North Africa

What do Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia have in common, and how do they differ?

Geographically, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are the three most populous and most tourism-established countries in North Africa. Egypt lies in the east on the border with Asia, and at 1,001,449 km² is more than six times the size of Tunisia; Morocco, in the far west of the Maghreb, measures 446,550 km² as a core territory excluding Western Sahara, while Tunisia in between on the Mediterranean coast covers only 163,610 km². Algeria and Libya lie geographically between the three countries but are barely developed for tourism and not relevant to this comparison.

Western Sahara, the roughly 900 km long, Moroccan-administered desert territory south of Morocco's core territory, remains a political special case: its status under international law is unresolved, and consular support from Swiss, German or Austrian representations is not possible there. It does not count as one of the three main countries in this comparison for tourism purposes and is covered on its own page.

Islam shapes daily life, the calendar and architecture equally in all three countries, but the paths that led there differ: Egypt was shaped by pharaonic civilization and later the Arab conquest, while Morocco and Tunisia were shaped by Berber dynasties, Ottoman rule and the French colonial era. For trip planning, three questions ultimately matter most: desert or coast, how much time for the journey there, and which visa regime fits your own nationality.

Sources: Federal Foreign Office, Germany · Wikipedia

How do Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia compare directly?

The desert experience differs greatly between the three countries: Morocco offers the most spectacular Sahara landscape of the three with the dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga, over 150 m high, plus the 4,167 m Jbel Toubkal, North Africa's highest mountain. Tunisia reaches the Sahara near Douz more compactly and with shorter distances from the coast, while Egypt offers its own desert variant with the White Desert west of Cairo, shaped by limestone formations and less geared toward multi-day camel treks than Merzouga or Douz.

For the sea, the biggest difference lies with Egypt: it is the only one of the three countries with both a Mediterranean coast at Alexandria, around 40 km long with over 5.3 million residents and one of the largest Mediterranean cities anywhere, and its own Red Sea coast at Hurghada with internationally known diving areas. Morocco, besides its short Mediterranean coast in the north (Tangier, the Chefchaouen area), has above all a long Atlantic coast from Tangier to Agadir; Tunisia lies entirely on the Mediterranean, with no access to the Atlantic or Red Sea.

Sources: Wikipedia · Wikipedia · Wikipedia · Morocco Tours Agency · Wikipedia · VisasNews · Federal Foreign Office, Germany · ADAC

When is the best time to visit North Africa?

The three core regions: Cairo, Marrakech and Tunis

Average daily highs and lows, and monthly rainfall. Temperaturen: Mittel der täglichen Höchst- und Tiefstwerte 2010–2024 der Station CAIRO INTL (19 km, 116 m), auf 23 m umgerechnet. Niederschlag: NASA POWER, Monatsmittel 2001–2020. Temperaturen: Mittel der täglichen Höchst- und Tiefstwerte 2010–2024 der Station MENARA (6 km, 468 m). Niederschlag: NASA POWER, Monatsmittel 2001–2020. Temperaturen: Mittel der täglichen Höchst- und Tiefstwerte 2010–2024 der Station CARTHAGE (6 km, 7 m). Niederschlag: NASA POWER, Monatsmittel 2001–2020.

Cairo and Marrakech reach similar peak highs of around 36 to 39 °C in midsummer, while Tunis stays somewhat milder at around 35 °C thanks to its proximity to the Mediterranean. In winter, all three cities cool noticeably at night, Marrakech to 6 to 8 °C, Tunis to 8 to 9 °C; a warmer sweater for the evening belongs in the luggage everywhere.

The Nile valley around Luxor and Aswan sees an even wider range than Cairo: in midsummer, values there climb to 42 to 43 °C, while Cairo itself, thanks to its proximity to the Mediterranean, never gets quite as extreme. In Morocco, a similar pattern appears between milder Fez in winter and the hot Sahara in summer.

Coastal contrast: Hurghada on the Red Sea, Casablanca on the Atlantic, and Djerba on the Mediterranean

Average daily highs and lows, and monthly rainfall. Temperaturen: Mittel der täglichen Höchst- und Tiefstwerte 2010–2024 der Station HURGHADA INTL (9 km, 16 m). Niederschlag: NASA POWER, Monatsmittel 2001–2020. Temperaturen: Mittel der täglichen Höchst- und Tiefstwerte 2010–2024 der Station ANFA (7 km, 62 m). Niederschlag: NASA POWER, Monatsmittel 2001–2020. Temperaturen: Mittel der täglichen Höchst- und Tiefstwerte 2010–2024 der Station ZARZIS / DJERBA (10 km, 6 m). Niederschlag: NASA POWER, Monatsmittel 2001–2020.

