VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
The Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh
Phnom PenhThe Silver Pagoda

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Phnom Penh by Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0, cropped.

Nairobi 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 Nairobi for

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

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

Choose Phnom Penh for

  • culture and sights
  • prices
  • wellness

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. Nairobi 4, Phnom Penh 6: Phnom Penh leads by 2 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Phnom Penh 62: Phnom Penh leads by 14 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Phnom Penh 62: Phnom Penh leads by 27 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi and Phnom Penh are level on 58.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Phnom Penh 28: Nairobi leads by 56 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Phnom Penh 34: Phnom Penh leads by 6 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Phnom Penh 32: Nairobi leads by 23 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Phnom Penh 35: Phnom Penh leads by 15 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Phnom Penh 46: Phnom Penh leads by 1 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Phnom Penh 86: Phnom Penh leads by 26 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Phnom Penh 32: Nairobi leads by 3 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi 25, Phnom Penh 50: Phnom Penh leads by 25 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Nairobi and Phnom Penh.

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 families with your weighting.

Phnom Penh
Best match
44match

Wins on culture and sights and prices 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

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
NairobiPhnom Penh

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). Phnom Penh: 1991-2020 normals, Phnom-Penh / Pochentong (8 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureNairobiPhnom Penh
Official languageEnglish, SwahiliKhmer
CurrencyKenyan Shilling (KES)Riel (KHR)
SocketsG240 V, 50 HzACG230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC+7
Emergency numberPolice 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999Police 117, ambulance 119, fire 118
Elevation1,661 m11 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsTecho International Airport (KTI)23 km from centre41 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days21 days

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiPhnom Penh
City population5,545,0002,129,371
People per km²7,9673,138
Museums within 10 km43
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 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). 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. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

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.