Warsaw · May · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Warsaw in May

In May, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Warsaw is Sundsvall, Sweden, 15.1 h of sun a day and 11.7 °C, about 5h each way by air. Without flying, it is Visby, Sweden, 14.4 h of sun a day, about 10h 54m each way by train, for about 16× less carbon (18.5 kg CO₂e return against 290 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Warsaw

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 · 290 kg CO₂e return
Umeå, Sweden15.0 h · 9.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 3.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 12m · 325 kg CO₂e return
Luleå, Sweden14.8 h · 7.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 1.5 °Cair ≈ 5h 30m · 374 kg CO₂e return
Vaasa, Finland14.8 h · 9.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 6m · 304 kg CO₂e return
Tallinn, Estonia14.7 h · 12.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.8 °Cair ≈ 4h 36m · 210 kg CO₂e return
Turku, Finland14.4 h · 12.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 4h 42m · 231 kg CO₂e return
Helsinki, Finland14.4 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.4 °Cair ≈ 4h 42m · 230 kg CO₂e return
Pärnu, Estonia14.3 h · 13.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.8 °Cair ≈ 4h 30m · 181 kg CO₂e return
Riga, Latvia14.2 h · 13.6 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 10.4 °Cair ≈ 4h 12m · 141 kg CO₂e return
Tartu, Estonia14.1 h · 12.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 4h 30m · 194 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Visby is 14.4 h for 18.5 kg — about 16× less carbon than flying to Sundsvall.

Visby, Sweden14.4 h · 12.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 7.5 °Crail ≈ 10h 54m · 18.5 kg CO₂e return
Karlstad, Sweden14.3 h · 13.6 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 48m · 27.2 kg CO₂e return
Uppsala, Sweden14.1 h · 12.6 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 30m · 25.8 kg CO₂e return
Kalmar, Sweden14.1 h · 12.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 9.2 °Crail ≈ 9h 48m · 17.0 kg CO₂e return
Liepāja, Latvia14.0 h · 13.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 9.4 °Crail ≈ 12h 12m · 14.0 kg CO₂e return
Klaipėda, Lithuania14.0 h · 14.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 12.3 °Crail ≈ 10h 42m · 11.4 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 Warsaw in May within 15 hours is Örnsköldsvik, 15.1 h, costing 311 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Lublin at 4.5 kg — 69× less carbon, for 2.5 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.

Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Warsaw. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, May, departing Warsaw. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Örnsköldsvik can only be reached by air — 311 kg CO₂e, in 5h 6m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 36.5 kg in 19h 54m — 9× less carbon for 14h 48m more travelling.

May from Warsaw — 5 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Lublin, Poland	Rail	4.5 kg	14.5 °C	12.6 h	1.6 mm	3h 42m
Gdansk, Poland	Rail	8.4 kg	13.8 °C	13.2 h	0.7 mm	4h 30m
Klaipėda, Lithuania	Rail	11.4 kg	14.2 °C	14.0 h	0.8 mm	10h 42m
Visby, Sweden	Rail	18.5 kg	12.7 °C	14.4 h	0.6 mm	10h 54m
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden	Air	311 kg	9.0 °C	15.1 h	0.5 mm	5h 6m

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 Visby (18.5 kg, 14.4 h) to Örnsköldsvik (311 kg, 15.1 h) buys 0.7 hours more sunshine for an extra 293 kg — 418 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

LublinPoland4.5 kg CO₂e return14.5 °C · 12.6 h sun · 3h 42m by railmild and bright

VisbySweden18.5 kg CO₂e return12.7 °C · 14.4 h sun · 10h 54m by railmild and bright

ÖrnsköldsvikSweden311 kg CO₂e return9.0 °C · 15.1 h sun · 5h 6m by aircold but bright

The 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 Warsaw

May from elsewhere

Photo credits

Lublin: Pankrzysztoff, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, via Wikimedia Commons
Visby: Żeglarz, Public domain, 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
Karlstad: Håkan Svensson (Xauxa) (image 1), Janee (image 2 & 5), I99pema (image 3 & 4), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kalmar: L.G.foto, Kiwijo2000, ginandtonique, Sniper Zeta and Shrek_38 Collage by Moralist., CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Liepāja: Edgars Šulcs, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Klaipėda: The original uploader was Squareshadow at Lithuanian Wikipedia., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Warsaw in May?

Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, at 15.1 h. Reaching it emits 311 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 6m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Warsaw in May without flying?

Yes. Visby reaches 14.4 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 10h 54m (modelled), emitting 18.5 kg CO₂e return — though Örnsköldsvik is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Warsaw to Örnsköldsvik produce?

311 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.