VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
Angkor Wat beyond the palms of the causeway, Siem Reap
Siem ReapAngkor Wat beyond the palms of the causeway

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Siem Reap by allPhoto Bangkok, Pexels License.

Nairobi or Siem Reap?

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
  • nightlife

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

Choose Siem Reap for

  • culture and sights
  • wellness
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Siem Reap’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, Siem Reap 5: Siem Reap leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Siem Reap 45: Nairobi leads by 3 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Siem Reap 88: Siem Reap leads by 53 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi 58, Siem Reap 42: Nairobi leads by 16 points.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Siem Reap 40: Nairobi leads by 44 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Siem Reap 55: Siem Reap leads by 27 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Siem Reap 35: Nairobi leads by 20 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Siem Reap 30: Siem Reap leads by 10 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Siem Reap 38: Nairobi leads by 7 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Siem Reap 88: Siem Reap leads by 28 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Siem Reap 32: Nairobi leads by 3 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi 25, Siem Reap 60: Siem Reap leads by 35 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Nairobi and Siem Reap.

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.

Siem Reap
Best match
47match

Wins on culture and sights 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
12 hdaylight a day

Siem Reap in July

30 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
197 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

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
NairobiSiem Reap

Where the figures come from

Siem Reap has no weather station within reach, so its figures come from a gridded climate model rather than a measured record, and read a broad area rather than the city itself.

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). Siem Reap: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km.

Before you go

MeasureNairobiSiem Reap
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 m18 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsSiem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI)39 km from centre14 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days21 days

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiSiem Reap
City population5,545,000147,866
People per km²7,967-
Museums within 10 km46
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 Siem Reap 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. Temperature and rainfall for destinations with no weather station are from the NASA POWER 2001-2020 climatology, derived from MERRA-2. 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.