VacationSelector
Swayambhunath with its prayer flags, Kathmandu
KathmanduSwayambhunath with its prayer flags
The Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh
Phnom PenhThe Silver Pagoda

Photos: Kathmandu by Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Phnom Penh by Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0, cropped.

Kathmandu or Phnom Penh?

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
  • day trips
  • culture and sights

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

Choose Phnom Penh for

  • nightlife
  • families
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Phnom Penh’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, Phnom Penh 6: Phnom Penh leads by 2 points.
Food & drink. Kathmandu 55, Phnom Penh 62: Phnom Penh leads by 7 points.
Culture & sights. Kathmandu 82, Phnom Penh 62: Kathmandu leads by 20 points.
Nightlife. Kathmandu 36, Phnom Penh 58: Phnom Penh leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Kathmandu 70, Phnom Penh 28: Kathmandu leads by 42 points.
Day trips. Kathmandu 56, Phnom Penh 34: Kathmandu leads by 22 points.
Good for families. Kathmandu 20, Phnom Penh 32: Phnom Penh leads by 12 points.
Getting around. Kathmandu 25, Phnom Penh 35: Phnom Penh leads by 10 points.
Shopping & style. Kathmandu 55, Phnom Penh 46: Kathmandu leads by 9 points.
Affordability. Kathmandu 97, Phnom Penh 86: Kathmandu leads by 11 points.
Live music & performing arts. Kathmandu 28, Phnom Penh 32: Phnom Penh leads by 4 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Kathmandu 45, Phnom Penh 50: Phnom Penh leads by 5 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Kathmandu and Phnom Penh.

Your match

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

Kathmandu
Best match
48match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and day trips with your weighting.

Phnom Penh
44match

Wins on nightlife 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
14 hdaylight a day

Phnom Penh in July

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

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
KathmanduPhnom Penh

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Kathmandu: 1991-2020 normals, Kathmandu Airport (4.7 km from centre). Phnom Penh: 1991-2020 normals, Phnom-Penh / Pochentong (8 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureKathmanduPhnom Penh
Official languageNepaliKhmer
CurrencyNepalese Rupee (NPR)Riel (KHR)
SocketsCM230 V, 50 HzACG230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+5:45UTC+7
Emergency numberPolice 100, ambulance 102, fire 101Police 117, ambulance 119, fire 118
Elevation1,300 m11 m
Main airportTribhuvan International Airport (KTM)4 km from centre38 non-stop destinationsTecho International Airport (KTI)23 km from centre41 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-21 days

By the numbers

MeasureKathmanduPhnom Penh
City population845,7672,129,371
People per km²17,1213,138
Museums within 10 km93
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 Kathmandu or Phnom Penh 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 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.