Munich · January · warmth

Warmest places to go from Munich in January

In January, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Munich is Maspalomas, Spain, averaging 19.6 °C across day and night and 9.6 h sun a day, about 7h 48m each way by air. Without flying, it is Anzio, Italy, averaging 10.6 °C across day and night, about 12h 48m each way by train, for about 37× less carbon (22.1 kg CO₂e return against 819 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Munich

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 48m · 819 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt18.9 °C · 9.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 750 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 48m · 809 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.3 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 814 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt18.2 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 758 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.1 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 6m · 671 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan16.8 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 723 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt16.8 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 54m · 821 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.0 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 649 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.2 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.6 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 48m · 807 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Anzio is 10.6 °C for 22.1 kg — about 37× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

Anzio, Italy10.6 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 2.8 mm rain a day · sea 16.0 °Crail ≈ 12h 48m · 22.1 kg CO₂e return
Civitavecchia, Italy10.1 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 2.6 mm rain a day · sea 15.5 °Crail ≈ 11h 42m · 19.8 kg CO₂e return
Naples, Italy10.0 °C · 6.8 h sun a day · 3.7 mm rain a day · sea 16.3 °Crail ≈ 14h 6m · 24.7 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France9.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.4 °Crail ≈ 12h 12m · 20.9 kg CO₂e return
Lido di Ostia, Italy9.9 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 15.6 °Crail ≈ 12h 18m · 21.1 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France8.9 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 14.7 °Crail ≈ 10h 36m · 17.6 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 Munich in January within 15 hours is Safaga, 18.9 °C, costing 772 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Schwäbisch Gmünd at 4.4 kg — 175× less carbon, for 16.0 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.

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, January, departing Munich. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Palermo can only be reached by air — 283 kg CO₂e, in 5h. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 33.2 kg in 18h 12m — 9× less carbon for 13h 12m more travelling.

January from Munich — 14 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany	Rail	4.4 kg	2.9 °C	3.3 h	2.3 mm	3h 42m
Merano, Italy	Rail	4.9 kg	5.0 °C	6.9 h	1.0 mm	4h 24m
Trieste, Italy	Rail	9.5 kg	6.4 °C	5.2 h	5.0 mm	6h 42m
Pula, Croatia	Rail	11.9 kg	7.8 °C	6.1 h	3.3 mm	11h 30m
Chiavari, Italy	Rail	13.5 kg	9.4 °C	6.1 h	3.7 mm	8h 36m
Fondi, Italy	Rail	22.7 kg	10.8 °C	6.9 h	4.5 mm	13h 6m
Alghero, Italy	Air	222 kg	11.6 °C	7.4 h	2.3 mm	4h 42m
Palermo, Italy	Air	283 kg	12.5 °C	7.8 h	2.6 mm	5h
Bizerte, Tunisia	Air	306 kg	13.3 °C	7.7 h	1.8 mm	5h 6m
San Pawl il-Bahar, Malta	Air	346 kg	14.4 °C	8.8 h	1.1 mm	5h 18m
Rosetta, Egypt	Air	616 kg	15.6 °C	9.3 h	1.6 mm	6h 48m
Essaouira, Morocco	Air	649 kg	16.0 °C	9.5 h	0.3 mm	6h 54m
Taroudant, Morocco	Air	659 kg	17.7 °C	9.5 h	0.0 mm	7h
Safaga, Egypt	Air	772 kg	18.9 °C	10.0 h	0.0 mm	7h 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 Fondi (22.7 kg, 10.8 °C) to Alghero (222 kg, 11.6 °C) buys 0.8 °C more warmth for an extra 199 kg — 249 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 return2.9 °C · 3.3 h sun · 3h 42m by railcool FondiItaly22.7 kg CO₂e return10.8 °C · 6.9 h sun · 13h 6m by railmild but wet

SafagaEgypt772 kg CO₂e return18.9 °C · 10.0 h sun · 7h 36m by airwarm, bright and dry

The 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 Safaga

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

Search places to stay in Safaga →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

January from elsewhere

Photo credits

Schwäbisch Gmünd: Vexillum, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Safaga: User:MatthiasKabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
Lido di Ostia: Mac9, CC BY-SA 2.5, 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 Munich in January?

Safaga, Egypt, at 18.9 °C. Reaching it emits 772 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 36m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Fondi reaches 10.8 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 6m (modelled), emitting 22.7 kg CO₂e return — though Safaga is warmer still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Munich to Safaga produce?

772 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.