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Vienna · December · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Vienna in December

In December, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Vienna is Aswan, Egypt, 10.1 h of sun a day and 18.7 °C, about 7h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Nice, France, 7.5 h of sun a day, about 14h 18m each way by train, for about 30× less carbon (25.5 kg CO₂e return against 767 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Vienna

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.

  1. Aswan, Egypt10.1 h · 18.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 36m · 767 kg CO₂e return
  2. Luxor, Egypt10.0 h · 18.0 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 18m · 724 kg CO₂e return
  3. Hurghada, Egypt9.8 h · 19.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 698 kg CO₂e return
  4. Maspalomas, Spain9.4 h · 19.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 8h 18m · 896 kg CO₂e return
  5. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain9.3 h · 18.9 °C · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 22.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 893 kg CO₂e return
  6. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain9.3 h · 19.1 °C · 2.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 886 kg CO₂e return
  7. Ouarzazate, Morocco9.3 h · 10.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 12m · 692 kg CO₂e return
  8. Aqaba, Jordan9.2 h · 18.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 7h · 658 kg CO₂e return
  9. Ifrane, Morocco9.2 h · 6.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 42m · 609 kg CO₂e return
  10. Oujda, Morocco9.1 h · 11.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 18m · 536 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Nice is 7.5 h for 25.5 kg — about 30× less carbon than flying to Aswan.

  1. Nice, France7.5 h · 9.2 °C · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 14h 18m · 25.5 kg CO₂e return
  2. Cuneo, Italy7.3 h · 3.5 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 13h 12m · 23.6 kg CO₂e return
  3. Sanremo, Italy7.2 h · 9.7 °C · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 16.1 °Crail ≈ 13h 42m · 24.3 kg CO₂e return
  4. Civitavecchia, Italy7.2 h · 10.7 °C · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 17.0 °Crail ≈ 13h 6m · 22.7 kg CO₂e return
  5. Rome, Italy7.1 h · 9.2 °C · 1.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h · 22.6 kg CO₂e return
  6. Bellinzona, Switzerland6.5 h · 5.9 °C · 1.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 10h 6m · 17.7 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 Vienna in December within 15 hours is Sohag, 9.9 h, costing 692 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Prostějov at 4.4 kg — 157× less carbon, for 6.6 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.

ProstějovSohag
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Vienna. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, December, departing Vienna. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.11 destinations. Lowest carbon Prostějov at 4.4 kilograms and 3.3 h; best for sunshine Sohag at 692 kilograms and 9.9 h. Prostějov · 4.4 kgAprilia · 23.4 kgAlghero · 267 kgSohag · 692 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, December, departing Vienna. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
December from Vienna — 11 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Prostějov, CzechiaRail4.4 kg1.5 °C3.3 h2.1 mm4h 12m
Zalaegerszeg, HungaryRail4.6 kg2.4 °C4.5 h1.8 mm4h 12m
Wolfsberg, AustriaRail5.6 kg1.7 °C5.6 h2.0 mm4h 12m
Bolzano, ItalyRail12.5 kg3.2 °C6.4 h2.3 mm7h 48m
Ancona, ItalyRail16.4 kg8.7 °C6.7 h2.2 mm10h
Aprilia, ItalyRail23.4 kg10.2 °C7.2 h1.7 mm13h 24m
Alghero, ItalyAir267 kg12.2 °C7.8 h1.5 mm4h 54m
Palma, SpainAir366 kg12.4 °C8.3 h0.6 mm5h 24m
Oujda, MoroccoAir536 kg11.9 °C9.1 h0.1 mm6h 18m
El Dabaa, EgyptAir545 kg16.3 °C9.3 h0.6 mm6h 24m
Sohag, EgyptAir692 kg17.0 °C9.9 h0.0 mm7h 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 Aprilia (23.4 kg, 7.2 h) to Alghero (267 kg, 7.8 h) buys 0.6 hours more sunshine for an extra 244 kg — 407 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

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 Sohag

Places to stay in Sohag, Egypt, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Sohag →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 Vienna

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Vienna in December?

Sohag, Egypt, at 9.9 h. Reaching it emits 692 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 12m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Vienna in December without flying?

Yes. Aprilia reaches 7.2 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 24m (modelled), emitting 23.4 kg CO₂e return — though Sohag is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Vienna to Sohag produce?

692 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.