Casablanca in 7 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
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Casablanca in 7 Days on a Budget
A full week is more than Casablanca needs on its own merits: the honest core plus both documented day trips fill five days, day six is a genuine hub day, and day seven here is a straightforward departure day rather than another invented city activity. Budget roughly 1,715-2,025 MAD (~$184-218) total per person for the seven 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 six days only, 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.
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.
Day 6: A Hub Day, Honestly
Casablanca’s sightseeing is done by day five. Day six is where you either wind down or move on, and the honest plan spells out both.
If you’re staying: the free sights we haven’t used yet fill a relaxed half-day: Eglise Notre-Dame de Lourdes for its 800-plus square meters of Gabriel Loire stained glass (free, finished 1954), Parc de la Ligue Arabe for a bench and some shade (free), and a look at the exterior of the Mahkama du Pacha, an ornate 1950s Hispano-Moorish courthouse (interior access is informal and inconsistent, so don’t count on getting inside). If the Cathedrale du Sacre-Coeur, the deconsecrated former cathedral now used as an exhibition venue, happens to have something on, add it too.
If you’re moving on: Casablanca’s honest role past day five is as a transit hub, not a destination to keep filling. The conventional train to Marrakech runs 2h40-3h20 (the high-speed extension there is still under construction, not due until around 2029, so don’t expect a quick hop), or you can head toward Fes instead. Either is an overnight trip, not a day trip, and beyond Casablanca’s own dossier, so treat day six as your travel day and pick up the destination-specific planning once you arrive.
Day 6 running cost (per person, staying option): stained glass free + park free + meals 120 MAD ($13) + local transport 30 MAD ($3) = 150 MAD ($16)
Tip: If you’re flying out instead of continuing overland, the ONCF airport train back to Mohammed V International takes about 35 minutes and costs 50-60 MAD, far cheaper than a taxi.
Day 7: Departure Day
By day seven, there’s genuinely nothing left in this dossier to add without padding, so this is a departure day, not a manufactured last activity. If you’re flying home from Casablanca, take the ONCF airport train from Casa-Voyageurs or Casa-Port to Mohammed V International, about 35 minutes for 50-60 MAD (~$5-6), and build in buffer time since it’s cheaper but not as flexible as a taxi. If you extended onward to Marrakech or Fes on day six, day seven belongs to that leg of the trip, covered by a dedicated guide for wherever you’ve landed, not by this Casablanca one. Either way, a last coffee or mint tea near your hotel and a final currency check are the only real to-dos: remember the 2,000 MAD cash export cap if you’re carrying dirhams out, and use up small notes rather than trying to reconvert them at the airport.
Day 7 running cost (per person): airport train 55 MAD ($6) + a light final meal 60 MAD ($6) = 115 MAD ($12)
Tip: Keep your currency exchange receipts from earlier in the trip in case you want to convert leftover dirhams back before you fly.
Seven-Day Total
Roughly 1,880 MAD (~$202) per person across the seven days on this plan (staying-local version of Day 6, flying-out version of Day 7), before souvenirs, the Aquadream ticket, and lodging. Skip Rick’s Cafe on Day 2 for a simpler dinner and it drops closer to shoestring. For a shorter version of this same honest spine, see the 6-day itinerary , and for the full cheap-and-free rundown behind every price on this page, see our Casablanca budget guide .