Which place is cheaper, Porto or Phnom Penh?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations. These travel costs come from the actual spending of real travelers.
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Should you visit Phnom Penh or Porto?
Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?
Which city should you visit? Read on to compare the activities as well as the prices of travel for Phnom Penh and Porto. We'll break down costs for accommodation, food, transportation and more to help you learn more about these two destinations. Then, you can figure out if either of these two places are accessible based on your travel budget, schedule, and interests. So, let's dig into it.
Where Should I go: Phnom Penh or Porto?
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city in the country of Cambodia. It is located at the edge of the Mekong and the Tonle Sap rivers and is the nation's center of economics and industry. The metropolitan area has a population of about 2.2 million.
Phnom Penh was once called the "Pearl of Asia." In the 1920s it was one of the most impressive French built cities in the region and was an important tourist destination. During the Vietnam War, refugees fled to the city and by 1975 the city's population was between 2 and 3 million, most of them being refugees. The city fell to the Khmer Rouge in 1975 and they cut off supplies to the population for over a year. Journalists reported torture and mutilation of the trapped civilians and the Khmer Rouge forcibly evacuated the city in what is known as the death march. The Khmer Rouge was driven from the city by the Vietnamese in 1979 and reconstruction began.
Today, tourism continues to grow in the city and those who visit are greeted by a welcoming and friendly population, a rich culture, and truly rewarding travel experience.
Phnom Penh has a tropical wet and dry climate. It is hot year around with very little temperature variation. Lows are usually in the low 70s Fahrenheit and highs are in the mid to high 90s Fahrenheit. The southwest monsoon brings rains between May and October and the northeast monsoon brings the dry season from November to March.
Porto
Porto is the second largest city in Portugal. It is also the capital of the Northern Region and a hub for commercial and industrial activity. The city is not as large as you might expect, with a population of only about 300,000 residents, but the metropolitan area has a population of about 2.5 million. This includes nearby cities such as Gaia, Matosinhos, Maia and Gondomar.
For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best One Week (7-Day) Tours in Cambodia, The Best 2-Week Tours in Cambodia, The Best Family-Friendly Tours to Portugal, and The Best 10-Day Tours in Portugal.
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Phnom Penh Prices
Cambodia PricesPorto Prices
Portugal Prices -
Average Daily Cost Per person, per dayPhnom Penh $50Porto $182
The average daily cost (per person) in Phnom Penh is $50, while the average daily cost in Porto is $182. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Phnom Penh and Porto in more detail.
Accommodation
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Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one personPhnom Penh $12Porto $82
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Accommodation Typical double-occupancy roomPhnom Penh $24Porto $164
Compare Hotels in Phnom Penh and Porto
Looking for a hotel in Phnom Penh or Porto? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.
Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.
Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Phnom Penh Hotel Prices and Porto Hotel Prices.
Local Transportation
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Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.Phnom Penh $7.84Porto $23
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Phnom Penh
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Phnom Penh:
- Private Taxi transfer from Phnom Penh City to Can Tho City: $375
- Siem Reap: Private Transfer to or from Phnom Penh: $239
- Private Transfer from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by VIP Alphard 2010: $190
- Private Taxi Transfer Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville: $160
- Siem Reap or Private One-Way Transfer: $158
- Private Taxi Transfer from/to Phnom Penh - Sihanoukville: $145
- Private taxi transfer from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville city: $145
- Private taxi transfer from Phnom Penh to Kompot or Kep: $145
- Private Taxi transfer from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap: $145
- Private taxi transfer from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap: $145
- Private taxi transfer from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh city: $145
- Private Taxi transfer from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh: $145
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Porto
Also for Porto, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
- Airport Transfer: Porto Airport OPO to Porto by Luxury Van: $103
- Arrival Private Transfer from Porto Airport OPO to Porto by Sedan: $41
- Arrival Transfer from Porto Airport OPO to Porto in Private Car/Van: $102
- Arrival Transfer: Porto Airport OPO to Porto in Business Car: $83
- Arrival Transfer: Porto Airport OPO to Porto in Luxury Car: $143
- Arrival Transfer: Porto Airport OPO to Porto in Luxury Van: $102
- Aveiro Private Transfer to Oporto Airport: $137
- Departure Transfer: Porto to Porto Airport OPO by Business Car: $83
- Departure Transfer: Porto to Porto Airport OPO by Luxury Van: $102
- Departure Transfer: Porto to Porto Airport OPO in Luxury Car: $143
- Douro Valley Private One-Way Transfer (Régua, Pinhão, Lamego): $206
- From Private Transfer to Lisbon: $257
Is it cheaper to fly into Phnom Penh or Porto?
Prices for flights to both Porto and Phnom Penh change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Food
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Food Meals for one dayPhnom Penh $22Porto $72
Typical Food Prices in Phnom Penh
Below are a few samples from actual travelers for food and meal costs in Phnom Penh:
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Dinner for Two$10
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Breakfast for Two$4.82
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Phnom Penh
Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Phnom Penh.
