VacationSelector
The Explanada de España, Alicante
AlicanteThe Explanada de España
Ferries off the Kordon promenade, Izmir
IzmirFerries off the Kordon promenade

Photos: Alicante by Emilio Sánchez Hernández, Pexels License; Izmir by Toygar Par, Pexels License.

Alicante or Izmir?

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 Alicante for

  • beaches
  • families
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Alicante’s own page.

Choose Izmir for

  • wellness
  • day trips
  • shopping

What lies behind each score is written up on Izmir’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Alicante 82, Izmir 62: Alicante leads by 20 points.
Food & drink. Alicante 67, Izmir 72: Izmir leads by 5 points.
Culture & sights. Alicante 46, Izmir 55: Izmir leads by 9 points.
Nightlife. Alicante and Izmir are level on 60.
Nature & outdoors. Alicante 63, Izmir 66: Izmir leads by 3 points.
Day trips. Alicante 72, Izmir 86: Izmir leads by 14 points.
Good for families. Alicante 68, Izmir 55: Alicante leads by 13 points.
Getting around. Alicante 66, Izmir 63: Alicante leads by 3 points.
Shopping & style. Alicante 44, Izmir 55: Izmir leads by 11 points.
Affordability. Alicante 60, Izmir 66: Izmir leads by 6 points.
Live music & performing arts. Alicante 37, Izmir 48: Izmir leads by 11 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Alicante 40, Izmir 57: Izmir leads by 17 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Alicante and Izmir.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Alicante
59match

Wins on beaches and families with your weighting.

Izmir
Best match
62match

Wins on wellness and day trips with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Alicante in July

30 °Cdaytime high
21 °Cnight-time low
3 mmrain in the month
11 hsunshine a day
25 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Izmir in July

34 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
1 mmrain in the month
13 hsunshine a day
23 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
AlicanteIzmir

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Alicante: 1991-2020 normals, Alicante (2.8 km from centre). Izmir: 1991-2020 normals, Izmir (3.4 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAlicanteIzmir
Official languageSpanishTurkish
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Turkish Lira (TRY)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+3
Emergency number112112
Elevation3 m2 m
Main airportAlicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (ALC)10 km from centre126 non-stop destinationsAdnan Menderes International Airport (ADB)13 km from centre120 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year13 days14 days

By the numbers

MeasureAlicanteIzmir
City population366,2214,493,242
People per km²1,8194,760
Museums within 10 km829
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km20
Swim season, months above 21 °C5 months5 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Alicante or Izmir somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.