VacationSelector
Wat Xieng Thong temple, Luang Prabang
Luang PrabangWat Xieng Thong temple
The skyline over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaThe skyline over the Schuylkill

Photos: Luang Prabang by Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Philadelphia by Trev W. Adams, Pexels License.

Luang Prabang or Philadelphia?

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

  • prices
  • wellness
  • nature and the outdoors

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

Choose Philadelphia for

  • live music and the arts
  • nightlife
  • day trips

What lies behind each score is written up on Philadelphia’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, Philadelphia 36: Philadelphia leads by 22 points.
Food & drink. Luang Prabang 42, Philadelphia 62: Philadelphia leads by 20 points.
Culture & sights. Luang Prabang 65, Philadelphia 72: Philadelphia leads by 7 points.
Nightlife. Luang Prabang 8, Philadelphia 55: Philadelphia leads by 47 points.
Nature & outdoors. Luang Prabang 68, Philadelphia 52: Luang Prabang leads by 16 points.
Day trips. Luang Prabang 35, Philadelphia 80: Philadelphia leads by 45 points.
Good for families. Luang Prabang 38, Philadelphia 68: Philadelphia leads by 30 points.
Getting around. Luang Prabang 50, Philadelphia 66: Philadelphia leads by 16 points.
Shopping & style. Luang Prabang 38, Philadelphia 57: Philadelphia leads by 19 points.
Affordability. Luang Prabang 80, Philadelphia 40: Luang Prabang leads by 40 points.
Live music & performing arts. Luang Prabang 18, Philadelphia 72: Philadelphia leads by 54 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Luang Prabang 60, Philadelphia 26: Luang Prabang leads by 34 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Luang Prabang and Philadelphia.

Your match

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

Luang Prabang
43match

Wins on prices and wellness with your weighting.

Philadelphia
Best match
57match

Wins on live music and the arts 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.

Luang Prabang in July

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

Philadelphia in July

31 °Cdaytime high
21 °Cnight-time low
111 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
Luang PrabangPhiladelphia

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Luang Prabang: 1991-2020 normals, Luang-Prabang (0.8 km from centre). Philadelphia: 1991-2020 normals, Philadelphia International Airport (11.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLuang PrabangPhiladelphia
Official languageLao-
CurrencyLao Kip (LAK)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsABCEF230 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+7UTC-5, UTC-4 in summer
Emergency numberPolice 191, ambulance 195, fire 190911
Elevation305 m12 m
Main airportLuang Phabang International Airport (LPQ)4 km from centre7 non-stop destinationsPhiladelphia International Airport (PHL)11 km from centre129 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-12 days

By the numbers

MeasureLuang PrabangPhiladelphia
City population53,7921,603,797
People per km²-4,339
Museums within 10 km054
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 Luang Prabang or Philadelphia 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). 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.