On the coasts, the respective sea moderates the extremes: Hurghada on the Red Sea, at around 39 °C in midsummer and around 23 °C in January, stays warmer than the other two coasts and allows diving practically year-round. Casablanca on the Atlantic is the coolest of the three coastal cities at around 27 °C in August, with considerably more winter rainfall. Djerba on the Mediterranean lies in between and, thanks to its island location, stays mild enough for beach holidays even in winter, with lows rarely below 10 °C.

For Sahara tours, October to April is considered ideal in all three countries: Merzouga and Zagora in Morocco as well as Douz in Tunisia are avoided in midsummer because of heat above 40 °C, as is the White Desert west of Cairo. The fasting month of Ramadan shifts by around eleven days each year and affects restaurant and attraction opening hours in all three countries, with lively nightlife after iftar.

Sources: Wikipedia · Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA), Austria · Federal Foreign Office, Germany

Which North African country suits which kind of trip?

Egypt: the Nile, the pyramids and the Red Sea

Egypt is the only one of the three countries with its own Red Sea coast and offers the region's densest combination of antiquity and diving tourism, with the Pyramids of Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum, a multi-day Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan, and the diving areas near Hurghada. At around 4 h flight time between Frankfurt and Cairo, it lies the farthest from Europe and, alone among the three countries, requires a paid e-visa.

With more than 100 million residents, Egypt is also the most populous of the three countries and offers four clearly separated stages with Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada, usually linked by domestic flight or Nile cruise rather than rental car. Anyone seeking diving or snorkeling alongside antiquity finds in Egypt the only one of the three trip options that combines both in a single trip without having to switch to a second country.

Morocco: the Atlas, the Sahara and the Atlantic

Morocco combines the medinas of Marrakech and Fez with the 4,167 m Jbel Toubkal, the Sahara dunes of Merzouga and Zagora, and a long Atlantic coast from Essaouira to Agadir. With the port of Tangier Med only around 14 km from Spain, it is geographically the closest of the three countries to Europe, even though the flight time between Frankfurt and Casablanca, at around 3 h 30 min, is somewhat longer than to Tunis.

Tunisia: compact, Roman, close

Tunisia, at 163,610 km², is the smallest and most compact of the three countries and combines the capital Tunis with the Roman ruins of Carthage and El Jem, the holy city of Kairouan, and the vacation island of Djerba near the Sahara. With the Frankfurt-Tunis route taking around 2 h 15 min and visa-free entry for Germans for up to 120 days, it is the easiest and fastest of the three countries to reach.

Western Sahara: the political special case

Western Sahara, administered by Morocco, belongs geographically to North Africa but, because of its unresolved status under international law, is not one of the three main countries in this comparison. Travelers there mainly experience the kitesurfing lagoon of Dakhla and the administrative town of Laâyoune, reachable practically only via Morocco's core territory and under the same entry rules as Morocco.

Sources: Wikipedia · Wikipedia · Morocco Tours Agency · Wikipedia · meine-flugzeit.de · ADAC · Federal Foreign Office, Germany

Can you combine Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia in one trip?

Direct flights between the three countries do indeed exist, contrary to what is sometimes claimed - but they are less frequent and usually more expensive than flights to Europe, and none of the three routes is served daily by all the airlines listed at once. Anyone wanting to combine two of the three countries on one trip is best off checking directly with Royal Air Maroc, EgyptAir, Tunisair or Nouvelair which days of the week the desired route actually operates.

Popular two-country combinations

Morocco and Tunisia are the easiest to combine thanks to the short flight time of around 2 h 36 min, for example a week in Marrakech and the Sahara followed by a week in Tunis, Carthage and Djerba. Egypt, because of the greater distance, is usually visited on its own or combined with a stopover in the Middle East (Jordan, the Gulf states) rather than with Morocco or Tunisia.

Within each individual country, the actual tourist routes run independently of the neighboring countries: in Egypt it classically runs from Cairo via Luxor and Aswan to the Red Sea, in Morocco from Marrakech via the High Atlas into the Sahara and on to the coast, in Tunisia from Tunis via El Jem and Kairouan to Djerba. These routes are described in detail on the respective country pages.

Sources: KAYAK · KAYAK · KAYAK

How do you fly to Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, and how do flight times from Europe differ?

Cairo International (CAI), with around 130 nonstop destinations in 60 countries, 34 of them in Europe, is Africa's largest aviation hub and is further complemented by Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada, each with its own international airport. Morocco receives most of its international traffic via Casablanca Mohammed V (CMN), while Marrakech, Fez, Tangier and Agadir are also served directly from numerous European cities. Tunisia concentrates arrivals at Tunis-Carthage (TUN) and, especially for charter and vacation flights, at Djerba-Zarzis (DJE).

