VacationSelector
The Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour, Auckland
AucklandThe Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour
Durban

Photos: Auckland by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain.

Auckland or Durban?

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 Auckland for

  • getting around
  • day trips
  • nature and the outdoors

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

Choose Durban for

  • prices
  • beaches

What lies behind each score is written up on Durban’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. Auckland 68, Durban 80: Durban leads by 12 points.
Food & drink. Auckland 62, Durban 60: Auckland leads by 2 points.
Culture & sights. Auckland 44, Durban 38: Auckland leads by 6 points.
Nightlife. Auckland 42, Durban 40: Auckland leads by 2 points.
Nature & outdoors. Auckland 83, Durban 68: Auckland leads by 15 points.
Day trips. Auckland 55, Durban 38: Auckland leads by 17 points.
Good for families. Auckland 70, Durban 60: Auckland leads by 10 points.
Getting around. Auckland 42, Durban 20: Auckland leads by 22 points.
Shopping & style. Auckland 45, Durban 42: Auckland leads by 3 points.
Affordability. Auckland 32, Durban 72: Durban leads by 40 points.
Live music & performing arts. Auckland 45, Durban 40: Auckland leads by 5 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Auckland 45, Durban 30: Auckland leads by 15 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Auckland and Durban.

Your match

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

Auckland
Best match
53match

Wins on getting around and day trips with your weighting.

Durban
49match

Wins on prices and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

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

Durban in July

23 °Cdaytime high
11 °Cnight-time low
44 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
22 °Csea
10 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
AucklandDurban

Where the figures come from

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. Auckland: 1961-1990 normals, Auckland Aerodrome Aws (17 km from centre). Durban: 1991-2020 normals, Durban, Durban International Airport (14.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAucklandDurban
Official languageEnglish, New Zealand Sign Language, MāoriEnglish, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Venda, Northern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Sesotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language
CurrencyNew Zealand Dollar (NZD)Rand (ZAR)
SocketsI230 V, 50 HzCMN230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftLeft
Time zoneUTC+12, UTC+13 in summerUTC+2
Emergency number111112
Elevation196 m22 m
Main airportAuckland International Airport (AKL)18 km from centre63 non-stop destinationsKing Shaka International Airport (DUR)29 km from centre13 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year12 days13 days

By the numbers

MeasureAucklandDurban
City population1,470,100595,061
People per km²2,6302,634
Museums within 10 km151
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01
Swim season, months above 21 °C1 month12 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Auckland or Durban 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). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. 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. 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.