This post will see us take a look at the estimated cost of travel in Morocco. We have two daily travel budgets – one for shoestring travellers looking to get by on less, and another for those with a slightly more comfortable backpacking budget. Further down, you will find more details on the local currency and typical prices for travel in Morocco.
Morocco Cost of Travel in 2023
Shoestring Backpacker Budget
- US$25/day | 255 Moroccan Dirham
Overall Morocco is certainly a cheap country to travel in, by just about any standards. $25/day may be a realistic backpacking budget for Morocco if you’re careful with what you spend. This should just about cover the cost of dorm accommodation, food and some activities and trips. If you’re based in Europe, it’s also cheap and easy to get to which makes it a very appealing budget travel destination for Europeans with even the most affordable Eastern European countries struggling to match it for value.
You may also be surprised by just how easy and relatively fast it is to travel around the country with an excellent rail network linking most major destinations. Morocco even boasts Africa’s first high-speed service in the form of the 200 mph connection between Casablanca and Tangier. Rail travel is mostly good value, particularly in the lower classes, and Morocco isn’t an enormous country so you shouldn’t spend too much on transport unless you opt to do the long trip into the Sahara Desert which most visitors do via a tour company. If you’re planning to visit the Sahara via a tour as part of a relatively short (week or two week) visit to Morocco, you will struggle to stick to this budget.
In terms of other costs, typical backpacker-style accommodation will only be a minor dent in your daily spend and most museums and attractions are also very cheap, with entrance fees typically in the region of 10-20 Dirhams, although some Marrakech attractions have increased their price significantly in recent years.
More Comfortable Morocco Backpacking Budget
- US$35/day | 355 Moroccan Dirham
Morocco isn’t really one of those countries where you need too much discipline to keep to a ‘backpacker’ travel budget. Even the best classes on trains are pretty good value and outside of Marrakech, there’s not much of a party culture so you are highly unlikely to find yourself in a situation where you end up blowing your budget on nights out. That being said, if you do like a drink, alcohol in Morocco is relatively expensive and a beer can cost as much as a cheap meal in some restaurants.
Of course there are always nicer riads and hotels that may prove tempting if you want to spend a few more days in more luxurious surroundings. Increasing your Moroccan travel budget by $10 or so a day will enable you to sample this more regularly, although most major towns and cities also have plenty of airbnb options where you sample staying in a more authentic Moroccan home without paying the tourist rates.
If you are planning to do a trip into the Sahara via a tour company from Marrakech or Fes, then you may want to up your budget to something like $40-50 per day, although it will depend on the total length of your time in Morocco as there’ll be plenty of days where you can get by on $25 or less.
Morocco Travel Costs
| Approximate Price (in US Dollars) | |
| Train from Tangiers to Fez (4 hours) | From $15 |
| Marrakech to Agadir Bus (3 hours 30 minutes) | From $12 |
| Meal in an affordable local restaurant | $2.50-3.50 |
| Local beer in bar/restaurant | $2-3 |
| Dorm bed in a hostel | From $8/night |
| Budget private room | From $12/night |
| Entrance to Bahia Palace, Marrakech | $7 |
| Travel insurance for backpacking Morocco | Depends on age, length of trip & other factors – Get a quote from Heymondo in less than a minute! |
The sample prices above help demonstrate how cheap Morocco can be, particularly if you eat in local restaurants rather than typical tourist joints. Things certainly compare favourably to the cost of travel in Spain with the Iberian country less than an hour away by ferry.
Money – Moroccan Dirham
£1 = 12.62 Dirham
€1 = 11.11 Dirham
US$1 = 10.22 Dirham
These exchange rates are accurate as of March 2023. Euros may be accepted in some settings and are the easiest foreign currency to exchange. Card/contactless payments are usually accepted in more touristy restaurants/attractions but you’ll certainly also need plenty of Dirhams in cash to get by in Morocco.
This Morocco backpacking budget was last updated in March 2023.
