Marrakech By Air vs BallOOning Marrakech

The price gap: $3 at 5am, nothing at all at 6am

If you're hoping price will make this decision for you, bad news. At 5am Marrakech By Air asks $152 and BallOOning Marrakech asks $149, a $3 difference that will be gone the second one of you buys a coffee. At 6am both sit at exactly $146. So the money question is settled: it isn't a money question. Everything below is about what those near-identical dollars actually buy, and the two lists are more different than the prices suggest. If you want the wider field, the full price comparison covers every listing collected.

5 hours versus 3 to 4 hours, and only one of them shows its timings

Marrakech By Air advertises 5 hours. BallOOning Marrakech advertises 3 to 4 hours and then does something almost nobody does, which is publish where those hours go.

Segment	BallOOning Marrakech	Marrakech By Air
Van out	50 minutes	Not published
Balloon flight	40 minutes	Not published
Breakfast	1 hour	Not published
Van back	50 minutes	Not published
Advertised total	3 - 4 hours	5 hours

Add BallOOning's four numbers and you get 3 hours 20 minutes of accounted time, which is why the badge says 3 to 4 hours rather than one confident figure. Marrakech By Air's 5 hours is a single block with no breakdown, and the honest reading is that the extra time is spent on the ground, not in the air. A reviewer on the Marrakech By Air listing said the flight felt short, which is what a 5 hour badge sets you up for if you assume the balloon is involved for much of it. Neither operator is selling you an hour aloft. The duration breakdown page does this for every listing.

Why a longer badge isn't a better morning

A 5 hour listing and a 3 to 4 hour listing can put you in the same basket over the same fields at the same time of day. The difference lands on the other end of the morning: with BallOOning's published timings you can work out roughly when you're back in Marrakech, and with a 5 hour block you're planning the rest of your day around a guess.

4.8 from 13,734 reviews against 5.0 from 10,839

This is the closest ratings fight on the whole site, and it's genuinely hard to call.

	Marrakech By Air	BallOOning Marrakech
Rating	4.8	5.0
Reviews	13,734	10,839

Marrakech By Air has 2,895 more reviews. BallOOning has the higher score. Both numbers are enormous, and past roughly ten thousand reviews the difference between 4.8 and 5.0 tells you less about quality than about how many mediocre mornings the bigger operation has absorbed and left on the page. A 4.8 across 13,734 people is not a warning sign, it's a large sample being honest. More on how to read these on the ratings page.

Camel ride and guide versus photographer and drone

Here's where the two listings genuinely stop being interchangeable, because each one includes something the other doesn't mention at all.

Included	Marrakech By Air	BallOOning Marrakech
Hotel pick-up and drop-off	Yes	Yes, by 4x4, van or minibus
Pre-flight food	Mini breakfast	Tea, coffee, croissants
Post-flight breakfast	Berber breakfast in a Berber tent	Moroccan buffet under a caidal tent
Flight certificate	Yes	Yes, personalised in Arabic calligraphy
Insurance	Yes	Yes
Camel ride	Yes	No
Guide	Yes	No
Photographer	No	Yes
Drone	No	Yes

At the same $146, BallOOning hands you a photographer and a drone inside the price. On most balloon mornings in Marrakech that footage is sold to you at the landing site for a fee, so having it in the inclusions list is the single most valuable difference on this page. Marrakech By Air answers with a camel ride and a guide, which is a nice morning but not a thing you'd otherwise pay for separately at the launch field. If the footage is what you care about, read photos and drone footage first, and what's actually included for the rest.

Comfort Flight and the $1,284 private basket exist on only one of these

Options are the other real split, and they all sit on one side.

• Marrakech By Air: standard at $152 / $146, Comfort Flight at $169 / $157, and a private flight at $1,284 at 5am.
• BallOOning Marrakech: one option, one price, $149 at 5am and $146 at 6am. It carries a private group badge but publishes no price for it.

So if you want a smaller basket or the whole balloon to yourself, Marrakech By Air is the only one of the two that lets you buy it at checkout. That $23 step up to Comfort Flight at 5am is the cheapest way to change your basket on this page, and it's covered on standard versus Comfort Flight. The $1,284 private is a different conversation entirely, over on private versus shared. BallOOning's shared balloon takes 16 or 19 passengers depending on which balloon flies, which is a busy basket by any measure.

