Casablanca in 5 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.

Casablanca in 5 Days on a Budget

Five days is honestly more than Casablanca’s own sights need, so this plan spreads the two documented day trips across separate days and adds a slower fifth day rather than inventing extra city content. Budget roughly 1,485-1,715 MAD (~$160-184) total per person for the five days, 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 . With four days only, see the 4-day itinerary ; stretching to six, see the 6-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.
  • Al Boraq train tickets for the Rabat day trip, book a day or two ahead in peak season.

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.

Day 3: Day Trip to Rabat

Morning. Take the Al Boraq high-speed train to Rabat, Morocco’s actual political capital, about 57 minutes each way, roughly 90-120 MAD (~$10-13) round trip depending on class, verify current fares. Start at Hassan Tower, the unfinished 12th-century minaret and mausoleum complex.

Midday. Walk the Kasbah des Oudayas, the fortified old quarter overlooking the river mouth, free to wander its blue-and-white lanes.

Afternoon. Visit Chellah, the walled Roman and medieval necropolis, and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V next to Hassan Tower. Lunch in Rabat, budget 60-100 MAD (~$6-11).

Evening. Train back to Casablanca, dinner near your hotel.

Day 3 running cost (per person): train round trip 100 MAD ($11) + lunch 80 MAD ($9) + dinner 120 MAD ($13) + local transport in Rabat 30 MAD ($3) = 330 MAD ($35)

Tip: Rabat’s sights are free or low-cost and close together, so this day trip is one of the best value additions to a Casablanca base.

Day 4: Day Trip to El Jadida

Morning. Train to El Jadida, about 1h25-1h30, budget 80-120 MAD (~$9-13) round trip. Head straight for the Cite Portugaise, the walled Portuguese old town.

Midday. Visit the UNESCO-listed Portuguese cistern inside the citadel, a striking arched underground water reservoir, low ticket price, small budget line.

Afternoon. Wander the ramparts and quiet lanes of the old town, a much slower pace than Casablanca itself. Lunch in town, budget 60-90 MAD (~$6-10).

Evening. Train back to Casablanca.

Day 4 running cost (per person): train round trip 100 MAD ($11) + cistern ticket 20 MAD ($2) + lunch 75 MAD ($8) = 195 MAD ($21)

Tip: El Jadida is quieter than Rabat and gets far fewer tourists, a good change of pace if Casablanca and Rabat both felt busy.

Day 5: Museums, Morocco Mall, and a Slower Corniche

Morning. Villa des Arts, Morocco’s first private art museum in a 1934 building, free entry, Tuesday to Sunday. Follow with Musee Abderrahman Slaoui, an Art Deco villa with vintage Orientalist posters and jewelry, around 60 MAD (~$6), check ahead since it sometimes closes in summer.

Midday. Lunch near downtown, budget 70-100 MAD (~$7-11).

Afternoon. Morocco Mall’s Aquadream aquarium, one of Africa’s largest malls, a walk-through cylindrical tank, a good air-conditioned break, budget for the ticket plus any shopping.

Evening. A slower, unhurried lap of the Corniche at Ain Diab, the pace day four and five earn you after three busier days.

Day 5 running cost (per person): museum 60 MAD ($6) + lunch 85 MAD ($9) + Aquadream ticket varies + dinner 120 MAD ($13) = 265 MAD ($28) plus the aquarium ticket

Tip: Five days is genuinely enough for Casablanca plus both documented day trips; resist the urge to add a sixth day of city sightseeing just to fill time.

Five-Day Total

Roughly 1,615 MAD (~$174) per person across the five days on this plan, before souvenirs, the Aquadream ticket, and lodging. Skip Rick’s Cafe on Day 2 for a simpler dinner and it drops closer to shoestring. Don’t try to stretch this pattern into a Marrakech day trip: even the fastest current train is a conventional 2h40-3h20 run, since the high-speed extension there is still under construction and not due until around 2029. For a sixth day built as an honest hub day rather than more city padding, see the 6-day itinerary , and for the full cheap-and-free rundown, see our Casablanca budget guide .