These Morocco tips are from my visit in 2018, updated in 2024. I visited multiple historical sites and ate at too many restaurants to count over those 10 days, so what I have included are just the highlights of my journey and things I feel that you should not miss.
Morocco is a country that can be chaotic and noisy to some people. You may even be uncomfortable at some point. But the good thing is that it also has beautiful scenery, and you will be sure to have a very different experience than other locations.
After spending 10 days in Morocco, I barely scraped the surface of this beautiful country.
5 Important Morocco Tips for Your Holiday
- The languages spoken include Arabic, French, English, and some Spanish.
- The country is a Muslim country, so females should wear clothing that covers their shoulders and legs.
- You will hear a prayer call every few hours over the loudspeakers surrounding the city as early as 5:00 am.
- The serving of alcohol is scarce but you will find it in some restaurants if you ask. They do serve it at hotels, but it will not be offered in hostels and riads that are operated by the Berber people.
- If you are traveling in the summer months be prepared for temperatures to sometimes reach 105 degrees.
To give you an idea of how far areas are away from each other, it takes six hours to get from Meknes to Marrakech and twelve hours to get from Marrakesh to the Sahara Desert.
You must give yourself multiple days if you want to see other cities besides Marrakesh. Below is my route.
Cities Visited Include:
Casablanca (3 separate nights)
Rabat (5 hours)
Meknes (1 night)
Marrakesh (4 nights)
Sahara Desert (3 days with a tour group)
How to Get Around Morocco
Even though Morocco does have a rail system, you may want to rent a car. Renting a car gives you the flexibility to come and go as you please, and change your plans as you deem necessary.
If you are going to rent a car, head to my post on renting a car for all of the necessary tips.
Costs
Morocco is an affordable country. If you are a budget traveler, you can spend less than $40 a day. If you are a resort traveler, you can still spend less than $150 a day. It depends on how you want to spend your time there. Depending on the time of year, hostels range from €10- €30 for dorm rooms.
Riads (like a bed and breakfast) average €40- €60 a night and hotels €60- €200 a night. The country offers a wide range of accommodations; with some offering Western luxuries and others not offering them.
I stayed in two hostels, one riad, and two hotels.
Pro tip: if you are traveling in the hotter months, you should email or call your accommodations in advance to confirm that they will have air conditioning. What it says online may be different from what is offered upon arrival.
Morocco Tips continued…..
Food is very cheap, and on average you will spend €20 a day on food, while still enjoying a full-course meal for both lunch and dinner. These prices are without alcohol. Alcohol in the hotels is a bit pricey by Moroccan standards. On average a Casablanca Beer is 50-80 dirhams ($6 -$10 USD)
The main attraction is visiting the Sahara Desert.
Prices for the tours range drastically, and it depends on how many days you want to sleep in the desert.
The drive is 12 hours from Marrakech, so some tours will have you stay over in a town on the way to the desert on the first night to break up the drive, while others do not.
I will be honest and say that I am not in a position to give you advice on which Sahara Desert tour to book.
I did not have an amazing experience but I only paid €149 total for a 3-day excursion for two people. There are plenty of other tours offered and I suggest that you book online in advance, not when you arrive.
Our friends at the Road Unraveled can let you in on what they experienced so you can decide how you want to spend your time in the desert.
Other activities we found near Marrakech include four-wheeling; day trips from Marrakech to Essaouira (beachfront city 3 hours west of Marrakech) and a day trip to the Ouzoud Falls (waterfalls 2.5 hours east of Marrakech); costing anywhere from $50 – $80 each.
Where to Stay
Casablanca
We stayed in hotels in Casablanca for the 3 separate nights we were there. There were not any hostels available when we visited in May 2018
- Best Western Toubkal: Full-service hotel with breakfast included, a little outdated but clean.
- Sheraton Casablanca: Full-service hotel with a pool and nightclub, no complaints.
- Hotel Relax: Booked for us by Air Maroc since they changed our flight, the hotel was budget service and located next to the airport but had a pool and a bar
Meknes
Book accommodations to stay inside the center of a souk (market) if you can, as it’s quite an experience. The Riad Zahraa in Meknes was tucked away in the middle of a souk and we had to pay someone to help us maneuver through the merchants and their wares, just to find the place!
Marrakesh
If you are staying in the summer months in Marrakesh, do yourself a favor and quadruple-check whether your accommodations will have air conditioning or not. The Dream Kasbah is an amazing hostel with wonderful staff and excellent facilities but it had no air conditioning.
What to see in Moroccan Cities
Casablanca
A medium-sized bustling city on the waterfront that has enough entertainment for one night’s stay.
Hassan II Mosque – The largest mosque in Morocco and the 13th largest in the world. They offer timed tours for a fee of the interior but it is free to walk around the grounds.
Rabat
The capital city and quite small. You will only spend a few hours here, but in that one day, you can see two amazing sites.
Mausoleum of Mohammed V – The resting place of the Moroccan king and his two late sons, free to enter.
Chellah – Landscaped gardens within Roman ruins (yes, Roman), 10 dirhams per person to enter.
Meknes
Authentic Moroccan City and fewer tourists, the closest city to Volubilis. This is one of the not to miss Morocco tips.
Lahdim Square Souk – A very lively market with snake charmers, belly dancers, and Moroccan wares.
Volubilis – Roman ruins located 45 minutes north of Meknes. Well worth the drive, 10 dirhams per person to tour the grounds on foot. Wear comfortable shoes as the terrain is rocky. There is no need to hire a guide unless you want to learn about the history of the ruins.
Marrakesh
Marrakesh has the most to do out of all the cities we visited and the historical sites are super cheap, averaging $1 USD to enter. The city has something called the New and Old Medina also. We mostly visited the Old Medina and the sites on that side of the city. The New Medina is home to resort hotels, supermarkets, and nightclubs.
Go Bargaining in the Souk by Jemaa el-Fna – This marketplace is buzzing with life from 10 am- 9 pm. You can buy everything from clothes, housewares, spices and leather goods. You’ll easily spend a good two hours wandering around shopping and getting lost.
Saadian Tombs – A mausoleum surrounded by gardens, 10 dirhams per person and it takes as little as 20 minutes to wander around and take pictures.
Ben Youssef Madrasa – A former Islamic College now open to the public, 10 dirhams per person. This is the location of our infamous scam situation.
Where to Eat in Morocco
I visited over a dozen restaurants recommended on Yelp, and food and travel blogs, and most of them did not live up to the hype.
To be fair, I lived in New York City at the time and was spoiled with amazing food from every different cuisine imaginable daily. And with my culinary background, I attempted to try everything with an open mind but a lot of the recommended restaurants fell flat.
You will find tagine and couscous on every single Moroccan menu and I certainly had our fair share of it!
However, we did find some real stars that shined brighter than the others. These are just a few places not to miss in my Morocco tips.
Meknes
Cookies from Stall 14– located deep within the souk by Lahdim Square are sweet cookies baked by Aisha. These cookies are crumbly but baked with honey and sesame seeds to give them a homemade flavor.
Marrakesh
Nomad – Located in the heart of the souk next to Jemaa el-Fna square, they serve modern Moroccan food, with a rooftop overlooking the souk and air conditioning if you need a break from the heat.
Un Dejeuner a Marrakech – Cute restaurant serving modern Moroccan breakfast lunch and dinner.
Dar Essalam is totally a tourist restaurant and I stumbled upon it on my own, however, the food was better than other tagines I had tried. They also had two live music acts, along with a belly dancer. It is also one of the few places that openly serves wine.
Visiting Morocco? Here are my Guides:
