MOROCCO BUDGET GUIDE
When we travel, I try to walk the fine line between “how little can we spend” vs “how can we make this an enjoyable experience”. This means splurging in some areas and cutting in others. I also pride myself on being a budget savvy traveler, which means I scrutinize every expense a little extra.
We recently took a 12 day trip to Morocco and after all the charges hit, here’s how we made out. I’ll walk you through all our expenses and where we could’ve cut or splurged a little more.
Total: $4,621 USD (or $2,310 per person)*
Transportation: $1,762
Accommodations: $669
Activities: $1,144
Food: $436
Souvenirs & Shopping: $610
Misc: $990
All of these expenses are for my husband and I. If you’re traveling alone, your costs will be about 60%, accounting for similar accommodation prices. Miscellaneous items vary per your family and are not included in the total.
Transportation: $1,762
Flights: $1,572 (CLT - RAK)
I almost always book our flights through Google Flights with a little help from Going. And when an email landed in my inbox for $750 flights to Marrakech, I was in.
I purchased the main cabin seats for $1,500 through American Airlines, but then it got a little complicated. The first transatlantic flight was a codeshare flight through Iberia, so we had to pay $36 pp to choose our seats. Kind of a bummer for me, as I specifically pursued American Airlines status to get free upgrades to Main Cabin Extra. But not a huge deal.
The plan was to fly in and out through Madrid, with an overnight layover on the way back to the States. But travel is often messy, so we ended up having quite an interesting experience traveling home.
We got stopped in the Marrakech airport because American Airlines had never ticketed our codeshare flight through Iberia Express from Marrakech to Madrid (!!!) After a very complicated customs experience, they put us on a later flight and then upgraded us to Premium Economy for our transatlantic flight back to Charlotte. I also got 15,000 AA miles as an apology, though I feel like we should have gotten about double that.
Taxis & Uber: $190
We almost always get around by public transport when visiting cities, but Marrakech was much more conducive to walking and taking the occasional taxi.
Public transportation exists in Morocco and Marrakech but it was not recommended for reliability or ease of use, so we opted to skip it for this trip. Though they’re supposed to run on a meter, taxis (as well as most of the country) operate on a barter system. Your experience can vary widely based on your ability to negotiate. When using taxis, we asked the manager of our riad for a reasonable rate per distance and held firm if drivers wouldn’t meet us at least halfway.
After our delay getting into Madrid for our layover, we skipped the Subway and paid $50 each way to Uber to our hotel. That one almost killed me.
Accommodations: $669
My general rule when booking accommodation is to stay as centrally located as possible in the cheapest space that looks aesthetically pleasing. I try to stick to $100 per night or under, if possible. In Morocco, we were actually able to splurge quite a bit and stay under budget.
Morocco is known for their traditional guesthouses called riads, which operate like a bed and breakfast. They’re typically several stories high, with an internal courtyard and communal rooftop. Rooms face inward, usually with a balcony overlooking the courtyard.
Marrakech (7 nights): $556
We didn’t want to try to see too much of the country in a short amount of time so we chose to make Marrakech our home base, and we spent 7 nights there, between two properties.
Our first three nights were spent at Riad Rahal for $295, which was an absolutely fabulous experience. The design was everything I hoped for, and the service and food were both superb. The riad is located centrally in the Medina, but in an easily accessible area by car (rare for the winding pedestrian maze in the old city center).
We then spent three nights en route to and in the Sahara Desert, which were included in a tour package. For the purpose of this budget I’m categorizing that as an excursion, but if booking on your own, you can expect to spend around $50 US per night.
Our second stint in Marrakech was four nights at Riad Paquerette for $262, a slightly cheaper stay closer to the edge of the city. We enjoyed our time here and if it hadn’t been December, we’d definitely have taken advantage of the dreamy pool inside the courtyard.
Madrid, Spain (1 night): $112
With a 20 hour layover planned in Madrid, we opted to book at Hotel One Shot Prado 23 in the Barrio de las Letras neighborhood. The plan was to drop our bags and hit a Christmas market or two, then have a late dinner at a tapas bar. After our snafu in Marrakech, we didn’t end up at the hotel until after 10 pm. We still found several restaurants open, but it was definitely not the immersive experience we were hoping for in our first time in Spain.
The hotel was super cute and in a great location -- I would definitely recommend it if you’ve got more than one night in town.
Activities: $1,144
We spent the most amount on activities, but I don’t regret a penny.
Riding camels in the desert was quite literally the reason we went to Morocco. I honestly can’t fathom NOT going to the desert if you’ve traveled all the way to Africa. You can technically do this on your own, but it felt a little too overwhelming for my first time navigating a new continent.
Visiting the Sahara desert is one of Marrakech’s most popular excursions, and you’ll find tons of tour companies offering one, two, and three night journeys. Most people choose a two night tour, but I would strongly recommend the full three nights, if you can swing it. The Erg Chebbi Dunes in Merzouga, the most popular desert camping spot, is almost 10 hours from both Marrakech and Fes. Meaning if you choose a shorter tour, you’ll spend most of your time in the car.
