VacationSelector
Swayambhunath with its prayer flags, Kathmandu
KathmanduSwayambhunath with its prayer flags
The yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo, Merida
MeridaThe yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo

Photos: Kathmandu by Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Merida by Mariposa2723, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Kathmandu 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 Kathmandu for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • prices
  • culture and sights

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

Choose Merida for

  • beaches
  • families
  • day trips

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. Kathmandu 4, Merida 50: Merida leads by 46 points.
Food & drink. Kathmandu 55, Merida 72: Merida leads by 17 points.
Culture & sights. Kathmandu 82, Merida 64: Kathmandu leads by 18 points.
Nightlife. Kathmandu 36, Merida 42: Merida leads by 6 points.
Nature & outdoors. Kathmandu 70, Merida 48: Kathmandu leads by 22 points.
Day trips. Kathmandu 56, Merida 80: Merida leads by 24 points.
Good for families. Kathmandu 20, Merida 50: Merida leads by 30 points.
Getting around. Kathmandu 25, Merida 45: Merida leads by 20 points.
Shopping & style. Kathmandu 55, Merida 50: Kathmandu leads by 5 points.
Affordability. Kathmandu 97, Merida 75: Kathmandu leads by 22 points.
Live music & performing arts. Kathmandu 28, Merida 52: Merida leads by 24 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Kathmandu 45, Merida 40: Kathmandu leads by 5 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Kathmandu and Merida.

Your match

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

Kathmandu
48match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and prices with your weighting.

Merida
Best match
56match

Wins on beaches and families with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Kathmandu in July

29 °Cdaytime high
20 °Cnight-time low
384 mmrain in the month
4 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°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
KathmanduMerida

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Kathmandu: 1991-2020 normals, Kathmandu Airport (4.7 km from centre). Merida: 1991-2020 normals, Merida / lic Manuel Crecencio (5.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureKathmanduMerida
Official languageNepaliSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya
CurrencyNepalese Rupee (NPR)Mexican Peso (MXN)
SocketsCM230 V, 50 HzAB127 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+5:45UTC-6
Emergency numberPolice 100, ambulance 102, fire 101911
Elevation1,300 m12 m
Main airportTribhuvan International Airport (KTM)4 km from centre38 non-stop destinationsManuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport (MID)5 km from centre22 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-9 days

By the numbers

MeasureKathmanduMerida
City population845,767892,363
People per km²17,1211,010
Museums within 10 km95
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 Kathmandu 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). 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. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). 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 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.