Morocco is often thought of as a good destination for budget travelers. And while traveling in Morocco is much cheaper than in other parts of the world, it can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be depending on your travel style. Our Morocco trip cost came to around $1,000 a day (with airfare), which tends to still be a good starting point in 2024 for families vacationing in many cities across the country.
However, we were NOT looking to do this trip on the cheap. Because of safety concerns and overall culture immersion challenges, we wanted to take a bit more of a luxury approach than we do on most of our trips. Instead of exploring on our own and staying in Airbnbs, we wanted to stay in nice riads and hotels. But most of all, we wanted to have a driver that stayed with us throughout the trip.
I have included a number of splurges in this Morocco trip budget (like staying at a luxury desert camp) because this tends to be a trip of a lifetime. There are plenty of ways to reduce these expenses to fit your budget — and I’ll point those out.
If you are planning a trip to Morocco, I strongly recommend working with EPIC Travel, a boutique travel agency that focuses exclusively on Morocco and Portugal, with in-country trip planners that will design a custom itinerary for you and source the right fit of hotels, guides, drivers, and unique experiences. Mention We3Travel when you reach out and if you book a trip, you will receive a free VIP welcome gift on arrival.
If you are just visiting Marrakech or flying from Marrakech to Fes and only visiting those two cities or doing day trips, you can plan it all on your own. Or if you are very adventurous, you could rent a car or use the bus system to get around the country without any extra help. However, I feel that especially for families, working with a third-party expert is well worth it.
How much does a trip to Morocco cost?
I have based this Morocco trip cost loosely on the Morocco itinerary that we followed during our family visit, which was for 12 nights in March. For purposes of this Morocco travel budget, I have used the following assumptions:
- Family of four with two adults and two kids under 16 sharing a family room/suite or two rooms;
- Flying from NYC to Casablanca;
- Staying in Morocco for 12 nights during spring break;
- Staying in 4 star riads and hotels;
- Splurging on a few special activities.
Based on these assumptions, a 12 night trip to Morocco for a family of four costs approximately $13,381 or $278 per person, per day. If you are traveling as a couple, you can adjust accordingly based on the breakdown below. In this Morocco budget I have included airfare, on-the-ground transportation, accommodations (4 star primarily), activities, and food.
Airfare to Morocco
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The reason we decided to visit Morocco is because we found a great airfare deal from New York to Casablanca. Today, when looking at an estimated average ticket cost from New York to Casablanca they come to around $550 per person in the off-season and $950 during the summer.
You can usually find the best fares on direct flights on Air Maroc, but you can also connect in Europe on Air France or TAP Airlines through Portugal. When looking for airfare deals, I highly recommend signing up for a membership to Going, which will send you airfare deal alerts for the cities that you are interested in.
Total airfare & express arrivals cost: $2,200 ($550x 4 people)
Accommodations Costs in Morocco
In Morocco, you can stay in a range of accommodations. For an authentic experience, book a riad in the old city or Medina. A riad is a small guest house that was a large home that has been converted to welcome guests. There are usually a small number of rooms arranged around a central courtyard. Most will offer breakfast and tea, if not a full-service restaurant. For riads, expect high ceilings, large rooms, and very authentic decor. Many riads are now owned by Europeans or other expats.
Riads range from basic to luxury and the prices range as well, but can generally be found for under $200 per night. You will note that we splurged in a number of locations for the nicer accommodations.
You can also find hotels in the newer sections of cities, but don’t expect to find many American brands where you can use your points. However, you will find many luxury resorts in Marrakech, such as the Fairmont and Four Seasons. It is easy to spend upwards of $1000 per night at some of these resorts. If you don’t want to spend that much, there are more affordable luxury riads in Marrakech.
I have broken out the room rates where we stayed for comparison purposes. Note that all of these prices included breakfast, and the desert camp and L’Ma Lodge also included dinner:
- Lina Ryad and Spa in Chefchaouen is one of the nicest riads in Chefchaouen but not luxury – Junior suite with an extra bed = $165 per night
- Riad Fes is a Relais & Chateaux property and a luxury riad – Junior suite with an extra bed at around = $350 per night
- Riad Chebbi luxury desert – Deluxe double room = $247 per night
- L’Ma Lodge – Private suite with two bedrooms, including breakfast = $254 per night
- Riad Kaiss in Marrakech – Suite with breakfast included = $532 per night
Total accommodations cost = $4,263
Morocco Trip Activities Costs
On our trip, we wanted to experience the Moroccan culture, learn its history, and explore its ancient corners. Yes, we could have just landed in a city and set out to get lost in the Medina. But since this was my first time visiting an African country and a Muslim country where I don’t speak either Arabic or French, I wanted a little hand-holding along the way. Plus, we have found through our travels that we get much more out of our explorations if we take at least one tour in each destination.
Before we left, there were a few things I had on my wish list (thank you Instagram for introducing me to the Blue City of Chefchaouen.) A little research uncovered a few other “must-do” experiences. These included a camel trek in the Sahara and a Moroccan cooking class.
Since we always love to explore a culture through its food, we also added in a food tour in a different city. Trying to balance out our structured activities with downtime, we ended up with one planned activity per day. Of course, you may prefer more free time on your own and skip some of the guided tours or special interest activities like the cooking class or photography tour.