Who each operator turns away before you book

The restriction lists barely overlap, so check yours before the price tempts you.

Rule	Marrakech By Air	BallOOning Marrakech
Minimum age	3 years	4 years
Height	Under 3 ft (90 cm) not suitable	Not stated
Weight	110 kg maximum, contact in advance if over	Not stated
Heart problems	Not suitable	Not stated
Pregnancy	Not stated	Not suitable
ID	May be requested, refusal possible without it	Not stated

Pregnant and choosing between these two, Marrakech By Air is the listing that doesn't rule you out in writing. Travelling with a three-year-old, same answer, as long as they clear 90 cm. Over 110 kg, Marrakech By Air wants a message before the day rather than a surprise at the basket. The full set of rules across every operator is on the safety and restrictions page.

Pick-up: a 5 minute wait versus a 6:00 pm WhatsApp

Both include pick-up from any car-accessible address in Marrakech, and then they treat you very differently once the van arrives.

1. BallOOning Marrakech: be at reception or the entrance 10 minutes early. The driver waits a maximum of 5 minutes. Miss it and it's a no-show, no refund, no reschedule. You can't change your pick-up point within 24 hours of the flight, and if your hotel is outside Marrakech, add 1,200 dh per vehicle.
2. Marrakech By Air: you get a WhatsApp around 6:00 pm the day before with the exact time and place, after the weather forecast has been checked. Hotels wait out front, residences at the main gate, and riads in the medina get the nearest accessible meeting point shared a day ahead.

Read that BallOOning clause properly, because it's the harshest sentence on either listing. Five minutes at 4-something in the morning, in a riad district where the van can't reach your door, is not a lot of margin. Marrakech By Air's approach is softer in tone but relies on you having a working phone number on the booking. Either way, make sure the number you enter is the one you'll actually have in Morocco. More on all of this at hotel pick-up.

Shoes: both ban heels, then they disagree

Small thing, easily fixed the night before, and the two lists aren't the same.

• Both ban high-heeled shoes and both ban alcohol and drugs.
• BallOOning also bans sandals and flip flops, and asks for closed-toe shoes and a jacket.
• Marrakech By Air also bans slippers, and asks for comfortable shoes, a hat and weather-appropriate clothing.

Wear closed trainers and you've satisfied both lists at once. What to wear and bring has the rest.

Which one should you book at $146?

Book BallOOning Marrakech, because at the same 6am price it includes a photographer and a drone, publishes its 40 minute flight and 50 minute transfers instead of hiding them in a 5 hour badge, and holds a 5.0 across 10,839 reviews. Choose Marrakech By Air instead if you're pregnant, travelling with a three-year-old, or you want the Comfort Flight at $157 or the whole balloon at $1,284, none of which BallOOning sells.

FAQ

Which is cheaper, Marrakech By Air or BallOOning Marrakech?

BallOOning Marrakech by $3 at 5am, $149 against $152. At 6am they're identical at $146 each, so pick on inclusions rather than price.

Does either one include drone footage in the price?

BallOOning Marrakech does. Its inclusions list names both a photographer and a drone. Marrakech By Air's list doesn't mention either, but it does include a camel ride and a guide.

How long is the actual balloon flight?

BallOOning Marrakech publishes 40 minutes in the air, with 50 minutes in the van each way and an hour for breakfast. Marrakech By Air advertises 5 hours in total and doesn't publish a flight time.

Can I fly with Marrakech By Air or BallOOning Marrakech while pregnant?

BallOOning Marrakech lists pregnant women as not suitable. Marrakech By Air doesn't list pregnancy at all, so of these two it's the one that doesn't rule you out in writing.

What happens if I'm late for the BallOOning Marrakech pick-up?

The driver waits a maximum of 5 minutes past the scheduled time, and after that it counts as a no-show with no refund and no reschedule. Be at the entrance 10 minutes early.

How many people share the BallOOning Marrakech balloon?

Up to 16 or 19 passengers, depending on which size of balloon flies that morning. If you want fewer people around you, only Marrakech By Air sells an alternative, at $169 or $157 for the Comfort Flight and $1,284 for a private flight.