Prague · December · warmth

Warmest places to go from Prague in December

In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Prague 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 Sanremo, Italy, averaging 9.7 °C across day and night, about 14h 24m each way by train, for about 30× less carbon (25.4 kg CO₂e return against 751 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Prague

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 · 751 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 761 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 8h 12m · 892 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 ≈ 8h 12m · 882 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 ≈ 8h 12m · 887 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 54m · 831 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 720 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 745 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 723 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.8 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 8h 6m · 866 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Sanremo is 9.7 °C for 25.4 kg — about 30× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Sanremo, Italy9.7 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 16.1 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 25.4 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France9.2 °C · 7.5 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 14h 54m · 26.4 kg CO₂e return
Pescara, Italy9.2 °C · 6.7 h sun a day · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 15.5 °Crail ≈ 14h 12m · 25.0 kg CO₂e return
Genoa, Italy9.0 °C · 5.9 h sun a day · 3.1 mm rain a day · sea 16.2 °Crail ≈ 12h 54m · 22.3 kg CO₂e return
Pesaro, Italy8.7 °C · 6.4 h sun a day · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 14.7 °Crail ≈ 12h 6m · 20.6 kg CO₂e return
Dunkirk, France7.5 °C · 2.7 h sun a day · 3.0 mm rain a day · sea 10.2 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 25.3 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 Prague in December within 15 hours is Sharm el-Sheikh, 20.4 °C, costing 751 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Hoyerswerda at 4.4 kg — 171× less carbon, for 16.8 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 Prague. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Fondi can only be reached by air — 245 kg CO₂e, in 4h 48m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 28.7 kg in 16h 6m — 9× less carbon for 11h 18m more travelling.

December from Prague — 15 destinations on the frontier, 7 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Hoyerswerda, Germany	Rail	4.4 kg	3.6 °C	3.1 h	2.1 mm	4h 12m
Braunschweig, Germany	Rail	10.7 kg	4.5 °C	2.0 h	3.4 mm	7h 18m
Gorizia, Italy	Rail	13.7 kg	5.5 °C	5.3 h	3.2 mm	8h 42m
Trieste, Italy	Rail	14.6 kg	7.1 °C	5.2 h	3.6 mm	9h 12m
Ancona, Italy	Rail	21.4 kg	8.7 °C	6.7 h	2.2 mm	12h 30m
Chiavari, Italy	Rail	22.1 kg	9.8 °C	5.8 h	3.6 mm	12h 48m
Termoli, Italy	Rail	26.6 kg	10.4 °C	7.0 h	2.1 mm	15h
Fondi, Italy	Air	245 kg	11.2 °C	7.3 h	2.4 mm	4h 48m
Corfu, Greece	Air	312 kg	12.8 °C	7.0 h	5.8 mm	5h 12m
Milazzo, Italy	Air	332 kg	14.7 °C	7.1 h	8.2 mm	5h 18m
San Pawl il-Bahar, Malta	Air	395 kg	16.0 °C	7.9 h	1.3 mm	5h 36m
Alexandria, Egypt	Air	619 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	725 kg	18.6 °C	9.7 h	0.0 mm	7h 18m
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt	Air	751 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 (395 kg, 16.0 °C) to Alexandria (619 kg, 16.8 °C) buys 0.8 °C more warmth for an extra 224 kg — 280 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

HoyerswerdaGermany4.4 kg CO₂e return3.6 °C · 3.1 h sun · 4h 12m by railcool TermoliItaly26.6 kg CO₂e return10.4 °C · 7.0 h sun · 15h by railmild and bright

Sharm el-SheikhEgypt751 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 Prague

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Hoyerswerda: Frank Weiner, Public domain, 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
Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Dunkirk: Pichasso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, at 20.4 °C. Reaching it emits 751 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 30m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Termoli reaches 10.4 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 15h (modelled), emitting 26.6 kg CO₂e return — though Sharm el-Sheikh is warmer still, if you fly.

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

751 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.