VacationSelector
The Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour, Auckland
AucklandThe Auckland skyline and Sky Tower from the Waitematā Harbour
The House of the Blackheads at dusk, Riga
RigaThe House of the Blackheads at dusk

Photos: Auckland by Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain; Riga by Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Auckland or Riga?

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

  • beaches
  • nature and the outdoors
  • families

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

Choose Riga for

  • prices
  • getting around
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Riga’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, Riga 40: Auckland leads by 28 points.
Food & drink. Auckland 62, Riga 52: Auckland leads by 10 points.
Culture & sights. Auckland 44, Riga 66: Riga leads by 22 points.
Nightlife. Auckland 42, Riga 52: Riga leads by 10 points.
Nature & outdoors. Auckland 83, Riga 55: Auckland leads by 28 points.
Day trips. Auckland 55, Riga 60: Riga leads by 5 points.
Good for families. Auckland 70, Riga 50: Auckland leads by 20 points.
Getting around. Auckland 42, Riga 68: Riga leads by 26 points.
Shopping & style. Auckland and Riga are level on 45.
Affordability. Auckland 32, Riga 62: Riga leads by 30 points.
Live music & performing arts. Auckland 45, Riga 65: Riga leads by 20 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Auckland 45, Riga 50: Riga leads by 5 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Auckland and Riga.

Your match

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

Too close to call, 2 points apart

Auckland
53match

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

Riga
55match

Wins on prices and getting around 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

Riga in July

24 °Cdaytime high
15 °Cnight-time low
87 mmrain in the month
18 °Csea
17 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

-5°0°5°10°15°20°25°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
AucklandRiga

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). Riga: 1991-2020 normals, Riga (4.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAucklandRiga
Official languageEnglish, New Zealand Sign Language, MāoriLatvian
CurrencyNew Zealand Dollar (NZD)Euro (EUR)
SocketsI230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+12, UTC+13 in summerUTC+2, UTC+3 in summer
Emergency number111112
Elevation196 m6 m
Main airportAuckland International Airport (AKL)18 km from centre63 non-stop destinationsRiga International Airport (RIX)9 km from centre93 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year12 days-

By the numbers

MeasureAucklandRiga
City population1,470,100588,911
People per km²2,630-
Museums within 10 km1512
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01
Swim season, months above 21 °C1 monthNone

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Auckland or Riga 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. Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. 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.