VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
The cathedral above the old town, Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de CompostelaThe cathedral above the old town

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Santiago de Compostela by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga), CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Nairobi or Santiago de Compostela?

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
  • families

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

Choose Santiago de Compostela for

  • getting around
  • day trips
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Santiago de Compostela’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, Santiago de Compostela 32: Santiago de Compostela leads by 28 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Santiago de Compostela 68: Santiago de Compostela leads by 20 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Santiago de Compostela 70: Santiago de Compostela leads by 35 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi 58, Santiago de Compostela 45: Nairobi leads by 13 points.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Santiago de Compostela 62: Nairobi leads by 22 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Santiago de Compostela 72: Santiago de Compostela leads by 44 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Santiago de Compostela 42: Nairobi leads by 13 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Santiago de Compostela 70: Santiago de Compostela leads by 50 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Santiago de Compostela 35: Nairobi leads by 10 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Santiago de Compostela 64: Santiago de Compostela leads by 4 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Santiago de Compostela 40: Santiago de Compostela leads by 5 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi 25, Santiago de Compostela 42: Santiago de Compostela leads by 17 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Nairobi and Santiago de Compostela.

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.

Santiago de Compostela
Best match
54match

Wins on getting around and day trips 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

Santiago de Compostela in July

25 °Cdaytime high
13 °Cnight-time low
41 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
17 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
NairobiSantiago de Compostela

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). Santiago de Compostela: 1991-2020 normals, Santiago / Labacolla (8.4 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureNairobiSantiago de Compostela
Official languageEnglish, SwahiliSpanish
CurrencyKenyan Shilling (KES)Euro (EUR)
SocketsG240 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency numberPolice 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999112
Elevation1,661 m260 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsSantiago-Rosalía de Castro Airport (SCQ)10 km from centre29 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days13 days

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiSantiago de Compostela
City population5,545,000100,965
People per km²7,967459
Museums within 10 km46
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km02
Swim season, months above 21 °C-None

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Nairobi or Santiago de Compostela 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. Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. 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 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.