It’s now been three months ago that I left for a twelve day trip through Morocco, and as usual I had a budget plan drawn up for this trip pre-departure. After some research online, I decided that 800 euros seemed like an amount I could work with. Yes, you read that correctly, only 800 euros everything included for twelve travel days!
Flight
Morocco has many airports where you can depart your journey from. Marrakech, Fes Casablanca and Rabat were the options we could work with for our trip. For us it didn’t really matter where we started, so obviously we chose the airport that had the best flying hours and was the cheapest. And that option was Fes.
At first we were a bit “sad” because this meant we would have all the imperial cities first before going into nature instead of dividing it in a part cities then some nature and then back to the cities. Looking back on it now I’m glad we started in Fes because this way we kept the best for last.
We flew with Ryanair and paid 83,62 euros both ways. Since Ryanair changed their hand luggage policy a couple of months earlier, we paid for priority check-in on the way out as that would save us the time waiting for our luggage at the belt once in Morocco. For the way back we didn’t bother with that. So that’s also included in the price mentioned above.
Hotels
Twelve days of travel means finding a place to sleep for eleven nights. Thanks to booking.com and airbnb finding places to stay is pretty easy nowadays. My dad and I booked all our hotels in a couple of days about four months in advance. For most locations it was pretty easy to find a hotel or riad to our liking, but in Rabat and Casablanca we experienced some difficulty. For those two places we ended up staying a bit outside of the center.
All of our overnight stays were nice, so I can recommend them all. In the price listed below, we also enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Ironically the one that we liked least was the most expensive one; Dar Diafa. Our “dislike” was mostly due to the location outside of the center than the place itself as it was a really beautiful modern hotel.
Prices listed below are for a double room based on two people.
- 1 night Riad Skilffo: €29,08
- 1 night Dar Nafwal: €32,17
- 1 night Dar Diafa: €66,52
- 3 nights Riad Konouz: €103,38
- 1 night Paradise of Silence: €39,37
- 1 night La Fibule du Dades: €31,80
- 1 night Auberge Camping Atlas: €34.63
- 1 night Bivouac Le Petit Prince (incl camel trip + dinner): €72,90
- 1 night Riad Skilffo: €29,25
Total: €439,01 (€219,55 per person)
Rental car
Just like for our US roadtrip we booked our car through the website of Auto Europe. Up until today I’m still very satisfied with how they run their business and have never had any trouble.
We booked an all inclusive compact car – Fiat Punto – with Thrifty through Auto Europe. The company Thrifty didn’t really sound familiar to me but it was the cheapest and I put all my trust in Auto Europe. Upon arrival, we immediately found out that the company you book with doesn’t really matter, at least in Morocco. We went into the car rental office of Thrifty at the airport and were serviced by a man wearing a Hertz uniform and got ourselves a car from Hertz. I guess car rental is not that big in Morocco, so multiple rental agencies end up working together. So we got ourselves a Hertz car – which was more expensive – for a Thrifty price. Fine by me!
We paid 242,06 euros for those twelve days.
Gas
Without gas, that rental car wouldn’t go anywhere, so we had to fill up that little one every once in a while. Gas price was usually a little under 10 dirhams a liter, so nothing expensive comparing it to European prices, but for Moroccan standards, it’s quite a lot. We ended up paying 90,66 euros and drove 2187 kilometers.
Entrances and activities
And we’re back at the one category were I usually have a hard time saving money on; doing and seeing things. Once again I didn’t hesitate to open my wallet to visit a palace, museum or mosque. Fortunately entrance prices in Morocco are quite cheap so I didn’t have to feel guilty about anything.
Here’s a list of all the places we’ve visited and stuff we did. Prices are of course those from the time we were visiting in March 2018.
- Bou Inania Madrasa Fes: 20 dirham
- Al Attarine Madrasa Fes: 20 dirham
- Local guide Fes: 15 dirham (each)
- Bou Inania Madrasa Meknes: 10 dirham
- Koubat Al Khayatine Meknes: 10 dirham
- Volubilis: 10 dirham
- Necropolis of Chellah Rabat: 10 dirham
- Hassan II Mosque Casablanca: 120 dirham
- Palais Bahia Marrakech: 10 dirham
- Palais Badii Marrakech: 20 dirham
- Saadian Thombs Marrakech: 10 dirham
- Majorelle Gardens Marrakech: 70 dirham
- Museum of Marrakech: 50 dirham
- Atlas Studios Ouarzazate: 50 dirham
- Hiking with guide in Gorges du Dades: 150 dirham
Total: +/-€52,40
Food
Aaah food! The fuel to keep you going! Just thinking about those delicious tajines and plates of couscous I had, makes my mouth water! So good!
Fortunately food in Morocco is also pretty cheap, so as someone who can’t really spend a lot of money on food, this was a dream come true. Our breakfast was included in our hotel every morning, but we still often ended up eating out twice a day just because it was so cheap and so damn delicious.
I ended up spending 99,49 euros for all food, including snacks along the way. We didn’t eat in any fancy places, but just the normal restaurants or snack-bars.
Souvenirs
When it comes to souvenirs, my expenses were quite low. But that certainly could have been a lot worse. A lot. Flying hand luggage only probably saved my budget on that part. You’re just constantly overwhelmed by the gorgeous handicraft you see everywhere and it’s just so hard to not just buy everything. But I limited myself to some small things for myself, friends and family and ended up spending 22,87 euros. A pretty big success, even if I say so myself.
Miscellanious
- Road tax: €14,58
- Car park: €25,34
- Parking Airport Belgium: €95
- Random tips: €4,56
When you’re travelling from Europe, you’ll also need an international passport to fly to Morocco. Since I already had my passport, this wasn’t a cost for me now, but do take into account that if you don’t have one, that’ll be something you need to arrange as well.
Summary
(price per person)
- Flight: €83,62
- Hotels: €219,55
- Rental car: €121,03
- Gas: €45,33
- Entrances: €52,40
- Food: €99,49
- Souvenirs: €22,87
- Miscellaneous: €69.74
TOTAL: €714,03
Ding ding ding, we’ve got a winner! Even I didn’t expect to end up so much below my budget, but the low food prices helped a lot. So once again, who says travelling has to be expensive? It’s all in the destination and how you work with your budget. Once again a very successful trip on all parts.
So as you can tell, Morocco is definitely an amazing destination for the budget traveler. And it certainly helps that it’s such a beautiful country as well. So I don’t see any reason anymore why you shouldn’t go visit it!
♥♥♥
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