0xCarbon
Southampton · March · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Southampton in March

The sunniest place you can reach from Southampton in March within 15 hours is Arona at 11.5 h, costing 715 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Exeter at 12.1 kg — 59× less carbon for 6.1 h less.

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

ExeterArona
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Southampton. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, March, departing Southampton. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.12 destinations. Lowest carbon Exeter at 12.1 kilograms and 5.4 h; best for sunshine Arona at 715 kilograms and 11.5 h. Exeter · 12.1 kgLleida · 263 kgSan Pawl il-Bahar · 525 kgArona · 715 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Lleida can only be reached by air — 263 kg CO₂e, in 4h 54m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 41.5 kg in 18h 36m — 6× less carbon for 13h 42m more travelling.

March from Southampton — 12 destinations on the frontier, 7 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Exeter, United KingdomRail12.1 kg8.0 °C5.4 h4.6 mm4h 6m
Boulogne-sur-Mer, FranceRail13.4 kg8.2 °C6.0 h4.2 mm5h 36m
Le Havre, FranceRail15.6 kg8.8 °C6.6 h3.7 mm6h 36m
Angers, FranceRail22.2 kg9.2 °C7.2 h3.1 mm9h 42m
Vichy, FranceRail28.2 kg8.9 °C8.0 h3.7 mm12h 24m
Clermont-Ferrand, FranceRail29.0 kg8.5 °C8.1 h2.9 mm12h 48m
Saint-Etienne, FranceRail31.2 kg8.1 °C8.6 h4.3 mm13h 48m
Montpellier, FranceAir227 kg11.6 °C9.2 h2.7 mm4h 42m
Huesca, SpainAir246 kg10.8 °C9.7 h2.9 mm4h 48m
Lleida, SpainAir263 kg12.9 °C10.4 h0.8 mm4h 54m
San Pawl il-Bahar, MaltaAir525 kg15.5 °C11.0 h0.7 mm6h 18m
Arona, SpainAir715 kg16.1 °C11.5 h1.2 mm7h 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 Lleida (263 kg, 10.4 h) to San Pawl il-Bahar (525 kg, 11.0 h) buys 0.6 hours more sunshine for an extra 262 kg — 437 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

If you'd rather have heat than sunshine

March answers differently depending on what you're after. The warmest destinations from Southampton in March are a different list — hours of sunshine and degrees of warmth come apart, especially early and late in the year.

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.

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

March from elsewhere

Questions

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

Arona, Spain, at 11.5 h. Reaching it emits 715 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 18m each way by air.

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

Yes. Saint-Etienne reaches 8.6 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 48m, emitting 31.2 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

715 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.