VacationSelector
A canal bridge in autumn, Amsterdam
AmsterdamA canal bridge in autumn
The Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour, Auckland
AucklandThe Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour

Photos: Amsterdam by Hans, Pexels License; Auckland by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain.

Amsterdam or Auckland?

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
  • culture and sights
  • nightlife

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

Choose Auckland for

  • beaches
  • nature and the outdoors
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Auckland’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, Auckland 68: Auckland leads by 43 points.
Food & drink. Amsterdam 58, Auckland 62: Auckland leads by 4 points.
Culture & sights. Amsterdam 82, Auckland 44: Amsterdam leads by 38 points.
Nightlife. Amsterdam 77, Auckland 42: Amsterdam leads by 35 points.
Nature & outdoors. Amsterdam 47, Auckland 83: Auckland leads by 36 points.
Day trips. Amsterdam 87, Auckland 55: Amsterdam leads by 32 points.
Good for families. Amsterdam 72, Auckland 70: Amsterdam leads by 2 points.
Getting around. Amsterdam 86, Auckland 42: Amsterdam leads by 44 points.
Shopping & style. Amsterdam 68, Auckland 45: Amsterdam leads by 23 points.
Affordability. Amsterdam 22, Auckland 32: Auckland leads by 10 points.
Live music & performing arts. Amsterdam 78, Auckland 45: Amsterdam leads by 33 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Amsterdam 42, Auckland 45: Auckland leads by 3 points.
0255075100

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

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 culture and sights with your weighting.

Auckland
53match

Wins on beaches and nature and the outdoors 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

Auckland in July

14 °Cdaytime high
7 °Cnight-time low
135 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
14 °Csea
10 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°5°10°15°20°25°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
AmsterdamAuckland

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.

Auckland's station stands 189 m below the city centre, so the centre is likely a little cooler than the figures say.

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Amsterdam: 1991-2020 normals, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (12 km from centre). Auckland: 1961-1990 normals, Auckland Aerodrome Aws (17 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAmsterdamAuckland
Official languageDutchEnglish, New Zealand Sign Language, Māori
CurrencyEuro (EUR)New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzI230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightLeft
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+12, UTC+13 in summer
Emergency number112111
Elevation-2 m196 m
Main airportAmsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)12 km from centre287 non-stop destinationsAuckland International Airport (AKL)18 km from centre63 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureAmsterdamAuckland
City population921,4681,470,100
People per km²4,2082,630
Museums within 10 km10115
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km50
Swim season, months above 21 °CNone1 month

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Amsterdam or Auckland 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.