

Photos: Puerto Escondido by theklan, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Siem Reap by allPhoto Bangkok, Pexels License.
Puerto Escondido 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 Puerto Escondido for
- beaches
- nature and the outdoors
- getting around
What lies behind each score is written up on Puerto Escondido’s own page.
Choose Siem Reap for
- culture and sights
- day trips
- 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.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Puerto Escondido and Siem Reap.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Too close to call, 2 points apart
Wins on beaches and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.
Wins on culture and sights 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.
Puerto Escondido in July
Siem Reap in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Puerto Escondido's temperatures are measured 66 km from the centre, at Puerto Angel, Oax..
Puerto Escondido has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
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. Puerto Escondido: 1991-2020 normals, Puerto Angel, Oax. (65.6 km from centre). Siem Reap: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km.
Before you go
| Measure | Puerto Escondido | Siem Reap |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya | Khmer |
| Currency | Mexican Peso (MXN) | Riel (KHR) |
| Sockets | AB127 V, 60 Hz | ACG230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-6 | UTC+7 |
| Emergency number | 911 | Police 117, ambulance 119, fire 118 |
| Elevation | 60 m | 18 m |
| Main airport | Puerto Escondido International Airport (PXM)2 km from centre10 non-stop destinations | Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI)39 km from centre14 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 9 days | 21 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Puerto Escondido | Siem Reap |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 29,903 | 147,866 |
| Museums within 10 km | 0 | 6 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 1 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | - |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Puerto Escondido or Siem Reap somewhere new.