VacationSelector
The pyramids of Giza, Cairo
CairoThe pyramids of Giza
A madrasa and its minarets on the Registan, Samarkand
SamarkandA madrasa and its minarets on the Registan

Photos: Cairo by Ricardo Liberato, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Samarkand by Yaşar Başkurt, Pexels License.

Cairo or Samarkand?

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 Cairo for

  • nightlife
  • live music and the arts
  • shopping

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

Choose Samarkand for

  • getting around
  • wellness
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Samarkand’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. Cairo 10, Samarkand 4: Cairo leads by 6 points.
Food & drink. Cairo 60, Samarkand 54: Cairo leads by 6 points.
Culture & sights. Cairo 96, Samarkand 84: Cairo leads by 12 points.
Nightlife. Cairo 48, Samarkand 14: Cairo leads by 34 points.
Nature & outdoors. Cairo 30, Samarkand 40: Samarkand leads by 10 points.
Day trips. Cairo 66, Samarkand 72: Samarkand leads by 6 points.
Good for families. Cairo 32, Samarkand 30: Cairo leads by 2 points.
Getting around. Cairo 35, Samarkand 58: Samarkand leads by 23 points.
Shopping & style. Cairo 58, Samarkand 42: Cairo leads by 16 points.
Affordability. Cairo 95, Samarkand 80: Cairo leads by 15 points.
Live music & performing arts. Cairo 50, Samarkand 24: Cairo leads by 26 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Cairo 15, Samarkand 32: Samarkand leads by 17 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Cairo
Best match
50match

Wins on nightlife and live music and the arts with your weighting.

Samarkand
45match

Wins on getting around and wellness with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Cairo in July

36 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
0 mmrain in the month
12 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Samarkand in July

34 °Cdaytime high
19 °Cnight-time low
2 mmrain in the month
12 hsunshine a day
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

020406080JFMAMJJASOND
CairoSamarkand

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Cairo: 1991-2020 normals, Helwan (21.9 km from centre). Samarkand: 1991-2020 normals, Samarkand (10 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureCairoSamarkand
Official languageArabicUzbek
CurrencyEgyptian Pound (EGP)Uzbekistan Sum (UZS)
SocketsCF220 V, 50 HzCFI220 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+2, UTC+3 in summerUTC+5
Emergency numberPolice 122, ambulance 123, fire 180112
Elevation23 m702 m
Main airportCairo International Airport (CAI)17 km from centre127 non-stop destinationsSamarkand International Airport (SKD)5 km from centre29 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year15 days-

By the numbers

MeasureCairoSamarkand
City population9,801,536546,303
People per km²18,5645,058
Museums within 10 km4811
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km21

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Cairo or Samarkand 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. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

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.