Traveling to Morocco on your own is very easy! We have developed for you a detailed description of the travel itinerary in Morocco with a worked out travel budget. The goal is to go around the whole country without missing anything interesting.
Morocco is a great place to travel on your own. Firstly, visa-free travel is open for Russians. Secondly, it is a very safe and politically calm country, which, among other things, is considered the most Europeanized Arab state. And thirdly, there is so much to see in Morocco that it is absolutely pointless to go there on a voucher. If Morocco is only on its own!
Exchange rate: 1 Moroccan dirham (MAD) ≈ 8 RUB.
We present to you the scenario of the deepest immersion in this amazing country.
We also advise you to read our material on MOROCCO - valuable information about the country for those who travel to Morocco on their own. We also have a separate note about beach holidays in Morocco.
How to Get to Morocco
The easiest way get to morocco from Russia is a flight. There are many options. These are direct flights of Royal Air Maroc from Moscow to Casablanca, and a whole fan of possible combinations of flights with connections in different European cities (Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Rome, etc.). There is even an option of getting to Morocco by sea: first you will need to fly to Spain, and from there, from one of the southern ports, take a ferry to Morocco. The swim will last from 1 to 2 hours. However, the last two options require a Schengen visa. In addition, they are unnecessarily tedious and time-consuming.
Most often, the easiest and cheapest way to get to Morocco is with Turkish Airlines. A flight from Moscow will take you to Casablanca with a transfer in Istanbul. If you wish, you can choose not the minimum duration of the transfer of two hours, but take, for example, an 8-hour or more in order to get to the center of Istanbul for several hours, walk a little there and see the main attractions (we did just that). Read how to get to the center of Istanbul from the airport.
One way or another, in order to find the best option for both price and convenience, you need to compare all possible options. Search tickets all airlines are operated by Aviasales and Skyscanner. To learn how to find and book flights at the lowest price, check out our tips.
And, of course, it always makes sense to keep track of new ones on our website. airline promotions.
We also recommend reading our extremely useful material about how to fly cheap... And if you nevertheless decided to get to Morocco through Europe, then we recommend an article about as cheap travel to Europe via the Baltics and Finland.
If you feel that you are not ready to organize an independent trip to Morocco, but you want to go to this beautiful country, then fly on the tour. You can also find a ticket online. Tours in Morocco →
Hotels in Morocco
It is not a problem to find a hotel in popular tourist destinations. There is a large selection of hotels for every taste and budget in Chefchaun, Casablanca, Agadir, Essueira, Rabat, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate and in many other cities.
It is better to book your accommodation in advance, especially during the high season.
We recommend looking for hotels on the Roomguru.ru service. This is a search engine, it compares hotel prices for all popular booking systems (Booking, Agoda, Ozon, Ostrovok, etc.) and finds the best option. In general, it provides a wide choice and allows you to make a reservation at the best price. Pay attention to the reviews and ratings of hotels - they are formed by tourists themselves, it is useful to use when choosing a good hotel.
We also recommend paying special attention to the Airbnb.ru service (experienced travelers probably know it). On it you can book a very interesting housing from the owners. Instead of a banal hotel, you can check into authentic riads, apartments or houses - and this, you see, is much more interesting, as well as more comfortable and often even cheaper. The choice of housing on Airbnb.ru is very wide - thousands of options. Look, you will definitely like something!
Casablanca
So, our independent journey through Morocco has begun - we are in Casablanca!
Some travelers, having visited Kas (this is how the Moroccans themselves call this city for short), discourage coming here, they say, the city is not authentic and there is nothing to do here. Do not believe - they lie. It costs one hundred percent to go to the second largest city in Africa. The city is beautiful in that it is an explosive mixture of the most diverse elements: there are also colorful slums that are partly reminiscent of the slums of Rio, partly the negro quarters of American megacities, there is also the spirit of Miami and something from southern European port cities like Marseille, well, and of course, its own life flows in the medina.
You can stay in Casablanca for two or three days - this is quite enough to explore the city.
How to get from the airport to Casablanca
Casablanca Airport is located a fair distance from the city itself - about 40 kilometers. The taxi will be unrealistically expensive - 300 dirhams. Therefore, the easiest way to get cheap (and at the same time comfortable and fast) from the airport to Casablanca is by train. The station is located directly under the airport, trains run every hour. A second class ticket will cost AED 40. We go to the central station of the city - Gare Casa Voyageur.
Hotels in Casablanca
The cheapest hotels can be found in the medina. A double room can be borrowed for AED 100. But get ready for the fact that there will be no toilet and shower in the room, and you will have to pay an additional 10 dirhams per person for hot water.
