VacationSelector
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul
IstanbulThe Blue Mosque
The city from Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik
ReykjavikThe city from Hallgrímskirkja

Photos: Istanbul by AXP Photography, Pexels License; Reykjavik by Atlantic Ambience, Pexels License.

Istanbul 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 Istanbul for

  • culture and sights
  • shopping
  • prices

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

Choose Reykjavik for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • wellness

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. Istanbul 45, Reykjavik 12: Istanbul leads by 33 points.
Food & drink. Istanbul 87, Reykjavik 42: Istanbul leads by 45 points.
Culture & sights. Istanbul 90, Reykjavik 25: Istanbul leads by 65 points.
Nightlife. Istanbul 77, Reykjavik 45: Istanbul leads by 32 points.
Nature & outdoors. Istanbul 52, Reykjavik 92: Reykjavik leads by 40 points.
Day trips. Istanbul 55, Reykjavik 35: Istanbul leads by 20 points.
Good for families. Istanbul and Reykjavik are level on 55.
Getting around. Istanbul 62, Reykjavik 55: Istanbul leads by 7 points.
Shopping & style. Istanbul 86, Reykjavik 25: Istanbul leads by 61 points.
Affordability. Istanbul 60, Reykjavik 6: Istanbul leads by 54 points.
Live music & performing arts. Istanbul 62, Reykjavik 45: Istanbul leads by 17 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Istanbul 75, Reykjavik 88: Reykjavik leads by 13 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Istanbul
Best match
67match

Wins on culture and sights and shopping with your weighting.

Reykjavik
44match

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

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Istanbul in July

30 °Cdaytime high
21 °Cnight-time low
23 mmrain in the month
11 hsunshine a day
23 °Csea
15 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

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
IstanbulReykjavik

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Istanbul: 1991-2020 normals, Istanbul / Goztepe (9.9 km from centre). Reykjavik: 1991-2020 normals, Reykjavik (2.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureIstanbulReykjavik
Official languageTurkishIcelandic
CurrencyTurkish Lira (TRY)Iceland Krona (ISK)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC
Emergency number112112
Elevation100 m8 m
Main airportİstanbul Airport (IST)36 km from centre343 non-stop destinationsKeflavik International Airport (KEF)37 km from centre88 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year14 days16 days

By the numbers

MeasureIstanbulReykjavik
City population15,655,924138,772
People per km²2,930569
Museums within 10 km7323
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11
Swim season, months above 21 °C3 monthsNone

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Istanbul 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. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. 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.