Morocco Travel Budget: What Does a Trip to Morocco Cost?

Morocco is, by and large, a very budget-friendly destination, and a Morocco travel budget can accommodate anything from very bare-bones backpacking (under $30/person/day) all the way up to extreme luxury (the sky’s the limit).

We didn’t find it difficult to keep to our overall Morocco travel budget, but there were definitely varying degrees of how inexpensive things were based on our US standards of value.

The Morocco trip costs outlined here represent our time spent backpacking Morocco on what we would consider a flashpacker budget. Basically, no to dorm rooms, (mostly) yes to a/c, and no to major luxuries.

We spent 12 full days in the country, averaging a total Morocco travel budget of $72.34/day for two people, or $36.17 per person, per day. This added up to a total cost of $868.00 for our nearly 2-week trip.

Our time spent backpacking Morocco took us to Marrakech, Erg Chebbi in the Sahara Desert (with various side stops along the way), Fes, Chefchaouen, and, briefly, Tinghir.

All prices for our trip to Morocco costs are listed in USD unless otherwise noted, and, as usual for our travel budget roundups, we don’t include the costs of entering or leaving the country here, as those expenses can vary so dramatically depending on your starting point.

Our General Impression of Travel Costs in Morocco

Transportation inside cities was very inexpensive: we paid $1.50 for most cab rides, with a maximum cost of $3.00. As far as cab rides go, those are some of the least painful that I’ve ever experienced.

Long-distance taxis, though, were another matter: we ended up forking over $60.00 for a taxi from Tinghir to Fez.

Restaurant food was generally 25-50% of what we pay in the US, with the exception being tourist-driven restaurants without any competition nearby to dilute the prices.

Orange juice was always worth the money in my opinion–4 dirham ($0.40 USD) for a fresh-squeezed glass always hit the spot.

Lodging was where we found that we had the most room to breathe: we spent $15-35/night for a riad, had private rooms everywhere, and private bathrooms, and included breakfast in all but the Blue City of Chefchaouen–but that was also the least expensive place that we stayed.

We didn’t have a chance to visit coastal destinations and explore the things to do in Essaouira, Oualidia, or Agadir on this trip, but hope to add them to our itinerary on our next trip and check out prices there, as well.

Our Lodging Costs in Morocco

Total: $258.00 for 9 nights, an average of $28.67/night.

We spent 11 nights total in Morocco, and the lodging for two of them is wrapped up in our 3 day/2 night desert tour. Our remaining 9 nights average out to $28.67/night.

We initially booked all of our lodgings online, and when we extended our stays in Fes and in the blue city of Chefchaouen, we handled that in cash (and received a nice discount each time for doing so).

Our riad in Marrakech was by far the most expensive–if we go back to Morocco, experience has taught us that we can find a far better rate.

Here’s where we stayed in Morocco!

Marrakech

Riad Ineslisa — This was an inexpensive riad in the medina, and the cost showed. While it was walking distance (about 15 minutes) to Jemma el-Fnaa, the room felt insecure.

Our room had only a very thin door with a simple lock and had airflow from the lobby.

This was both good since there was no air conditioning, and bad since there was very little privacy as far as noise goes. We wouldn’t stay here again.

Fes

Riad Malak — This was our favorite place that we stayed in Morocco! The riad was beautiful, the owner kind and helpful, and the breakfast amazing (so many pastries!). Best of all, it had air conditioning.

The riad is located in the heart of the medina, easy walking distance to most of the major sites. The only issue we had was a strong mildew smell in the bathroom, but, well–that wasn’t exactly rare in Morocco.

Chefchaouen

Vallparadis Pension Familiar — Cheap, clean, and very basic: this hostel was exactly what we were looking for. It is made up of all private rooms and is very quiet–exactly what we needed by the time we arrived in Chefchaouen.

The rooms and bathrooms (shared) were clean, and the location is walking distance from almost everything we needed (except the bus station). We wouldn’t mind returning here!

Our Transportation Costs in Morocco

Total: $127.50 

The biggest expenses here were our airport transport ($35.00, higher than it could have been because we booked through our riad for ease), and our taxi from Tinghir to Fez.

Bus rides cost under $10.00 per person for long distances.

A Morocco road trip will likely raise your transportation prices a bit, but depending on what kind of trip you’re planning (for example, are you planning to travel to Morocco with kids?), it might be worth it! We didn’t feel ready to take that on during our first trip to Morocco.

Our Restaurant Travel Budget for Morocco

Total: $152.50 

The bulk of the meals listed in our Morocco travel budget are from restaurants–and yes, we were completely sick of it by the end.

The tagine and couscous were great, but after nearly two weeks in Morocco, I think I’ll be fine if I don’t see either for another five years.

Our Grocery Expenses in Morocco

Total: $59.00 

By far, our biggest addition to our trip to Morocco cost in this category was water. It seems fairly inexpensive (most frequently we paid 36 dirham, or $3.60 USD, for 9 liters), but it adds up over time. If you go to the desert, be sure to stock up on water first: the prices rise the closer you get.

We also bought several rounds of snack food and treats, since we didn’t have access to a kitchen and sometimes needed to taste something familiar–Pringles, Oreos and Nestle candy bars were ubiquitous.

Our Tour + Excursion Expenses in Morocco

Total: $217.00 

The vast majority of these Morocco costs was our 3 day/2 night tour to the Sahara Desert (which also included plenty of other sightseeing, like Game of Thrones film locations such as Ait Ben Haddou and some beautiful Atlas Mountain viewpoints), but it also includes our disastrous tannery visit, our time at Ben Youssef Madrasa, and a few other odds and ends.

Miscellaneous Morocco Travel Budget Costs

Total: $54.00 

We had a lot of miscellaneous purchases that we needed to fit into our Morocco travel budget, including bathroom fees (most bathrooms have a fee and do not provide toilet paper) and a new pair of cheap sunglasses for both of us (definitely add sunglasses to your Morocco packing list!).

Most expensive (and most embarrassing) were the cash advance fees that we ended up paying on our credit card when our debit card refused to work in Morocco. We ended up working the issue out with our bank, but not before racking up some obnoxious fees.

Because of limited storage space, we did at least pass on all of the (tempting) souvenirs–but the price of those is definitely determined by how good you are at shopping in Morocco!

Overall, I’m very happy with how our Morocco travel budget worked out, given that we were working within the confines of a limited RTW trip budget at the time and needed to prioritize the length of our travels as well as the experiences we had during it.

If we were to return, we would be capable of completing our Morocco itinerary less expensively–but instead, what we would actually do is spend more.

In retrospect, I think that while our trip to Morocco cost exactly what we needed it to at the time, we would have enjoyed Morocco much more by increasing our travel budget by about 50% and enjoying a few more creature comforts.

While Morocco is a very budget-friendly place for backpackers, we’d personally splurge a bit more there if we had it to do all over again!

Don’t visit Morocco without travel insurance! We use and recommend Safety Wing for their competitive prices, ease of purchasing, and the clarity of their contracts.

We didn’t include it on this Morocco travel budget because, similar to entering and exiting the country, the costs can vary widely for each trip. Be sure to research your needs before taking off!