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Southampton · August · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Southampton in August

The sunniest place you can reach from Southampton in August within 15 hours is Guarda, 13.0 h, costing 312 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Exeter at 12.1 kg — 26× less carbon, for 3.5 hours less sunshine.

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Southampton

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.

  1. Ankara, Turkey13.2 h · 26.5 °Cair 7h 24m · 731 kg CO₂e return
  2. Cosenza, Italy13.0 h · 25.4 °Cair 6h · 474 kg CO₂e return
  3. Catanzaro, Italy13.0 h · 26.7 °Cair 6h 6m · 488 kg CO₂e return
  4. Mytilene, Greece13.0 h · 28.5 °Cair 6h 54m · 638 kg CO₂e return
  5. Konya, Turkey13.0 h · 26.7 °Cair 7h 30m · 760 kg CO₂e return
  6. Izmir, Turkey13.0 h · 29.2 °Cair 7h · 660 kg CO₂e return
  7. Potenza, Italy13.0 h · 23.3 °Cair 5h 48m · 440 kg CO₂e return
  8. Athens, Greece12.9 h · 28.7 °Cair 6h 48m · 613 kg CO₂e return
  9. Korçë, Albania12.9 h · 22.1 °Cair 6h 12m · 517 kg CO₂e return
  10. Pristina, Kosovo12.9 h · 23.4 °Cair 6h 6m · 487 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 12.7 h for 38.5 kg — about 19× less carbon than flying to Ankara.

  1. Marseille, France12.7 h · 24.5 °Crail 11h 36m · 38.5 kg CO₂e return
  2. Toulon, France12.6 h · 26.0 °Crail 12h 24m · 39.6 kg CO₂e return
  3. Montpellier, France12.6 h · 25.5 °Crail 11h 54m · 36.3 kg CO₂e return
  4. Avignon, France12.6 h · 25.6 °Crail 11h 12m · 36.0 kg CO₂e return
  5. Turin, Italy12.2 h · 25.3 °Crail 14h 12m · 36.1 kg CO₂e return
  6. Pamplona, Spain12.1 h · 21.1 °Crail 14h 42m · 37.7 kg CO₂e return

Rail times are modelled; air times include getting to and through the airport.

The low-carbon trade-off

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.

ExeterGuarda
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Southampton. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, August, departing Southampton. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.7 destinations. Lowest carbon Exeter at 12.1 kilograms and 9.5 h; best for sunshine Guarda at 312 kilograms and 13.0 h. Exeter · 12.1 kgAvignon · 36.0 kgGuarda · 312 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Guarda can only be reached by air — 312 kg CO₂e, in 5h 12m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 48.4 kg in 22h — 6× less carbon for 16h 48m more travelling.

August from Southampton — 7 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Exeter, United KingdomRail12.1 kg16.8 °C9.5 h2.5 mm3h 42m
Chelmsford, United KingdomRail12.8 kg17.9 °C10.4 h1.6 mm3h 48m
Dunkirk, FranceRail14.3 kg18.5 °C11.3 h2.5 mm7h 42m
Margate, United KingdomRail16.2 kg18.4 °C11.4 h2.4 mm4h 24m
La Rochelle, FranceRail26.6 kg20.5 °C12.0 h1.9 mm12h 18m
Avignon, FranceRail36.0 kg25.6 °C12.6 h1.3 mm11h 12m
Guarda, PortugalAir312 kg21.6 °C13.0 h0.0 mm5h 12m

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 Avignon (36.0 kg, 12.6 h) to Guarda (312 kg, 13.0 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 276 kg — 689 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Exeter, United KingdomExeterUnited Kingdom12.1 kg CO₂e return16.8 °C · 9.5 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm overallAvignon, FranceAvignonFrance36.0 kg CO₂e return25.6 °C · 12.6 h sun · 11h 12m by railwarm overallGuarda, PortugalGuardaPortugal312 kg CO₂e return21.6 °C · 13.0 h sun · 5h 12m 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 Southampton

August from elsewhere

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Questions

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

Guarda, Portugal, at 13.0 h. Reaching it emits 312 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 12m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Avignon reaches 12.6 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 11h 12m (modelled), emitting 36.0 kg CO₂e return — though Guarda is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

312 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.