Morocco or Tunisia — which one should I pick?

I love that people ask this, because Tunisia is genuinely underrated and the two are cultural cousins — both North African, Arab-Berber, French-influenced, with medinas, mint tea and a slice of Sahara. The honest headline is that they're cousins, not twins: Morocco is simply the bigger, more developed, more varied trip, while Tunisia is the easier, cheaper, more beach-led one.

Tunisia's real appeal is accessibility and value. It's a short hop from Europe, often noticeably cheaper, and brilliant if you want to combine a relaxed Mediterranean beach holiday with a hit of culture — the ruins of Carthage, the blue-and-white village of Sidi Bou Said, the holy city of Kairouan, and Star Wars filming locations on the edge of the Sahara. It's smaller and lower-key, which can be exactly what you want for a gentle week.

Where Morocco pulls ahead is depth and scale. Four imperial cities, the towering High Atlas with real trekking, far grander Saharan dunes at Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga, the blue city of Chefchaouen, a long Atlantic coast, and a tourism scene — riads, guides, luxury camps — that's more polished than Tunisia's. If you want variety and a sense of epic landscape, Morocco gives you much more to sink into.

Choose Tunisia for an affordable, relaxed beach-and-culture week with short flights and smaller crowds — a lovely first taste of North Africa. Choose Morocco when you want a bigger, more immersive journey across cities, mountains and desert, and don't mind it costing a little more and asking a little more of you. If you've already done Morocco and loved it, Tunisia is a delightful low-stress encore; if you can only ever do one, Morocco is the richer canvas.