VacationSelector
Philae temple on the Nile, Aswan
AswanPhilae temple on the Nile
The yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo, Merida
MeridaThe yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo

Photos: Aswan by AXP Photography, Pexels License; Merida by Mariposa2723, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Aswan or Merida?

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 Aswan for

  • prices

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

Choose Merida for

  • food and drink
  • beaches
  • live music and the arts

What lies behind each score is written up on Merida’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. Aswan 10, Merida 50: Merida leads by 40 points.
Food & drink. Aswan 30, Merida 72: Merida leads by 42 points.
Culture & sights. Aswan and Merida are level on 64.
Nightlife. Aswan 8, Merida 42: Merida leads by 34 points.
Nature & outdoors. Aswan 45, Merida 48: Merida leads by 3 points.
Day trips. Aswan 52, Merida 80: Merida leads by 28 points.
Good for families. Aswan 32, Merida 50: Merida leads by 18 points.
Getting around. Aswan 40, Merida 45: Merida leads by 5 points.
Shopping & style. Aswan 30, Merida 50: Merida leads by 20 points.
Affordability. Aswan 92, Merida 75: Aswan leads by 17 points.
Live music & performing arts. Aswan 14, Merida 52: Merida leads by 38 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Aswan and Merida are level on 40.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Aswan
38match

Wins on prices with your weighting.

Merida
Best match
56match

Wins on food and drink and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Aswan in July

42 °Cdaytime high
28 °Cnight-time low
0 mmrain in the month
12 hsunshine a day
No seasea
14 hdaylight a day

Merida in July

35 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
148 mmrain in the month
9 hsunshine a day
27 °Csea
13 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°50°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
AswanMerida

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Aswan: 1991-2020 normals, Asswan (18 km from centre). Merida: 1991-2020 normals, Merida / lic Manuel Crecencio (5.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAswanMerida
Official languageArabicSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya
CurrencyEgyptian Pound (EGP)Mexican Peso (MXN)
SocketsCF220 V, 50 HzAB127 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+2, UTC+3 in summerUTC-6
Emergency numberPolice 122, ambulance 123, fire 180911
Elevation99 m12 m
Main airportAswan International Airport (ASW)16 km from centre2 non-stop destinationsManuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport (MID)5 km from centre22 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year15 days9 days

By the numbers

MeasureAswanMerida
City population401,890892,363
People per km²1,0721,010
Museums within 10 km35
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km10
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 Aswan or Merida 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). 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 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.