Sunniest places to go from Stockholm in December
In December, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Stockholm is Aswan, Egypt, 10.1 h of sun a day and 18.7 °C, about 8h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Görlitz, Germany, 3.5 h of sun a day, about 14h 24m each way by train, for about 35× less carbon (27.4 kg CO₂e return against 957 kg).
The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Stockholm
Ranked on sunshine in December 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.
Aswan, Egypt10.1 h · 18.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 54m · 957 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt10.0 h · 18.0 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 42m · 914 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt9.8 h · 19.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 881 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain9.4 h · 19.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 9h 18m · 1,017 kg CO₂e return- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain9.3 h · 18.9 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 22.2 °Cair ≈ 9h 12m · 1,008 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain9.3 h · 19.1 °C · 2.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 9h 12m · 1,007 kg CO₂e return
Ouarzazate, Morocco9.3 h · 10.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 24m · 923 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.2 h · 18.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 894 kg CO₂e return- Ifrane, Morocco9.2 h · 6.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 54m · 839 kg CO₂e return
Oujda, Morocco9.1 h · 11.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 36m · 781 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Görlitz is 3.5 h for 27.4 kg — about 35× less carbon than flying to Aswan.
- Görlitz, Germany3.5 h · 2.7 °C · 2.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 24m · 27.4 kg CO₂e return
Dresden, Germany3.5 h · 3.4 °C · 2.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 24m · 28.3 kg CO₂e return
Chemnitz, Germany3.3 h · 3.1 °C · 3.0 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 42m · 29.5 kg CO₂e return
Erfurt, Germany2.9 h · 3.8 °C · 2.0 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 42m · 30.4 kg CO₂e return
Kalisz, Poland2.4 h · 2.5 °C · 1.7 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 12m · 24.8 kg CO₂e return
Poznan, Poland2.3 h · 2.9 °C · 1.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 12m · 22.8 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 Stockholm in December within 15 hours is Luxor, 10.0 h, costing 914 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Gävle at 4.7 kg — 195× less carbon, for 8.2 hours less sunshine.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in December and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.
By rail or ferry By air
What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Lugano can only be reached by air — 402 kg CO₂e, in 5h 36m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 47.2 kg in 23h — 9× less carbon for 17h 24m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gävle, Sweden | Rail | 4.7 kg | -2.8 °C | 1.8 h | 1.8 mm | 3h 48m |
| Halden, Norway | Rail | 11.2 kg | -0.7 °C | 2.4 h | 2.5 mm | 7h 30m |
| Żagań, Poland | Rail | 25.8 kg | 3.1 °C | 3.1 h | 1.9 mm | 13h 48m |
| Legnica, Poland | Rail | 26.9 kg | 3.2 °C | 3.5 h | 1.8 mm | 14h 42m |
| České Budějovice, Czechia | Air | 295 kg | 1.6 °C | 4.4 h | 2.3 mm | 5h 6m |
| Salzburg, Austria | Air | 333 kg | 2.0 °C | 4.5 h | 4.5 mm | 5h 18m |
| Graz, Austria | Air | 346 kg | 0.9 °C | 5.0 h | 1.6 mm | 5h 18m |
| Wolfsberg, Austria | Air | 353 kg | 1.7 °C | 5.6 h | 2.0 mm | 5h 24m |
| Lugano, Switzerland | Air | 402 kg | 5.9 °C | 6.5 h | 1.1 mm | 5h 36m |
| Ivrea, Italy | Air | 424 kg | 4.2 °C | 6.8 h | 0.7 mm | 5h 42m |
| Marseille, France | Air | 498 kg | 9.0 °C | 7.5 h | 1.1 mm | 6h 6m |
| Cagliari, Italy | Air | 584 kg | 12.2 °C | 8.0 h | 0.6 mm | 6h 36m |
| Alicante, Spain | Air | 674 kg | 13.3 °C | 8.5 h | 0.2 mm | 7h 6m |
| Melilla, Spain | Air | 774 kg | 15.2 °C | 8.9 h | 0.4 mm | 7h 36m |
| Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | Air | 868 kg | 20.4 °C | 9.7 h | 0.1 mm | 8h 24m |
| Luxor, Egypt | Air | 914 kg | 18.0 °C | 10.0 h | 0.0 mm | 8h 42m |
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 České Budějovice (295 kg, 4.4 h) to Salzburg (333 kg, 4.5 h) buys 0.1 hours more sunshine for an extra 37.5 kg — 375 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.
The pick of them
GävleSweden4.7 kg CO₂e returncool
LegnicaPoland26.9 kg CO₂e returncoolLuxorEgypt914 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe same month, asked differently
December 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 Luxor
Places to stay in Luxor, Egypt, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.
Search places to stay in Luxor →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 Stockholm
December from elsewhere
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Brussels
- Cardiff
- Copenhagen
- Dublin
- Edinburgh
- Frankfurt
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- Liverpool
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Milan
- Munich
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Oslo
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
Photo credits
- Gävle: I99pema, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Legnica: Marek Śliwecki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Hurghada: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ouarzazate: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Oujda: Farajiibrahim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Dresden: Bgabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Chemnitz: Kora27, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Erfurt: unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kalisz: Fallaner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Poznan: Stanisław Szewczyk, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from Stockholm in December?
Luxor, Egypt, at 10.0 h. Reaching it emits 914 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 42m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere sunny from Stockholm in December without flying?
Yes. Legnica reaches 3.5 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 42m (modelled), emitting 26.9 kg CO₂e return — though Luxor is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Stockholm to Luxor produce?
914 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.