VacationSelector
The Triple Bridge and the Franciscan Church, Ljubljana
LjubljanaThe Triple Bridge and the Franciscan Church
Kek Lok Si temple on the hillside, Penang
PenangKek Lok Si temple on the hillside

Photos: Ljubljana by detait, Pexels License; Penang by Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Ljubljana 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 Ljubljana for

  • day trips
  • getting around
  • nature and the outdoors

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

Choose Penang for

  • food and drink
  • prices
  • beaches

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. Ljubljana 22, Penang 44: Penang leads by 22 points.
Food & drink. Ljubljana 55, Penang 86: Penang leads by 31 points.
Culture & sights. Ljubljana 55, Penang 70: Penang leads by 15 points.
Nightlife. Ljubljana and Penang are level on 40.
Nature & outdoors. Ljubljana 80, Penang 55: Ljubljana leads by 25 points.
Day trips. Ljubljana 78, Penang 42: Ljubljana leads by 36 points.
Good for families. Ljubljana 54, Penang 52: Ljubljana leads by 2 points.
Getting around. Ljubljana 74, Penang 40: Ljubljana leads by 34 points.
Shopping & style. Ljubljana 33, Penang 42: Penang leads by 9 points.
Affordability. Ljubljana 54, Penang 78: Penang leads by 24 points.
Live music & performing arts. Ljubljana 50, Penang 30: Ljubljana leads by 20 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Ljubljana and Penang are level on 42.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Ljubljana 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

Ljubljana
53match

Wins on day trips and getting around with your weighting.

Penang
52match

Wins on food and drink and prices with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Ljubljana in July

28 °Cdaytime high
16 °Cnight-time low
121 mmrain in the month
9 hsunshine a day
No seasea
15 hdaylight a day

Penang in July

32 °Cdaytime high
25 °Cnight-time low
189 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
30 °Csea
12 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
LjubljanaPenang

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Ljubljana: 1991-2020 normals, Ljubljana / Bezigrad (1.9 km from centre). Penang: 1991-2020 normals, Penang / Bayan Lepas (14.5 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLjubljanaPenang
Official languageSloveneMalay
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzG240 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightLeft
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+8
Emergency number112999
Elevation309 m4 m
Main airportLjubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU)20 km from centre32 non-stop destinationsPenang International Airport (PEN)14 km from centre32 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year21 days-

By the numbers

MeasureLjubljanaPenang
City population284,293794,313
People per km²1,736-
Museums within 10 km149
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km31
Swim season, months above 21 °C-12 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Ljubljana 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. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). 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. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. 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.