Edinburgh · December · warmth

Warmest places to go from Edinburgh in December

In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Edinburgh is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 9h 12m each way by air. Without flying, it is Plymouth, United Kingdom, averaging 9.3 °C across day and night, about 10h 30m each way by train, for about 20× less carbon (50.1 kg CO₂e return against 1,008 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Edinburgh

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 ≈ 9h 12m · 1,008 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 9h 18m · 1,016 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 54m · 827 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 48m · 817 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 48m · 812 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 36m · 1,075 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 9h 6m · 981 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 725 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 696 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.8 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h · 660 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Plymouth is 9.3 °C for 50.1 kg — about 20× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Plymouth, United Kingdom9.3 °C · 3.0 h sun a day · 4.5 mm rain a day · sea 12.1 °Crail ≈ 10h 30m · 50.1 kg CO₂e return
Truro, United Kingdom9.0 °C · 2.8 h sun a day · 3.9 mm rain a day · sea 11.8 °Crail ≈ 10h 48m · 51.8 kg CO₂e return
Vannes, France9.0 °C · 4.4 h sun a day · 2.7 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 15h · 56.7 kg CO₂e return
Saint-Nazaire, France9.0 °C · 4.5 h sun a day · 2.5 mm rain a day · sea 11.1 °Crail ≈ 14h 54m · 57.5 kg CO₂e return
Marseille, France9.0 °C · 7.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.5 °Crail ≈ 14h 42m · 72.5 kg CO₂e return
Exeter, United Kingdom8.1 °C · 2.8 h sun a day · 3.1 mm rain a day · sea 11.9 °Crail ≈ 9h 18m · 46.8 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 Edinburgh in December within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.7 °C, costing 827 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Sunderland at 13.1 kg — 63× less carbon, for 13.0 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 Edinburgh. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

December from Edinburgh — 13 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Sunderland, United Kingdom	Rail	13.1 kg	6.7 °C	2.5 h	3.3 mm	3h 48m
Liverpool, United Kingdom	Rail	22.7 kg	7.5 °C	2.4 h	4.1 mm	5h 36m
Bournemouth, United Kingdom	Rail	47.3 kg	8.7 °C	3.1 h	3.1 mm	8h 54m
Plymouth, United Kingdom	Rail	50.1 kg	9.3 °C	3.0 h	4.5 mm	10h 30m
A Coruña, Spain	Air	364 kg	10.8 °C	5.8 h	4.3 mm	5h 24m
Santa Uxia de Ribeira, Spain	Air	389 kg	11.7 °C	6.2 h	5.3 mm	5h 36m
Ibiza Town, Spain	Air	484 kg	14.0 °C	8.4 h	0.4 mm	6h 6m
Roquetas de Mar, Spain	Air	537 kg	14.3 °C	8.9 h	0.4 mm	6h 18m
Melilla, Spain	Air	578 kg	15.2 °C	8.9 h	0.4 mm	6h 36m
Essaouira, Morocco	Air	696 kg	16.4 °C	9.0 h	0.2 mm	7h 12m
Taroudant, Morocco	Air	721 kg	17.9 °C	8.9 h	0.3 mm	7h 18m
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain	Air	812 kg	18.9 °C	9.3 h	1.3 mm	7h 48m
Maspalomas, Spain	Air	827 kg	19.7 °C	9.4 h	0.5 mm	7h 54m

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 Plymouth (50.1 kg, 9.3 °C) to A Coruña (364 kg, 10.8 °C) buys 1.5 °C more warmth for an extra 314 kg — 209 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

SunderlandUnited Kingdom13.1 kg CO₂e return6.7 °C · 2.5 h sun · 3h 48m by railgrey and wet

PlymouthUnited Kingdom50.1 kg CO₂e return9.3 °C · 3.0 h sun · 10h 30m by railgrey and wet

MaspalomasSpain827 kg CO₂e return19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun · 7h 54m 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 Edinburgh

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Sunderland: No machine-readable author provided. The JPS assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Plymouth: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, 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
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
Truro: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saint-Nazaire: Pouick44, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Exeter: Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.7 °C. Reaching it emits 827 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 54m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Plymouth reaches 9.3 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 10h 30m (modelled), emitting 50.1 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.

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

827 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.