Leeds · December · warmth

Warmest places to go from Leeds in December

In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Leeds is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 9h each way by air. Without flying, it is Toulon, France, averaging 10.2 °C across day and night, about 13h 18m each way by train, for about 18× less carbon (52.5 kg CO₂e return against 958 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Leeds

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 · 958 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 9h · 965 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 783 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 36m · 773 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 36m · 770 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 18m · 1,023 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 48m · 933 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 674 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 645 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 54m · 645 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Toulon is 10.2 °C for 52.5 kg — about 18× 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 18m · 52.5 kg CO₂e return
Perpignan, France9.9 °C · 6.2 h sun a day · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.6 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 51.5 kg CO₂e return
Brest, France9.8 °C · 3.4 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a day · sea 12.7 °Crail ≈ 12h 54m · 35.6 kg CO₂e return
Biarritz, France9.5 °C · 5.3 h sun a day · 5.4 mm rain a day · sea 14.6 °Crail ≈ 13h 24m · 48.4 kg CO₂e return
Plymouth, United Kingdom9.3 °C · 3.0 h sun a day · 4.5 mm rain a day · sea 12.1 °Crail ≈ 7h 36m · 33.8 kg CO₂e return
Truro, United Kingdom9.0 °C · 2.8 h sun a day · 3.9 mm rain a day · sea 11.8 °Crail ≈ 8h 6m · 37.0 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 Leeds in December within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.7 °C, costing 783 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Colwyn Bay at 12.4 kg — 63× less carbon, for 11.6 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 Leeds. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget A Coruña can only be reached by air — 318 kg CO₂e, in 5h 12m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 54.2 kg in 21h 54m — 6× less carbon for 16h 42m more travelling.

December from Leeds — 12 destinations on the frontier, 3 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Colwyn Bay, United Kingdom	Rail	12.4 kg	8.1 °C	2.1 h	5.3 mm	3h 42m
Cherbourg, France	Rail	28.7 kg	9.1 °C	2.9 h	2.8 mm	12h 48m
Perpignan, France	Rail	51.5 kg	9.9 °C	6.2 h	1.2 mm	14h 24m
A Coruña, Spain	Air	318 kg	10.8 °C	5.8 h	4.3 mm	5h 12m
Santa Uxia de Ribeira, Spain	Air	343 kg	11.7 °C	6.2 h	5.3 mm	5h 18m
Ibiza Town, Spain	Air	420 kg	14.0 °C	8.4 h	0.4 mm	5h 42m
Roquetas de Mar, Spain	Air	477 kg	14.3 °C	8.9 h	0.4 mm	6h
Melilla, Spain	Air	518 kg	15.2 °C	8.9 h	0.4 mm	6h 12m
Essaouira, Morocco	Air	645 kg	16.4 °C	9.0 h	0.2 mm	6h 54m
Taroudant, Morocco	Air	669 kg	17.9 °C	8.9 h	0.3 mm	7h
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain	Air	770 kg	18.9 °C	9.3 h	1.3 mm	7h 36m
Maspalomas, Spain	Air	783 kg	19.7 °C	9.4 h	0.5 mm	7h 42m

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 Perpignan (51.5 kg, 9.9 °C) to A Coruña (318 kg, 10.8 °C) buys 0.9 °C more warmth for an extra 266 kg — 296 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Colwyn BayUnited Kingdom12.4 kg CO₂e return8.1 °C · 2.1 h sun · 3h 42m by railgrey and wet

PerpignanFrance51.5 kg CO₂e return9.9 °C · 6.2 h sun · 14h 24m by railcool

MaspalomasSpain783 kg CO₂e return19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun · 7h 42m 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 Leeds

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Colwyn Bay: Dot Potter, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Perpignan: Jean Tosti, Public domain, 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
Brest: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Biarritz: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Plymouth: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Truro: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.7 °C. Reaching it emits 783 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 42m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Perpignan reaches 9.9 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 24m (modelled), emitting 51.5 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.

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

783 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.