Sunniest places to go from Zurich in January
In January, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Zurich is Aswan, Egypt, 10.0 h of sun a day and 16.8 °C, about 8h each way by air. Without flying, it is Catanzaro, Italy, 7.7 h of sun a day, about 15h each way by train, for about 25× less carbon (33.8 kg CO₂e return against 847 kg).
The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Zurich
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 ≈ 8h · 847 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt10.0 h · 18.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 788 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt9.9 h · 16.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 48m · 806 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan9.8 h · 16.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 758 kg CO₂e return
Ouarzazate, Morocco9.7 h · 10.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 30m · 567 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain9.6 h · 19.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 760 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco9.6 h · 17.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 614 kg CO₂e return- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain9.5 h · 18.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 755 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco9.5 h · 16.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 591 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain9.4 h · 18.8 °C · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 750 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Catanzaro is 7.7 h for 33.8 kg — about 25× less carbon than flying to Aswan.
- Catanzaro, Italy7.7 h · 9.9 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 15h · 33.8 kg CO₂e return
- Barcelona, Spain7.7 h · 9.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 14.2 °Crail ≈ 13h 18m · 24.7 kg CO₂e return
- Taranto, Italy7.6 h · 10.9 °C · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 15.4 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 30.5 kg CO₂e return
Girona, Spain7.5 h · 8.1 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 48m · 22.1 kg CO₂e return
Marseille, France7.4 h · 8.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 14.0 °Crail ≈ 9h 30m · 15.2 kg CO₂e return
Andorra la Vella, Andorra7.3 h · 4.1 °C · 1.2 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 Zurich in January within 15 hours is Safaga, 10.0 h, costing 801 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Lugano at 4.5 kg — 178× less carbon, for 3.8 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
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lugano, Switzerland | Rail | 4.5 kg | 5.5 °C | 6.2 h | 1.5 mm | 3h 30m |
| Merano, Italy | Rail | 6.3 kg | 5.0 °C | 6.9 h | 1.0 mm | 5h 6m |
| Manosque, France | Rail | 13.2 kg | 4.5 °C | 7.4 h | 1.0 mm | 8h 30m |
| Manlleu, Spain | Rail | 22.9 kg | 5.7 °C | 7.9 h | 0.7 mm | 13h 12m |
| Santa Eulària des Riu, Spain | Air | 274 kg | 12.7 °C | 8.5 h | 0.6 mm | 5h |
| Gafsa, Tunisia | Air | 362 kg | 9.9 °C | 9.0 h | 0.0 mm | 5h 24m |
| Errachidia, Morocco | Air | 513 kg | 10.2 °C | 9.5 h | 0.1 mm | 6h 12m |
| Safaga, Egypt | Air | 801 kg | 18.9 °C | 10.0 h | 0.0 mm | 7h 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 Errachidia (513 kg, 9.5 h) to Safaga (801 kg, 10.0 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 289 kg — 577 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.
The pick of them
LuganoSwitzerland4.5 kg CO₂e returncoolManlleuSpain22.9 kg CO₂e returncold but bright
SafagaEgypt801 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 Zurich
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
- Lugano: Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- Girona: Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Pirineu de Girona, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Andorra la Vella: Tiia Monto, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from Zurich in January?
Safaga, Egypt, at 10.0 h. Reaching it emits 801 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 42m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere sunny from Zurich in January without flying?
Yes. Manlleu reaches 7.9 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 12m (modelled), emitting 22.9 kg CO₂e return — though Safaga is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Zurich to Safaga produce?
801 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.