Warmest places to go from Zurich in January
In January, the warmest well-known place within 15 hours of Zurich is Maspalomas, Spain, averaging 19.6 °C across day and night and 9.6 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 January.
The 10 warmest places within 15 hours of Zurich
Ranked on warmth in January 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, Spain19.6 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 760 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt18.9 °C · 9.9 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 24.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 36m · 782 kg CO₂e return
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain18.8 °C · 9.4 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a day · sea 21.2 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 750 kg CO₂e return- Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain18.3 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 21.3 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 755 kg CO₂e return
Hurghada, Egypt18.2 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.6 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 788 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco17.1 °C · 9.6 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 614 kg CO₂e return
Aqaba, Jordan16.8 °C · 9.8 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 23.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 758 kg CO₂e return
Aswan, Egypt16.8 °C · 10.0 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h · 847 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco16.0 °C · 9.5 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 18.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 591 kg CO₂e return
Ponta Delgada, Portugal15.2 °C · 7.0 h sun a day · 4.6 mm rain a day · sea 17.4 °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 · 7.6 h sun a day · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 15.4 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 30.5 kg CO₂e return
- Anzio, Italy10.6 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 2.8 mm rain a day · sea 16.0 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 21.6 kg CO₂e return
- Civitavecchia, Italy10.1 °C · 7.1 h sun a day · 2.6 mm rain a day · sea 15.5 °Crail ≈ 10h 18m · 18.9 kg CO₂e return
- Naples, Italy10.0 °C · 6.8 h sun a day · 3.7 mm rain a day · sea 16.3 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 25.3 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France9.9 °C · 7.2 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.4 °Crail ≈ 9h 24m · 15.2 kg CO₂e return- Barcelona, Spain9.0 °C · 7.7 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 14.2 °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 January within 15 hours is Maspalomas, 19.6 °C, costing 760 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Lugano at 4.5 kg — 169× less carbon, for 14.1 degrees less warmth.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both warmer in January 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 | 5.5 °C | 6.2 h | 1.5 mm | 3h 30m |
| Genoa, Italy | Rail | 9.8 kg | 8.3 °C | 6.0 h | 3.2 mm | 6h 48m |
| Chiavari, Italy | Rail | 10.2 kg | 9.4 °C | 6.1 h | 3.7 mm | 7h |
| Fondi, Italy | Rail | 22.8 kg | 10.8 °C | 6.9 h | 4.5 mm | 10h 48m |
| Rossano Stazione, Italy | Rail | 31.9 kg | 11.5 °C | 7.4 h | 2.4 mm | 14h 18m |
| Maó, Spain | Air | 226 kg | 12.5 °C | 8.1 h | 1.2 mm | 4h 42m |
| Bizerte, Tunisia | Air | 284 kg | 13.3 °C | 7.7 h | 1.8 mm | 5h |
| San Pawl il-Bahar, Malta | Air | 342 kg | 14.4 °C | 8.8 h | 1.1 mm | 5h 18m |
| Essaouira, Morocco | Air | 591 kg | 16.0 °C | 9.5 h | 0.3 mm | 6h 36m |
| Taroudant, Morocco | Air | 603 kg | 17.7 °C | 9.5 h | 0.0 mm | 6h 42m |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain | Air | 750 kg | 18.8 °C | 9.4 h | 1.8 mm | 7h 30m |
| Maspalomas, Spain | Air | 760 kg | 19.6 °C | 9.6 h | 0.2 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, 12.5 °C) buys 1.0 °C more warmth for an extra 194 kg — 194 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 returncoolRossano StazioneItaly31.9 kg CO₂e returnmild and brightMaspalomasSpain760 kg CO₂e returnwarm, bright and dryThe same month, asked differently
January 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
January 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
- 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
- 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
- Aswan: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 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
- Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Questions
Where is the warmest place to go from Zurich in January?
Maspalomas, Spain, at 19.6 °C. Reaching it emits 760 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 30m each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere warm from Zurich in January 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.