Birmingham · December · warmth

Warmest places to go from Birmingham in December

In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Birmingham is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 8h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Toulon, France, averaging 10.2 °C across day and night, about 12h 30m each way by train, for about 22× less carbon (43.7 kg CO₂e return against 946 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Birmingham

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 54m · 946 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 8h 54m · 953 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 748 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 24m · 738 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 24m · 735 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 12m · 1,008 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 48m · 923 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 637 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 42m · 608 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.8 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 619 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Toulon is 10.2 °C for 43.7 kg — about 22× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Toulon, France10.2 °C · 7.4 h sun a day · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 15.2 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 43.7 kg CO₂e return
Perpignan, France9.9 °C · 6.2 h sun a day · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.6 °Crail ≈ 13h 36m · 42.8 kg CO₂e return
Brest, France9.8 °C · 3.4 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a day · sea 12.7 °Crail ≈ 12h 6m · 26.8 kg CO₂e return
Plymouth, United Kingdom9.3 °C · 3.0 h sun a day · 4.5 mm rain a day · sea 12.1 °Crail ≈ 5h 36m · 22.6 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France9.2 °C · 7.5 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 14h 12m · 43.4 kg CO₂e return
Truro, United Kingdom9.0 °C · 2.8 h sun a day · 3.9 mm rain a day · sea 11.8 °Crail ≈ 6h 18m · 26.5 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 Birmingham in December within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.7 °C, costing 748 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Preston at 12.2 kg — 61× less carbon, for 12.6 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.

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

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against warmth, December, departing Birmingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

December from Birmingham — 12 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Preston, United Kingdom	Rail	12.2 kg	7.1 °C	2.2 h	5.5 mm	3h 42m
Bridgwater, United Kingdom	Rail	13.5 kg	8.4 °C	2.8 h	2.9 mm	3h 54m
Cherbourg, France	Rail	19.9 kg	9.1 °C	2.9 h	2.8 mm	11h 54m
Donostia / San Sebastian, Spain	Rail	40.3 kg	10.5 °C	5.4 h	7.1 mm	14h 18m
Santa Uxia de Ribeira, Spain	Air	308 kg	11.7 °C	6.2 h	5.3 mm	5h 6m
Ibiza Town, Spain	Air	385 kg	14.0 °C	8.4 h	0.4 mm	5h 30m
Roquetas de Mar, Spain	Air	440 kg	14.3 °C	8.9 h	0.4 mm	5h 48m
Melilla, Spain	Air	481 kg	15.2 °C	8.9 h	0.4 mm	6h 6m
Essaouira, Morocco	Air	608 kg	16.4 °C	9.0 h	0.2 mm	6h 42m
Taroudant, Morocco	Air	632 kg	17.9 °C	8.9 h	0.3 mm	6h 54m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain	Air	735 kg	18.9 °C	9.3 h	1.3 mm	7h 24m
Maspalomas, Spain	Air	748 kg	19.7 °C	9.4 h	0.5 mm	7h 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 Donostia / San Sebastian (40.3 kg, 10.5 °C) to Santa Uxia de Ribeira (308 kg, 11.7 °C) buys 1.2 °C more warmth for an extra 268 kg — 223 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

PrestonUnited Kingdom12.2 kg CO₂e return7.1 °C · 2.2 h sun · 3h 42m by railgrey and wet

Donostia / San SebastianSpain40.3 kg CO₂e return10.5 °C · 5.4 h sun · 14h 18m by railmild but wet

MaspalomasSpain748 kg CO₂e return19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun · 7h 30m by airwarm, bright and dry

The 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 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 Birmingham

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Preston: Karl1587, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Donostia / San Sebastian: Keta, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, 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
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
Brest: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Plymouth: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Truro: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the warmest place to go from Birmingham in December?

Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.7 °C. Reaching it emits 748 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 30m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere warm from Birmingham in December without flying?

Yes. Donostia / San Sebastian reaches 10.5 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 18m (modelled), emitting 40.3 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.

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

748 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.