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 we didn’t include the costs of entering or leaving the country here, as those expenses can vary dramatically depending on your starting point.
Table of Contents
- 2025 Note on Morocco Backpacking Prices
- Our General Impression of Travel Costs in Morocco
- Our Lodging Costs in Morocco
- Our Transportation Costs in Morocco
- Our Restaurant Travel Budget for Morocco
- Our Grocery Expenses in Morocco
- Our Tour + Excursion Expenses in Morocco
- Miscellaneous Morocco Travel Budget Costs
- Final Thoughts on Our Morocco Travel Budget
2025 Note on Morocco Backpacking Prices
This blog post is quite dated at this point, as it covers our experience backpacking Morocco in 2016!
Travel has obviously changed in some ways since then. For example, many more Morocco tour operators have an online presence now, driving down the prices of activities booked in advance from when we visited.
From a quick internet overview, it also seems that taxi prices have barely budged since our trip!
Riad prices seem to have increased some, but not nearly as much as I would necessarily have expected. If we wanted to, I feel confident we could come close to replicating this Morocco travel budget today… but we wouldn’t want to.
As I note toward the end of this blog post, I think we would have enjoyed Morocco even more than we did (and we did enjoy it!) if we opened our purse strings a bit more, and I would personally plan a different Morocco budget today.
If you have any budget takeaways from your more recent Morocco trip, I’d love to hear about them in the comment section!
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 generally cost 25-50% of what we expect to 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! We paid around 4 dirham ($0.40 USD) for a fresh-squeezed glass, which 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 included breakfast in all destinations expect 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 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 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.
Only one of these riads (this one in Chefchaouen) appears to still be online, but here are highly rated riads within our budget in each of these 3 cities:
- Sindi Sud, Marrakech (in the medina, terrace, included breakfast)
- Riad Safir Medina, Fes (amazing view from its terrace, quiet retreat)
- Vallparadis Pension Familiar (the exact place we loved! more detail below)
Where We Stayed in Chefchaouen
Vallparadis Pension Familiar — The only place we stayed that’s still online, and I’m not surprised they are!
Cheap, clean, and very basic: this pension was exactly what we were looking for.
In addition to the reasonable creature comforts, it was very quiet, which was exactly what we needed by the time we arrived in Chefchaouen.
The rooms and bathrooms (shared) were clean, and the location is within walking distance from almost everything we needed (except the bus station).
We also loved their terrace and found ourselves using it a lot!
Check rates & book your stay in Chefchaouen today!
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, and short taxi rides within cities ran about $1-3 each.
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!
Personally, 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 Morocco backpacking budget 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 when traveling Morocco on a budget (especially if, like me, you drink lots of water in general).
If you go to the desert (highly recommend!), be sure to stock up on water first. The prices rise the closer to the dunes 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 our overall excursion expenses in Morocco consists of 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).
However, 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!).
The most expensive (and most embarrassing) of these expenses 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!
Final Thoughts on Our Morocco Travel Budget
Overall, I’m satisfied with how our Morocco travel budget worked out, given that we were working within the confines of our limited RTW trip budget and needed to prioritize the length of our travels as well as the experiences we had during it.
If we were to return, though, our next Morocco itinerary would see us spending 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!
Hi Kate! My husband and I are bouncing around Spain for about 11 days at the end of August/beginning of September. For part of the trip we will be using Malaga as our home base and doing day trips to Seville, Cordoba and Granada. Trying to decide if Tangier is worth another one of our days or if she we should do something else. Any tips/tricks for a day trip to Tangier or should we think about something else? I’ve already used so many of your tips to book other tours and our train/plane rides within the country!
Thanks!
Hi Michelle!
Sounds like you guys have a great trip planned 🙂
Personally, if you’re on the fence, I’d opt not to visit Tangier. It’s a very long day, and Tangier isn’t really anyone’s visitor’s favorite city to tour in Morocco (basically, it’s a popular day trip because it’s the only realistic day trip option in Morocco, not because it’s one of the coolest places in Morocco). For a chance to get beyond Spain on a day trip, Gibraltar is much closer and easier. I talk a bit more about my thoughts on it in this post, and it applies to your situation too: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/2-weeks-in-spain-and-portugal-itinerary/
If you’re looking for more day trip ideas that are closer, in addition to Gibraltar you might consider Estepona, Marbella, Nerja, and Tarifa for beaches. Cadiz is a bit far, but makes for a fun mini-road trip.
Ronda, plus nearby white villages like Setenil de las Bodega and Olvera, as well as quirky options like Spain’s blue village of Juzcar (https://www.ourescapeclause.com/juzcar-spain-smurf-village/), can be mixed-and-matched for one of the absolute best day trips from Malaga, either via a tour or by renting a car and driving yourself.
Here’s our post on Ronda–it’s definitely worth adding to your list: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/things-to-do-in-ronda-spain/
Good luck with your planning, and I hope you guys have a wonderful time in Spain!
Thank you for information!
Heading to Morocco next week – great post to assist with budget, and to get a heads up re possible issues with debit card. Were you using a regular debit card or a travel card?
Again -thanks
Ann
Thanks Ann! We were using our regular debit card from Schwab, but we’ve used it in 40+ other countries and so far, Morocco is the only place we’ve had a major issue!
Thank you for the information.
I’ll be heading to Morocco with a tour group in September and really looking forward to the trip.
You mentioned you had trouble using your debit cards, can you elaborate? Was it because the card did not have a chip? I know we can’t order money through out bank as it’s a close currency so I will need to withdraw once I am there. I’ve been wondering if I should take cash and exchange when I get there in case my debt card doesn’t work.
