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Oslo · December · warmth

Warmest places to go from Oslo in December

In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Oslo is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 8h 48m each way by air. Without flying, it is Alkmaar, The Netherlands, averaging 7.1 °C across day and night, about 14h 48m each way by train, for about 36× less carbon (26.2 kg CO₂e return against 932 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Oslo

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.

  1. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt20.4 °C · 9.7 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 25.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 48m · 932 kg CO₂e return
  2. Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 8h 54m · 944 kg CO₂e return
  3. Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 9h · 958 kg CO₂e return
  4. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain19.1 °C · 9.3 h sun a day · 2.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 8h 54m · 949 kg CO₂e return
  5. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.9 °C · 9.3 h sun a day · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 22.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 54m · 947 kg CO₂e return
  6. Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 9h 18m · 1,015 kg CO₂e return
  7. Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 8h 36m · 898 kg CO₂e return
  8. Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 18m · 909 kg CO₂e return
  9. Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 881 kg CO₂e return
  10. Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.8 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 893 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Alkmaar is 7.1 °C for 26.2 kg — about 36× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.

  1. Alkmaar, The Netherlands7.1 °C · 2.3 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a day · sea 8.7 °Crail ≈ 14h 48m · 26.2 kg CO₂e return
  2. Leeuwarden, The Netherlands6.3 °C · 1.9 h sun a day · 3.8 mm rain a day · sea 7.5 °Crail ≈ 13h 36m · 23.7 kg CO₂e return
  3. Groningen, The Netherlands5.9 °C · 1.9 h sun a day · 3.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 24m · 23.2 kg CO₂e return
  4. Deventer, The Netherlands5.8 °C · 1.9 h sun a day · 3.3 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 15h · 26.5 kg CO₂e return
  5. Emden, Germany5.8 °C · 1.9 h sun a day · 3.2 mm rain a day · sea 5.1 °Crail ≈ 13h · 22.4 kg CO₂e return
  6. Bremerhaven, Germany5.1 °C · 1.7 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a day · sea 5.6 °Crail ≈ 12h 24m · 21.2 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 Oslo in December within 15 hours is Sharm el-Sheikh, 20.4 °C, costing 932 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Karlstad at 4.9 kg — 190× less carbon, for 21.9 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.

KarlstadSharm el-Sheikh
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Oslo. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against warmth, December, departing Oslo. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.20 destinations. Lowest carbon Karlstad at 4.9 kilograms and -1.5 °C; best for warmth Sharm el-Sheikh at 932 kilograms and 20.4 °C. Karlstad · 4.9 kgDen Helder · 25.2 kgBoulogne-sur-Mer · 295 kgSharm el-Sheikh · 932 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Boulogne-sur-Mer can only be reached by air — 295 kg CO₂e, in 5h 6m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 34.6 kg in 18h 54m — 9× less carbon for 13h 48m more travelling.

December from Oslo — 20 destinations on the frontier, 8 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Karlstad, SwedenRail4.9 kg-1.5 °C2.1 h2.3 mm4h 24m
Uddevalla, SwedenRail5.5 kg0.7 °C2.1 h2.8 mm4h 42m
Arendal, NorwayRail5.8 kg2.0 °C1.9 h4.9 mm4h 18m
Frederikshavn, DenmarkRail8.1 kg3.8 °C1.6 h2.6 mm6h
Copenhagen, DenmarkRail14.3 kg4.3 °C1.5 h1.9 mm9h
Wilhelmshaven, GermanyRail21.4 kg5.4 °C1.9 h3.4 mm12h 30m
Leeuwarden, The NetherlandsRail23.7 kg6.3 °C1.9 h3.8 mm13h 36m
Den Helder, The NetherlandsRail25.2 kg7.3 °C2.6 h3.5 mm14h 24m
Boulogne-sur-Mer, FranceAir295 kg8.1 °C2.8 h3.8 mm5h 6m
Plymouth, United KingdomAir356 kg9.3 °C3.0 h4.5 mm5h 24m
Saint Helier, JerseyAir364 kg10.0 °C3.8 h3.0 mm5h 24m
Fondi, ItalyAir521 kg11.2 °C7.3 h2.4 mm6h 18m
Alghero, ItalyAir543 kg12.2 °C7.8 h1.5 mm6h 24m
Ibiza Town, SpainAir610 kg14.0 °C8.4 h0.4 mm6h 42m
Milazzo, ItalyAir612 kg14.7 °C7.1 h8.2 mm6h 42m
San Pawl il-Bahar, MaltaAir673 kg16.0 °C7.9 h1.3 mm7h 6m
Suez, EgyptAir867 kg16.9 °C9.3 h0.0 mm8h 24m
Aqaba, JordanAir898 kg18.0 °C9.2 h0.0 mm8h 36m
Puerto del Rosario, SpainAir926 kg18.9 °C9.4 h0.3 mm8h 48m
Sharm el-Sheikh, EgyptAir932 kg20.4 °C9.7 h0.1 mm8h 48m

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 Den Helder (25.2 kg, 7.3 °C) to Boulogne-sur-Mer (295 kg, 8.1 °C) buys 0.8 °C more warmth for an extra 269 kg — 337 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

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 Oslo

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

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

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, at 20.4 °C. Reaching it emits 932 kg CO₂e return, travelling 8h 48m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Den Helder reaches 7.3 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 24m (modelled), emitting 25.2 kg CO₂e return — though Sharm el-Sheikh is warmer still, if you fly.

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

932 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.