VacationSelector
The Sun and Moon pagodas on Shan Lake, Guilin
GuilinThe Sun and Moon pagodas on Shan Lake
Wat Xieng Thong temple, Luang Prabang
Luang PrabangWat Xieng Thong temple

Photos: Guilin by xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Luang Prabang by Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Guilin or Luang Prabang?

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 Guilin for

  • nightlife
  • day trips
  • nature and the outdoors

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

Choose Luang Prabang for

  • culture and sights
  • wellness
  • shopping

What lies behind each score is written up on Luang Prabang’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. Guilin 8, Luang Prabang 14: Luang Prabang leads by 6 points.
Food & drink. Guilin 45, Luang Prabang 42: Guilin leads by 3 points.
Culture & sights. Guilin 40, Luang Prabang 65: Luang Prabang leads by 25 points.
Nightlife. Guilin 30, Luang Prabang 8: Guilin leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Guilin 88, Luang Prabang 68: Guilin leads by 20 points.
Day trips. Guilin 56, Luang Prabang 35: Guilin leads by 21 points.
Good for families. Guilin 45, Luang Prabang 38: Guilin leads by 7 points.
Getting around. Guilin 45, Luang Prabang 50: Luang Prabang leads by 5 points.
Shopping & style. Guilin 28, Luang Prabang 38: Luang Prabang leads by 10 points.
Affordability. Guilin 78, Luang Prabang 80: Luang Prabang leads by 2 points.
Live music & performing arts. Guilin 30, Luang Prabang 18: Guilin leads by 12 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Guilin 40, Luang Prabang 60: Luang Prabang leads by 20 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Guilin and Luang Prabang.

Your match

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

Too close to call, 1 point apart

Guilin
44match

Wins on nightlife and day trips with your weighting.

Luang Prabang
43match

Wins on culture and sights 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.

Guilin in July

33 °Cdaytime high
25 °Cnight-time low
248 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Luang Prabang in July

33 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
250 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
13 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400500JFMAMJJASOND
GuilinLuang Prabang

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Guilin: 1991-2020 normals, Guilin (7.6 km from centre). Luang Prabang: 1991-2020 normals, Luang-Prabang (0.8 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureGuilinLuang Prabang
Official languagePutonghuaLao
CurrencyYuan Renminbi (CNY)Lao Kip (LAK)
SocketsACI220 V, 50 HzABCEF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+8UTC+7
Emergency numberPolice 110, ambulance 120, fire 119Police 191, ambulance 195, fire 190
Elevation153 m305 m
Main airportGuilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL)25 km from centre43 non-stop destinationsLuang Phabang International Airport (LPQ)4 km from centre7 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year6 days-

By the numbers

MeasureGuilinLuang Prabang
City population4,931,13753,792
Museums within 10 km10
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Guilin or Luang Prabang 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). 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.