VacationSelector
The city from Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik
ReykjavikThe city from Hallgrímskirkja
Camelback Mountain above the city, Scottsdale
ScottsdaleCamelback Mountain above the city

Photos: Reykjavik by Atlantic Ambience, Pexels License; Scottsdale by Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Reykjavik or Scottsdale?

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 Reykjavik for

  • getting around
  • nature and the outdoors
  • wellness

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

Choose Scottsdale for

  • shopping
  • prices
  • day trips

What lies behind each score is written up on Scottsdale’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. Reykjavik 12, Scottsdale 8: Reykjavik leads by 4 points.
Food & drink. Reykjavik 42, Scottsdale 46: Scottsdale leads by 4 points.
Culture & sights. Reykjavik 25, Scottsdale 38: Scottsdale leads by 13 points.
Nightlife. Reykjavik 45, Scottsdale 52: Scottsdale leads by 7 points.
Nature & outdoors. Reykjavik 92, Scottsdale 68: Reykjavik leads by 24 points.
Day trips. Reykjavik 35, Scottsdale 50: Scottsdale leads by 15 points.
Good for families. Reykjavik 55, Scottsdale 60: Scottsdale leads by 5 points.
Getting around. Reykjavik 55, Scottsdale 20: Reykjavik leads by 35 points.
Shopping & style. Reykjavik 25, Scottsdale 60: Scottsdale leads by 35 points.
Affordability. Reykjavik 6, Scottsdale 32: Scottsdale leads by 26 points.
Live music & performing arts. Reykjavik 45, Scottsdale 40: Reykjavik leads by 5 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Reykjavik 88, Scottsdale 72: Reykjavik leads by 16 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Too close to call, 2 points apart

Reykjavik
44match

Wins on getting around and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Scottsdale
46match

Wins on shopping 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.

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

Scottsdale in July

41 °Cdaytime high
29 °Cnight-time low
23 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
No seasea
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°50°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

020406080100JFMAMJJASOND
ReykjavikScottsdale

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Reykjavik: 1991-2020 normals, Reykjavik (2.3 km from centre). Scottsdale: 1991-2020 normals, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (13.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureReykjavikScottsdale
Official languageIcelandic-
CurrencyIceland Krona (ISK)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTCUTC-7
Emergency number112911
Elevation8 m380 m
Main airportKeflavik International Airport (KEF)37 km from centre88 non-stop destinationsPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)10 km from centre148 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year16 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureReykjavikScottsdale
City population138,772241,361
People per km²569-
Museums within 10 km2310
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11
Swim season, months above 21 °CNone-

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Reykjavik or Scottsdale 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 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.