VacationSelector
The Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour, Auckland
AucklandThe Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour
Kek Lok Si temple on the hillside, Penang
PenangKek Lok Si temple on the hillside

Photos: Auckland by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain; Penang by Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Auckland or Penang?

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
  • beaches
  • families

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

Choose Penang for

  • prices
  • culture and sights
  • food and drink

What lies behind each score is written up on Penang’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, Penang 44: Auckland leads by 24 points.
Food & drink. Auckland 62, Penang 86: Penang leads by 24 points.
Culture & sights. Auckland 44, Penang 70: Penang leads by 26 points.
Nightlife. Auckland 42, Penang 40: Auckland leads by 2 points.
Nature & outdoors. Auckland 83, Penang 55: Auckland leads by 28 points.
Day trips. Auckland 55, Penang 42: Auckland leads by 13 points.
Good for families. Auckland 70, Penang 52: Auckland leads by 18 points.
Getting around. Auckland 42, Penang 40: Auckland leads by 2 points.
Shopping & style. Auckland 45, Penang 42: Auckland leads by 3 points.
Affordability. Auckland 32, Penang 78: Penang leads by 46 points.
Live music & performing arts. Auckland 45, Penang 30: Auckland leads by 15 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Auckland 45, Penang 42: Auckland leads by 3 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Auckland and Penang.

Your match

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

Too close to call, 1 point apart

Auckland
53match

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

Penang
52match

Wins on prices and culture and sights 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
14 °Csea
10 hdaylight a day

Penang in July

32 °Cdaytime high
25 °Cnight-time low
189 mmrain in the month
30 °Csea
12 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
AucklandPenang

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). Penang: 1991-2020 normals, Penang / Bayan Lepas (14.5 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAucklandPenang
Official languageEnglish, New Zealand Sign Language, MāoriMalay
CurrencyNew Zealand Dollar (NZD)Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
SocketsI230 V, 50 HzG240 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftLeft
Time zoneUTC+12, UTC+13 in summerUTC+8
Emergency number111999
Elevation196 m4 m
Main airportAuckland International Airport (AKL)18 km from centre63 non-stop destinationsPenang International Airport (PEN)14 km from centre32 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year12 days-

By the numbers

MeasureAucklandPenang
City population1,470,100794,313
People per km²2,630-
Museums within 10 km159
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 Penang 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.