VacationSelector
Swayambhunath with its prayer flags, Kathmandu
KathmanduSwayambhunath with its prayer flags
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower

Photos: Kathmandu by Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Kathmandu or Nairobi?

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

  • culture and sights
  • prices
  • day trips

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

Choose Nairobi for

  • families
  • nightlife
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Nairobi’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 and Nairobi are level on 4.
Food & drink. Kathmandu 55, Nairobi 48: Kathmandu leads by 7 points.
Culture & sights. Kathmandu 82, Nairobi 35: Kathmandu leads by 47 points.
Nightlife. Kathmandu 36, Nairobi 58: Nairobi leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Kathmandu 70, Nairobi 84: Nairobi leads by 14 points.
Day trips. Kathmandu 56, Nairobi 28: Kathmandu leads by 28 points.
Good for families. Kathmandu 20, Nairobi 55: Nairobi leads by 35 points.
Getting around. Kathmandu 25, Nairobi 20: Kathmandu leads by 5 points.
Shopping & style. Kathmandu 55, Nairobi 45: Kathmandu leads by 10 points.
Affordability. Kathmandu 97, Nairobi 60: Kathmandu leads by 37 points.
Live music & performing arts. Kathmandu 28, Nairobi 35: Nairobi leads by 7 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Kathmandu 45, Nairobi 25: Kathmandu leads by 20 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Kathmandu
Best match
48match

Wins on culture and sights and prices with your weighting.

Nairobi
41match

Wins on families and nightlife 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
14 hdaylight a day

Nairobi in July

24 °Cdaytime high
12 °Cnight-time low
11 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
12 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
KathmanduNairobi

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Kathmandu: 1991-2020 normals, Kathmandu Airport (4.7 km from centre). Nairobi: 1991-2020 normals, Nairobi ACC/FIC/RCC/MET/COM/ (13.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureKathmanduNairobi
Official languageNepaliEnglish, Swahili
CurrencyNepalese Rupee (NPR)Kenyan Shilling (KES)
SocketsCM230 V, 50 HzG240 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftLeft
Time zoneUTC+5:45UTC+3
Emergency numberPolice 100, ambulance 102, fire 101Police 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999
Elevation1,300 m1,661 m
Main airportTribhuvan International Airport (KTM)4 km from centre38 non-stop destinationsJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-10 days

By the numbers

MeasureKathmanduNairobi
City population845,7675,545,000
People per km²17,1217,967
Museums within 10 km94
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km10

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Kathmandu or Nairobi 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. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). 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.