Warmest places to go from London in January
In January, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of London is Maspalomas, Spain, averaging 19.6 °C across day and night and 9.6 h sun a day, about 7h 24m each way by air. Without flying, it is Toulon, France, averaging 9.9 °C across day and night, about 9h 42m each way by train, for about 24× less carbon (30.6 kg CO₂e return against 740 kg).
Every city at once, with and without flying: where is hot in January.
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.
Maspalomas, Spain19.6 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 740 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt18.9 °C · 9.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 42m · 909 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain18.8 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 729 kg CO₂e return- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.3 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 728 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt18.2 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 8h 42m · 915 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.1 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 622 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan16.8 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 886 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt16.8 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h · 970 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.0 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 593 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.2 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.6 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Cair ≈ 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.
Toulon, France9.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.4 °Crail ≈ 9h 42m · 30.6 kg CO₂e return- Sanremo, Italy9.6 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 14.9 °Crail ≈ 12h 54m · 30.7 kg CO₂e return
- Reus, Spain9.5 °C · 7.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.5 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 34.1 kg CO₂e return
- Bilbao, Spain9.2 °C · 5.0 h sun a day · 5.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.2 °Crail ≈ 12h 42m · 27.8 kg CO₂e return
- Barcelona, Spain9.0 °C · 7.7 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.2 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 33.6 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France8.9 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 14.7 °Crail ≈ 11h 30m · 30.4 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 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.
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.
By rail or ferry By air
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.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calais, France | Rail | 4.5 kg | 5.8 °C | 4.2 h | 2.9 mm | 5h 24m |
| Cherbourg, France | Rail | 6.9 kg | 7.0 °C | 4.1 h | 3.8 mm | 9h 12m |
| La Teste-de-Buch, France | Rail | 22.7 kg | 8.4 °C | 5.4 h | 3.7 mm | 9h 12m |
| Donostia / San Sebastian, Spain | Rail | 27.2 kg | 9.2 °C | 5.1 h | 5.9 mm | 11h 36m |
| La Seyne-sur-Mer, France | Rail | 30.6 kg | 10.0 °C | 7.2 h | 1.1 mm | 9h 42m |
| Sagunto, Spain | Air | 331 kg | 11.8 °C | 7.9 h | 0.5 mm | 5h 18m |
| Gandia, Spain | Air | 351 kg | 13.0 °C | 7.8 h | 1.0 mm | 5h 24m |
| Ibiza Town, Spain | Air | 354 kg | 13.3 °C | 8.6 h | 0.6 mm | 5h 24m |
| Melilla, Spain | Air | 457 kg | 14.6 °C | 8.6 h | 0.9 mm | 5h 54m |
| Essaouira, Morocco | Air | 593 kg | 16.0 °C | 9.5 h | 0.3 mm | 6h 36m |
| Taroudant, Morocco | Air | 616 kg | 17.7 °C | 9.5 h | 0.0 mm | 6h 48m |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain | Air | 729 kg | 18.8 °C | 9.4 h | 1.8 mm | 7h 24m |
| Maspalomas, Spain | Air | 740 kg | 19.6 °C | 9.6 h | 0.2 mm | 7h 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.
| Destination | Airport | From town | Direct from London | Onward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sagunto, Spain | Valencia VLC | 35 km | yes LHR, LGW, LTN, STN | Metro lines 3 or 5 to Valencia, then Cercanías C5 or C6 to Sagunt. |
| Gandia, Spain | Valencia VLC | 80 km | yes LHR, LGW, LTN, STN | Metro lines 3 or 5 to Valencia, then Cercanías C1 to Gandia. |
| Ibiza Town, Spain | Ibiza IBZ | 8 km | yes LHR, LGW, LCY, LTN, STN | Public bus or taxi to Ibiza Town. |
| Melilla, Spain | Melilla MLN | 4 km | no | Local bus or taxi into Melilla. |
| Essaouira, Morocco | Essaouira Mogador ESU | 16 km | not checked | Taxi or airport transfer to Essaouira. |
| Taroudant, Morocco | Agadir Al Massira AGA | 65 km | not checked | Road transfer east to Taroudant; public transport may require travel via Agadir or Inezgane. |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain | Gran Canaria LPA | 25 km | yes LGW, LTN, STN | Interurban bus or taxi to Las Palmas. |
| Maspalomas, Spain | Gran Canaria LPA | 30 km | yes LGW, LTN, STN | Interurban bus or taxi south to Maspalomas. |
Sources for this table
- Sagunto: www.aena.es
- Gandia: www.aena.es
- Ibiza Town: www.aena.es
- Melilla: www.aena.es
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: www.aena.es
- Maspalomas: www.aena.es
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
La Seyne-sur-MerFrance30.6 kg CO₂e returnmild and brightMaspalomasSpain740 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe 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
- 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
- La Seyne-sur-Mer: Cyril-83, 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
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Hurghada: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, 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
- Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
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.