- Mekong Sunset Dinner Cruise with Live Music: $9.90
- Sunset Dinner Cruise with English Speaking Guide: $10
- Dinner 4-course Mekong River cruise with Kanika Boat: $27
- Nightlife three hours food tours: $27
- Evening City Tour by Tuk Tuk with 1 Dinner: $29
- Cooking Class in Phnom Penh: $31
- Phnom Penh’s Hands-On Khmer Cooking Class in the Countryside: $35
- Street Art & Food Tour by Tuk-Tuk: $35
- Khmer Cooking Class Half Day (AM or PM): $36
- Street Art and Food Tour with Pickup and Beer: $39
- Street Art and Food Tour by Tuk-Tuk: $39
- Authentic Walking Food Tour with Local Guide: $39
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Porto
For Porto, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:
- Pastel de Nata Cooking Class with Porto Wine (Sé do Porto): $40
- Pastel de Nata Cooking Class with Porto Wine (Lapa): $40
- Porto Food Tour Market Tapas and Port Wine Cellar Experience: $69
- Dinner with Fado and Portuguese Traditional Music: $69
- Bolhão Market Guided Food Tour: $74
- Taste of the Ocean Authentic Porto Seafood Tour: $80
- Private Fabulist Food Tour: $80
- Authentic Porto Small Group Food Tour with Local Tastings: $85
- Shopping, cooking and eating together at my home in Porto: $86
- 4 Hour Traditional Aveiro Portuguese Food Tour: $86
- Private Walking Food Tour with Tastings: $97
- Porto Progressive Dinner Tour with Food & Wine Tastings: $102
Entertainment
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Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.Phnom Penh $7.62Porto $29
Tours and Activities in Phnom Penh
Here are a few actual costs in Phnom Penh for available activities, ticket prices, and tours:
- ( Free eSim) Phnom Penh Historical Full Day Tour: $40
- 2 Day Mt. Aural Hiking Adventure Cambodia's Peak Challenge: $249
- 2 Days Phnom Penh Cyclo and Cycling Tour: $128
- 2 Days Phnom Penh Siem Reap Private Tour, Cambodia Road Tour: $25
- 2 Days Private Guide Tour Phnom Penh Heritage: $282
- 2-Day Mekong Delta Tour: Phu Quoc to Phnom Penh via Chau Doc: $488
- 3 Day Cambodia Private Tours: $80
- 3 Days Local Life Experience, Nature view, Waterfall: $199
- 4 Hours Private Phnom Penh National Museum and Royal Palace Tour: $155
- 5-Hour Biking Tour in Mekong Island: $49
- A Day Hiking Adventure to Chonlos Waterfalls: $189
- A Full Day Tour for Royal Palace S21 Killing Fields and More: $35
Tours and Activities in Porto
Also, here are some specific examples of entertainment, tickets, and activities for Porto.
- Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt and Tour in Porto: $3.41
- The Unvanquished Tour in Porto City Center: $3.41
- Aveiro Self-Guided City Walking Tour & Scavenger Hunt: $3.41
- Self-Guided Tapas Tour of Porto: $3.41
- Self-Guided Tours in Porto with 100 Captivating Audio Stories: $3.41
- Porto Scavenger Hunt & Highlights Self-Guided Walking Tour: $3.41
- Porto - Origin & Present - Guided Tour: $3.43
- Porto Gaia Self-Guided City Walking Tour & Scavenger Hunt: $3.43
- Porto History and Culture Walking Tour with Local Guides: $3.43
- Porto's Old Town Tour & Ribeira: $3.43
- Fundamental Tour of Porto with Revolutours: $3.43
- Porto's #1 Walking Tour: $3.43
Alcohol
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Alcohol Drinks for one dayPhnom Penh $4.32Porto $21
Sample the Local Flavors in Phnom Penh
Some specific costs for nightlife related activities in Phnom Penh:
- Phnom Penh Pub Crawl with Free Mad Monkey Singlet: $12
Sample the Local Flavors in Porto
Some specific costs for nightlife related activities in Porto:
- 1 Demarcation Museum Tickets and Port Wine Tasting: $5.71
- Crazy Pub Crawl with 9 Drinks, Free Shots, Wild Games +VIP: $16
- Porto:Pub Crawl 4Bars,8Drinks,Games & VIP Club Entry: $21
- Port & Wine Experience Museum with 3 Wine Tastings: $23
- Pub Crawl Porto: $24
- Poças Guided Visit and Wine Tasting of 2 DOC Douro & 1 Port Wine: $26
- Porto Halloween Pub Crawl 4 bars + 1 club, Scary Games & 7 Drinks: $29
- Cellar Tour, Port Wine Tasting and Fado Show at Fonseca: $29
- Classic Wine Tasting with GUIDED TOUR: $29
- Porto Wine Tasting Experience with Portuguese Tapas Plate: $34
- 5 Port Wine Tasting with pairings: $40
- Portuguese Tile Painting Workshop with Port Wine Tasting: $40
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Phnom Penh and Porto, we can see that Porto is more expensive. And not only is Phnom Penh much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Phnom Penh is in Asia and Porto is in Europe, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Phnom Penh would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Phnom Penh and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Porto would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Porto than you might in Phnom Penh.
If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Phnom Penh Expensive? and Is Porto Expensive?.
Which is Bigger, Phnom Penh or Porto?
Phnom Penh has a larger population, and is about 6 times larger than the population of Porto. When comparing the sizes of Phnom Penh and Porto, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.
Budget Your Trip is all about finding out how much everything costs so that you can travel cheaper and longer. Created by avid travelers Laurie and Bryan, our goal is to help you plan your next trip on the right budget. With average daily travel costs that are calculated from the budgets of real travelers, plus an analysis of hotel and tour prices, you can find out how much money you need to plan your next adventure. We also have plenty of travel advice, accommodation reviews, and activity suggestions.