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

TomellosoSpain4.5 kg CO₂e return6.7 °C · 7.1 h sun · 3h 42m by railcold but bright BazaSpain9.9 kg CO₂e return7.9 °C · 8.6 h sun · 6h 18m by railcold but bright Icod de los VinosSpain450 kg CO₂e return18.2 °C · 9.9 h sun · 5h 54m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

January 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

January from elsewhere

Photo credits

Tomelloso: Zarateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hurghada: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ouarzazate: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Essaouira: Kayaky, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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 January?

Icod de los Vinos, Spain, at 9.9 h. Reaching it emits 450 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 54m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Baza reaches 8.6 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 6h 18m (modelled), emitting 9.9 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.