VacationSelector
The Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour, Auckland
AucklandThe Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour
The yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo, Merida
MeridaThe yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo

Photos: Auckland by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain; Merida by Mariposa2723, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Auckland or Merida?

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

  • nature and the outdoors
  • families
  • beaches

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

Choose Merida for

  • prices
  • day trips
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Merida’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, Merida 50: Auckland leads by 18 points.
Food & drink. Auckland 62, Merida 72: Merida leads by 10 points.
Culture & sights. Auckland 44, Merida 64: Merida leads by 20 points.
Nightlife. Auckland and Merida are level on 42.
Nature & outdoors. Auckland 83, Merida 48: Auckland leads by 35 points.
Day trips. Auckland 55, Merida 80: Merida leads by 25 points.
Good for families. Auckland 70, Merida 50: Auckland leads by 20 points.
Getting around. Auckland 42, Merida 45: Merida leads by 3 points.
Shopping & style. Auckland 45, Merida 50: Merida leads by 5 points.
Affordability. Auckland 32, Merida 75: Merida leads by 43 points.
Live music & performing arts. Auckland 45, Merida 52: Merida leads by 7 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Auckland 45, Merida 40: Auckland leads by 5 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Auckland and Merida.

Your match

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

Auckland
53match

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

Merida
Best match
56match

Wins on prices 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.

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

Merida in July

35 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
148 mmrain in the month
9 hsunshine a day
27 °Csea
13 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
AucklandMerida

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). Merida: 1991-2020 normals, Merida / lic Manuel Crecencio (5.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAucklandMerida
Official languageEnglish, New Zealand Sign Language, MāoriSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya
CurrencyNew Zealand Dollar (NZD)Mexican Peso (MXN)
SocketsI230 V, 50 HzAB127 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+12, UTC+13 in summerUTC-6
Emergency number111911
Elevation196 m12 m
Main airportAuckland International Airport (AKL)18 km from centre63 non-stop destinationsManuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport (MID)5 km from centre22 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year12 days9 days

By the numbers

MeasureAucklandMerida
City population1,470,100892,363
People per km²2,6301,010
Museums within 10 km155
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km00
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 Merida 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 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.