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Sheffield · February · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Sheffield in February

In February, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Sheffield is Maspalomas, Spain, 10.4 h of sun a day and 18.8 °C, about 7h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 8.3 h of sun a day, about 12h 18m each way by train, for about 16× less carbon (47.9 kg CO₂e return against 774 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Sheffield

Ranked on sunshine in February 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. Maspalomas, Spain10.4 h · 18.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 36m · 774 kg CO₂e return
  2. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain10.3 h · 17.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 760 kg CO₂e return
  3. Aswan, Egypt10.3 h · 17.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 18m · 1,015 kg CO₂e return
  4. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain10.1 h · 18.0 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 763 kg CO₂e return
  5. Luxor, Egypt10.1 h · 17.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 6m · 977 kg CO₂e return
  6. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt10.0 h · 18.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 54m · 952 kg CO₂e return
  7. Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 48m · 927 kg CO₂e return
  8. Funchal, Portugal9.5 h · 14.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 19.6 °Cair ≈ 7h · 657 kg CO₂e return
  9. Fethiye, Turkey9.5 h · 10.7 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 755 kg CO₂e return
  10. Rhodes, Greece9.5 h · 13.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 746 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 8.3 h for 47.9 kg — about 16× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

  1. Marseille, France8.3 h · 9.3 °C · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 13.7 °Crail ≈ 12h 18m · 47.9 kg CO₂e return
  2. Nice, France8.1 h · 9.7 °C · 4.0 mm rain a day · sea 14.1 °Crail ≈ 14h 54m · 48.6 kg CO₂e return
  3. Toulon, France8.0 h · 10.2 °C · 2.7 mm rain a day · sea 14.0 °Crail ≈ 13h 6m · 48.9 kg CO₂e return
  4. Geneva, Switzerland7.7 h · 5.1 °C · 1.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 18m · 40.3 kg CO₂e return
  5. Lausanne, Switzerland7.5 h · 4.9 °C · 1.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 36m · 40.2 kg CO₂e return
  6. Narbonne, France7.5 h · 9.2 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 12.2 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 46.5 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 Sheffield in February within 15 hours is Icod de los Vinos, 10.7 h, costing 767 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Colwyn Bay at 12.1 kg — 63× less carbon, for 6.6 hours less sunshine.

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

Colwyn BayIcod de los Vinos
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Sheffield. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, February, departing Sheffield. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.12 destinations. Lowest carbon Colwyn Bay at 12.1 kilograms and 4.1 h; best for sunshine Icod de los Vinos at 767 kilograms and 10.7 h. Colwyn Bay · 12.1 kgOrange · 44.8 kgPuertollano · 414 kgIcod de los Vinos · 767 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, February, departing Sheffield. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
February from Sheffield — 12 destinations on the frontier, 8 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Colwyn Bay, United KingdomRail12.1 kg7.7 °C4.1 h2.9 mm3h 42m
Cambridge, United KingdomRail13.6 kg7.2 °C4.8 h2.1 mm3h 54m
Margate, United KingdomRail23.7 kg7.7 °C5.2 h2.1 mm5h 48m
Dijon, FranceRail35.9 kg5.6 °C5.9 h1.5 mm10h 48m
Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandRail39.4 kg4.8 °C6.6 h1.2 mm14h
Yverdon-les-Bains, SwitzerlandRail39.5 kg5.0 °C7.0 h1.5 mm13h 54m
Geneva, SwitzerlandRail40.3 kg5.1 °C7.7 h1.5 mm12h 18m
Orange, FranceRail44.8 kg8.1 °C8.0 h1.7 mm12h 48m
Puertollano, SpainAir414 kg8.3 °C9.0 h1.4 mm5h 42m
Errachidia, MoroccoAir603 kg10.6 °C9.7 h0.6 mm6h 42m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, SpainAir760 kg17.6 °C10.3 h0.9 mm7h 30m
Icod de los Vinos, SpainAir767 kg17.3 °C10.7 h0.4 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 Orange (44.8 kg, 8.0 h) to Puertollano (414 kg, 9.0 h) buys 1.0 hours more sunshine for an extra 369 kg — 369 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

February 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 Icod de los Vinos

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

Search places to stay in Icod de los Vinos →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

February from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Icod de los Vinos, Spain, at 10.7 h. Reaching it emits 767 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 36m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Orange reaches 8.0 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 12h 48m (modelled), emitting 44.8 kg CO₂e return — though Icod de los Vinos is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Sheffield to Icod de los Vinos produce?

767 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.