VacationSelector
A canal bridge in autumn, Amsterdam
AmsterdamA canal bridge in autumn
The skyline across the water with the Chugach Mountains behind, Anchorage
AnchorageThe skyline across the water with the Chugach Mountains behind

Photos: Amsterdam by Hans, Pexels License; Anchorage by Frank K., CC BY 2.0, cropped.

Amsterdam or Anchorage?

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 Amsterdam for

  • getting around
  • day trips
  • culture and sights

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

Choose Anchorage for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Anchorage’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. Amsterdam 25, Anchorage 8: Amsterdam leads by 17 points.
Food & drink. Amsterdam 58, Anchorage 40: Amsterdam leads by 18 points.
Culture & sights. Amsterdam 82, Anchorage 35: Amsterdam leads by 47 points.
Nightlife. Amsterdam 77, Anchorage 30: Amsterdam leads by 47 points.
Nature & outdoors. Amsterdam 47, Anchorage 93: Anchorage leads by 46 points.
Day trips. Amsterdam 87, Anchorage 33: Amsterdam leads by 54 points.
Good for families. Amsterdam 72, Anchorage 55: Amsterdam leads by 17 points.
Getting around. Amsterdam 86, Anchorage 22: Amsterdam leads by 64 points.
Shopping & style. Amsterdam 68, Anchorage 28: Amsterdam leads by 40 points.
Affordability. Amsterdam 22, Anchorage 28: Anchorage leads by 6 points.
Live music & performing arts. Amsterdam 78, Anchorage 34: Amsterdam leads by 44 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Amsterdam 42, Anchorage 32: Amsterdam leads by 10 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Amsterdam
Best match
62match

Wins on getting around and day trips with your weighting.

Anchorage
37match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and prices with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Amsterdam in July

22 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
84 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
17 °Csea
16 hdaylight a day

Anchorage in July

20 °Cdaytime high
12 °Cnight-time low
47 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
13 °Csea
18 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

-10°0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
AmsterdamAnchorage

Where the figures come from

Amsterdam 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.

Amsterdam's sunshine is measured 35 km from the centre, at De Bilt.

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Amsterdam: 1991-2020 normals, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (12 km from centre). Anchorage: 1991-2020 normals, Anchorage Air Force Base (7 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAmsterdamAnchorage
Official languageDutch-
CurrencyEuro (EUR)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC-9, UTC-8 in summer
Emergency number112911
Elevation-2 m31 m
Main airportAmsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)12 km from centre287 non-stop destinationsTed Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)7 km from centre49 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureAmsterdamAnchorage
City population921,468291,247
People per km²4,20858
Museums within 10 km1015
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km50
Swim season, months above 21 °CNoneNone

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Amsterdam or Anchorage 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 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.