Birmingham · January · warmth

Warmest places to go from Birmingham in January

In January, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Birmingham is Maspalomas, Spain, averaging 19.6 °C across day and night and 9.6 h sun a day, about 7h 30m each way by air. Without flying, it is Toulon, France, averaging 9.9 °C across day and night, about 12h 30m each way by train, for about 17× less carbon (43.7 kg CO₂e return against 748 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Birmingham

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.

Maspalomas, Spain19.6 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 748 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt18.9 °C · 9.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 54m · 946 kg CO₂e return
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 24m · 738 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.3 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 735 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt18.2 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 8h 54m · 953 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.1 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 637 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan16.8 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 48m · 923 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt16.8 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 12m · 1,008 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.0 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 42m · 608 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.2 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.6 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 619 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Toulon is 9.9 °C for 43.7 kg — about 17× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

Toulon, France9.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.4 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 43.7 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France8.9 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 14.7 °Crail ≈ 14h 12m · 43.4 kg CO₂e return
Perpignan, France8.7 °C · 6.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 13.0 °Crail ≈ 13h 36m · 42.8 kg CO₂e return
Biarritz, France8.4 °C · 5.6 h sun a day · 4.7 mm rain a day · sea 13.8 °Crail ≈ 12h 36m · 39.6 kg CO₂e return
Truro, United Kingdom6.5 °C · 4.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 10.8 °Crail ≈ 6h 18m · 26.5 kg CO₂e return
Plymouth, United Kingdom6.5 °C · 4.2 h sun a day · 4.8 mm rain a day · sea 10.9 °Crail ≈ 5h 36m · 22.6 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 January within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.6 °C, costing 748 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Colwyn Bay at 12.2 kg — 61× less carbon, for 13.4 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.

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, January, departing Birmingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

January from Birmingham — 13 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Colwyn Bay, United Kingdom	Rail	12.2 kg	6.2 °C	3.7 h	4.8 mm	3h 42m
Cherbourg, France	Rail	19.9 kg	7.0 °C	4.1 h	3.8 mm	11h 54m
Bayonne, France	Rail	39.5 kg	8.6 °C	5.6 h	4.7 mm	12h 36m
Cannes, France	Rail	43.6 kg	9.4 °C	7.1 h	1.7 mm	14h 12m
La Seyne-sur-Mer, France	Rail	43.7 kg	10.0 °C	7.2 h	1.1 mm	12h 30m
Santa Uxia de Ribeira, Spain	Air	308 kg	11.5 °C	5.5 h	6.3 mm	5h 6m
Gandia, Spain	Air	379 kg	13.0 °C	7.8 h	1.0 mm	5h 30m
Ibiza Town, Spain	Air	385 kg	13.3 °C	8.6 h	0.6 mm	5h 30m
Melilla, Spain	Air	481 kg	14.6 °C	8.6 h	0.9 mm	6h 6m
Essaouira, Morocco	Air	608 kg	16.0 °C	9.5 h	0.3 mm	6h 42m
Taroudant, Morocco	Air	632 kg	17.7 °C	9.5 h	0.0 mm	6h 54m
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain	Air	738 kg	18.8 °C	9.4 h	1.8 mm	7h 24m
Maspalomas, Spain	Air	748 kg	19.6 °C	9.6 h	0.2 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 La Seyne-sur-Mer (43.7 kg, 10.0 °C) to Santa Uxia de Ribeira (308 kg, 11.5 °C) buys 1.5 °C more warmth for an extra 264 kg — 176 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Colwyn BayUnited Kingdom12.2 kg CO₂e return6.2 °C · 3.7 h sun · 3h 42m by railgrey and wet

La Seyne-sur-MerFrance43.7 kg CO₂e return10.0 °C · 7.2 h sun · 12h 30m by railmild and bright

MaspalomasSpain748 kg CO₂e return19.6 °C · 9.6 h sun · 7h 30m by airwarm, bright and dry

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 Birmingham

January from elsewhere

Photo credits

Colwyn Bay: Dot Potter, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
La Seyne-sur-Mer: Cyril-83, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hurghada: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, 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
Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Perpignan: Jean Tosti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Biarritz: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Truro: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Plymouth: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.6 °C. Reaching it emits 748 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 30m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. La Seyne-sur-Mer reaches 10.0 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 12h 30m (modelled), emitting 43.7 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.