Photos: Rio de Janeiro by Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, cropped; Sharm el-Sheikh by Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, cropped.
Rio de Janeiro or Sharm el-Sheikh?
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 Rio de Janeiro for
- culture and sights
- live music and the arts
- nightlife
What lies behind each score is written up on Rio de Janeiro’s own page.
Choose Sharm el-Sheikh for
- wellness
- prices
- families
What lies behind each score is written up on Sharm el-Sheikh’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Rio de Janeiro and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on culture and sights and live music and the arts with your weighting.
Wins on wellness 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.
Rio de Janeiro in July
Sharm el-Sheikh in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Rio de Janeiro has no weather station within reach, so its figures come from a gridded climate model rather than a measured record, and read a broad area rather than the city itself.
Sharm el-Sheikh has no weather station within reach, so its figures come from a gridded climate model rather than a measured record, and read a broad area rather than the city itself.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Rio de Janeiro: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km. Sharm el-Sheikh: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km.
Before you go
| Measure | Rio de Janeiro | Sharm el-Sheikh |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Portuguese | Arabic |
| Currency | Brazilian Real (BRL) | Egyptian Pound (EGP) |
| Sockets | CN60 Hz | CF220 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-3 | UTC+2, UTC+3 in summer |
| Emergency number | Police 190, ambulance 192, fire 193 | Police 122, ambulance 123, fire 180 |
| Elevation | 31 m | 1 m |
| Main airport | Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG)12 km from centre54 non-stop destinations | Sharm El Sheikh International Airport (SSH)16 km from centre112 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 14 days | 15 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Rio de Janeiro | Sharm el-Sheikh |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 6,211,223 | 73,000 |
| People per km² | 4,930 | - |
| Museums within 10 km | 69 | 1 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 3 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Rio de Janeiro or Sharm el-Sheikh somewhere new.