Warmest places to go from Amsterdam in December
In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Amsterdam is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 8h 24m each way by air. Without flying, it is Reus, Spain, averaging 10.4 °C across day and night, about 14h 48m each way by train, for about 24× less carbon (37.8 kg CO₂e return against 917 kg).
Every city at once, with and without flying: where is hot in December.
The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Amsterdam
Ranked on warmth 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 warmth each extra kilogram buys.
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt20.4 °C · 9.7 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 25.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 917 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 926 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 810 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain19.1 °C · 9.3 h sun a day · 2.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 799 kg CO₂e return- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.9 °C · 9.3 h sun a day · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 22.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 800 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 42m · 921 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 890 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 682 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 7h · 656 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.8 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 721 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Reus is 10.4 °C for 37.8 kg — about 24× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.
- Reus, Spain10.4 °C · 7.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 16.2 °Crail ≈ 14h 48m · 37.8 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France10.2 °C · 7.4 h sun a day · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 15.2 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 30.4 kg CO₂e return- Bilbao, Spain10.1 °C · 5.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 14.9 °Crail ≈ 13h 6m · 34.5 kg CO₂e return
Perpignan, France9.9 °C · 6.2 h sun a day · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.6 °Crail ≈ 11h 12m · 32.1 kg CO₂e return- Barcelona, Spain9.7 °C · 7.7 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 12h 54m · 36.6 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France9.2 °C · 7.5 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 11h 54m · 28.9 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 warmest place you can reach from Amsterdam in December within 15 hours is Safaga, 20.3 °C, costing 874 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Aarschot at 4.6 kg — 190× less carbon, for 14.3 degrees less warmth.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in December 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aarschot, Belgium | Rail | 4.6 kg | 6.0 °C | 2.5 h | 2.6 mm | 4h 12m |
| Bruges, Belgium | Rail | 5.1 kg | 6.8 °C | 2.3 h | 3.0 mm | 4h 30m |
| Dunkirk, France | Rail | 6.7 kg | 7.5 °C | 2.7 h | 3.0 mm | 5h 18m |
| Cherbourg, France | Rail | 16.1 kg | 9.1 °C | 2.9 h | 2.8 mm | 9h 54m |
| Cannes, France | Rail | 29.3 kg | 9.9 °C | 7.5 h | 1.5 mm | 11h 54m |
| Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain | Rail | 37.3 kg | 10.9 °C | 7.8 h | 0.7 mm | 14h 6m |
| Alghero, Italy | Air | 337 kg | 12.2 °C | 7.8 h | 1.5 mm | 5h 18m |
| Ibiza Town, Spain | Air | 383 kg | 14.0 °C | 8.4 h | 0.4 mm | 5h 30m |
| Bizerte, Tunisia | Air | 434 kg | 14.5 °C | 7.4 h | 3.2 mm | 5h 48m |
| San Pawl il-Bahar, Malta | Air | 497 kg | 16.0 °C | 7.9 h | 1.3 mm | 6h 6m |
| Taroudant, Morocco | Air | 675 kg | 17.9 °C | 8.9 h | 0.3 mm | 7h 6m |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain | Air | 799 kg | 19.1 °C | 9.3 h | 2.8 mm | 7h 42m |
| Safaga, Egypt | Air | 874 kg | 20.3 °C | 9.9 h | 0.1 mm | 8h 30m |
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 Vilanova i la Geltrú (37.3 kg, 10.9 °C) to Alghero (337 kg, 12.2 °C) buys 1.3 °C more warmth for an extra 300 kg — 230 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.
The pick of them
AarschotBelgium4.6 kg CO₂e returncool
Vilanova i la GeltrúSpain37.3 kg CO₂e returnmild and bright
SafagaEgypt874 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe 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 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 Amsterdam
December 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
- Aarschot: EGS, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Vilanova i la Geltrú: BiblioRSO, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Safaga: User:MatthiasKabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Hurghada: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Essaouira: Kayaky, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ponta Delgada: Maximilian Schönherr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Perpignan: Jean Tosti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Questions
Where is the warmest place to go from Amsterdam in December?
Safaga, Egypt, at 20.3 °C. Reaching it emits 874 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 30m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere warm from Amsterdam in December without flying?
Yes. Vilanova i la Geltrú reaches 10.9 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 6m (modelled), emitting 37.3 kg CO₂e return — though Safaga is warmer still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Amsterdam to Safaga produce?
874 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.