Madrid · October · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Madrid in October

In October, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Madrid is Aswan, Egypt, 11.0 h of sun a day and 29.1 °C, about 8h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Benidorm, Spain, 9.7 h of sun a day, about 4h 54m each way by train, for about 83× less carbon (10.9 kg CO₂e return against 902 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Madrid

Ranked on sunshine in October 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, Egypt11.0 h · 29.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 36m · 902 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt11.0 h · 28.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 30m · 872 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt10.9 h · 29.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.3 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 873 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus10.8 h · 23.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 54m · 824 kg CO₂e return
Paphos, Cyprus10.7 h · 22.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 810 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain10.7 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 24.0 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 448 kg CO₂e return
Konya, Turkey10.6 h · 14.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 36m · 783 kg CO₂e return
Antalya, Turkey10.6 h · 21.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 753 kg CO₂e return
Alanya, Turkey10.6 h · 22.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.8 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 784 kg CO₂e return
Nicosia, Cyprus10.4 h · 21.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 54m · 826 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Benidorm is 9.7 h for 10.9 kg — about 83× less carbon than flying to Aswan.

Benidorm, Spain9.7 h · 20.7 °C · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 23.2 °Crail ≈ 4h 54m · 10.9 kg CO₂e return
Elche, Spain9.4 h · 20.5 °C · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 23.2 °Crail ≈ 4h 36m · 10.4 kg CO₂e return
Granada, Spain9.3 h · 17.8 °C · 2.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 4h 48m · 10.6 kg CO₂e return
Almería, Spain9.3 h · 21.5 °C · 2.3 mm rain a day · sea 21.1 °Crail ≈ 6h 54m · 12.2 kg CO₂e return
Marseille, France9.0 h · 18.2 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 20.5 °Crail ≈ 10h · 24.1 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal8.9 h · 19.8 °C · 4.0 mm rain a day · sea 20.1 °Crail ≈ 8h 18m · 16.4 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 October within 15 hours is Luxor, 11.0 h, costing 872 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Tomelloso at 4.5 kg — 194× less carbon, for 2.5 hours less sunshine.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in October 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, October, departing Madrid. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

October from Madrid — 6 destinations on the frontier, 3 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Tomelloso, Spain	Rail	4.5 kg	17.3 °C	8.5 h	2.1 mm	3h 42m
Úbeda, Spain	Rail	7.9 kg	16.8 °C	9.0 h	4.0 mm	5h 24m
Alicante, Spain	Rail	10.6 kg	21.5 °C	9.6 h	1.9 mm	3h 42m
Ouarzazate, Morocco	Air	275 kg	20.2 °C	10.2 h	0.3 mm	5h
Arona, Spain	Air	456 kg	20.9 °C	10.7 h	0.4 mm	5h 54m
Luxor, Egypt	Air	872 kg	28.4 °C	11.0 h	0.0 mm	8h 30m

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 Arona (456 kg, 10.7 h) to Luxor (872 kg, 11.0 h) buys 0.3 hours more sunshine for an extra 417 kg — 1389 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 return17.3 °C · 8.5 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm overall

AlicanteSpain10.6 kg CO₂e return21.5 °C · 9.6 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm overall

LuxorEgypt872 kg CO₂e return28.4 °C · 11.0 h sun · 8h 30m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

October 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 Luxor

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

Search places to stay in Luxor →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

October from elsewhere

Photo credits

Tomelloso: Zarateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Alicante: unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Limassol: Xaris333, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Paphos: unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Alanya: Ozgurmulazimoglu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Benidorm: Simon Cobb, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Luxor, Egypt, at 11.0 h. Reaching it emits 872 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 30m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Alicante reaches 9.6 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 3h 42m (modelled), emitting 10.6 kg CO₂e return — though Luxor is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Madrid to Luxor produce?

872 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.