Cardiff · December · warmth

Warmest places to go from Cardiff in December

In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Cardiff 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 13h each way by train, for about 20× less carbon (47.6 kg CO₂e return against 953 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Cardiff

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 · 953 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 9h · 958 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 713 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 12m · 703 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 12m · 700 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 18m · 1,011 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 48m · 931 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 42m · 604 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 30m · 575 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 36m · 586 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Toulon is 10.2 °C for 47.6 kg — about 20× 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 ≈ 13h · 47.6 kg CO₂e return
Perpignan, France9.9 °C · 6.2 h sun a day · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.6 °Crail ≈ 14h 6m · 46.7 kg CO₂e return
Brest, France9.8 °C · 3.4 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a day · sea 12.7 °Crail ≈ 12h 36m · 30.7 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France9.2 °C · 7.5 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 14h 48m · 47.3 kg CO₂e return
Truro, United Kingdom9.0 °C · 2.8 h sun a day · 3.9 mm rain a day · sea 11.8 °Crail ≈ 4h 12m · 15.2 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 Cardiff in December within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.7 °C, costing 713 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Reading at 12.3 kg — 58× less carbon, for 12.1 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 Cardiff. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

December from Cardiff — 12 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Reading, United Kingdom	Rail	12.3 kg	7.6 °C	2.7 h	2.2 mm	3h 42m
Portsmouth, United Kingdom	Rail	13.2 kg	8.4 °C	2.9 h	2.7 mm	3h 54m
Newquay, United Kingdom	Rail	14.3 kg	9.6 °C	2.8 h	4.2 mm	4h 6m
Donostia / San Sebastian, Spain	Rail	44.2 kg	10.5 °C	5.4 h	7.1 mm	14h 54m
Santa Uxia de Ribeira, Spain	Air	273 kg	11.7 °C	6.2 h	5.3 mm	4h 54m
Ibiza Town, Spain	Air	363 kg	14.0 °C	8.4 h	0.4 mm	5h 24m
Roquetas de Mar, Spain	Air	412 kg	14.3 °C	8.9 h	0.4 mm	5h 42m
Melilla, Spain	Air	453 kg	15.2 °C	8.9 h	0.4 mm	5h 54m
Essaouira, Morocco	Air	575 kg	16.4 °C	9.0 h	0.2 mm	6h 30m
Taroudant, Morocco	Air	599 kg	17.9 °C	8.9 h	0.3 mm	6h 42m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain	Air	700 kg	18.9 °C	9.3 h	1.3 mm	7h 12m
Maspalomas, Spain	Air	713 kg	19.7 °C	9.4 h	0.5 mm	7h 18m

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 (44.2 kg, 10.5 °C) to Santa Uxia de Ribeira (273 kg, 11.7 °C) buys 1.2 °C more warmth for an extra 229 kg — 191 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

ReadingUnited Kingdom12.3 kg CO₂e return7.6 °C · 2.7 h sun · 3h 42m by railcool

Donostia / San SebastianSpain44.2 kg CO₂e return10.5 °C · 5.4 h sun · 14h 54m by railmild but wet

MaspalomasSpain713 kg CO₂e return19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun · 7h 18m 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 Cardiff

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Reading: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0, 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
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 Cardiff in December?

Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.7 °C. Reaching it emits 713 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 18m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Donostia / San Sebastian reaches 10.5 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 54m (modelled), emitting 44.2 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.

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

713 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.