🇮🇸 Iceland or 🇵🇹 Portugal
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
Which one, honestly
Iceland leads on nature. Portugal leads on the sea, value for money and cities.
A normal day costs about $190 in Iceland and $130 in Portugal.
Side by side
- 🇮🇸 Iceland🇵🇹 Portugal
- Jun to SepBest monthsApr to Jun, Sep to Oct
- $190A normal day$130
- 5h 40m to ReykjavikNonstop from New York6h 50m to Lisbon
- Not the drawBeaches and seaVery good
- GoodCities and cultureVery good
- GoodFoodVery good
- ExceptionalNature and hikingVery good
- Not the drawValue for moneyVery good
- Very goodEasy to get aroundVery good
- A hire car on the ring road, and a four wheel drive for the interiorGetting aroundCheap trains along the coast, a car for the wine country
- Nothing seasonally, but the highland roads are shut from roughly October to JuneWhen to avoidThe Algarve in August, when it fills up and doubles in price
Pick by what you want
🇮🇸 Choose Iceland if
you want landscape above everything else, and you have accepted in advance that it costs more than anywhere else here.
🇵🇹 Choose Portugal if
you want Europe on a smaller budget, with the ocean, and you do not mind cool water.
Full Iceland guide →Full Portugal guide →
Compare something else
Written and checked by hand. Nothing here about visas or entry rules: those change often and depend on your passport, so check an official source.