Casablanca in 2 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)

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Casablanca in 2 Days on a Budget

Two days genuinely covers Casablanca’s core: this is a 1-2 day city and gateway, not a week-long stand-alone stop. Budget roughly 750-900 MAD (~$80-95) total for two days per person, covering the Hassan II Mosque tour, meals, and local transport, figures are estimates so verify current MAD rates before you go. For the free-and-cheap breakdown behind these costs, see our Casablanca budget guide . Adding a Rabat day trip on top, see the 3-day itinerary .

Plan ahead:

  • Hassan II Mosque guided tour: check today’s tour times before you land, tours run shorter on Fridays and pause for the five daily prayers.
  • A Casa-Voyageurs or Gauthier/Racine area hotel or riad for your two nights, check rates on Booking.com .

Day 1: Hassan II Mosque, Old Medina, and the Corniche

Morning. Start at the Hassan II Mosque, about 140 MAD (~$14-15, verify) for the guided tour, the only way non-Muslims can go inside. It’s the largest mosque in Africa, built out partly over the Atlantic, with one of the tallest minarets anywhere (it lost the “world’s tallest” title to a mosque in Algeria in February 2024). Bring socks, cover shoulders and knees, and check the mosque isn’t closed for Eid before you plan around it.

Midday. Walk or taxi to the Old Medina for an honest look at Casablanca’s old town. It’s smaller and less atmospheric than Marrakech’s or Fes’s medinas, worth an hour or two rather than a full day.

Afternoon. Head to the Corniche at Ain Diab for a free seafront walk. A beach club day pass runs 200-300 MAD (~$21-32) in summer if you want a lounger; the stroll alone costs nothing.

Evening. Dinner at a Corniche seafood grill, budget 100-150 MAD (~$11-16) for a casual sit-down meal.

Day 1 running cost (per person): mosque tour 140 MAD (~$15) + local transport 30 MAD ($3) + meals 150 MAD ($16) = 320 MAD ($34)

Tip: Insist on the meter (“compteur”) in any red petit taxi. A driver claiming it’s broken is the most common overcharge in the city.

Day 2: Art Deco Downtown, Habous Quarter, and Rick’s Cafe

Morning. Walk the Art Deco downtown core around Mohammed V Square, known locally as “Pigeons’ Square,” free and always open, ringed by the grand civic buildings the French Protectorate era left behind.

Midday. Lunch at Marche Central, the covered downtown market where you pick your own fish or shrimp and the stalls grill it on the spot, budget 80-120 MAD (~$9-13).

Afternoon. Head to the Habous Quarter, a 1920s-30s planned quarter that’s the best spot for souvenir shopping (babouches, argan oil, ceramics) at calmer, more tourist-friendly prices than the Old Medina.

Evening. Rick’s Cafe is a real restaurant opened in 2004 as an homage to the 1942 film, which was actually filmed entirely on a Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, not in Casablanca or anywhere in Morocco. It’s a splurge, not a bargain: budget 300-450 MAD (~$32-48) for dinner, with a strict smart-casual dress code, worth treating as your one nicer meal of the trip.

Day 2 running cost (per person): lunch 100 MAD ($11) + dinner at Rick’s Cafe 375 MAD ($40) + local transport 30 MAD ($3) = 505 MAD ($54), before Habous souvenirs

Tip: The tramway’s 4 lines run a flat fare of about 6 MAD, the cheapest way to cover ground between downtown and the Corniche if you’re not walking.

Two-Day Total

Roughly 825 MAD (~$88) per person across both days on this plan, before souvenirs and lodging. That’s a fair mid-range budget for two focused days; skip Rick’s Cafe for a simpler dinner and it drops closer to shoestring. For a Rabat day trip added on top (about 57 minutes each way by high-speed train), see the 3-day itinerary . For the full cheap-and-free rundown behind this plan, see our Casablanca budget guide .