Warmest places to go from Lisbon in December
In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Lisbon is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 9h 6m each way by air. Without flying, it is Marbella, Spain, averaging 13.6 °C across day and night, about 8h 24m each way by train, for about 74× less carbon (13.2 kg CO₂e return against 977 kg).
Every city at once, with and without flying: where is hot in December.
The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Lisbon
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 6m · 977 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 9h 6m · 974 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 341 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 ≈ 5h 18m · 331 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 ≈ 5h 18m · 331 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 12m · 998 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 9h · 971 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 4h 42m · 233 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 4h 36m · 202 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.8 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 5h 24m · 364 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Marbella is 13.6 °C for 13.2 kg — about 74× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.
- Marbella, Spain13.6 °C · 8.3 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 17.0 °Crail ≈ 8h 24m · 13.2 kg CO₂e return
Almería, Spain13.5 °C · 8.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 17.0 °Crail ≈ 11h · 18.4 kg CO₂e return- Algeciras, Spain13.5 °C · 8.2 h sun a day · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Crail ≈ 8h 18m · 12.9 kg CO₂e return
Altea, Spain13.3 °C · 8.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 16.6 °Crail ≈ 13h 24m · 23.3 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal13.2 °C · 8.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 17.9 °Crail ≈ 4h 6m · 5.4 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 Lisbon in December within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.7 °C, costing 341 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Figueira da Foz Municipality at 4.7 kg — 73× less carbon, for 8.5 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.
By rail or ferry By air
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Figueira da Foz Municipality, Portugal | Rail | 4.7 kg | 11.2 °C | 7.3 h | 1.7 mm | 3h 48m |
| Portimão, Portugal | Rail | 5.4 kg | 13.2 °C | 8.0 h | 0.5 mm | 4h 6m |
| El Ejido, Spain | Rail | 17.6 kg | 14.1 °C | 8.8 h | 0.4 mm | 10h 36m |
| Fnidek, Morocco | Air | 117 kg | 15.0 °C | 8.3 h | 0.9 mm | 4h 6m |
| Safi, Morocco | Air | 180 kg | 15.8 °C | 8.7 h | 0.1 mm | 4h 30m |
| Taroudant, Morocco | Air | 231 kg | 17.9 °C | 8.9 h | 0.3 mm | 4h 42m |
| Puerto del Rosario, Spain | Air | 306 kg | 18.9 °C | 9.4 h | 0.3 mm | 5h 6m |
| Maspalomas, Spain | Air | 341 kg | 19.7 °C | 9.4 h | 0.5 mm | 5h 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 El Ejido (17.6 kg, 14.1 °C) to Fnidek (117 kg, 15.0 °C) buys 0.9 °C more warmth for an extra 99.0 kg — 110 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.
The pick of them
Figueira da Foz MunicipalityPortugal4.7 kg CO₂e returnmild and bright
El EjidoSpain17.6 kg CO₂e returnmild and brightMaspalomasSpain341 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe 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 Lisbon
December from elsewhere
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Brussels
- Cardiff
- Copenhagen
- Dublin
- Edinburgh
- Frankfurt
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- Liverpool
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Milan
- Munich
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Oslo
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
Photo credits
- Figueira da Foz Municipality: Threeohsix, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- El Ejido: kallerna, 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
- 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
- Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Altea: Borja Fuster, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Questions
Where is the warmest place to go from Lisbon in December?
Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.7 °C. Reaching it emits 341 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 18m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere warm from Lisbon in December without flying?
Yes. El Ejido reaches 14.1 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 10h 36m (modelled), emitting 17.6 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Lisbon to Maspalomas produce?
341 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.