But at least with your information I can decide how much to budget for my trip.
Thanks again
Hi Claudia!
Essentially, not all ATMs would take our debit cards–in some cases we had to try several before finding one that worked. Our cards do have chips.
Personally, I would bring some USD or Euros to exchange if necessary (we usually carry a bit of just-in-case USD anyway). You probably won’t need it, but better safe than sorry. 🙂
I’ve seen so numerous posts about Morocco in recent times I’ve been thriving to go! How is it for females wandering solo there?
I didn’t travel alone, but I have many friends who did! I won’t sugarcoat it: I traveled with a man, and Morocco is still home to the worst street harassment I have ever faced. My female friends who traveled alone had it even worse, and while they weren’t assaulted, there were some close calls.
I don’t want to dissuade you from going–Morocco truly is a rewarding country, and women regularly travel there alone–but it is definitely one to be cautious in. Bring the thickest skin you can manage, and don’t expect a peaceful trip. I recommend googling the Morocco posts from Eternal Arrival and Never Ending Footsteps to get an idea of what solo female travel in Morocco looks like behind the gorgeous photos. 🙂
I think we will skip Rabat. Right now it’s looking like:
3 nights in Marrakech (try to do a day trip to Essaouria)
3 nights for the desert trip that will take us to Fes
4 nights in Fes (with a day trip or maybe squeeze in a night in Chefchouan)
2 nights in Marrakech
It will be a bit of a journey from Fes to Marrakech, so we might break it up and do a quick visit to Casablanca and then get back on the train. Not sure if that’s a good idea as we will have to store our luggage somewhere.
Sounds like an amazing trip! You’ll be very tired at the end of it… which is often true of excellent journeys. 🙂
We might end up doing both the desert tour and Rabat since we now have a return flight from Marrakech. Hopefully it is not too much running around.
Push comes to shove, you can always look into budget flights in the area. I know Ryanair does a lot in Fes and Marrakech, not sure about Rabat.
This is extremely helpful.
However, it looks like our trip (late December/ early January) will be in the busiest season based on what I’ve read around. I think we will opt to stay in nicer places in Fes and Chefchouhan rather than Marrakech because from my research so far Marrakech sounds the most expensive.
We are wondering whether we should skip the desert tour and go the other way and see Rabat and the coast.
Haven’t been to the coast or Rabat ourselves (though Essaouria looks lovely), so can’t compare… but we did really love the desert trip. Being out in the sahara at night is still one of our favorite travel memories to date!
Hi there! This was insanely helpful in getting a concrete idea of how much basic things cost in comparison to USD. People say that when shopping in the souks the sellers usually price up the products triple what it actually costs. Were the prices that exorbitant in USD?
Hi Brooke!
I’ve typically heard that it’s 4x–if it’s 3x now, maybe they’re getting more realistic! Lol. But yes, the initial prices are always ridiculous–feel free to quote WAY under that. We always followed the rule that we knew what we were willing to pay when we started (after all, the “worth” of something is simply what someone else is willing to pay for it), and we didn’t argue over less than $1.00 USD. If we got close, great, if not–there’s always the next place.
It’s great to see a breakdown of the costs. I’m so glad you mentioned the bathroom fees and toilet roll, I’ll try to remember to carry some in my bag at all times! I read on another blog that you aren’t supposed to drink the tap water but that you could fill water bottles up in restaurants and cafes – did you see anything like that?
I saw you recommended not booking the desert tours in advance because it’s cheaper when you’re in Morocco – does that extend to all tours? We were planning a trip to the Atlas mountains, but will it be cheaper when we get there?
Hmm–I didn’t see anything like people filling up reusables at restaurants. If I had to guess, I would say it’s possible (most tourist restaurants will have purified water on hand), but you’ll undoubtedly be charged for it. We bought bottled water throughout Morocco, but if we were traveling there today we would use our Steripen to purify the tap water.
We didn’t look at any other tours, but yes, I would guess so–virtually everything was cheaper on the ground once we got to Morocco, by quite a large margin! Atlas Mountain tours are popular, there will be dozens of agencies selling them in major cities.
Hello together!
Sounds like an awsome trip!
My boyfriend and I are planning to travel in Morocco soon. Did you book the desert tour in advance? Do you have any recommendation?
Thank you in advance!
Safe travels!
Cheers
Alex
Hey Alex! I hope you guys have so much fun. No, we didn’t book the desert tour in advance, and I definitely don’t recommend that you do–the prices they charge to book in advance are insane! There are tons of companies eager to take you out there, you won’t have any trouble finding a company on the ground. I really recommend you read this post I wrote about our time in the Sahara–we learned so much about the process while we were out there and I put all the information right here: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/saharadesertmorocco/ It’s an absolutely magical experience–I hope you guys love it as much as we did!
Great post! We find it very helpful! It’s great to know just how much things cost and what transportation and things are like when planning a trip somewhere.
That’s great to hear, Briana and Kyle! I hope you guys have a wonderful adventure in Morocco!
Beautiful photos, you guys look like you had a real wonderful time! Morocco a great spot for camping, the landscape is magical. Appreciate you guys sharing your experience and expense break downs, articles like these helped me a lot before visiting any country!
Thanks so much, Agness! Morocco was definitely an unforgettable experience. 🙂
Wow, I thought that Morocco was very expensive so I turned down a trip to Morocco, but now I regret it so much!
Never too late! 🙂 It’s a fascinating country and well worth the trip, but definitely go in prepared–it’s not very relaxing!
I never knew Morroco was this cheap! Very cool
Absolutely! A budget traveler could do it much cheaper than this, but it wasn’t worth the trade off for us.