Hotels with a higher level of comfort will cost around AED 150-200. They can be found in the central area of the city. See also housing options on the Airbnb.ru service.
Public transport in Casablanca
The pride of the city is the ultra-modern tram that connects the two sleeping areas, the city center and the beach. The ticket costs 7 dirhams and is bought from special machines that are located next to each stop. Having bought a ticket, you go through the turnstile and get on the tram. This type of transport is considered expensive and is used only by the middle class. But this is a really comfortable and fast form of transport.
A ticket for regular buses is cheaper - 3 dirhams. But keep in mind that buses are often packed to capacity.
A pet-taxi (small taxi) will take you, depending on the distance, for 10-20 dirhams. No more than three people can get into the car. You can ask to turn on the meter, or you can agree on the price in advance.
Grand taxis (old Mercedes) carry up to 6 passengers. The fare will cost about 6 dirhams.
Asilah
Bypassing Casablanca up and down, you can go further. From the Casa Voyageur station we are already familiar with, we go by train to the small resort town of Asila, which is located almost in the very north-west of the country on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It is better to take a ticket to the first class, taking a second class ticket, you run the risk of being left without a seat and spending five and a half hours in a stuffy carriage, either standing on your feet, or sitting in the vestibule or even a toilet of a carriage with a density of four to five people per square meter. The price of a 1st class ticket is 164 dirhams.
By the way, here is the website of the Moroccan railways, where you can see all routes, timetables and ticket prices.
Asil has a wide range of places to stay cheap. You can even find unnamed hostels that cost AED 40 per person.
Asilah is not just a classic resort town where you will find everything you need for a relaxing beach holiday, it is also a very beautiful place known for its charming medina. And in addition to all this, there is also a large selection of seafood in local restaurants.
Larache
If you wish, you can go from Asila to neighboring Larash. This city is picturesquely located on the rocks near the ocean. First of all, it is known for its ancient Roman ruins, which are located near the city on a small hill. you can get to Larash from Asilah by regular minibuses for 15 dirhams. Departure from the Asilah bus station, which is located in the east of the city. To drive directly to the ruins, you need to ask the driver to drop you off at the ruins before reaching the city. Travel time is about an hour. After walking for a while in Larache, we return by minibus to Asilah.
Chefchaouen
From Asila, again, by minibus for the same 15 dirhams, we go to Tangier, once a city of international status, interzone and an attractive place for European and American writers and artists, marginalized and outsiders.
Now the city is not the same, so there is no point in staying here. At the bus station we buy a ticket to Chefchaouen for 50-60 dirhams and after 2-3 hours of driving along the mountain roads we are in one of the most famous and beautiful cities in Morocco.
Chefchaouen is one of the most entourage cities in Morocco. For many centuries, foreigners were not allowed here, as the place was considered sacred. Times have changed - now everything is the other way around, an endless stream of tourists. Therefore, be prepared that every minute your peace on the streets of the city will be disturbed by annoying helpers, each with their own proposal: a hotel, a restaurant, a cafe, hashish.
Speaking of the latter, Chefchaouen is located in the Reef Mountains, which are famous for their hemp plantations. Therefore, almost everyone you meet offers hashish, and the locals smoke it while sitting on the street.
The beauty of Chefchaouen is due to two things: firstly, the picturesque location in the Rif Mountains, and secondly, the medina is colorfully painted in various shades of blue. It is best to walk along the ornate streets of the medina early in the morning - at no other time you will not get such pleasure. In the morning, there are no merchants, no annoying helpers, or countless tourists with their cameras.
If you wish, you can do trekking - from small walks to multi-day hikes. There are even small waterfalls, mountain lakes and rivers in the mountains north of Chefchaouen.
Marrakesh
From Chefchaouen we go to Tetouan (25 dirhams), to change there to another bus and go to Marrakech (225 dirhams from STM). The road will be long - almost 10 hours of travel with two stops for a bite to eat.
The Marrakech Bus Station is right outside the walls of the medina. It is better to settle in the medina, preferably closer to the main square of Jama El Fna. This will make it easier not to get lost, because the streets of the old city are a real labyrinth. A night in a budget hotel will cost AED 100-180 for a double room.
Marrakech is the most popular city for tourists in Morocco, so be prepared for the same problem as in Chefchaouen: importunity and the desire to pull money out of you in any way.
When visiting Marrakech, it is worth taking a couple of days to visit the nearby Atlas Mountains. You can even climb to the top of the highest mountain in North Africa - Jebel Toubkal (4064 meters). Any healthy person can do this, since lifting is very simple and does not require any special training. To do this, you need to take a grand taxi, which from Marrakech will take you to the mountain village of Imlil, from where the ascent begins. After conquering the top, we return back to Marrakech.
