VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
São Paulo Cathedral, Sao Paulo
Sao PauloSão Paulo Cathedral

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Sao Paulo by Webysther Nunes, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Nairobi or Sao Paulo?

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

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

Choose Sao Paulo for

  • live music and the arts
  • beaches
  • food and drink

What lies behind each score is written up on Sao Paulo’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, Sao Paulo 42: Sao Paulo leads by 38 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Sao Paulo 84: Sao Paulo leads by 36 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Sao Paulo 60: Sao Paulo leads by 25 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi 58, Sao Paulo 86: Sao Paulo leads by 28 points.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Sao Paulo 48: Nairobi leads by 36 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Sao Paulo 47: Sao Paulo leads by 19 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Sao Paulo 52: Nairobi leads by 3 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Sao Paulo 44: Sao Paulo leads by 24 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Sao Paulo 70: Sao Paulo leads by 25 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Sao Paulo 62: Sao Paulo leads by 2 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Sao Paulo 76: Sao Paulo leads by 41 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi and Sao Paulo are level on 25.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Nairobi and Sao Paulo.

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.

Sao Paulo
Best match
58match

Wins on live music and the arts and beaches 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

Sao Paulo in July

23 °Cdaytime high
13 °Cnight-time low
53 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
11 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300JFMAMJJASOND
NairobiSao Paulo

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). Sao Paulo: 1991-2020 normals, Sao Paulo (5.9 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureNairobiSao Paulo
Official languageEnglish, SwahiliPortuguese
CurrencyKenyan Shilling (KES)Brazilian Real (BRL)
SocketsG240 V, 50 HzCN60 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC-3
Emergency numberPolice 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999Police 190, ambulance 192, fire 193
Elevation1,661 m760 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsSão Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU)21 km from centre104 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days15 days

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiSao Paulo
City population5,545,00011,451,999
People per km²7,9677,519
Museums within 10 km490
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km00

Where else could you go?

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