Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Petra by Yasir Gürbüz, Pexels License.
Nairobi or Petra?
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
- nightlife
- families
- shopping
What lies behind each score is written up on Nairobi’s own page.
Choose Petra for
- culture and sights
- getting around
- wellness
What lies behind each score is written up on Petra’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: Nairobi and Petra.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on nightlife and families with your weighting.
Wins on culture and sights 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.
Nairobi in July
Petra in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Petra's temperatures are measured 34 km from the centre, at Ma'An.
Petra's station stands 219 m above the city centre, so the centre is likely a little warmer than the figures say.
Petra 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. Nairobi: 1991-2020 normals, Nairobi ACC/FIC/RCC/MET/COM/ (13.3 km from centre). Petra: 1991-2020 normals, Ma'An (33.9 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Nairobi | Petra |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | English, Swahili | Arabic |
| Currency | Kenyan Shilling (KES) | Jordanian Dinar (JOD) |
| Sockets | G240 V, 50 Hz | BCFGJ230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Left | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Emergency number | Police 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999 | 911 |
| Elevation | 1,661 m | 850 m |
| Main airport | Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinations | King Hussein International Airport (AQJ)90 km from centre5 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 10 days | - |
By the numbers
| Measure | Nairobi | Petra |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 5,545,000 | - |
| People per km² | 7,967 | - |
| Museums within 10 km | 4 | 2 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 1 |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Nairobi or Petra somewhere new.