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Amsterdam · January · warmth

Warmest places to go from Amsterdam in January

In January, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Amsterdam is Maspalomas, Spain, averaging 19.6 °C across day and night and 9.6 h sun a day, about 7h 48m each way by air. Without flying, it is Toulon, France, averaging 9.9 °C across day and night, about 10h 6m each way by train, for about 27× less carbon (30.4 kg CO₂e return against 810 kg).

Every city at once, with and without flying: where is hot in January.

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Amsterdam

Ranked on warmth 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 warmth each extra kilogram buys.

  1. Maspalomas, Spain19.6 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 810 kg CO₂e return
  2. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt18.9 °C · 9.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 917 kg CO₂e return
  3. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain18.8 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 799 kg CO₂e return
  4. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.3 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 800 kg CO₂e return
  5. Hurghada, Egypt18.2 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 926 kg CO₂e return
  6. Agadir, Morocco17.1 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 682 kg CO₂e return
  7. Aqaba, Jordan16.8 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 890 kg CO₂e return
  8. Aswan, Egypt16.8 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 42m · 921 kg CO₂e return
  9. Essaouira, Morocco16.0 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 7h · 656 kg CO₂e return
  10. Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.2 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.6 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 721 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Toulon is 9.9 °C for 30.4 kg — about 27× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

  1. Toulon, France9.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.4 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 30.4 kg CO₂e return
  2. Sanremo, Italy9.6 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 14.9 °Crail ≈ 13h 18m · 28.8 kg CO₂e return
  3. Reus, Spain9.5 °C · 7.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.5 °Crail ≈ 14h 48m · 37.8 kg CO₂e return
  4. Bilbao, Spain9.2 °C · 5.0 h sun a day · 5.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.2 °Crail ≈ 13h 6m · 34.5 kg CO₂e return
  5. Barcelona, Spain9.0 °C · 7.7 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.2 °Crail ≈ 12h 54m · 36.6 kg CO₂e return
  6. Nice, France8.9 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 14.7 °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 January within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.6 °C, costing 810 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Aarschot at 4.6 kg — 176× less carbon, for 15.4 degrees less warmth.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in January and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.

AarschotMaspalomas
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Amsterdam. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against warmth, January, departing Amsterdam. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.15 destinations. Lowest carbon Aarschot at 4.6 kilograms and 4.2 °C; best for warmth Maspalomas at 810 kilograms and 19.6 °C. Aarschot · 4.6 kgToulon · 30.4 kgBastia · 284 kgMaspalomas · 810 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against warmth, January, departing Amsterdam. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.
January from Amsterdam — 15 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Aarschot, BelgiumRail4.6 kg4.2 °C3.7 h2.4 mm4h 12m
Bruges, BelgiumRail5.1 kg4.9 °C4.1 h3.1 mm4h 30m
Ostend, BelgiumRail5.5 kg5.6 °C4.1 h2.9 mm4h 42m
Cherbourg, FranceRail16.1 kg7.0 °C4.1 h3.8 mm9h 54m
Genoa, ItalyRail27.6 kg8.3 °C6.0 h3.2 mm14h 12m
Toulon, FranceRail30.4 kg9.9 °C7.2 h1.1 mm10h 6m
Bastia, FranceAir284 kg10.3 °C7.1 h2.1 mm5h
Alghero, ItalyAir337 kg11.6 °C7.4 h2.3 mm5h 18m
Santa Eulària des Riu, SpainAir380 kg12.7 °C8.5 h0.6 mm5h 30m
Ibiza Town, SpainAir383 kg13.3 °C8.6 h0.6 mm5h 30m
Melilla, SpainAir502 kg14.6 °C8.6 h0.9 mm6h 12m
Essaouira, MoroccoAir656 kg16.0 °C9.5 h0.3 mm7h
Taroudant, MoroccoAir675 kg17.7 °C9.5 h0.0 mm7h 6m
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainAir799 kg18.8 °C9.4 h1.8 mm7h 42m
Maspalomas, SpainAir810 kg19.6 °C9.6 h0.2 mm7h 48m

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 Toulon (30.4 kg, 9.9 °C) to Bastia (284 kg, 10.3 °C) buys 0.4 °C more warmth for an extra 253 kg — 633 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

The 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 Maspalomas

Places to stay in Maspalomas, Spain, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Maspalomas →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

January from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

Where is the warmest place to go from Amsterdam in January?

Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.6 °C. Reaching it emits 810 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 48m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere warm from Amsterdam in January without flying?

Yes. Toulon reaches 9.9 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 10h 6m (modelled), emitting 30.4 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Amsterdam to Maspalomas produce?

810 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.