Photos: Mombasa by Rob Oo, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Tangier by Ideophagous, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
Mombasa or Tangier?
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 Mombasa for
- beaches
- nature and the outdoors
- nightlife
What lies behind each score is written up on Mombasa’s own page.
Choose Tangier for
- day trips
- getting around
- wellness
What lies behind each score is written up on Tangier’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Mombasa and Tangier.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Too close to call, 1 point apart
Wins on beaches and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.
Wins on day trips and getting around with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Mombasa in July
Tangier in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Mombasa has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Mombasa: 1991-2020 normals, Mombasa (5.8 km from centre). Tangier: 1991-2020 normals, Tanger Aerodrome (9.5 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Mombasa | Tangier |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | English, Swahili | Arabic, Standard Moroccan Tamazight |
| Currency | Kenyan Shilling (KES) | Moroccan Dirham (MAD) |
| Sockets | G240 V, 50 Hz | CE50 Hz |
| Driving side | Left | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+1 |
| Emergency number | Police 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999 | Police 19/112, ambulance 15, fire 15 |
| Elevation | 50 m | 56 m |
| Main airport | Moi International Airport (MBA)8 km from centre22 non-stop destinations | Tangier Ibn Battuta Airport (TNG)11 km from centre50 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 10 days | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Mombasa | Tangier |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 1,208,333 | 1,275,428 |
| People per km² | 4,100 | 6,393 |
| Museums within 10 km | 0 | 6 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 2 | 1 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | 3 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Mombasa or Tangier somewhere new.