Here is how our activity budget breaks down. We found that the cost of private tours is cheaper in Morocco than in many European cities, so I would encourage everyone to take a few tours when you visit.
- Half-day tour of Chefchaouen = $189
- Food tour in Fes = $300 (for 4 people)
- Full day tour of Fes = $257 (for 4 people)
- Evening photography tour of the Fes Medina = $172
- Camel trek in the desert = $133
- Guided tour of Ait Ben Haddou = $344
- Half-day tour of Marrakech souk = $140
- Marrakech cooking class & market visit = $168
- Flytographer family photo shoot = $385
Total activities cost: $2,088
Transportation Costs in Morocco
If you are traveling around the more remote areas of Morocco or through the Atlas Mountains, I would encourage you to hire a driver. You can certainly arrange transfers from place to place, but you can also hire a driver to stay with you throughout the trip.
There is a cost difference between arranging transfers versus having a driver at your disposal while in a city. The other, more expensive option, is to also hire a guide to travel with you, versus picking up local guides in each destination.
That option was too cost-prohibitive for us, so we chose to hire a driver from our arrival in Casablanca, through our arrival in Marrakech. This way he was available for us if we needed him in Fes and Skoura, and we were able to develop a rapport after spending a week together. From Marrakech, we arranged transfers for our return to Casablanca. This provided a good mix of budget-consciousness and luxury.
Expect to spend about $200 per day to hire a private driver, not including tips (we will talk about tipping etiquette later.) Basic taxi rides around the city will generally cost you about $5, depending on distance and if it is a “petite” cab (holds up to 3 people) or “grand” taxi. Just beware of taxi scams in Marrakech.
Of course, you can always rent a car or use the bus and rail system to save money. But traveling as a family without speaking Arabic or French, we felt most comfortable hiring a private driver. You won’t need a driver when you are staying in Marrakech.
Total transportation cost: $1800
Food Costs in Morocco
Food costs in Morocco also vary depending on if you are eating at local food stalls, local cafes, or in the hotel/riad restaurant. For example, a cup of mint tea or a bottle of water will be about $1.00 (remember you can’t drink the tap water in Morocco) and a budget lunch will cost about $5.00-20.00 per person.
However, dinner at a nice restaurant can still run you $40-50 per adult (without alcohol) and $20 per child. For our trip, breakfasts were included at each hotel, as well as three dinners. We also timed our cooking class and food tour to cover two other meals, so we didn’t spend as much on food as we usually would.
Total food costs: $2100
Tipping in Morocco
Tipping is an important part of the culture in Morocco and everyone that helps you does expect to get tipped. Plan on carrying plenty of small bills and coins with you for tipping.
In restaurants, you should generally tip 10 percent of the bill. Guides and drivers should both get about 100-200 Dirhams per day (about $10-20). For half-day excursions, 50-100 Dirhams is an acceptable amount.
At hotels, you may also want to tip the porters and housekeeping staff or anyone who provides you with a personal service. Of course, in the souks look out for those that make a living on “tips” from giving tourists directions, posing for pictures, etc.
Because we usually had both a driver and a guide on most days, we spent about $25-30 per day on tips.
Total budget for tips: $300
Souvenirs
Of course, when you are walking through the souks, you are going to be tempted to go shopping in Morocco and purchase some of the textiles, spices, Moroccan Argan oil, soaps, shoes, and other goods. Haggling is expected and you should usually be able to get the item for about half the initial offer. What you spend is up to you!
Total budget for souvenirs: $200
Travel Insurance
This post is brought to you in part as a paid partnership with Allianz Travel. All opinions are my own.
Even though we already have an annual travel insurance plan with Allianz, I wanted to get some extra travel insurance for this trip because it was such an investment and we need to pay for everything except food and tips up front.
There are just so many variables for this trip: would a blizzard stop us from getting out, would we miss a connection, would they lose our luggage, what if our camera got stolen, what if we got sick and needed to get an emergency evacuation from the Sahara desert? It gave me peace of mind to make sure that we were covered and for an amount that would cover the cost of the trip.
I actually priced out a couple of options and not only did Allianz come in with the best coverage for the best rate, I know from previous experience how easy they are to work with to file claims. So while I do work with them as a sponsor, I have also become a loyal customer.
Total trip insurance cost: $430
Total Morocco Trip Cost
So how much does a trip to Morocco cost? Well, the average cost of a 12-night trip to Morocco costs $13,381 including flights, nice hotels, a private driver, a full load of activities, meals, and miscellaneous expenses.
| Category | Cost |
| Airfare | $2,200 |
| Accommodations | $4,263 |
| Activities | $2,088 |
| Transportation | $1,800 |
| Food | $2,100 |
| Tipping | $ 300 |
| Souvenirs | $ 200 |
| Travel insurance | $ 430 |
| Total Morocco trip cost | $13,381 |
If you want to drive yourself and stay at cheaper riads with fewer activities, it is easy to decrease this Morocco trip cost, but how many times will you go to Morocco? You might as well do it nicely if you can.
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Tamara Gruber is the Founder and Publisher of We3Travel. A former marketing executive and travel advisor, Tamara is an award-winning travel writer and recognized expert in family travel. Tamara is a member of SATW and the Adventure Travel Trade Association, and serves on the Board of the Family Travel Association. She is also the publisher of YourTimetoFly.com and the co-host of the Vacation Mavens travel podcast.
