Zurich · February · warmth

Warmest places to go from Zurich in February

In February, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Zurich is Maspalomas, Spain, averaging 18.8 °C across day and night and 10.4 h sun a day, about 7h 30m each way by air. Without flying, it is Taranto, Italy, averaging 10.9 °C across day and night, about 14h 24m each way by train, for about 25× less carbon (30.5 kg CO₂e return against 760 kg).

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

The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Zurich

Ranked on warmth in February 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, Spain18.8 °C · 10.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 20.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 760 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt18.6 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 36m · 782 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain18.0 °C · 10.1 h sun a day · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 20.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 750 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt17.7 °C · 10.3 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h · 847 kg CO₂e return
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain17.6 °C · 10.3 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 20.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 755 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt17.6 °C · 9.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 22.5 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 788 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.3 °C · 9.1 h sun a day · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 614 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan16.4 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 22.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 758 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco15.9 °C · 8.8 h sun a day · 2.3 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 591 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.1 °C · 7.9 h sun a day · 5.0 mm rain a day · sea 16.9 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 747 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The warmest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Taranto is 10.9 °C for 30.5 kg — about 25× less carbon than flying to Maspalomas.

Taranto, Italy10.9 °C · 8.5 h sun a day · 1.4 mm rain a day · sea 14.4 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 30.5 kg CO₂e return
Anzio, Italy10.7 °C · 8.3 h sun a day · 2.6 mm rain a day · sea 15.0 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 21.6 kg CO₂e return
Perpignan, France10.4 °C · 7.9 h sun a day · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 12.8 °Crail ≈ 11h 54m · 20.2 kg CO₂e return
Civitavecchia, Italy10.4 °C · 8.2 h sun a day · 3.0 mm rain a day · sea 14.7 °Crail ≈ 10h 18m · 18.9 kg CO₂e return
Barcelona, Spain10.2 °C · 8.6 h sun a day · 1.3 mm rain a day · sea 13.5 °Crail ≈ 13h 18m · 24.7 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France9.7 °C · 8.1 h sun a day · 4.0 mm rain a day · sea 14.1 °Crail ≈ 8h 6m · 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 Zurich in February within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 18.8 °C, costing 760 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Lugano at 4.5 kg — 169× less carbon, for 11.3 degrees less warmth.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in February 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 Zurich. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against warmth, February, departing Zurich. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Almería can only be reached by air — 372 kg CO₂e, in 5h 30m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 43.6 kg in 22h 48m — 9× less carbon for 17h 18m more travelling.

February from Zurich — 11 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Lugano, Switzerland	Rail	4.5 kg	7.5 °C	7.2 h	3.9 mm	3h 30m
Genoa, Italy	Rail	9.8 kg	9.7 °C	6.5 h	6.2 mm	6h 48m
Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain	Rail	22.4 kg	10.9 °C	8.6 h	2.2 mm	13h
Rossano Stazione, Italy	Rail	31.9 kg	11.5 °C	8.3 h	2.9 mm	14h 18m
Maó, Spain	Air	226 kg	12.3 °C	8.4 h	2.1 mm	4h 42m
Bizerte, Tunisia	Air	284 kg	13.1 °C	8.3 h	1.8 mm	5h
Almería, Spain	Air	372 kg	14.1 °C	9.2 h	0.3 mm	5h 30m
Melilla, Spain	Air	414 kg	14.9 °C	9.3 h	1.3 mm	5h 42m
Essaouira, Morocco	Air	591 kg	15.9 °C	8.8 h	2.3 mm	6h 36m
Taroudant, Morocco	Air	603 kg	17.8 °C	8.9 h	1.6 mm	6h 42m
Maspalomas, Spain	Air	760 kg	18.8 °C	10.4 h	0.6 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 Rossano Stazione (31.9 kg, 11.5 °C) to Maó (226 kg, 12.3 °C) buys 0.8 °C more warmth for an extra 194 kg — 243 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 return7.5 °C · 7.2 h sun · 3h 30m by railcold but bright Rossano StazioneItaly31.9 kg CO₂e return11.5 °C · 8.3 h sun · 14h 18m by railmild and bright

MaspalomasSpain760 kg CO₂e return18.8 °C · 10.4 h sun · 7h 30m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

February 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 Maspalomas

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

Search places to stay in Maspalomas →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

February from elsewhere

Photo credits

Lugano: Aconcagua, 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
Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 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
Essaouira: Kayaky, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ponta Delgada: Maximilian Schönherr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Perpignan: Jean Tosti, Public domain, 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 Zurich in February?

Maspalomas, Spain, at 18.8 °C. Reaching it emits 760 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 30m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere warm from Zurich in February without flying?

Yes. Rossano Stazione reaches 11.5 °C and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 18m (modelled), emitting 31.9 kg CO₂e return — though Maspalomas is warmer still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Zurich to Maspalomas produce?

760 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.