NavoyNostos

Maun vs Watamu

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Watamu edges it, 56 to 52, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Maun is stronger on safety; Watamu on visa ease, getting there & around, air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 7.4 of 52 points (scores 59/100)Healthcare: 5.2 of 52 points (scores 41/100)Internet: 4.5 of 52 points (scores 36/100)Visa ease: 5.8 of 52 points (scores 46/100)Getting there & around: 3.4 of 52 points (scores 27/100)Climate: 9.4 of 52 points (scores 75/100)Air quality: 10.3 of 52 points (scores 82/100)Quality of life: 6.3 of 52 points (scores 50/100)52
Maun
out of 100

Gateway town to the Okavango Delta, dusty and expedition-minded

Full Maun profile →Where to stay in Maun →
Cost of living: 6.3 of 56 points (scores 56/100)Safety: 4.8 of 56 points (scores 43/100)Healthcare: 5.3 of 56 points (scores 48/100)Internet: 4.7 of 56 points (scores 42/100)Visa ease: 7.0 of 56 points (scores 63/100)Getting there & around: 4.5 of 56 points (scores 40/100)Climate: 8.3 of 56 points (scores 75/100)Air quality: 10.5 of 56 points (scores 94/100)Quality of life: 4.9 of 56 points (scores 44/100)56
Watamu
out of 100

Kenya's marine-park beach village between Malindi and the Gedi ruins

Full Watamu profile →Where to stay in Watamu →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricMaunWatamu
Cost of livingno data56
Safety59 ✓43
Healthcare4148 ✓
Internet3642 ✓
Visa ease4663 ✓
Getting there & around2740 ✓
Climate7575
Air quality8294 ✓
Quality of life50 ✓44

Cost

MetricMaunWatamu
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,100
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricMaunWatamu
Homicides per 100k12.984.65 ✓
Political stability (0–100)84.5 ✓46
UHC service coverage (0–100)60 ✓57
Life expectancy61.2 yrs66.8 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricMaunWatamu
Download5.2 Mbps8.5 Mbps ✓
Upload5.1 Mbps ✓4 Mbps

Visa

MetricMaunWatamu
Nomad visanone listedDigital nomad work permit (Class N) ✓
Minimum income for the visano data$4,583/mo
Entry, US passport90 days ✓eTA required (online, before travel)
Entry, EU passport90 days ✓eTA required (online, before travel)
Entry, UK passport90 days ✓eTA required (online, before travel)

Getting there and around

MetricMaunWatamu
Non-stop airport destinations921 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricMaunWatamu
Comfortable months per year99
Annual mean PM2.512.9 µg/m³7.5 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Maun or Watamu?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Maun or Watamu safer?
Maun scores higher on safety (59 vs 43), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Maun or Watamu?
Watamu: a measured median of 8.5 Mbps versus 5.2 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.