The densest overseas connections run from Cairo and Casablanca: Cairo additionally connects with Asia, Oceania and southern Africa via Gulf hubs such as Doha or Dubai, while Royal Air Maroc offers its own long-haul flights from Casablanca to Montreal, New York, Toronto and Washington. Tunis-Carthage is more strongly oriented toward Europe and the Middle East, with seasonal connections to Montreal.

Within the three countries, domestic flights connect the major legs fastest: in Egypt, Cairo with Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada; in Morocco, Casablanca with Marrakech and Fez; in Tunisia, Tunis with Djerba. For shorter distances, rail (Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia each with their own network in the north) and long-distance buses are an affordable alternative in all three countries.

Sources: meine-flugzeit.de · meine-flugzeit.de · meine-flugzeit.de

What applies for entry, visas and health in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia?

Health: heat rather than malaria

None of the three countries is considered a relevant malaria area for tourists: the WHO certified Egypt malaria-free in 2024 and Morocco already in 2010, and the CDC lists no risk for Tunisia. The usual routine vaccinations are still recommended, plus hepatitis A in all three countries and, situationally, a measles booster.

The biggest shared health risk remains heat: with temperatures above 40 °C in the Nile valley, the Sahara and inland areas of all three countries from June to September, heat exhaustion and dehydration are risks. Travel medicine sources recommend plenty of fluids, sun protection, and scheduling activities for the cooler morning and evening hours during these months.

Sources: VisasNews · Federal Foreign Office, Germany · ADAC · Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA), Austria · ÖAMTC · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

What does a trip to Egypt, Morocco or Tunisia cost?

The Egyptian pound (EGP) is the most freely tradable of the three currencies by comparison; ATMs are common in Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada, but the country remains strongly cash-based, for example for baksheesh. The Moroccan dirham (MAD) and Tunisian dinar (TND) are both closed currencies: exporting larger amounts is officially not permitted, and ATMs in Morocco usually charge a fixed fee of around 20 to 40 MAD per withdrawal.

For the general price level, the three countries cannot be ranked in a simple order, since all three offer both budget guesthouses and upscale resort chains. Fixed, state-set costs such as the Egyptian e-visa (USD 30) or free entry into Morocco and Tunisia are the most direct comparison points; accommodation and restaurant prices depend more on the chosen region and category than on the country itself.

Tipping is common in all three countries but nowhere mandatory: in Egypt, baksheesh shapes practically every service, while in Morocco and Tunisia around 10% in restaurants is customary, unless a service charge is already included. Haggling over price is part of everyday life in the souks of all three countries, from Khan el-Khalili in Cairo to the Marrakech medina to the market of Houmt Souk on Djerba.

Sources: VisasNews · Wikiprocedure · Wikipedia

What culture unites, and what festivals distinguish, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia?

Language and colonial heritage

In Egypt, Arabic is practically the sole everyday language, with English dominant as a foreign language in tourist areas; French plays almost no role. In Morocco and Tunisia, French is widely used alongside Arabic as a language of education and commerce, a direct legacy of the French colonial era into the 1950s and 1960s. Morocco additionally has Amazigh (Berber languages) as a second official language, while in Tunisia Berber culture is by comparison a smaller, marginal phenomenon, visible for instance in the villages around Matmata.

Religious and cultural minorities

Egypt is home to the largest religious minority of the three countries with its Coptic Christian community, visible in the Coptic quarter of Old Cairo. On the Tunisian island of Djerba, a Jewish community has lived alongside the Muslim majority for over 2,000 years, marked by the El Ghriba Synagogue; in Morocco, the once-larger Jewish community has declined sharply since the mid-20th century, with Jewish heritage still visible in individual mellahs (old Jewish quarters) of Fez and Marrakech.

Crafts, dress and daily life

Haggling over price is part of everyday life in the souks and bazaars of all three countries, from Khan el-Khalili in Cairo to the tanneries of Fez to the market of Houmt Souk on Djerba. Outside beaches and hotel complexes, a more modest dress code applies in all three countries, though non-Muslim women are not required to wear a headscarf; it is enforced most strictly in rural regions of Morocco and Egypt, and most loosely on the beaches of Djerba or in Hurghada.

The fasting month of Ramadan changes restaurant and attraction opening hours in all three countries and brings especially lively nightlife after sunset with iftar; travelers who expect only ordinary daytime hours should check the exact dates in advance for the relevant travel year.

Worth combining

• Egypt
• Morocco
• Tunisia
• Western Sahara