VacationSelector
Angkor Wat beyond the palms of the causeway, Siem Reap
Siem ReapAngkor Wat beyond the palms of the causeway
Rowing boats below the ghats in the morning light, Varanasi
VaranasiRowing boats below the ghats in the morning light

Photos: Siem Reap by allPhoto Bangkok, Pexels License; Varanasi by Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.

Siem Reap or Varanasi?

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 Siem Reap for

  • nightlife
  • families
  • wellness

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

Choose Varanasi for

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

What lies behind each score is written up on Varanasi’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. Siem Reap 5, Varanasi 4: Siem Reap leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Siem Reap 45, Varanasi 55: Varanasi leads by 10 points.
Culture & sights. Siem Reap 88, Varanasi 80: Siem Reap leads by 8 points.
Nightlife. Siem Reap 42, Varanasi 10: Siem Reap leads by 32 points.
Nature & outdoors. Siem Reap 40, Varanasi 18: Siem Reap leads by 22 points.
Day trips. Siem Reap 55, Varanasi 42: Siem Reap leads by 13 points.
Good for families. Siem Reap 35, Varanasi 5: Siem Reap leads by 30 points.
Getting around. Siem Reap 30, Varanasi 28: Siem Reap leads by 2 points.
Shopping & style. Siem Reap 38, Varanasi 55: Varanasi leads by 17 points.
Affordability. Siem Reap 88, Varanasi 92: Varanasi leads by 4 points.
Live music & performing arts. Siem Reap 32, Varanasi 58: Varanasi leads by 26 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Siem Reap 60, Varanasi 30: Siem Reap leads by 30 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Siem Reap and Varanasi.

Your match

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

Siem Reap
Best match
47match

Wins on nightlife and families with your weighting.

Varanasi
40match

Wins on live music and the arts and shopping with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Siem Reap in July

30 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
197 mmrain in the month
13 hdaylight a day

Varanasi in July

35 °Cdaytime high
27 °Cnight-time low
249 mmrain in the month
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°50°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
Siem ReapVaranasi

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.

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

Before you go

MeasureSiem ReapVaranasi
Official languageKhmerHindi, English
CurrencyRiel (KHR)Indian Rupee (INR)
SocketsACG230 V, 50 HzCM230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightLeft
Time zoneUTC+7UTC+5:30
Emergency numberPolice 117, ambulance 119, fire 118108 or 112
Elevation18 m76 m
Main airportSiem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI)39 km from centre14 non-stop destinationsLal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (VNS)21 km from centre16 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year21 days-

By the numbers

MeasureSiem ReapVaranasi
City population147,8661,198,491
People per km²-14,598
Museums within 10 km62
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Siem Reap or Varanasi somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Temperature and rainfall for destinations with no weather station are from the NASA POWER 2001-2020 climatology, derived from MERRA-2. 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.