VacationSelector
Ferries off the Kordon promenade, Izmir
IzmirFerries off the Kordon promenade
The beach promenade in Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv
Tel AvivThe beach promenade in Tel Aviv

Photos: Izmir by Toygar Par, Pexels License; Tel Aviv by israeltourism, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.

Izmir or Tel Aviv?

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 Izmir for

  • prices
  • wellness
  • nature and the outdoors

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

Choose Tel Aviv for

  • beaches
  • nightlife
  • live music and the arts

What lies behind each score is written up on Tel Aviv’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. Izmir 62, Tel Aviv 86: Tel Aviv leads by 24 points.
Food & drink. Izmir 72, Tel Aviv 80: Tel Aviv leads by 8 points.
Culture & sights. Izmir 55, Tel Aviv 57: Tel Aviv leads by 2 points.
Nightlife. Izmir 60, Tel Aviv 82: Tel Aviv leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Izmir 66, Tel Aviv 52: Izmir leads by 14 points.
Day trips. Izmir 86, Tel Aviv 84: Izmir leads by 2 points.
Good for families. Izmir 55, Tel Aviv 68: Tel Aviv leads by 13 points.
Getting around. Izmir 63, Tel Aviv 64: Tel Aviv leads by 1 points.
Shopping & style. Izmir and Tel Aviv are level on 55.
Affordability. Izmir 66, Tel Aviv 14: Izmir leads by 52 points.
Live music & performing arts. Izmir 48, Tel Aviv 70: Tel Aviv leads by 22 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Izmir 57, Tel Aviv 35: Izmir leads by 22 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Izmir and Tel Aviv.

Your match

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

Too close to call, level with your weighting

Izmir
62match

Wins on prices and wellness with your weighting.

Tel Aviv
62match

Wins on beaches and nightlife with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Izmir in July

34 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
1 mmrain in the month
13 hsunshine a day
23 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Tel Aviv in July

32 °Cdaytime high
22 °Cnight-time low
0 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
27 °Csea
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
IzmirTel Aviv

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Izmir: 1991-2020 normals, Izmir (3.4 km from centre). Tel Aviv: 1991-2020 normals, Bet Dagan (9.5 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureIzmirTel Aviv
Official languageTurkishHebrew
CurrencyTurkish Lira (TRY)New Israeli Sheqel (ILS)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCHM230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC+2, UTC+3 in summer
Emergency number112Police 100, fire 102
Elevation2 m5 m
Main airportAdnan Menderes International Airport (ADB)13 km from centre120 non-stop destinationsBen Gurion International Airport (TLV)13 km from centre111 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year14 days-

By the numbers

MeasureIzmirTel Aviv
City population4,493,242467,875
People per km²4,7608,998
Museums within 10 km2998
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km02
Swim season, months above 21 °C5 months7 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Izmir or Tel Aviv 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.