Photos: Abu Dhabi by Jeffry Surianto, Pexels License; Sydney by Bernard Spragg, CC0.
Abu Dhabi or Sydney?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Abu Dhabi for
- prices
- families
- culture and sights
What lies behind each score is written up on Abu Dhabi’s own page.
Choose Sydney for
- nature and the outdoors
- getting around
- live music and the arts
What lies behind each score is written up on Sydney’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Abu Dhabi and Sydney.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on prices and families with your weighting.
Wins on nature and the outdoors and getting around with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Abu Dhabi in July
Sydney in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Abu Dhabi's temperatures are measured 26 km from the centre, at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Abu Dhabi has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Abu Dhabi: 1991-2020 normals, Abu Dhabi International Airport (25.7 km from centre). Sydney: 1991-2020 normals, Sydney Airport (3.7 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Abu Dhabi | Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Arabic | English |
| Currency | UAE Dirham (AED) | Australian Dollar (AUD) |
| Sockets | CG220 V, 50 Hz | I230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Left |
| Time zone | UTC+4 | UTC+10, UTC+11 in summer |
| Emergency number | 112 | 000 |
| Elevation | 14 m | 6 m |
| Main airport | Zayed International Airport (AUH)26 km from centre147 non-stop destinations | Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD)9 km from centre99 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | - | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Abu Dhabi | Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 1,570,000 | 5,450,496 |
| People per km² | 1,615 | 449 |
| Museums within 10 km | 3 | 38 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 2 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 11 months | 6 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Abu Dhabi or Sydney somewhere new.