Ouarzazate
From Marrakech, our path lies in Ouarzazate. The city is known as African Hollywood because many films have been filmed here - from "Lawrence of Arabia" to "Gladiator". A bus ticket from CTM costs 80 dirhams, from other carriers it costs about 60-70. Travel time is four and a half hours.
The road between Marrakech and Ouarzazate passes through the Atlas Mountains and is considered one of the most scenic in the world. It is here, on the southeastern side of the Atlas Mountains, that the Sahara Desert begins.
The main attraction of Ouarzazate is the ksar (clay fortress) Ait Ben Haddou, located 30 kilometers from the city. It is considered the most beautiful in Morocco. To get there, it is worth using the services of a grand taxi.
Todra gorge
From Ouarzazate we go east, to the small town of Tangir (ticket price - 70 dirhams). There is nothing to do or watch in the town itself. But next to it there is a magnificent oasis, and a little further - the Todra gorge. A fantastic place with incredibly high (up to 300 meters!) Sheer cliffs. Here you can go mountaineering, or you can just enjoy the landscape. There are many hotels and restaurants in the gorge, so you can stay right here.
Fum-Zgid and Erg Shigaga
From Tangir we return to Ouarzazate, where we change to another bus to Fum-Zgid. A ticket for the latter will cost 60-70 dirhams.
Foum Zgid is a small village in the south of Morocco, near the border with Algeria. It is attractive because from here you can go to the sand dunes of Erg Shigaga. To do this, you will need to look for people who make these trips to the dunes and arrange an excursion. Alas, this is the only way (unless, of course, you have your own SUV). As a rule, in the dunes, people spend the night in a small Tuareg settlement, meet the sunset and dawn, and in the afternoon return back to Fum-Zgid.
Choosing a further path
In Fum Zgid we take a 9-hour passing bus in the morning and go to Guelmim (a ticket costs about 90-100 dirhams). The path is long, so it is better to leave at 9 o'clock in the morning. The bus will arrive in Guelmim in the afternoon. And here you have to make an important choice about the further route.
Dakhla. West Sahara
The most desperate can move south into the unrecognized Western Sahara, which is actually controlled by the Moroccan government. Western Sahara is more than a thousand kilometers of monotonous desert landscapes. If you are ready for this, then welcome to Dakhla - a city located at the crossroads between the real Africa and Morocco.
By and large, there is nothing to see in the city, but here you can feel yourself at the very edge of the Earth. Indeed, on one side of you there is an endless desert stretching thousands of kilometers inland, and on the other, an even more endless Atlantic Ocean. It is definitely worth enduring the many hours of bus ride for this. Dakhla is also famous for its waves and therefore is a kind of mecca for surfers. The geographical location of Dakhla is also unusual: the city is located on a narrow 40 kilometers long peninsula.
After getting to know Dakhla, it will be necessary to return to Guelmim by the same way.
Sidi-Ifni
It makes no sense to stay in Guelmim, so we immediately take a grand taxi and head north to the port town of Sidi Ifni, located 60 kilometers from Guelmim.
Sidi Ifni is a place where you can finally truly relax after a difficult trip through the desert. It has a great beach and a great selection of seafood.
And 15 kilometers to the north is the main pearl of these lands - Legzira, known throughout the world for its amazing arches. This place is not to be missed. You can go there by a grand taxi for 20-30 dirhams, depending on the agreement.
Essueira
To get to Essaueira, you will need to first get to Tiznit (by CTM bus for 25 dirhams), and from there take a bus to Essueira (80-100 dirhams).
Essaouira offers even more relaxation than Sidi Ifni. There is also an excellent beach here, an abundance of seafood, as well as a large number of clubs, discos and even museums.Essaouira has an excellent medina, where it is best to settle (a decent double room can be found for 100 dirhams). Another pride of Essueira is a wonderful port, which is best to go to see early in the morning.
Finish
Essaouira will be the final destination of the Moroccan journey. All key cities, places and sights have been examined - now you can go back to Casablanca, and from there you can already fly home.
A bus from Essaouira to Casa will cost around AED 100. In Casablanca, we take a train to the airport (40 dirhams) and arrive in Russia a few hours later.
This is our independent travel to Morocco will end. But there is no doubt that after this fantastic trip, you will want to repeat it again somehow. Believe me, making this amazing journey a reality is not much more difficult than reading this text. Honestly. Just do it.
P.S. The text was compiled on the basis of the personal experience of a two-month independent trip to Morocco by the authors of the site in August-September 2013. We could, and so can you.
