Is Morocco Expensive to Visit?

MOROCCO TRAVEL EXPENSES – WHAT WE SPENT

We spent six weeks travelling through Morocco by car, bus, train and tram. During this time, we found Morocco to be very reasonably priced, even with the occasional splurge on some nicer hotels and posher restaurants.

This section is a little insight into how we spent our money. We’ve split our budget into various categories, so you can compare how your own Morocco budget might differ with ours. Below, we’ve broken down our expenses (in MAD) into different categories with costs for each and a grand total.

We have not included airfare or insurance, as this is entirely country dependent.

MOROCCO TRANSPORT COSTS

Transport costs in Morocco are, generally, very reasonable.

Our predominant method of travel around Morocco was a rental Kia Picanto. We also used buses, trains and trams. Below is a breakdown of all the associated costs.

Car Hire Costs in Morocco

We rented our automatic transmission vehicle through Discover Cars for a little over £20 a day, which included full insurance (Discover Cars has excellent cover that we found out about first-hand in Sicily).

This price was based on booking several months in advance for a rental period in October and November. It was one of the cheaper car rentals we have had around the world, so we’d consider it to be excellent value.

For more information on renting and driving a car in Morocco, check out our dedicated driving guide.

Bus, Tram and Train Costs in Morocco

Public transport is pretty decent and widespread in Morocco. There’s a mix of trams, trains, buses and shared taxis that can get you *almost* anywhere you need to be.

Trains | booking trains online proved to be problematic for us (the ONCF website is a bit glitchy), so we bought tickets direct at the station from friendly, helpful staff members who spoke English. Our train ticket costs in Morocco were very reasonable. A second-class journey from Marrakech to Casa Voyeurs (in Casablanca) was 132 MAD per person and a shorter journey to Rabat was 40 MAD per person.

Buses and trams | these were very reasonably priced. For example:

◊ We took the Marrakech airport bus which was 30 MAD and valid for a return journey within 14 days.
◊ Local city buses in Marrakech cost 4 MAD per journey (from the medina to the train station, for example).
◊ In Casablanca we took various trams for 8 MAD a journey.
◊ In Rabat we took a bus to the airport for 5 MAD each.

If you are interested in taking intercity buses in Morocco, there are two main companies – Supratours and CTM. It is also possible to book your transport on 12GoAsia, our favourite travel aggregator which is now operating in Morocco. It lists thousands of Moroccan bus and train routes that are reliably bookable online.

Taxi Costs in Morocco

We didn’t take any taxis in Morocco. Although many places online mention them like they’re essential, this is definitely not the case. A combination of public transport and rental car got us everywhere we needed to be.

Apps | there are taxi apps similar to Uber, such as Careem, Inwi, Heetch (now TooGo), InDrive and Roby. For some representative prices, check them out. We’ve used Careem and InDrive in various countries and they have always been fine.

Since 2018, Uber hasn’t operated in Morocco.

Grand Taxis | these are like public shared taxis and are fantastic value if you are a solo traveller. If you’re interested in using these to travel between cities, ask you accommodation about where to get one.

Petrol Prices in Morocco

The cost of petrol in Morocco is quite reasonable. Currently, gas in Morocco is about 13 MAD per litre.

For comparison, Morocco’s petrol is about 30% cheaper than in the United Kingdom, but not as cheap as neighbouring Tunisia, which was about two thirds of Morocco’s price when we visited.

We drove about 6,000 kilometres and spent 4,311 MAD in total on petrol.

Highway Tolls in Morocco

In total, we drove on ten toll roads during our time in Morocco. We paid for all of these in cash and spent a total of 189 MAD. The most expensive toll was 42 MAD and the lowest was 5 MAD. For more detailed information on how much your toll route will cost, check the ADM website which lists some typical route prices.

Parking Prices in Morocco

Parking lots in Morocco vary from gravel patches and small one/two storey buildings with attendants (who help drivers park into seemingly impossible spaces), to quality multi-storey car parks with electronic ticket machines.

Parking in Morocco was inexpensive, even around the touristy areas inside main towns and cities. Typical charges outside the towns and cities were only 10 MAD for places such as Legzira Beach, Paradise Valley and Ouzoud Falls.

Contrary to online posts we had read about some parking lots around medinas, we were never surprised with an extra charge for staying overnight – we confirmed the price beforehand and paid only that. Parking, including overnight, cost us at most 30 MAD per 24 hours.

ATTRACTION PRICES IN MOROCCO

We went to a handful of attractions in Morocco and found them to be inexpensive, or even free! The most expensive sites are mostly centered around Marrakech, where there are palaces, gardens and museums that all charge a relatively steep entry fee. However, outside of the cities, most attractions were free.

