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Sheffield · March · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Sheffield in March

In March, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Sheffield is Luxor, Egypt, 11.4 h of sun a day and 22.7 °C, about 9h 6m each way by air. Without flying, it is Toulon, France, 9.7 h of sun a day, about 13h 6m each way by train, for about 20× less carbon (48.9 kg CO₂e return against 977 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Sheffield

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 6m · 977 kg CO₂e return
  2. Maspalomas, Spain11.3 h · 21.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 36m · 774 kg CO₂e return
  3. Assiut, Egypt11.3 h · 20.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 48m · 926 kg CO₂e return
  4. Aswan, Egypt11.2 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 18m · 1,015 kg CO₂e return
  5. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain11.1 h · 18.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 760 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 30m · 763 kg CO₂e return
  7. Ouarzazate, Morocco10.8 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 54m · 638 kg CO₂e return
  8. Essaouira, Morocco10.8 h · 17.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 634 kg CO₂e return
  9. Agadir, Morocco10.7 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.6 °Cair ≈ 7h · 663 kg CO₂e return
  10. Sousse, Tunisia10.6 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 24m · 545 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Toulon is 9.7 h for 48.9 kg — about 20× less carbon than flying to Luxor.

  1. Toulon, France9.7 h · 12.3 °C · 3.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.1 °Crail ≈ 13h 6m · 48.9 kg CO₂e return
  2. Marseille, France9.6 h · 11.6 °C · 2.6 mm rain a day · sea 13.9 °Crail ≈ 12h 18m · 47.9 kg CO₂e return
  3. Perpignan, France9.4 h · 13.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 13.0 °Crail ≈ 14h 12m · 48.0 kg CO₂e return
  4. Nice, France9.2 h · 12.2 °C · 4.3 mm rain a day · sea 14.2 °Crail ≈ 14h 54m · 48.6 kg CO₂e return
  5. Turin, Italy8.1 h · 9.2 °C · 3.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 45.4 kg CO₂e return
  6. Bern, Switzerland7.3 h · 6.2 °C · 3.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 54m · 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 March within 15 hours is Arona, 11.5 h, costing 773 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Milton Keynes at 12.6 kg — 61× less carbon, for 6.2 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.

Milton KeynesArona
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Sheffield. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, March, departing Sheffield. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.12 destinations. Lowest carbon Milton Keynes at 12.6 kilograms and 5.3 h; best for sunshine Arona at 773 kilograms and 11.5 h. Milton Keynes · 12.6 kgPalma · 394 kgArona · 773 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Lleida can only be reached by air — 331 kg CO₂e, in 5h 18m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 50.8 kg in 17h 42m — 7× less carbon for 12h 24m more travelling.

March from Sheffield — 12 destinations on the frontier, 9 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Milton Keynes, United KingdomRail12.6 kg7.1 °C5.3 h3.1 mm3h 48m
Cambridge, United KingdomRail13.6 kg7.7 °C5.4 h2.4 mm3h 54m
Le Havre, FranceRail24.9 kg8.8 °C6.6 h3.7 mm11h
Caen, FranceRail25.9 kg8.9 °C6.9 h2.5 mm11h 36m
Dijon, FranceRail35.9 kg8.0 °C7.4 h2.9 mm10h 48m
Clermont-Ferrand, FranceRail38.3 kg8.5 °C8.1 h2.9 mm13h 36m
Saint-Etienne, FranceRail40.5 kg8.1 °C8.6 h4.3 mm12h 24m
Montpellier, FranceRail45.7 kg11.6 °C9.2 h2.7 mm12h 36m
Marseille, FranceRail47.9 kg11.6 °C9.6 h2.6 mm12h 18m
Lleida, SpainAir331 kg12.9 °C10.4 h0.8 mm5h 18m
Palma, SpainAir394 kg14.4 °C10.7 h1.4 mm5h 36m
Arona, SpainAir773 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 Palma (394 kg, 10.7 h) to Arona (773 kg, 11.5 h) buys 0.8 hours more sunshine for an extra 379 kg — 474 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 Sheffield

March from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Arona, Spain, at 11.5 h. Reaching it emits 773 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 36m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Marseille reaches 9.6 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 12h 18m (modelled), emitting 47.9 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

773 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.