VacationSelector
Wat Xieng Thong temple, Luang Prabang
Luang PrabangWat Xieng Thong temple
The yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo, Merida
MeridaThe yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo

Photos: Luang Prabang by Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Merida by Mariposa2723, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Luang Prabang 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 Luang Prabang for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • wellness
  • getting around

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

Choose Merida for

  • day trips
  • beaches
  • nightlife

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. Luang Prabang 14, Merida 50: Merida leads by 36 points.
Food & drink. Luang Prabang 42, Merida 72: Merida leads by 30 points.
Culture & sights. Luang Prabang 65, Merida 64: Luang Prabang leads by 1 points.
Nightlife. Luang Prabang 8, Merida 42: Merida leads by 34 points.
Nature & outdoors. Luang Prabang 68, Merida 48: Luang Prabang leads by 20 points.
Day trips. Luang Prabang 35, Merida 80: Merida leads by 45 points.
Good for families. Luang Prabang 38, Merida 50: Merida leads by 12 points.
Getting around. Luang Prabang 50, Merida 45: Luang Prabang leads by 5 points.
Shopping & style. Luang Prabang 38, Merida 50: Merida leads by 12 points.
Affordability. Luang Prabang 80, Merida 75: Luang Prabang leads by 5 points.
Live music & performing arts. Luang Prabang 18, Merida 52: Merida leads by 34 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Luang Prabang 60, Merida 40: Luang Prabang leads by 20 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Luang Prabang and Merida.

Your match

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

Luang Prabang
43match

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

Merida
Best match
56match

Wins on day trips and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Luang Prabang in July

33 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
250 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
No seasea
13 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
Luang PrabangMerida

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Luang Prabang: 1991-2020 normals, Luang-Prabang (0.8 km from centre). Merida: 1991-2020 normals, Merida / lic Manuel Crecencio (5.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLuang PrabangMerida
Official languageLaoSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya
CurrencyLao Kip (LAK)Mexican Peso (MXN)
SocketsABCEF230 V, 50 HzAB127 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+7UTC-6
Emergency numberPolice 191, ambulance 195, fire 190911
Elevation305 m12 m
Main airportLuang Phabang International Airport (LPQ)4 km from centre7 non-stop destinationsManuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport (MID)5 km from centre22 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-9 days

By the numbers

MeasureLuang PrabangMerida
City population53,792892,363
People per km²-1,010
Museums within 10 km05
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 Luang Prabang 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.