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Newcastle · March · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Newcastle in March

In March, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Newcastle is Luxor, Egypt, 11.4 h of sun a day and 22.7 °C, about 9h 12m each way by air. Without flying, it is Toulon, France, 9.7 h of sun a day, about 14h each way by train, for about 16× less carbon (62.6 kg CO₂e return against 1,002 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Newcastle

Ranked on sunshine in March 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. Luxor, Egypt11.4 h · 22.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 12m · 1,002 kg CO₂e return
  2. Maspalomas, Spain11.3 h · 21.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 812 kg CO₂e return
  3. Assiut, Egypt11.3 h · 20.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 54m · 952 kg CO₂e return
  4. Aswan, Egypt11.2 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 24m · 1,041 kg CO₂e return
  5. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain11.1 h · 18.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 798 kg CO₂e return
  6. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain11.1 h · 18.9 °C · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 20.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 802 kg CO₂e return
  7. Ouarzazate, Morocco10.8 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 6m · 681 kg CO₂e return
  8. Essaouira, Morocco10.8 h · 17.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 676 kg CO₂e return
  9. Agadir, Morocco10.7 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.6 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 705 kg CO₂e return
  10. Sousse, Tunisia10.6 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 585 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Toulon is 9.7 h for 62.6 kg — about 16× less carbon than flying to Luxor.

  1. Toulon, France9.7 h · 12.3 °C · 3.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.1 °Crail ≈ 14h · 62.6 kg CO₂e return
  2. Marseille, France9.6 h · 11.6 °C · 2.6 mm rain a day · sea 13.9 °Crail ≈ 13h 12m · 61.6 kg CO₂e return
  3. Béziers, France9.3 h · 11.9 °C · 1.7 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 59.8 kg CO₂e return
  4. Avignon, France9.2 h · 11.2 °C · 4.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 42m · 59.1 kg CO₂e return
  5. Geneva, Switzerland7.7 h · 7.7 °C · 3.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 12m · 54.0 kg CO₂e return
  6. Bern, Switzerland7.3 h · 6.2 °C · 3.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 42m · 54.0 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 Newcastle in March within 15 hours is Arona, 11.5 h, costing 811 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Preston at 12.2 kg — 66× less carbon, for 5.9 hours less sunshine.

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

PrestonArona
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Newcastle. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, March, departing Newcastle. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.11 destinations. Lowest carbon Preston at 12.2 kilograms and 5.6 h; best for sunshine Arona at 811 kilograms and 11.5 h. Preston · 12.2 kgPalma · 438 kgArona · 811 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Lleida can only be reached by air — 376 kg CO₂e, in 5h 30m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 64.5 kg in 18h 36m — 6× less carbon for 13h 6m more travelling.

March from Newcastle — 11 destinations on the frontier, 8 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Preston, United KingdomRail12.2 kg7.0 °C5.6 h4.4 mm3h 42m
Arbroath, United KingdomRail15.0 kg5.4 °C6.5 h3.2 mm4h 12m
Angers, FranceRail45.3 kg9.2 °C7.2 h3.1 mm13h 6m
Vichy, FranceRail51.2 kg8.9 °C8.0 h3.7 mm14h 6m
Clermont-Ferrand, FranceRail52.0 kg8.5 °C8.1 h2.9 mm14h 30m
Saint-Etienne, FranceRail54.2 kg8.1 °C8.6 h4.3 mm13h 12m
Montpellier, FranceRail59.4 kg11.6 °C9.2 h2.7 mm13h 24m
Marseille, FranceRail61.6 kg11.6 °C9.6 h2.6 mm13h 12m
Lleida, SpainAir376 kg12.9 °C10.4 h0.8 mm5h 30m
Palma, SpainAir438 kg14.4 °C10.7 h1.4 mm5h 48m
Arona, SpainAir811 kg16.1 °C11.5 h1.2 mm7h 48m

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 Palma (438 kg, 10.7 h) to Arona (811 kg, 11.5 h) buys 0.8 hours more sunshine for an extra 373 kg — 466 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

The same month, asked differently

March 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 Arona

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

Search places to stay in Arona →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 Newcastle

March from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Arona, Spain, at 11.5 h. Reaching it emits 811 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 48m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Marseille reaches 9.6 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 12m (modelled), emitting 61.6 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

811 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.