Munich · December · warmth

Warmest places to go from Munich in December

In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Munich is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 7h 30m each way by air. Without flying, it is Anzio, Italy, averaging 10.9 °C across day and night, about 12h 48m each way by train, for about 34× less carbon (22.1 kg CO₂e return against 750 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Munich

Ranked on warmth in December 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.

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt20.4 °C · 9.7 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 25.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 750 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 758 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 819 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain19.1 °C · 9.3 h sun a day · 2.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 809 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.9 °C · 9.3 h sun a day · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 22.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 814 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 54m · 821 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 723 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 671 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 649 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.8 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 807 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Anzio is 10.9 °C for 22.1 kg — about 34× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Anzio, Italy10.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 17.7 °Crail ≈ 12h 48m · 22.1 kg CO₂e return
Naples, Italy10.7 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 3.2 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Crail ≈ 14h 6m · 24.7 kg CO₂e return
Civitavecchia, Italy10.7 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 17.0 °Crail ≈ 11h 42m · 19.8 kg CO₂e return
Salerno, Italy10.4 °C · 6.5 h sun a day · 4.3 mm rain a day · sea 18.4 °Crail ≈ 14h 30m · 25.6 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France10.2 °C · 7.4 h sun a day · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 15.2 °Crail ≈ 12h 12m · 20.9 kg CO₂e return
Perpignan, France9.9 °C · 6.2 h sun a day · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.6 °Crail ≈ 13h 36m · 26.8 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 Munich in December within 15 hours is Sharm el-Sheikh, 20.4 °C, costing 750 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Schwäbisch Gmünd at 4.4 kg — 170× less carbon, for 16.9 degrees less warmth.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in December 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 Munich. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against warmth, December, departing Munich. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Milazzo can only be reached by air — 287 kg CO₂e, in 5h. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 33.7 kg in 18h 30m — 9× less carbon for 13h 30m more travelling.

December from Munich — 16 destinations on the frontier, 8 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany	Rail	4.4 kg	3.5 °C	3.4 h	3.6 mm	3h 42m
Merano, Italy	Rail	4.9 kg	4.6 °C	6.3 h	2.9 mm	4h 24m
Bellinzona, Switzerland	Rail	8.6 kg	5.9 °C	6.5 h	1.2 mm	6h 12m
Trieste, Italy	Rail	9.5 kg	7.1 °C	5.2 h	3.6 mm	6h 42m
Rijeka, Croatia	Rail	11.3 kg	7.8 °C	5.4 h	5.3 mm	11h
Pula, Croatia	Rail	11.9 kg	9.1 °C	5.9 h	3.4 mm	11h 30m
Piombino, Italy	Rail	17.3 kg	10.2 °C	7.1 h	1.9 mm	10h 30m
Fondi, Italy	Rail	22.7 kg	11.2 °C	7.3 h	2.4 mm	13h 6m
Alghero, Italy	Air	222 kg	12.2 °C	7.8 h	1.5 mm	4h 42m
Palermo, Italy	Air	283 kg	13.8 °C	7.5 h	3.9 mm	5h
Milazzo, Italy	Air	287 kg	14.7 °C	7.1 h	8.2 mm	5h
San Pawl il-Bahar, Malta	Air	346 kg	16.0 °C	7.9 h	1.3 mm	5h 18m
Alexandria, Egypt	Air	613 kg	16.8 °C	9.2 h	0.9 mm	6h 48m
Port Said, Egypt	Air	645 kg	17.7 °C	9.1 h	0.1 mm	6h 54m
Ras Gharib, Egypt	Air	722 kg	18.6 °C	9.7 h	0.0 mm	7h 18m
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt	Air	750 kg	20.4 °C	9.7 h	0.1 mm	7h 30m

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 San Pawl il-Bahar (346 kg, 16.0 °C) to Alexandria (613 kg, 16.8 °C) buys 0.8 °C more warmth for an extra 267 kg — 334 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Schwäbisch GmündGermany4.4 kg CO₂e return3.5 °C · 3.4 h sun · 3h 42m by railgrey and wet FondiItaly22.7 kg CO₂e return11.2 °C · 7.3 h sun · 13h 6m by railmild and bright

Sharm el-SheikhEgypt750 kg CO₂e return20.4 °C · 9.7 h sun · 7h 30m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

December 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 Sharm el-Sheikh

Places to stay in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Sharm el-Sheikh →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 Munich

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Schwäbisch Gmünd: Vexillum, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hurghada: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maspalomas: JUAN RAMON RODRIGUEZ SOSA, CC BY-SA 2.0, 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
Aqaba: Sana Janakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
Perpignan: Jean Tosti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the warmest place to go from Munich in December?

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, at 20.4 °C. Reaching it emits 750 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 30m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere warm from Munich in December without flying?

Yes. Fondi reaches 11.2 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 6m (modelled), emitting 22.7 kg CO₂e return — though Sharm el-Sheikh is warmer still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Munich to Sharm el-Sheikh produce?

750 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.