Warmest places to go from London in May
In May, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of London is Aswan, Egypt, averaging 31.5 °C across day and night and 12.0 h sun a day, about 9h each way by air. Without flying, it is Lleida, Spain, averaging 19.1 °C across day and night, about 14h 18m each way by train, for about 30× less carbon (32.5 kg CO₂e return against 970 kg).
Every city at once, with and without flying: where is hot in May.
The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of London
Ranked on warmth in May 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.
Aswan, Egypt31.5 °C · 12.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h · 970 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt31.2 °C · 12.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 48m · 932 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt30.0 °C · 12.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 42m · 909 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan28.2 °C · 12.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 886 kg CO₂e return
Ouarzazate, Morocco23.0 °C · 12.4 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 36m · 593 kg CO₂e return
Tataouine, Tunisia22.9 °C · 11.4 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 30m · 563 kg CO₂e return
Marrakesh, Morocco22.5 °C · 12.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 36m · 579 kg CO₂e return
Adana, Turkey22.0 °C · 11.6 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a dayair ≈ 7h 48m · 807 kg CO₂e return- Nicosia, Cyprus21.9 °C · 12.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 809 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus21.9 °C · 12.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 814 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Lleida is 19.1 °C for 32.5 kg — about 30× less carbon than flying to Aswan.
Lleida, Spain19.1 °C · 13.0 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 18m · 32.5 kg CO₂e return
Zaragoza, Spain18.8 °C · 13.1 h sun a day · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h · 32.4 kg CO₂e return- Reus, Spain18.1 °C · 13.0 h sun a day · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 34.1 kg CO₂e return
Perpignan, France17.9 °C · 11.3 h sun a day · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 16.0 °Crail ≈ 10h 48m · 29.7 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France17.6 °C · 11.5 h sun a day · 2.4 mm rain a day · sea 17.8 °Crail ≈ 11h 30m · 30.4 kg CO₂e return- Barcelona, Spain17.2 °C · 12.5 h sun a day · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 17.8 °Crail ≈ 12h 30m · 33.6 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 May within 15 hours is Edfu, 31.4 °C, costing 951 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Calais at 4.5 kg — 211× less carbon, for 18.5 degrees less warmth.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in May 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 Córdoba can only be reached by air — 392 kg CO₂e, in 5h 36m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 46.0 kg in 19h — 9× less carbon for 13h 24m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calais, France | Rail | 4.5 kg | 12.9 °C | 11.2 h | 2.3 mm | 5h 24m |
| Ghent, Belgium | Rail | 8.0 kg | 13.9 °C | 10.2 h | 3.1 mm | 5h 24m |
| Nijmegen, The Netherlands | Rail | 12.2 kg | 14.6 °C | 11.0 h | 3.5 mm | 7h 24m |
| La Rochelle, France | Rail | 17.7 kg | 15.6 °C | 11.3 h | 3.1 mm | 9h 36m |
| Montpellier, France | Rail | 27.4 kg | 17.4 °C | 11.3 h | 3.3 mm | 9h 54m ✓ |
| Perpignan, France | Rail | 29.7 kg | 17.9 °C | 11.3 h | 1.6 mm | 10h 48m |
| Zaragoza, Spain | Rail | 32.4 kg | 18.8 °C | 13.1 h | 0.8 mm | 14h |
| Alzira, Spain | Air | 346 kg | 20.3 °C | 12.2 h | 1.3 mm | 5h 18m |
| Córdoba, Spain | Air | 392 kg | 21.3 °C | 12.2 h | 1.0 mm | 5h 36m |
| Palma del Rio, Spain | Air | 399 kg | 22.3 °C | 12.1 h | 1.2 mm | 5h 36m |
| Metlaoui, Tunisia | Air | 511 kg | 23.8 °C | 11.8 h | 0.8 mm | 6h 12m |
| Nefta, Tunisia | Air | 519 kg | 26.0 °C | 11.6 h | 0.6 mm | 6h 18m |
| Zagora, Morocco | Air | 604 kg | 27.6 °C | 12.4 h | 0.0 mm | 6h 42m |
| Assiut, Egypt | Air | 881 kg | 29.0 °C | 11.9 h | 0.0 mm | 8h 30m |
| Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | Air | 909 kg | 30.0 °C | 12.6 h | 0.1 mm | 8h 42m |
| Luxor, Egypt | Air | 932 kg | 31.2 °C | 12.0 h | 0.0 mm | 8h 48m |
| Edfu, Egypt | Air | 951 kg | 31.4 °C | 12.1 h | 0.0 mm | 8h 54m |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alzira, Spain | Valencia VLC | 45 km | yes LHR, LGW, LTN, STN | Metro lines 3 or 5 to Valencia, then Cercanías train to Alzira. |
| Córdoba, Spain | Córdoba ODB | 8 km | no | Bus or taxi to central Córdoba. |
| Palma del Rio, Spain | Córdoba ODB | 55 km | no | Ground transfer to Córdoba station, then regional train to Palma del Río. |
| Metlaoui, Tunisia | Tozeur–Nefta TOE | 55 km | not checked | Road transfer from Tozeur; Gafsa Airport's current scheduled service was not established. |
| Nefta, Tunisia | Tozeur–Nefta TOE | 25 km | not checked | Taxi or road transfer from the airport. |
| Zagora, Morocco | Zagora OZG | 8 km | not checked | Taxi to Zagora. |
| Assiut, Egypt | Assiut ATZ | 30 km | not checked | Taxi or arranged road transfer into Assiut. |
| Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | Sharm El Sheikh International SSH | 10 km | yes LGW, LTN | Airport taxi or arranged transfer to Sharm El Sheikh. |
| Luxor, Egypt | Luxor International LXR | 9 km | yes LGW | Taxi or arranged transfer into Luxor. |
| Edfu, Egypt | Aswan International ASW | 120 km | not checked | Long road or rail transfer from Aswan to Edfu. |
Sources for this table
- Alzira: www.aena.es
- Córdoba: www.aena.es
- Palma del Rio: www.aena.es
- Sharm el-Sheikh: www.easyjet.com
- Luxor: www.easyjet.com
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 Zaragoza (32.4 kg, 18.8 °C) to Alzira (346 kg, 20.3 °C) buys 1.5 °C more warmth for an extra 313 kg — 209 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.
The pick of them
ZaragozaSpain32.4 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dry
EdfuEgypt951 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe same month, asked differently
May 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 Edfu
Places to stay in Edfu, Egypt, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.
Search places to stay in Edfu →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
May 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
- Zaragoza: Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Edfu: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Luxor: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ouarzazate: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Tataouine: Averater, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Marrakesh: Donar Reiskoffer, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Adana: Anatolianpride, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Limassol: Xaris333, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Lleida: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Perpignan: Jean Tosti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
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Questions
Where is the warmest place to go from London in May?
Edfu, Egypt, at 31.4 °C. Reaching it emits 951 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 54m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere warm from London in May without flying?
Yes. Zaragoza reaches 18.8 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h (modelled), emitting 32.4 kg CO₂e return — though Edfu is warmer still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from London to Edfu produce?
951 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.