Sheffield · August · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Sheffield in August

In August, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Sheffield is Ankara, Turkey, 13.2 h of sun a day and 26.5 °C, about 7h 30m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 12.7 h of sun a day, about 12h 18m each way by train, for about 16× less carbon (47.9 kg CO₂e return against 749 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Sheffield

Ranked on sunshine in August 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.

Ankara, Turkey13.2 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 30m · 749 kg CO₂e return
Cosenza, Italy13.0 h · 25.4 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 28.3 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 519 kg CO₂e return
Catanzaro, Italy13.0 h · 26.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 533 kg CO₂e return
Mytilene, Greece13.0 h · 28.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.0 °Cair ≈ 7h · 666 kg CO₂e return
Konya, Turkey13.0 h · 26.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 36m · 782 kg CO₂e return
Izmir, Turkey13.0 h · 29.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.8 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 689 kg CO₂e return
Potenza, Italy13.0 h · 23.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 6m · 483 kg CO₂e return
Athens, Greece12.9 h · 28.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 648 kg CO₂e return
Korçë, Albania12.9 h · 22.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 24m · 550 kg CO₂e return
Pristina, Kosovo12.9 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 12m · 515 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 12.7 h for 47.9 kg — about 16× less carbon than flying to Ankara.

Marseille, France12.7 h · 24.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.8 °Crail ≈ 12h 18m · 47.9 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France12.6 h · 26.0 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 24.2 °Crail ≈ 13h 6m · 48.9 kg CO₂e return
Montpellier, France12.6 h · 25.5 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 36m · 45.7 kg CO₂e return
Avignon, France12.6 h · 25.6 °C · 1.3 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 54m · 45.4 kg CO₂e return
Turin, Italy12.2 h · 25.3 °C · 3.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 45.4 kg CO₂e return
Geneva, Switzerland11.8 h · 22.5 °C · 1.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 18m · 40.3 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 Sheffield in August within 15 hours is Guarda, 13.0 h, costing 376 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Colwyn Bay at 12.1 kg — 31× less carbon, for 3.7 hours less sunshine.

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

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, August, departing Sheffield. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Guarda 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 57.7 kg in 22h 42m — 7× less carbon for 17h 12m more travelling.

August from Sheffield — 7 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Colwyn Bay, United Kingdom	Rail	12.1 kg	16.1 °C	9.3 h	4.2 mm	3h 42m
Bedford, United Kingdom	Rail	12.4 kg	17.6 °C	10.3 h	1.1 mm	3h 42m
Cambridge, United Kingdom	Rail	13.6 kg	18.0 °C	10.7 h	1.5 mm	3h 54m
Dunkirk, France	Rail	23.7 kg	18.5 °C	11.3 h	2.5 mm	8h 24m
Lyon, France	Rail	40.0 kg	23.3 °C	12.0 h	1.3 mm	11h
Aix-en-Provence, France	Rail	47.2 kg	24.5 °C	12.8 h	1.1 mm	13h 18m
Guarda, Portugal	Air	376 kg	21.6 °C	13.0 h	0.0 mm	5h 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 Aix-en-Provence (47.2 kg, 12.8 h) to Guarda (376 kg, 13.0 h) buys 0.2 hours more sunshine for an extra 328 kg — 1642 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Colwyn BayUnited Kingdom12.1 kg CO₂e return16.1 °C · 9.3 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm but wet Aix-en-ProvenceFrance47.2 kg CO₂e return24.5 °C · 12.8 h sun · 13h 18m by railwarm, bright and dry

GuardaPortugal376 kg CO₂e return21.6 °C · 13.0 h sun · 5h 30m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

August 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 Guarda

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

Search places to stay in Guarda →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 Sheffield

August from elsewhere

Photo credits

Colwyn Bay: Dot Potter, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Guarda: Alexa Pinto, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ankara: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mytilene: SilentResident (compilation, sources to attribute see above; if any of the sources used in the Montage are removed from , CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Izmir: Rafaela Ely, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athens: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
Korçë: Joergsam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pristina: Arben Llapashtica, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Montpellier: Assembled by DePlusJean, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Avignon: Jean-Marc Rosier (de/from http://www.cjrosier.com + http://www.gordes-immobilier.com), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Sheffield in August?

Guarda, Portugal, at 13.0 h. Reaching it emits 376 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 30m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Sheffield in August without flying?

Yes. Aix-en-Provence reaches 12.8 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 18m (modelled), emitting 47.2 kg CO₂e return — though Guarda is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Sheffield to Guarda produce?

376 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.