A Travel Price Comparison for Families, Couples, and Backpackers Ait Ben Haddou vs. Carcassonne for Vacations, Tours, and Honeymoons

Should you visit Ait Ben Haddou or Carcassonne?

Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?

Which city is more affordable and which is best for your travel style? If you're trying to figure out where to go next, comparing the travel costs between Ait Ben Haddou and Carcassonne can help you decide which place is right for you.

Where Should I go: Ait Ben Haddou or Carcassonne?

Ait Ben Haddou

Think of a time when you've seen Jerusalem in a movie. Chances are what you're really looking at is the traditional, mud brick city of Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco. This city on the edge of the High Atlas Mountains has been an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, and has also been seen in movies like Lawrence of Arabia, Orson Welles' Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus of Nazareth, the French version of Cleopatra, Bertolucci's Sheltering Sky, Scorsese's Kundun, Gillies MacKannon's Hideous Kinky, Ridley Scott's Gladiator, Oliver Stone's Alexander the Great, and in some scenes from Game of Thrones.

Carcassonne

Carcassonne is a hilltop town in southern France. Inhabited since the Neolithic period, Carcassonne is located in the Aude plain between historic trade routes, linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrenees. The Romans recognized its strategic importance and occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire and was later taken over in the fifth century by the Visigoths who founded the city. Its desirable location led successive rulers to expand its fortifications until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. It is famous for its medieval citadel, La Cite, which has numerous watchtowers and double-walled fortifications. The first walls were built in Gallo-Roman times, with major additions made in the 13th and 14th centuries. With its position on a rocky hilltop, zigzag battlements, stout walls and spiky turrets, the fortified city of Carcassonne looks like something out of a children's storybook when it's seen from afar. A Unesco World Heritage Site since 1997, it's most people's idea of the perfect medieval castle. It attracts over four million visitors every year, peaking in high summer. Time your visit for late in the day (or even better in spring or fall) to truly appreciate the old town's medieval charm.

For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best Budget Tours to Morocco, The Best Luxury Tours to Morocco, The Best Hiking & Trekking Tours in France, and The Best Historical Tours in France.


Which place is cheaper, Carcassonne or Ait Ben Haddou?

These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.

The average daily cost (per person) in Ait Ben Haddou is $70, while the average daily cost in Carcassonne is $115. 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 Ait Ben Haddou and Carcassonne in more detail.



Accommodation
  • Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one person
    Ait Ben Haddou $25
    Carcassonne $66
  • Accommodation Typical double-occupancy room
    Ait Ben Haddou $50
    Carcassonne $132
Compare Hotels in Ait Ben Haddou and Carcassonne

Looking for a hotel in Ait Ben Haddou or Carcassonne? 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.

Hotels in Ait Ben Haddou


Hotels in Carcassonne


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: Ait Ben Haddou Hotel Prices and Carcassonne Hotel Prices.

Local Transportation
  • Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    Ait Ben Haddou $29
    Carcassonne $7.74

Is it cheaper to fly into Ait Ben Haddou or Carcassonne?

Prices for flights to both Carcassonne and Ait Ben Haddou 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
  • Food Meals for one day
    Ait Ben Haddou $23
    Carcassonne $42

Entertainment
  • Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    Ait Ben Haddou $28
    Carcassonne $15

Tours and Activities in Carcassonne

For Carcassonne, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:

  • City Exploration Game and Tour: $6.42
  • Highlights Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt & Tour: $6.42
  • Castle and Ramparts Entry Ticket: $12
  • A Self-Guided Tour of Carcassonne’s Ancient Basilica: $20
  • Medieval Walls Self-Guided Smartphone App Tour: $20
  • Carcassonne 's Medieval Walls: A Self-Guided Tour: $20
  • Languedoc: Tour and Tasting at Domaine de Baronarques: $21
  • Unusual guided tour of Carcassonne at the time of the Builders: $22
  • Unusual Guided Tour of the Medieval City of Carcassonne: $22
  • Small group tour of the Cité de Carcassonne: $49
  • Complete Private Tour City and Castle of Carcassonne: $109
  • Cité de Private Guided Tour: $160

Alcohol
  • Alcohol Drinks for one day
    Ait Ben Haddou $6.12
    Carcassonne $14

Sample the Local Flavors in Carcassonne

Some specific costs for nightlife related activities in Carcassonne:

  • Wine tour Cathar country: $471


When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Ait Ben Haddou and Carcassonne, we can see that Carcassonne is more expensive. And not only is Ait Ben Haddou much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Ait Ben Haddou is in Africa and Carcassonne 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 Ait Ben Haddou would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Ait Ben Haddou 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 Carcassonne would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Carcassonne than you might in Ait Ben Haddou.

If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Ait Ben Haddou Expensive? and Is Carcassonne Expensive?.