VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
The skyline over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaThe skyline over the Schuylkill

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Philadelphia by Trev W. Adams, Pexels License.

Nairobi 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 Nairobi for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • prices
  • nightlife

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

Choose Philadelphia for

  • day trips
  • getting around
  • culture and sights

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. Nairobi 4, Philadelphia 36: Philadelphia leads by 32 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Philadelphia 62: Philadelphia leads by 14 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Philadelphia 72: Philadelphia leads by 37 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi 58, Philadelphia 55: Nairobi leads by 3 points.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Philadelphia 52: Nairobi leads by 32 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Philadelphia 80: Philadelphia leads by 52 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Philadelphia 68: Philadelphia leads by 13 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Philadelphia 66: Philadelphia leads by 46 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Philadelphia 57: Philadelphia leads by 12 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Philadelphia 40: Nairobi leads by 20 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Philadelphia 72: Philadelphia leads by 37 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi 25, Philadelphia 26: Philadelphia leads by 1 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Nairobi and Philadelphia.

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 prices with your weighting.

Philadelphia
Best match
57match

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.

Nairobi in July

24 °Cdaytime high
12 °Cnight-time low
11 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
12 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

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
NairobiPhiladelphia

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). Philadelphia: 1991-2020 normals, Philadelphia International Airport (11.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureNairobiPhiladelphia
Official languageEnglish, Swahili-
CurrencyKenyan Shilling (KES)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsG240 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC-5, UTC-4 in summer
Emergency numberPolice 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999911
Elevation1,661 m12 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsPhiladelphia International Airport (PHL)11 km from centre129 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiPhiladelphia
City population5,545,0001,603,797
People per km²7,9674,339
Museums within 10 km454
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Nairobi 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). 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. 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.