VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
Hanok houses in Bukchon, Seoul
SeoulHanok houses in Bukchon

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Seoul by 거열 박, Pexels License.

Nairobi or Seoul?

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

  • prices
  • nature and the outdoors

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

Choose Seoul for

  • getting around
  • wellness
  • day trips

What lies behind each score is written up on Seoul’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, Seoul 18: Seoul leads by 14 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Seoul 84: Seoul leads by 36 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Seoul 75: Seoul leads by 40 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi 58, Seoul 84: Seoul leads by 26 points.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Seoul 75: Nairobi leads by 9 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Seoul 77: Seoul leads by 49 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Seoul 80: Seoul leads by 25 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Seoul 87: Seoul leads by 67 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Seoul 85: Seoul leads by 40 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Seoul 50: Nairobi leads by 10 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Seoul 63: Seoul leads by 28 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi 25, Seoul 75: Seoul leads by 50 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Nairobi
41match

Wins on prices and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Seoul
Best match
71match

Wins on getting around and wellness 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

Seoul in July

29 °Cdaytime high
22 °Cnight-time low
422 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
21 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400500JFMAMJJASOND
NairobiSeoul

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). Seoul: 1991-2020 normals, Seoul (2.2 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureNairobiSeoul
Official languageEnglish, SwahiliKorean, Korean Sign Language
CurrencyKenyan Shilling (KES)Won (KRW)
SocketsG240 V, 50 HzCF220 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC+9
Emergency numberPolice 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999Police 112, ambulance 119, fire 119
Elevation1,661 m38 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsIncheon International Airport (ICN)49 km from centre162 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days18 days

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiSeoul
City population5,545,0009,668,465
People per km²7,96715,973
Museums within 10 km481
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km05
Swim season, months above 21 °C-2 months

Where else could you go?

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