Vienna · December · warmth

Warmest places to go from Vienna in December

In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Vienna is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 7h 6m each way by air. Without flying, it is Brindisi, Italy, averaging 11.7 °C across day and night, about 14h 18m each way by train, for about 27× less carbon (25.1 kg CO₂e return against 688 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Vienna

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 6m · 688 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 12m · 698 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 8h 18m · 896 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 · 886 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 · 893 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 36m · 767 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 7h · 658 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 744 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 18m · 724 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 12m · 896 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Brindisi is 11.7 °C for 25.1 kg — about 27× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Brindisi, Italy11.7 °C · 6.8 h sun a day · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 16.0 °Crail ≈ 14h 18m · 25.1 kg CO₂e return
Taranto, Italy11.4 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 1.7 mm rain a day · sea 17.1 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 25.5 kg CO₂e return
Anzio, Italy10.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 17.7 °Crail ≈ 13h 36m · 23.8 kg CO₂e return
Naples, Italy10.7 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 3.2 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Crail ≈ 14h · 24.6 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France9.2 °C · 7.5 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 14h 18m · 25.5 kg CO₂e return
Pula, Croatia9.1 °C · 5.9 h sun a day · 3.4 mm rain a day · sea 15.9 °Crail ≈ 11h 30m · 12.4 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 Vienna in December within 15 hours is Sharm el-Sheikh, 20.4 °C, costing 688 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Zalaegerszeg at 4.6 kg — 150× less carbon, for 18.0 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 Vienna. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Milazzo can only be reached by air — 280 kg CO₂e, in 5h. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 32.9 kg in 18h 6m — 9× less carbon for 13h 6m more travelling.

December from Vienna — 14 destinations on the frontier, 7 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Zalaegerszeg, Hungary	Rail	4.6 kg	2.4 °C	4.5 h	1.8 mm	4h 12m
Maribor, Slovenia	Rail	5.7 kg	3.6 °C	5.3 h	1.9 mm	4h 42m
Gorizia, Italy	Rail	9.6 kg	5.5 °C	5.3 h	3.2 mm	6h 42m
Trieste, Italy	Rail	10.2 kg	7.1 °C	5.2 h	3.6 mm	7h
Pula, Croatia	Rail	12.4 kg	9.1 °C	5.9 h	3.4 mm	11h 30m
Termoli, Italy	Rail	20.6 kg	10.4 °C	7.0 h	2.1 mm	12h 6m
Brindisi, Italy	Rail	25.1 kg	11.7 °C	6.8 h	1.9 mm	14h 18m
Corfu, Greece	Air	250 kg	12.8 °C	7.0 h	5.8 mm	4h 48m
Milazzo, Italy	Air	280 kg	14.7 °C	7.1 h	8.2 mm	5h
San Pawl il-Bahar, Malta	Air	345 kg	16.0 °C	7.9 h	1.3 mm	5h 18m
Alexandria, Egypt	Air	556 kg	16.8 °C	9.2 h	0.9 mm	6h 24m
Port Said, Egypt	Air	582 kg	17.7 °C	9.1 h	0.1 mm	6h 36m
Ras Gharib, Egypt	Air	662 kg	18.6 °C	9.7 h	0.0 mm	7h
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt	Air	688 kg	20.4 °C	9.7 h	0.1 mm	7h 6m

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 (345 kg, 16.0 °C) to Alexandria (556 kg, 16.8 °C) buys 0.8 °C more warmth for an extra 211 kg — 263 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.

The pick of them

ZalaegerszegHungary4.6 kg CO₂e return2.4 °C · 4.5 h sun · 4h 12m by railcool BrindisiItaly25.1 kg CO₂e return11.7 °C · 6.8 h sun · 14h 18m by railmild

Sharm el-SheikhEgypt688 kg CO₂e return20.4 °C · 9.7 h sun · 7h 6m 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 Vienna

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Zalaegerszeg: VargaA (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 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
Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Pula: Orlovic, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, at 20.4 °C. Reaching it emits 688 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 6m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Brindisi reaches 11.7 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 18m (modelled), emitting 25.1 kg CO₂e return — though Sharm el-Sheikh is warmer still, if you fly.

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

688 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.