VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
Kek Lok Si temple on the hillside, Penang
PenangKek Lok Si temple on the hillside

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Penang by Supanut Arunoprayote, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Nairobi or Penang?

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 Nairobi for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • nightlife
  • live music and the arts

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

Choose Penang for

  • beaches
  • food and drink
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Penang’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. Nairobi 4, Penang 44: Penang leads by 40 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Penang 86: Penang leads by 38 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Penang 70: Penang leads by 35 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi 58, Penang 40: Nairobi leads by 18 points.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Penang 55: Nairobi leads by 29 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Penang 42: Penang leads by 14 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Penang 52: Nairobi leads by 3 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Penang 40: Penang leads by 20 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Penang 42: Nairobi leads by 3 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Penang 78: Penang leads by 18 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Penang 30: Nairobi leads by 5 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi 25, Penang 42: Penang leads by 17 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Nairobi and Penang.

Your match

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

Nairobi
41match

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

Penang
Best match
52match

Wins on beaches and food and drink with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Nairobi in July

24 °Cdaytime high
12 °Cnight-time low
11 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
No seasea
12 hdaylight a day

Penang in July

32 °Cdaytime high
25 °Cnight-time low
189 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
30 °Csea
12 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
NairobiPenang

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Nairobi: 1991-2020 normals, Nairobi ACC/FIC/RCC/MET/COM/ (13.3 km from centre). Penang: 1991-2020 normals, Penang / Bayan Lepas (14.5 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureNairobiPenang
Official languageEnglish, SwahiliMalay
CurrencyKenyan Shilling (KES)Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
SocketsG240 V, 50 HzG240 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftLeft
Time zoneUTC+3UTC+8
Emergency numberPolice 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999999
Elevation1,661 m4 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsPenang International Airport (PEN)14 km from centre32 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days-

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiPenang
City population5,545,000794,313
People per km²7,967-
Museums within 10 km49
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01
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 Nairobi or Penang 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). 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. 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.