Here are some examples of prices per person:

◊ Roman ruins of Lixus | 60 MAD
◊ Bahia Palace in Marrakech | 70 MAD
◊ Volubilis Roman ruins | 70 MAD
◊ El Badi Palace | 70 MAD
◊ Hassan II Mosque | 140 MAD
◊ Al Attarine Madrasa in Fes | 25 MAD
◊ Ouzoud Falls | free
◊ Paradise Valley | free
◊ Akchour Falls | free
◊ Ait Ben Haddou | free

We didn’t do the popular activities, like sand boarding, camel riding, guided hikes or hot air ballooning; it’s not really stuff we’re interested in. We did, however, do a lot of free outdoorsy stuff, like exploring gorges, date palm plantations, scenic mountain drives and waterfall hikes. For some inspiration about things to do away from the cities, check out our 11 outdoorsy adventures to do in Morocco.

FOOD AND DRINK PRICES IN MOROCCO

Food is relatively inexpensive in Morocco.

As we were on a road trip, we invested in a lot of groceries. Preparing many of our own meals helped keep costs down, significantly. We also found that almost all accommodation came with an included breakfast, which was always absolutely enormous (genuinely, this is an understatement). We’d often take leftovers and eat them for lunch (and sometimes dinner, too)!

In Marrakech, we splurged on a few noteworthy (and therefore expensive) restaurants, which cost a huge chunk of our budget (we needed a break from bread and homemade couscous).

Also, it should be noted that we are vegetarian, and vegetable dishes in Morocco are usually significantly cheaper than fish or meat.

Supermarket Prices in Morocco

Morocco has several large, chain brand supermarkets, such as Marjane and Carrefour. These mostly had everything we needed for simple and easy to prepare meals in our hotels and riads.

Some examples of food and drink costs we saw in the supermarkets of Morocco:

1 litre of Coke Zero | 7.95 MAD
Pack of instant noodles | 8.25 MAD
1 kilo of uncooked couscous | 18.95 MAD
A baguette | 3 MAD
Apple | 3.83 MAD
Large tomato | 5.47 MAD
5 litre bottle of water | 9.70 MAD
Triple pack of tuna | 33.50 MAD
Laughing Cow cheese | 15.70 MAD

We spent 3,615 MAD in supermarkets and mini-marts. We were able to pay with card in the big supermarkets, except one time when the card machine was broken.

Fruit, Vegetables and Bread

As well as supermarkets, we bought a fair amount of produce from local shops, roadside stalls and markets.

We found the cheapest fruit and vegetables at market stalls. For example, two tomatoes from a market stall were 2 MAD, compared to just one from a Carrefour for more than double the price.

Morocco has plenty of shops selling only bread and traditional bakeries which sell sweet goods (in abundance). Much like the fruit and vegetable stalls, prices are far lower here than in the supermarkets. In Essaouira we bought an enormous loaf of freshly made bread for 5 MAD and elsewhere, two huge, super-soft cookies for 3 MAD, for example.

There were a number of stalls around the markets selling various cooked flatbreads, sometimes stuffed with spicy fillings. These were often large enough to be a meal on their own and cost between 1 and 5 MAD, even in Marrakech’s medina. We also found excellent triangle-shaped snacks by the roadside which were extremely affordable, too.

Restaurant Prices in Morocco

Morocco has a lot of restaurants, mostly offering local dishes such as tagine and seafood (especially on the coast). Outside of the main cities, it’s rare to find much international food, so strap yourself in for a lot of couscous!

In the cities, food was significantly more expensive, however in rural areas, we found vegetable tagines for as little as 20 MAD (so around 2 USD). Meat equivalents were usually a few dollars more. In more touristy spots, a meat tagine would typically go for around 8-10 USD.

We rarely ate out in restaurants and cafes whilst travelling around Morocco, however we had a few vegetable dishes here and there. Mostly, we splurged in Marrakech and visited a bunch of pricey restaurants. Each averaged around 900 MAD including several courses, nice (non-alc) drinks and tip.

Alcohol Prices in Morocco

We didn’t purchase any alcohol in Morocco – we don’t really drink much, especially on road trips in Islamic countries.

It’s quite expensive (often upwards of 4 USD a beer) and not sold in many places outside of tourist areas in the cities. Alcohol is retailed in special areas within some supermarkets, unless it’s Ramadan. Check the supermarkets online to see if they stock it.

However, Morocco does actually make their own alcohol, including wine, so it’s not totally taboo!

ACCOMMODATION COSTS IN MOROCCO

As mentioned above, accommodation prices vary wildly depending on the quality of the accommodation you’re after.

We mostly stayed in locally owned riads in Morocco, which were on the lower end of the range, whereas the few larger, more modern hotels we chose were significantly more expensive. For perspective, the lowest price we paid was around 25 USD per night, and the highest was 90 USD.

Morocco charges a city tax, but it’s usually included in the price on Booking.com.

MISCELLANEOUS COSTS IN MOROCCO

Sim cards | this was our biggest random expenditure, at 460 MAD total for two 20 GB Orange sim cards.

Random | outside of sim cards, we paid for an extra memory card for our camera (179 MAD) and for a (terrible effort) at self-cleaning our poor, abused rental Kia Picanto (15 MAD). We also paid 5 MAD to use the bathrooms at Ouzoud Falls.

Extras | we don’t really do any shopping or buy souvenirs, nor did we pay any ATM fees.

Visas | as U.K. nationals, we do not need to pay for a visa to enter Morocco for less than three months. Check with your relevant government agency to confirm for your nationality.