We booked a three-night tour through I Go Morocco for $230 per person, including transportation to and from the desert, overnight accommodations, and daily breakfast and dinner. This was an incredible value, but next time I would vet the tour company a little better to make sure we’d like the included hotels.
While I wanted to ride camels, Jarod’s bucket list experience was taking a hot air balloon flight. Though inexpensive compared to similar excursions in other locations, we still dropped a pretty penny at $175 pp. You can book this through vendors in the Marrakech medina, but we booked ahead of time with Marrakech by Air through GetYourGuide. I don’t know how it compares to hot air ballooning through the Serengeti or in Cappadocia scenery-wise, but it was an incredible value and an experience we’ll treasure for life.
It was a little frightening being so high up in the air though, so I would skip if heights aren’t your thing.
We also booked a hammam -- the quintessential Moroccan experience. Hammams are traditional public baths, but many bathhouses offer a luxury private hammam experience for tourists. The hammam consists of sitting in a steam room and using a kessa glove to exfoliate your body with African black soap. In a private hammam, a technician actually does the scrubbing for you.
I was looking for more of a luxury experience so we opted to book a private couple’s hammam at Les Bain d’Orient. I booked Jarod a traditional hammam for $32 and I got an upgraded package with massage and facial included for $98. It was a unique activity for sure and though I found the exfoliation a little intense, Jarod loved it so much we went back to another hammam for a repeat experience. It was the perfect way to deep clean all the Saharan sand out of our hair!
Marrakech has a few cultural sites worth visiting around the city, but we aren’t big on museums. We did visit Le Jardin Majorelle and the Dar El Bacha Museum, which I would do again. Hidden inside the back corner of the historic palace turned art museum is Bacha Coffee, a unique and luxurious coffee experience. The wait for a table at the iconic cafe can often get over two hours long, but once you get your name on the list and receive a pager, you can leave and re-enter the museum as many times as you’d like. My recommendation would be to get your name on the list, then leave for lunch or nearby shopping and return after an hour or so to tour the palace and exhibits before your pager buzzes.
We took a Free Walking Tour through Marrakech with Locals, which was more cultural than historical, but very captivating.
We also booked a cooking class, though I would skip this in a future visit. Our tickets were $22 pp and we booked through GetYourGuide, but the activity provider is no longer in business.
This is definitely the most we’ve spent on excursions in one trip, but I truly feel like we experienced Moroccan culture and I would do it again. On trips where lodging and food are less expensive, I love to splurge on the activities I can’t usually stomach fitting into the budget.
Food: $436
Our typical travel style involves lots of market stops and cooking at AirBnBs, but we skipped that this time due to both the nature of our accommodations and the affordability of food in Morocco.
Most of our breakfasts and a few dinners were included in our riad stays and Sahara excursion, but otherwise we spent $18 per person per day to eat our fill at local restaurants. Many of our meals were similar in nature, but very delicious!
One thing that helped is Morocco being mostly a dry country, so the occasional glass of wine or beer wasn’t there to drive up our bill. If you don’t watch our bill eating out, you’d likely clock in closer to $35 pp per day. We tend to get tap water (when safe) and either split an entree or get two smaller meals.
Souvenirs & Shopping: $610
The heart of most Moroccan cities is the Medina, a set of winding streets with market stalls and restaurants crammed into every conceivable inch of real estate. It’s simultaneously the most wonderful and overstimulating experience I’ve had to date. Haggling is a huge part of the culture, so if no price is listed you can expect to counter and recounter the first price you’re given.
Morocco is known for its rich leather goods and textiles, so we had to pick up a sampling of goods. We each snagged lovely supple leather jackets and linen scarves for the desert sun and cold. Other memorable items include a set of woven baskets, traditional tea cups, and some trinkets.
Misc: $990
This section encompasses items we could have done without, and you might not have to factor in.
Travel Insurance: $206
We always, always purchase travel insurance. After COVID, I couldn’t imagine skipping it. Though I budgeted for $5,000, I only purchase insurance for our upfront non-refundable costs. In this case, I purchased a $3,000 policy from Trawick International including Cancellation for Any Reason. You can compare plans through the online aggregator Insubuy.
Airport Parking: $112
Living two hours from the airport, parking is something we’ve had to permanently add to our travel budget. We parked in the CLT Long Term Lot for $9 per day and it was a quick and easy hop on the shuttle to the terminal.
Dog Boarding: $613
Our pup Oliver sadly has to stay at home when we travel internationally, so we always have a petsitter on speed dial. Since this cost may or may not apply, I didn’t include this amount in the grand total.
Random: $59
I always have to stock up on a few snacks and travel-size toiletries before a long trip, so I leave a buffer of about $100.
