Madrid · May · warmth

Warmest places to go from Madrid in May

In May, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Madrid is Aswan, Egypt, averaging 31.5 °C across day and night and 12.0 h sun a day, about 8h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Seville, Spain, averaging 21.7 °C across day and night, about 3h 54m each way by train, for about 78× less carbon (11.5 kg CO₂e return against 902 kg).

Every city at once, with and without flying: where is hot in May.

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Madrid

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 ≈ 8h 36m · 902 kg CO₂e return
Luxor, Egypt31.2 °C · 12.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 30m · 872 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt30.0 °C · 12.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 30m · 873 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan28.2 °C · 12.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 24m · 929 kg CO₂e return
Ouarzazate, Morocco23.0 °C · 12.4 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 5h · 275 kg CO₂e return
Tataouine, Tunisia22.9 °C · 11.4 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 30m · 380 kg CO₂e return
Marrakesh, Morocco22.5 °C · 12.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 4h 54m · 264 kg CO₂e return
Adana, Turkey22.0 °C · 11.6 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a dayair ≈ 8h · 850 kg CO₂e return
Nicosia, Cyprus21.9 °C · 12.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 54m · 826 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus21.9 °C · 12.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 54m · 824 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Seville is 21.7 °C for 11.5 kg — about 78× less carbon than flying to Aswan.

Seville, Spain21.7 °C · 12.3 h sun a day · mostly dryrail ≈ 3h 54m · 11.5 kg CO₂e return
Huelva, Spain20.8 °C · 12.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Crail ≈ 5h 42m · 13.2 kg CO₂e return
Almería, Spain20.7 °C · 12.2 h sun a day · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 18.7 °Crail ≈ 6h 54m · 12.2 kg CO₂e return
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain20.2 °C · 12.3 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Crail ≈ 5h 42m · 13.7 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal19.3 °C · 12.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 16.8 °Crail ≈ 8h 18m · 16.4 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 Madrid in May within 15 hours is Edfu, 31.4 °C, costing 888 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Ciudad Real at 4.7 kg — 189× less carbon, for 12.9 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.

Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Madrid. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against warmth, May, departing Madrid. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

May from Madrid — 9 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Ciudad Real, Spain	Rail	4.7 kg	18.5 °C	12.3 h	0.9 mm	3h 48m
Don Benito, Spain	Rail	7.3 kg	19.8 °C	12.1 h	0.9 mm	5h 6m
Córdoba, Spain	Rail	8.7 kg	21.3 °C	12.2 h	1.0 mm	3h 12m
Palma del Rio, Spain	Rail	9.8 kg	22.3 °C	12.1 h	1.2 mm	4h 30m
Errachidia, Morocco	Air	238 kg	23.1 °C	11.9 h	0.2 mm	4h 48m
Recani, Morocco	Air	256 kg	26.6 °C	12.1 h	0.1 mm	4h 54m
Zagora, Morocco	Air	286 kg	27.6 °C	12.4 h	0.0 mm	5h
Luxor, Egypt	Air	872 kg	31.2 °C	12.0 h	0.0 mm	8h 30m
Edfu, Egypt	Air	888 kg	31.4 °C	12.1 h	0.0 mm	8h 36m

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 Palma del Rio (9.8 kg, 22.3 °C) to Errachidia (238 kg, 23.1 °C) buys 0.8 °C more warmth for an extra 228 kg — 285 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 return18.5 °C · 12.3 h sun · 3h 48m by railwarm, bright and dry Palma del RioSpain9.8 kg CO₂e return22.3 °C · 12.1 h sun · 4h 30m by railwarm overall

EdfuEgypt888 kg CO₂e return31.4 °C · 12.1 h sun · 8h 36m by airwarm, bright and dry

The 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 Madrid

May from elsewhere

Photo credits

Ciudad Real: Vanbasten 23, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
Seville: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Huelva: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Almería: Javier rodriguez jimenez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jerez de la Frontera: Jerezplataforma, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the warmest place to go from Madrid in May?

Edfu, Egypt, at 31.4 °C. Reaching it emits 888 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 36m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere warm from Madrid in May without flying?

Yes. Palma del Rio reaches 22.3 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 4h 30m (modelled), emitting 9.8 kg CO₂e return — though Edfu is warmer still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Madrid to Edfu produce?

888 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.