Sunniest places to go from Vienna in May
In May, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Vienna is Sundsvall, Sweden, 15.1 h of sun a day and 11.7 °C, about 5h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Copenhagen, Denmark, 13.4 h of sun a day, about 14h 36m each way by train, for about 15× less carbon (25.7 kg CO₂e return against 397 kg).
The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Vienna
Ranked on sunshine in May 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.
Sundsvall, Sweden15.1 h · 11.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.0 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 397 kg CO₂e return
Umeå, Sweden15.0 h · 9.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 3.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 441 kg CO₂e return
Luleå, Sweden14.8 h · 7.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 1.5 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 493 kg CO₂e return- Vaasa, Finland14.8 h · 9.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 42m · 424 kg CO₂e return
Tallinn, Estonia14.7 h · 12.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 343 kg CO₂e return- Turku, Finland14.4 h · 12.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 24m · 355 kg CO₂e return
Helsinki, Finland14.4 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 24m · 362 kg CO₂e return
Pärnu, Estonia14.3 h · 13.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 12m · 315 kg CO₂e return
Riga, Latvia14.2 h · 13.6 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 10.4 °Cair ≈ 5h · 277 kg CO₂e return- Tartu, Estonia14.1 h · 12.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 18m · 332 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Copenhagen is 13.4 h for 25.7 kg — about 15× less carbon than flying to Sundsvall.
Copenhagen, Denmark13.4 h · 12.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 10.7 °Crail ≈ 14h 36m · 25.7 kg CO₂e return
Świnoujście, Poland13.2 h · 14.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 12.9 °Crail ≈ 11h 24m · 19.2 kg CO₂e return
Gdansk, Poland13.2 h · 13.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.2 °Crail ≈ 12h 12m · 20.7 kg CO₂e return- Greifswald, Germany13.1 h · 13.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 12.9 °Crail ≈ 11h 54m · 20.2 kg CO₂e return
Suwałki, Poland13.0 h · 14.0 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 36m · 23.6 kg CO₂e return
Malbork, Poland12.8 h · 14.6 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 11h 48m · 19.9 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 May within 15 hours is Örnsköldsvik, 15.1 h, costing 423 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Prostějov at 4.4 kg — 96× less carbon, for 4.3 hours less sunshine.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in May 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 Visby can only be reached by air — 266 kg CO₂e, in 4h 54m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 31.2 kg in 17h 18m — 9× less carbon for 12h 24m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prostějov, Czechia | Rail | 4.4 kg | 14.3 °C | 10.8 h | 2.6 mm | 4h 12m |
| Olomouc, Czechia | Rail | 4.9 kg | 14.9 °C | 11.3 h | 2.4 mm | 4h 24m |
| Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia | Rail | 7.6 kg | 13.2 °C | 11.9 h | 2.6 mm | 5h 42m |
| Eberswalde, Germany | Rail | 16.1 kg | 15.1 °C | 12.8 h | 1.3 mm | 9h 54m |
| Świnoujście, Poland | Rail | 19.2 kg | 14.6 °C | 13.2 h | 0.9 mm | 11h 24m |
| Karlskrona, Sweden | Rail | 26.1 kg | 13.1 °C | 14.2 h | 0.6 mm | 14h 48m |
| Visby, Sweden | Air | 266 kg | 12.7 °C | 14.4 h | 0.6 mm | 4h 54m |
| Örnsköldsvik, Sweden | Air | 423 kg | 9.0 °C | 15.1 h | 0.5 mm | 5h 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 Karlskrona (26.1 kg, 14.2 h) to Visby (266 kg, 14.4 h) buys 0.2 hours more sunshine for an extra 240 kg — 1198 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 returnmild and bright
KarlskronaSweden26.1 kg CO₂e returnmild and bright
ÖrnsköldsvikSweden423 kg CO₂e returncold but brightThe same month, asked differently
May 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 Örnsköldsvik
Places to stay in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.
Search places to stay in Örnsköldsvik →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
May 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
- Karlskrona: Sendelbach (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Örnsköldsvik: Montage by Moralist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sundsvall: User:Ö1thpe0807 (image 1), User:I99limpan (image2), User:Larskallin (image3), Hans Lindqvist (image 4-5), Calle Eklund (, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Umeå: Jonipoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Luleå: Andreas Harnemo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Tallinn: Hiiumaamudeliklubi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Helsinki: Old Pionear, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pärnu: Kristian Pikner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Riga: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Copenhagen: Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Świnoujście: Andrzej Łuczak, woochuck@onet.eu, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Gdansk: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Suwałki: Sławomir Milejski, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Malbork: DerHexer; derivate work: Carschten, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-2_(s%C3%A4%C3%A4t%C3%B6).jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from Vienna in May?
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, at 15.1 h. Reaching it emits 423 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 42m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere sunny from Vienna in May without flying?
Yes. Karlskrona reaches 14.2 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 48m (modelled), emitting 26.1 kg CO₂e return — though Örnsköldsvik is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Vienna to Örnsköldsvik produce?
423 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.