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London · January · warmth

Warmest places to go from London in January

The warmest place you can reach from London in January within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.6 °C, costing 740 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Calais at 4.5 kg — 164× less carbon, for 13.8 degrees less warmth.

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of London

Ranked on warmth in January 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.

  1. Maspalomas, Spain19.6 °C · 9.6 h sun a dayair 7h 24m · 740 kg CO₂e return
  2. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt18.9 °C · 9.9 h sun a dayair 8h 42m · 909 kg CO₂e return
  3. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain18.8 °C · 9.4 h sun a dayair 7h 24m · 729 kg CO₂e return
  4. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.3 °C · 9.5 h sun a dayair 7h 24m · 728 kg CO₂e return
  5. Hurghada, Egypt18.2 °C · 10.0 h sun a dayair 8h 42m · 915 kg CO₂e return
  6. Agadir, Morocco17.1 °C · 9.6 h sun a dayair 6h 48m · 622 kg CO₂e return
  7. Aqaba, Jordan16.8 °C · 9.8 h sun a dayair 8h 30m · 886 kg CO₂e return
  8. Aswan, Egypt16.8 °C · 10.0 h sun a dayair 9h · 970 kg CO₂e return
  9. Essaouira, Morocco16.0 °C · 9.5 h sun a dayair 6h 36m · 593 kg CO₂e return
  10. Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.2 °C · 7.0 h sun a dayair 6h 54m · 632 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Toulon is 9.9 °C for 30.6 kg — about 24× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

  1. Toulon, France9.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a dayrail 9h 42m · 30.6 kg CO₂e return
  2. Sanremo, Italy9.6 °C · 7.0 h sun a dayrail 12h 54m · 30.7 kg CO₂e return
  3. Reus, Spain9.5 °C · 7.8 h sun a dayrail 14h 24m · 34.1 kg CO₂e return
  4. Bilbao, Spain9.2 °C · 5.0 h sun a dayrail 12h 42m · 27.8 kg CO₂e return
  5. Barcelona, Spain9.0 °C · 7.7 h sun a dayrail 12h 30m · 33.6 kg CO₂e return
  6. Nice, France8.9 °C · 7.1 h sun a dayrail 11h 30m · 30.4 kg CO₂e return

Rail times are modelled; air times include getting to and through the airport.

The low-carbon trade-off

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in January and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.

CalaisMaspalomas
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from London. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against warmth, January, departing London. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.13 destinations. Lowest carbon Calais at 4.5 kilograms and 5.8 °C; best for warmth Maspalomas at 740 kilograms and 19.6 °C. Calais · 4.5 kgLa Seyne-sur-Mer · 30.6 kgSagunto · 331 kgMaspalomas · 740 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against warmth, January, departing London. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Sagunto can only be reached by air — 331 kg CO₂e, in 5h 18m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 38.8 kg in 17h 6m — 9× less carbon for 11h 48m more travelling.

January from London — 13 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Calais, FranceRail4.5 kg5.8 °C4.2 h2.9 mm5h 24m
Cherbourg, FranceRail6.9 kg7.0 °C4.1 h3.8 mm9h 12m
La Teste-de-Buch, FranceRail22.7 kg8.4 °C5.4 h3.7 mm9h 12m
Donostia / San Sebastian, SpainRail27.2 kg9.2 °C5.1 h5.9 mm11h 36m
La Seyne-sur-Mer, FranceRail30.6 kg10.0 °C7.2 h1.1 mm9h 42m
Sagunto, SpainAir331 kg11.8 °C7.9 h0.5 mm5h 18m
Gandia, SpainAir351 kg13.0 °C7.8 h1.0 mm5h 24m
Ibiza Town, SpainAir354 kg13.3 °C8.6 h0.6 mm5h 24m
Melilla, SpainAir457 kg14.6 °C8.6 h0.9 mm5h 54m
Essaouira, MoroccoAir593 kg16.0 °C9.5 h0.3 mm6h 36m
Taroudant, MoroccoAir616 kg17.7 °C9.5 h0.0 mm6h 48m
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainAir729 kg18.8 °C9.4 h1.8 mm7h 24m
Maspalomas, SpainAir740 kg19.6 °C9.6 h0.2 mm7h 24m

The flights, in practice

The model measures to the town, not to a runway. For the destinations above reached by air, this is the nearest airport, how far it is, and whether a direct flight from London is listed on the airport's own destination page (researched 2026-09-15; route existence, not availability on a date). "Not checked" means no destination list was read for that airport.

Airports for the air destinations on this frontier, checked 2026-09-15.
DestinationAirportFrom townDirect from LondonOnward
Sagunto, SpainValencia VLC35 kmyes LHR, LGW, LTN, STNMetro lines 3 or 5 to Valencia, then Cercanías C5 or C6 to Sagunt.
Gandia, SpainValencia VLC80 kmyes LHR, LGW, LTN, STNMetro lines 3 or 5 to Valencia, then Cercanías C1 to Gandia.
Ibiza Town, SpainIbiza IBZ8 kmyes LHR, LGW, LCY, LTN, STNPublic bus or taxi to Ibiza Town.
Melilla, SpainMelilla MLN4 kmnoLocal bus or taxi into Melilla.
Essaouira, MoroccoEssaouira Mogador ESU16 kmnot checkedTaxi or airport transfer to Essaouira.
Taroudant, MoroccoAgadir Al Massira AGA65 kmnot checkedRoad transfer east to Taroudant; public transport may require travel via Agadir or Inezgane.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainGran Canaria LPA25 kmyes LGW, LTN, STNInterurban bus or taxi to Las Palmas.
Maspalomas, SpainGran Canaria LPA30 kmyes LGW, LTN, STNInterurban bus or taxi south to Maspalomas.
Sources for this table

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 La Seyne-sur-Mer (30.6 kg, 10.0 °C) to Sagunto (331 kg, 11.8 °C) buys 1.8 °C more warmth for an extra 300 kg — 167 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

CalaisFrance4.5 kg CO₂e return5.8 °C · 4.2 h sun · 5h 24m by railcoolLa Seyne-sur-Mer, FranceLa Seyne-sur-MerFrance30.6 kg CO₂e return10.0 °C · 7.2 h sun · 9h 42m by railmild and brightMaspalomas, SpainMaspalomasSpain740 kg CO₂e return19.6 °C · 9.6 h sun · 7h 24m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

January 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 London

January from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

Where is the warmest place to go from London in January?

Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.6 °C. Reaching it emits 740 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 24m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere warm from London in January without flying?

Yes. La Seyne-sur-Mer reaches 10.0 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 9h 42m (modelled), emitting 30.6 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.

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

740 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.