Southampton · February · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Southampton in February

In February, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Southampton is Maspalomas, Spain, 10.4 h of sun a day and 18.8 °C, about 7h 18m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marseille, France, 8.3 h of sun a day, about 11h 36m each way by train, for about 19× less carbon (38.5 kg CO₂e return against 713 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Southampton

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.

Maspalomas, Spain10.4 h · 18.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 713 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain10.3 h · 17.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 20.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 701 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt10.3 h · 17.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 6m · 979 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain10.1 h · 18.0 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 703 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt10.1 h · 17.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 54m · 941 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt10.0 h · 18.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 42m · 920 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 36m · 898 kg CO₂e return
Funchal, Portugal9.5 h · 14.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 19.6 °Cair ≈ 6h 42m · 601 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey9.5 h · 10.7 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 726 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece9.5 h · 13.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 716 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marseille is 8.3 h for 38.5 kg — about 19× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

Marseille, France8.3 h · 9.3 °C · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 13.7 °Crail ≈ 11h 36m · 38.5 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France8.1 h · 9.7 °C · 4.0 mm rain a day · sea 14.1 °Crail ≈ 14h 12m · 39.3 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France8.0 h · 10.2 °C · 2.7 mm rain a day · sea 14.0 °Crail ≈ 12h 24m · 39.6 kg CO₂e return
Geneva, Switzerland7.7 h · 5.1 °C · 1.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 36m · 31.0 kg CO₂e return
Narbonne, France7.5 h · 9.2 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 12.2 °Crail ≈ 13h 42m · 37.1 kg CO₂e return
Pamplona, Spain7.5 h · 5.9 °C · 3.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 42m · 37.7 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 Southampton in February within 15 hours is Icod de los Vinos, 10.7 h, costing 708 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Exeter at 12.1 kg — 59× 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 February 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 Southampton. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Puertollano can only be reached by air — 346 kg CO₂e, in 5h 18m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 52.0 kg in 22h — 7× less carbon for 16h 42m more travelling.

February from Southampton — 11 destinations on the frontier, 7 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Exeter, United Kingdom	Rail	12.1 kg	7.5 °C	4.5 h	2.8 mm	3h 42m
Margate, United Kingdom	Rail	16.2 kg	7.7 °C	5.2 h	2.1 mm	4h 24m
Dijon, France	Rail	26.6 kg	5.6 °C	5.9 h	1.5 mm	10h 6m
Neuchâtel, Switzerland	Rail	30.1 kg	4.8 °C	6.6 h	1.2 mm	13h 18m
Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland	Rail	30.2 kg	5.0 °C	7.0 h	1.5 mm	13h 12m
Geneva, Switzerland	Rail	31.0 kg	5.1 °C	7.7 h	1.5 mm	11h 36m
Orange, France	Rail	35.5 kg	8.1 °C	8.0 h	1.7 mm	12h 6m
Puertollano, Spain	Air	346 kg	8.3 °C	9.0 h	1.4 mm	5h 18m
Errachidia, Morocco	Air	534 kg	10.6 °C	9.7 h	0.6 mm	6h 18m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain	Air	701 kg	17.6 °C	10.3 h	0.9 mm	7h 12m
Icod de los Vinos, Spain	Air	708 kg	17.3 °C	10.7 h	0.4 mm	7h 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 Orange (35.5 kg, 8.0 h) to Puertollano (346 kg, 9.0 h) buys 1.0 hours more sunshine for an extra 310 kg — 310 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

ExeterUnited Kingdom12.1 kg CO₂e return7.5 °C · 4.5 h sun · 3h 42m by railcool

OrangeFrance35.5 kg CO₂e return8.1 °C · 8.0 h sun · 12h 6m by railcold but bright Icod de los VinosSpain708 kg CO₂e return17.3 °C · 10.7 h sun · 7h 18m by airwarm, bright and dry

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 Southampton

February from elsewhere

Photo credits

Exeter: Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Orange: Jeanlouiszimmermann, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Funchal: Dr. Thomas Liptak, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fethiye: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astolath/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rhodes: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Narbonne: Benh LIEU SONG, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pamplona: Nafarroako Gobernua, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Icod de los Vinos, Spain, at 10.7 h. Reaching it emits 708 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 18m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Orange reaches 8.0 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 12h 6m (modelled), emitting 35.5 kg CO₂e return — though Icod de los Vinos is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

708 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.