Copenhagen · May · warmth

Warmest places to go from Copenhagen in May

In May, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Copenhagen is Aswan, Egypt, averaging 31.5 °C across day and night and 12.0 h sun a day, about 8h 42m each way by air. Without flying, it is Nitra, Slovakia, averaging 16.1 °C across day and night, about 15h each way by train, for about 34× less carbon (26.6 kg CO₂e return against 909 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Copenhagen

Ranked on warmth in May 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.

Aswan, Egypt31.5 °C · 12.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 42m · 909 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt31.2 °C · 12.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 24m · 868 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt30.0 °C · 12.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 891 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan28.2 °C · 12.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h · 857 kg CO₂e return
Ouarzazate, Morocco23.0 °C · 12.4 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 42m · 792 kg CO₂e return
Tataouine, Tunisia22.9 °C · 11.4 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 54m · 638 kg CO₂e return
Marrakesh, Morocco22.5 °C · 12.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 42m · 784 kg CO₂e return
Adana, Turkey22.0 °C · 11.6 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a dayair ≈ 7h 6m · 677 kg CO₂e return
Nicosia, Cyprus21.9 °C · 12.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 698 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus21.9 °C · 12.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 707 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Nitra is 16.1 °C for 26.6 kg — about 34× less carbon than flying to Aswan.

Nitra, Slovakia16.1 °C · 10.9 h sun a day · 3.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 15h · 26.6 kg CO₂e return
Bratislava, Slovakia16.0 °C · 10.7 h sun a day · 2.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 26.3 kg CO₂e return
Frankfurt (Oder), Germany15.6 °C · 12.3 h sun a day · 1.7 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 7h 42m · 11.6 kg CO₂e return
Warsaw, Poland15.6 °C · 12.2 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 42m · 19.8 kg CO₂e return
Opole, Poland15.5 °C · 11.8 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 30m · 19.5 kg CO₂e return
Heidelberg, Germany15.2 °C · 10.3 h sun a day · 3.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 42m · 22.0 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 Copenhagen in May within 15 hours is Luxor, 31.2 °C, costing 868 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Stralsund at 4.6 kg — 189× less carbon, for 17.5 degrees less warmth.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in May 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 Copenhagen. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against warmth, May, departing Copenhagen. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Trieste can only be reached by air — 281 kg CO₂e, in 5h. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 33.0 kg in 18h 6m — 9× less carbon for 13h 6m more travelling.

May from Copenhagen — 16 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Stralsund, Germany	Rail	4.6 kg	13.7 °C	13.0 h	1.4 mm	4h 12m
Świnoujście, Poland	Rail	6.6 kg	14.6 °C	13.2 h	0.9 mm	5h 12m
Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany	Rail	10.7 kg	15.5 °C	12.1 h	1.5 mm	7h 12m
Trnava, Slovakia	Rail	26.0 kg	16.6 °C	10.7 h	3.2 mm	14h 42m
Trieste, Italy	Air	281 kg	17.6 °C	10.6 h	7.5 mm	5h
Split, Croatia	Air	347 kg	18.9 °C	11.3 h	5.4 mm	5h 18m
Berat, Albania	Air	440 kg	19.6 °C	11.2 h	4.1 mm	5h 48m
Sousse, Tunisia	Air	556 kg	20.4 °C	11.1 h	1.8 mm	6h 24m
Kairouan, Tunisia	Air	561 kg	21.8 °C	11.0 h	1.7 mm	6h 30m
Gafsa, Tunisia	Air	599 kg	22.9 °C	11.7 h	1.2 mm	6h 42m
Metlaoui, Tunisia	Air	603 kg	23.8 °C	11.8 h	0.8 mm	6h 42m
Tozeur, Tunisia	Air	615 kg	25.8 °C	11.6 h	0.6 mm	6h 48m
Recani, Morocco	Air	758 kg	26.6 °C	12.1 h	0.1 mm	7h 30m
Aqaba, Jordan	Air	857 kg	28.2 °C	12.6 h	0.2 mm	8h
Mallawi, Egypt	Air	864 kg	28.6 °C	11.8 h	0.1 mm	8h 6m
Luxor, Egypt	Air	868 kg	31.2 °C	12.0 h	0.0 mm	8h 24m

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 Trnava (26.0 kg, 16.6 °C) to Trieste (281 kg, 17.6 °C) buys 1.0 °C more warmth for an extra 255 kg — 255 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

StralsundGermany4.6 kg CO₂e return13.7 °C · 13.0 h sun · 4h 12m by railmild and bright

TrnavaSlovakia26.0 kg CO₂e return16.6 °C · 10.7 h sun · 14h 42m by railwarm but wet

LuxorEgypt868 kg CO₂e return31.2 °C · 12.0 h sun · 8h 24m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

May 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 Luxor

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

Search places to stay in Luxor →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 Copenhagen

May from elsewhere

Photo credits

Trnava: Pavel Briatka, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ouarzazate: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tataouine: Averater, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marrakesh: Donar Reiskoffer, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Adana: Anatolianpride, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Limassol: Xaris333, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nitra: unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bratislava: Rob Hurson from Kentstown, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Warsaw: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opole: SuperGlob, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Heidelberg: Miholz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the warmest place to go from Copenhagen in May?

Luxor, Egypt, at 31.2 °C. Reaching it emits 868 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 24m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere warm from Copenhagen in May without flying?

Yes. Trnava reaches 16.6 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 42m (modelled), emitting 26.0 kg CO₂e return — though Luxor is warmer still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Copenhagen to Luxor produce?

868 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.