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Manchester · March · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Manchester in March

The sunniest place you can reach from Manchester in March within 15 hours is Arona at 11.5 h, costing 770 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Bridlington at 12.1 kg — 64× less carbon for 5.6 h less.

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

BridlingtonArona
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Manchester. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, March, departing Manchester. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.11 destinations. Lowest carbon Bridlington at 12.1 kilograms and 5.9 h; best for sunshine Arona at 770 kilograms and 11.5 h. Bridlington · 12.1 kgClermont-Ferrand · 41.1 kgSaint-Etienne · 255 kgArona · 770 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, March, departing Manchester. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Lleida can only be reached by air — 336 kg CO₂e, in 5h 18m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 53.5 kg in 20h 42m — 6× less carbon for 15h 24m more travelling.

March from Manchester — 11 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Bridlington, United KingdomRail12.1 kg7.2 °C5.9 h2.2 mm4h 6m
Le Havre, FranceRail27.7 kg8.8 °C6.6 h3.7 mm8h 42m
Angers, FranceRail34.3 kg9.2 °C7.2 h3.1 mm11h 42m
Vichy, FranceRail40.3 kg8.9 °C8.0 h3.7 mm14h 30m
Clermont-Ferrand, FranceRail41.1 kg8.5 °C8.1 h2.9 mm14h 54m
Saint-Etienne, FranceAir255 kg8.1 °C8.6 h4.3 mm4h 54m
Montpellier, FranceAir298 kg11.6 °C9.2 h2.7 mm5h 6m
Marseille, FranceAir318 kg11.6 °C9.6 h2.6 mm5h 12m
Lleida, SpainAir336 kg12.9 °C10.4 h0.8 mm5h 18m
San Pawl il-Bahar, MaltaAir588 kg15.5 °C11.0 h0.7 mm6h 36m
Arona, SpainAir770 kg16.1 °C11.5 h1.2 mm7h 36m

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 Clermont-Ferrand (41.1 kg, 8.1 h) to Saint-Etienne (255 kg, 8.6 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 214 kg — 428 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

If you'd rather have heat than sunshine

March answers differently depending on what you're after. The warmest destinations from Manchester in March are a different list — hours of sunshine and degrees of warmth come apart, especially early and late in the year.

Where to stay in Arona

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

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 Manchester

March from elsewhere

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Manchester in March?

Arona, Spain, at 11.5 h. Reaching it emits 770 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 36m each way by air.

Can I get somewhere sunny from Manchester in March without flying?

Yes. Clermont-Ferrand reaches 8.1 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 54m, emitting 41.1 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Manchester to Arona produce?

770 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.