VacationSelector
The Metropolitan Cathedral on the Zócalo, Mexico City
Mexico CityThe Metropolitan Cathedral on the Zócalo
The Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh
Phnom PenhThe Silver Pagoda

Photos: Mexico City by Oscar Dominguez, Pexels License; Phnom Penh by Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0, cropped.

Mexico City 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 Mexico City for

  • day trips
  • live music and the arts
  • shopping

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

Choose Phnom Penh for

  • prices
  • wellness
  • beaches

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. Mexico City 5, Phnom Penh 6: Phnom Penh leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Mexico City 90, Phnom Penh 62: Mexico City leads by 28 points.
Culture & sights. Mexico City 88, Phnom Penh 62: Mexico City leads by 26 points.
Nightlife. Mexico City 80, Phnom Penh 58: Mexico City leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Mexico City 50, Phnom Penh 28: Mexico City leads by 22 points.
Day trips. Mexico City 75, Phnom Penh 34: Mexico City leads by 41 points.
Good for families. Mexico City 58, Phnom Penh 32: Mexico City leads by 26 points.
Getting around. Mexico City 50, Phnom Penh 35: Mexico City leads by 15 points.
Shopping & style. Mexico City 76, Phnom Penh 46: Mexico City leads by 30 points.
Affordability. Mexico City 75, Phnom Penh 86: Phnom Penh leads by 11 points.
Live music & performing arts. Mexico City 72, Phnom Penh 32: Mexico City leads by 40 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Mexico City 40, Phnom Penh 50: Phnom Penh leads by 10 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Mexico City and Phnom Penh.

Your match

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

Mexico City
Best match
63match

Wins on day trips and live music and the arts with your weighting.

Phnom Penh
44match

Wins on prices and wellness with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Mexico City in July

25 °Cdaytime high
13 °Cnight-time low
176 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
13 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

0100200300JFMAMJJASOND
Mexico CityPhnom Penh

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Mexico City: 1991-2020 normals, Mexico Central, D. F. (7.9 km from centre). Phnom Penh: 1991-2020 normals, Phnom-Penh / Pochentong (8 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureMexico CityPhnom Penh
Official languageSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec MayaKhmer
CurrencyMexican Peso (MXN)Riel (KHR)
SocketsAB127 V, 60 HzACG230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC-6UTC+7
Emergency number911Police 117, ambulance 119, fire 118
Elevation2,240 m11 m
Main airportMexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX)7 km from centre109 non-stop destinationsTecho International Airport (KTI)23 km from centre41 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year9 days21 days

By the numbers

MeasureMexico CityPhnom Penh
City population9,209,9442,129,371
People per km²6,2023,138
Museums within 10 km1083
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km61

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Mexico City 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). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. 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. 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 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.