Warmest places to go from Madrid in February
In February, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Madrid is Maspalomas, Spain, averaging 18.8 °C across day and night and 10.4 h sun a day, about 5h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Almería, Spain, averaging 14.1 °C across day and night, about 6h 54m each way by train, for about 37× less carbon (12.2 kg CO₂e return against 448 kg).
Every city at once, with and without flying: where is hot in February.
The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Madrid
Ranked on warmth in February 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, Spain18.8 °C · 10.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 448 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt18.6 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 873 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain18.0 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 437 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt17.7 °C · 10.3 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 36m · 902 kg CO₂e return- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain17.6 °C · 10.3 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 20.5 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 441 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt17.6 °C · 9.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 22.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 872 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.3 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 6m · 310 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan16.4 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 22.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 929 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco15.9 °C · 8.8 h sun a day · 2.3 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Cair ≈ 5h · 284 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.1 °C · 7.9 h sun a day · 5.0 mm rain a day · sea 16.9 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 482 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Almería is 14.1 °C for 12.2 kg — about 37× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.
Almería, Spain14.1 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 15.7 °Crail ≈ 6h 54m · 12.2 kg CO₂e return- Marbella, Spain13.8 °C · 8.6 h sun a day · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 5h 18m · 13.2 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal13.7 °C · 8.9 h sun a day · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 16.2 °Crail ≈ 8h 18m · 16.4 kg CO₂e return- Algeciras, Spain13.4 °C · 8.3 h sun a day · 2.3 mm rain a day · sea 16.0 °Crail ≈ 6h 12m · 14.8 kg CO₂e return
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain13.2 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 5h 42m · 13.7 kg CO₂e return
Lisbon, Portugal12.7 °C · 8.7 h sun a day · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 15.7 °Crail ≈ 9h 18m · 14.9 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 Madrid in February within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 18.8 °C, costing 448 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Ciudad Real at 4.7 kg — 95× less carbon, for 10.9 degrees less warmth.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in February 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ciudad Real, Spain | Rail | 4.7 kg | 7.9 °C | 8.7 h | 1.1 mm | 3h 48m |
| Plasencia, Spain | Rail | 6.1 kg | 9.4 °C | 8.5 h | 2.3 mm | 4h 30m |
| Andujar, Spain | Rail | 7.9 kg | 10.8 °C | 8.9 h | 2.3 mm | 4h 48m |
| Valencia, Spain | Rail | 8.9 kg | 11.6 °C | 8.6 h | 0.7 mm | 3h 6m |
| Palma del Rio, Spain | Rail | 9.8 kg | 12.2 °C | 9.0 h | 1.6 mm | 4h 30m |
| Alicante, Spain | Rail | 10.6 kg | 13.0 °C | 8.9 h | 0.5 mm | 3h 42m |
| Almería, Spain | Rail | 12.2 kg | 14.1 °C | 9.2 h | 0.3 mm | 6h 54m |
| Melilla, Spain | Air | 144 kg | 14.9 °C | 9.3 h | 1.3 mm | 4h 18m |
| Essaouira, Morocco | Air | 284 kg | 15.9 °C | 8.8 h | 2.3 mm | 5h |
| Taroudant, Morocco | Air | 302 kg | 17.8 °C | 8.9 h | 1.6 mm | 5h 6m |
| Maspalomas, Spain | Air | 448 kg | 18.8 °C | 10.4 h | 0.6 mm | 5h 54m |
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 Almería (12.2 kg, 14.1 °C) to Melilla (144 kg, 14.9 °C) buys 0.8 °C more warmth for an extra 132 kg — 165 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.
The pick of them
Ciudad RealSpain4.7 kg CO₂e returncold but bright
AlmeríaSpain12.2 kg CO₂e returnmild and bright
MaspalomasSpain448 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe same month, asked differently
February 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 Madrid
February 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
- Ciudad Real: Vanbasten 23, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, 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
- Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 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
- Essaouira: Kayaky, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ponta Delgada: Maximilian Schönherr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Jerez de la Frontera: Jerezplataforma, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Lisbon: Lacobrigo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Questions
Where is the warmest place to go from Madrid in February?
Maspalomas, Spain, at 18.8 °C. Reaching it emits 448 kg CO₂e return, travelling 5h 54m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere warm from Madrid in February without flying?
Yes. Almería reaches 14.1 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 6h 54m (modelled), emitting 12.2 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Madrid to Maspalomas produce?
448 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.