Warmest places to go from Zurich in December
In December, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Zurich is Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, averaging 20.4 °C across day and night and 9.7 h sun a day, about 7h 36m each way by air. Without flying, it is Taranto, Italy, averaging 11.4 °C across day and night, about 14h 24m each way by train, for about 26× less carbon (30.5 kg CO₂e return against 782 kg).
Every city at once, with and without flying: where is hot in December.
The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Zurich
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 36m · 782 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt19.9 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 788 kg CO₂e return
Maspalomas, Spain19.7 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 760 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 30m · 750 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 30m · 755 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt18.7 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h · 847 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan18.0 °C · 9.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 758 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.4 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 19.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 614 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.4 °C · 9.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 591 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 30m · 747 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Taranto is 11.4 °C for 30.5 kg — about 26× less carbon than flying to Sharm el-Sheikh.
- Taranto, Italy11.4 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 1.7 mm rain a day · sea 17.1 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 30.5 kg CO₂e return
- Anzio, Italy10.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 17.7 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 21.6 kg CO₂e return
- Catanzaro, Italy10.7 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 17.5 °Crail ≈ 15h · 33.8 kg CO₂e return
- Naples, Italy10.7 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 3.2 mm rain a day · sea 18.2 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 25.3 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France10.2 °C · 7.4 h sun a day · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 15.2 °Crail ≈ 9h 24m · 15.2 kg CO₂e return- Barcelona, Spain9.7 °C · 7.7 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 15.8 °Crail ≈ 13h 18m · 24.7 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 Zurich in December within 15 hours is Sharm el-Sheikh, 20.4 °C, costing 782 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Lugano at 4.5 kg — 174× less carbon, for 14.5 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.
By rail or ferry By air
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lugano, Switzerland | Rail | 4.5 kg | 5.9 °C | 6.5 h | 1.1 mm | 3h 30m |
| Genoa, Italy | Rail | 9.8 kg | 9.0 °C | 5.9 h | 3.1 mm | 6h 48m |
| Chiavari, Italy | Rail | 10.2 kg | 9.8 °C | 5.8 h | 3.6 mm | 7h |
| Civitavecchia, Italy | Rail | 18.9 kg | 10.7 °C | 7.2 h | 2.0 mm | 10h 18m |
| Monopoli, Italy | Rail | 29.4 kg | 11.7 °C | 7.0 h | 2.3 mm | 14h 24m |
| Maó, Spain | Air | 226 kg | 13.4 °C | 7.8 h | 0.5 mm | 4h 42m |
| Bizerte, Tunisia | Air | 284 kg | 14.5 °C | 7.4 h | 3.2 mm | 5h |
| San Pawl il-Bahar, Malta | Air | 342 kg | 16.0 °C | 7.9 h | 1.3 mm | 5h 18m |
| Taroudant, Morocco | Air | 603 kg | 17.9 °C | 8.9 h | 0.3 mm | 6h 42m |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain | Air | 750 kg | 19.1 °C | 9.3 h | 2.8 mm | 7h 30m |
| Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | Air | 782 kg | 20.4 °C | 9.7 h | 0.1 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 San Pawl il-Bahar (342 kg, 16.0 °C) to Taroudant (603 kg, 17.9 °C) buys 1.9 °C more warmth for an extra 261 kg — 138 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive warmth on the whole curve.
The pick of them
LuganoSwitzerland4.5 kg CO₂e returncoolMonopoliItaly29.4 kg CO₂e returnmild and brightSharm el-SheikhEgypt782 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe 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 Zurich
December from elsewhere
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Brussels
- Cardiff
- Copenhagen
- Dublin
- Edinburgh
- Frankfurt
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- Liverpool
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Milan
- Munich
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Oslo
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
Photo credits
- Lugano: Aconcagua, 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
- Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Questions
Where is the warmest place to go from Zurich in December?
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, at 20.4 °C. Reaching it emits 782 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 36m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere warm from Zurich in December without flying?
Yes. Monopoli reaches 11.7 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 24m (modelled), emitting 29.4 kg CO₂e return — though Sharm el-Sheikh is warmer still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Zurich to Sharm el-Sheikh produce?
782 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.