VacationSelector
The Calgary Tower above Olympic Plaza, Calgary
CalgaryThe Calgary Tower above Olympic Plaza
The city from Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik
ReykjavikThe city from Hallgrímskirkja

Photos: Calgary by abdallahh, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Reykjavik by Atlantic Ambience, Pexels License.

Calgary or Reykjavik?

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 Calgary for

  • prices
  • day trips
  • shopping

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

Choose Reykjavik for

  • wellness
  • getting around
  • nightlife

What lies behind each score is written up on Reykjavik’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. Calgary 8, Reykjavik 12: Reykjavik leads by 4 points.
Food & drink. Calgary 45, Reykjavik 42: Calgary leads by 3 points.
Culture & sights. Calgary 35, Reykjavik 25: Calgary leads by 10 points.
Nightlife. Calgary 40, Reykjavik 45: Reykjavik leads by 5 points.
Nature & outdoors. Calgary 88, Reykjavik 92: Reykjavik leads by 4 points.
Day trips. Calgary 55, Reykjavik 35: Calgary leads by 20 points.
Good for families. Calgary 68, Reykjavik 55: Calgary leads by 13 points.
Getting around. Calgary 42, Reykjavik 55: Reykjavik leads by 13 points.
Shopping & style. Calgary 42, Reykjavik 25: Calgary leads by 17 points.
Affordability. Calgary 42, Reykjavik 6: Calgary leads by 36 points.
Live music & performing arts. Calgary 46, Reykjavik 45: Calgary leads by 1 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Calgary 42, Reykjavik 88: Reykjavik leads by 46 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Too close to call, 2 points apart

Calgary
46match

Wins on prices and day trips with your weighting.

Reykjavik
44match

Wins on wellness 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.

Calgary in July

25 °Cdaytime high
11 °Cnight-time low
44 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
No seasea
16 hdaylight a day

Reykjavik in July

15 °Cdaytime high
9 °Cnight-time low
50 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
11 °Csea
20 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

-10°0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
CalgaryReykjavik

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Calgary: 1991-2020 normals, Calgary Int'l CS (8.2 km from centre). Reykjavik: 1991-2020 normals, Reykjavik (2.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureCalgaryReykjavik
Official languageFrench, EnglishIcelandic
CurrencyCanadian Dollar (CAD)Iceland Krona (ISK)
SocketsAB120 V, 60 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC-7, UTC-6 in summerUTC
Emergency number911112
Elevation1,045 m8 m
Main airportCalgary International Airport (YYC)9 km from centre103 non-stop destinationsKeflavik International Airport (KEF)37 km from centre88 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year13 days16 days

By the numbers

MeasureCalgaryReykjavik
City population1,306,784138,772
People per km²1,583569
Museums within 10 km1323
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01
Swim season, months above 21 °C-None

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Calgary or Reykjavik 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. 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. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. 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.