~Departure~
Marhaba! Welcome to the end of my Moroccan travel guide.
You either made it here after voraciously reading through each of the destinations in my three-week Moroccan itinerary, or you said "f— it" and were frugally-minded enough to jump at the word "budget" and check out exactly how much this all costs before you get your hopes up. Either way, good on you.
Yes, it's true, our journey has come to an end. After gawking at the fifty-six chandeliers in the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, training in the art of negotiation in Tangier, laughing with new friends in the gorgeous blue city of Chefchaouen, deconstructing Moroccan cuisine in the kitchens of Fes, racing ATVs through the desert in the Erg Chebbi dunes, admiring Berber rugs on the road through Dades, examining the craftsmanship of the Ben Youssef madrasa in Marrakesh, and surfing the waves of Essaouira, it's finally time to part ways with the charm and hospitality of Morocco.
Three weeks really does go by fast.
While I of course understand that not everyone will be able to commit as much time as we did to exploring this remarkable country, I hope that this guide does just what it's meant to — provide guidance in the assembly of your own Moroccan adventure. Take the bits and pieces that speak most to you, discard the rest, and be sure to leave room for spontaneity, as not everything will go as planned. In fact, I hope it doesn't.
Morocco is a country of balance, a welcome blend of old and new. Just as the timeless Sahara sits in such close proximity to the vast Atlantic Ocean, every Moroccan city consists of a half that is old — a meandering medina where people still live not so differently from the way they did centuries ago — and a half that is new, where those seeking fresh horizons are able to settle and envision a new life. Here, old and new coexist peacefully, whereas the battle between them has toppled nations not so far away. The new look on the old with gratitude for the preservation of their traditions, while the old look on the new as harbingers of wealth and well-being. Such is the nature of the Moroccan people — to embrace tolerance as a virtue, to look just as kindly on those who are different as on those who are familiar. Theirs is a culture of welcome and of warmth, of placing the needs of a guest ahead of their own. Such principles lie at the root of Morocco's world-renowned hospitality, which I sincerely hope you are able to experience for yourself.
As for me, I hardly feel that I've scraped the surface of all that Morocco has to offer, but if I'm fortunate enough, I'll be able to return one day soon. In the meantime, there's another destination not so far away that's calling my name...
~Budget~
Aidan and I made sure to meticulously record our expenses over the course of the trip, both for future reference and to hold ourselves accountable for our spending, as I'd recommend anyone do when traveling abroad. In order to best help you plan your own Moroccan itinerary, I've included our full budget below:
Notes:
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This trip was in summer 2022
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All amounts presented are per person; to obtain the total cost of each Airbnb for the indicated duration, multiply by two.
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Prices may have changed since my trip and may now be different from the price listed below.
$90.27 — travel insurance
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If you're unfamiliar with travel insurance, it essentially covers you for any number of anomalous events that could occur while you're abroad, including medical emergencies, political evacuation, lost baggage, trip interruption or delay, as well as other fun stuff like accidental death and dismemberment and repatriation of remains. Get travel insurance. The money you'll save from skimping out on this is not worth the added stress, nor the financially crippling consequences if you were to actually need any of the above things.
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We used Trawick International, which actually turned out to be much more affordable than World Nomads, which is one of the most popular travel insurance providers for U.S. residents, despite providing virtually identical coverage.
$787.30 — Flight to Casablanca from Atlanta
$23.14 — Casablanca Airbnb (2 nights)
$102.14 — Rabat Airbnb (2 nights)
$81.21 — Tangier Airbnb (2 nights)
$107.96 — Chefchaouen Airbnb (3 nights)
$23.28 — Hammam experience with Anass (Chefchaouen)
$16.20 — Walking tour with Hamza (Chefchaouen)
*Note: I actually did not include this tour on the Chefchaouen page, but it deserves mentioning. Multiple guides rotate leading this tour, so there's no guarantee that you will also get Hamza, but regardless this is still a straightforward, affordable walking tour of Chefchaouen to help you get acquainted with the town. Afterward, Hamza also took us out to dinner at one of his favorite rooftop restaurants, where he had friends performing live music.
$87.23 — Fes Airbnb (4 nights)
$18.21 — Walking tour with Zahi (Fes)
$44.22 — Cooking class with Mohamed
$975.59 — TopDesert Sahara Desert tour (3 nights)
$46.94 — First Marrakesh Airbnb (2 nights)
$12.18 — Walking tour with Jamal (Marrakesh)
$78.75 — Second Marrakesh Airbnb (2 nights)
$37.80 — Street food tour with Mourad (Marrakesh)
$40.77 — Riad in Essaouira (1 night)
$24.10 — Surf lesson with Redouan
$480 — Gifts/souvenirs
Total: $2986.93
There you have it. Some ways to cut down on costs: staying in hostels rather than Airbnbs, booking a more affordable desert tour and/or selecting a shorter desert tour, possessing some semblance of self-discipline and not buying three rugs like I did, etc.