Sunniest places to go from Vienna in January
In January, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Vienna is Aswan, Egypt, 10.0 h of sun a day and 16.8 °C, about 7h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Taranto, Italy, 7.6 h of sun a day, about 14h 24m 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 January 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, Egypt10.0 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 36m · 767 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt10.0 h · 18.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 698 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt9.9 h · 16.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 18m · 724 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 7h · 658 kg CO₂e return
Ouarzazate, Morocco9.7 h · 10.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 12m · 692 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain9.6 h · 19.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 18m · 896 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco9.6 h · 17.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 744 kg CO₂e return- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain9.5 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 893 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco9.5 h · 16.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 724 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain9.4 h · 18.8 °C · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 886 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Taranto is 7.6 h for 25.5 kg — about 30× less carbon than flying to Aswan.
- Taranto, Italy7.6 h · 10.9 °C · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 15.4 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 25.5 kg CO₂e return
- Brindisi, Italy7.4 h · 11.1 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 15.0 °Crail ≈ 14h 18m · 25.1 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France7.1 h · 8.9 °C · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 14.7 °Crail ≈ 14h 18m · 25.5 kg CO₂e return- Civitavecchia, Italy7.1 h · 10.1 °C · 2.6 mm rain a day · sea 15.5 °Crail ≈ 13h 6m · 22.7 kg CO₂e return
Rome, Italy7.0 h · 8.8 °C · 2.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h · 22.6 kg CO₂e return
Lugano, Switzerland6.2 h · 5.5 °C · 1.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 10h 24m · 18.0 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 January within 15 hours is Safaga, 10.0 h, costing 712 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Prostějov at 4.4 kg — 162× less carbon, for 6.0 hours less sunshine.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in January 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 Syracuse 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 36.6 kg in 19h 54m — 9× less carbon for 14h 42m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prostějov, Czechia | Rail | 4.4 kg | 1.3 °C | 4.0 h | 1.9 mm | 4h 12m |
| Veszprém, Hungary | Rail | 5.0 kg | 2.0 °C | 4.7 h | 2.8 mm | 4h 24m |
| Zagreb, Croatia | Rail | 7.9 kg | 2.8 °C | 5.1 h | 3.1 mm | 8h 18m |
| Pordenone, Italy | Rail | 11.1 kg | 4.6 °C | 5.7 h | 2.9 mm | 7h 24m |
| Bolzano, Italy | Rail | 12.5 kg | 4.3 °C | 6.7 h | 1.1 mm | 7h 48m |
| Merano, Italy | Rail | 12.6 kg | 5.0 °C | 6.9 h | 1.0 mm | 7h 48m |
| Ventimiglia, Italy | Rail | 24.7 kg | 8.8 °C | 7.2 h | 1.9 mm | 13h 54m |
| Messina, Italy | Air | 281 kg | 11.6 °C | 7.9 h | 3.3 mm | 5h |
| Syracuse, Italy | Air | 312 kg | 12.2 °C | 8.7 h | 1.1 mm | 5h 12m |
| Gafsa, Tunisia | Air | 417 kg | 9.9 °C | 9.0 h | 0.0 mm | 5h 42m |
| Bilbeis, Egypt | Air | 594 kg | 15.1 °C | 9.6 h | 0.3 mm | 6h 36m |
| Safaga, Egypt | Air | 712 kg | 18.9 °C | 10.0 h | 0.0 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 Ventimiglia (24.7 kg, 7.2 h) to Messina (281 kg, 7.9 h) buys 0.7 hours more sunshine for an extra 256 kg — 366 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.
The pick of them
ProstějovCzechia4.4 kg CO₂e returncoolVentimigliaItaly24.7 kg CO₂e returncold but bright
SafagaEgypt712 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe same month, asked differently
January 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 Safaga
Places to stay in Safaga, Egypt, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.
Search places to stay in Safaga →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
January 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
- Prostějov: Palickap, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Safaga: User:MatthiasKabel, 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
- Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ouarzazate: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Essaouira: Kayaky, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Rome: Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Lugano: Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from Vienna in January?
Safaga, Egypt, at 10.0 h. Reaching it emits 712 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 18m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere sunny from Vienna in January without flying?
Yes. Ventimiglia reaches 7.2 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 54m (modelled), emitting 24.7 kg CO₂e return — though Safaga is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Vienna to Safaga produce?
712 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.