Rome · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Rome in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Rome is Alexandria, Egypt, 11.9 h of sun a day and 27.4 °C, about 6h 6m each way by air. Without flying, it is Trapani, Italy, 11.3 h of sun a day, about 7h 42m each way by train, for about 39× less carbon (12.7 kg CO₂e return against 491 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Rome

Ranked on sunshine in September 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.

Alexandria, Egypt11.9 h · 27.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 491 kg CO₂e return
Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 30m · 368 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 388 kg CO₂e return
Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 349 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 30m · 373 kg CO₂e return
Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 521 kg CO₂e return
Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 24m · 543 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 492 kg CO₂e return
Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 36m · 590 kg CO₂e return
Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 331 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Trapani is 11.3 h for 12.7 kg — about 39× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

Trapani, Italy11.3 h · 24.2 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 25.7 °Crail ≈ 7h 42m · 12.7 kg CO₂e return
Enna, Italy11.1 h · 19.0 °C · 1.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 8h 36m · 14.9 kg CO₂e return
Messina, Italy11.0 h · 23.7 °C · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 26.0 °Crail ≈ 7h 48m · 14.3 kg CO₂e return
Catania, Italy11.0 h · 24.7 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 26.3 °Crail ≈ 8h 48m · 15.8 kg CO₂e return
Marseille, France10.7 h · 20.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 22.9 °Crail ≈ 10h 42m · 17.8 kg CO₂e return
Ohrid, North Macedonia10.6 h · 19.3 °C · 2.3 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 24m · 20.5 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 Rome in September within 15 hours is Heraklion, 11.6 h, costing 331 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Grosseto at 4.4 kg — 75× less carbon, for 1.2 hours less sunshine.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in September 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 Rome. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, September, departing Rome. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

September from Rome — 3 destinations on the frontier, 2 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Grosseto, Italy	Rail	4.4 kg	21.7 °C	10.4 h	3.1 mm	3h 42m
Bari, Italy	Rail	11.0 kg	23.5 °C	10.9 h	1.2 mm	5h 30m
Heraklion, Greece	Air	331 kg	24.0 °C	11.6 h	1.0 mm	5h 18m

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 Bari (11.0 kg, 10.9 h) to Heraklion (331 kg, 11.6 h) buys 0.7 hours more sunshine for an extra 320 kg — 457 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

GrossetoItaly4.4 kg CO₂e return21.7 °C · 10.4 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm but wet BariItaly11.0 kg CO₂e return23.5 °C · 10.9 h sun · 5h 30m by railwarm overall

HeraklionGreece331 kg CO₂e return24.0 °C · 11.6 h sun · 5h 18m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

September 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 Heraklion

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

Search places to stay in Heraklion →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 Rome

September from elsewhere

Photo credits

Heraklion: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Alexandria: ASaber91, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marmaris: Mstyslav Chernov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fethiye: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astolath/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bodrum: The 3B's, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rhodes: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Damietta: Mohamed Eissa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Al Fayyum: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Limassol: Xaris333, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amman: David Bjorgen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ohrid: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Rome in September?

Heraklion, Greece, at 11.6 h. Reaching it emits 331 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 18m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Rome in September without flying?

Yes. Bari reaches 10.9 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 5h 30m (modelled), emitting 11.0 kg CO₂e return — though Heraklion is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Rome to Heraklion produce?

331 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.