Budget — Morocco

Morocco offers excellent value for money for European visitors, with a reference budget of around €55 per day per person travelling as a pair, all in. That figure stretches in very different directions depending on your style. The country uses the dirham (MAD), a closed currency you cannot import: withdraw at ATMs on arrival or change in town (1 € ≈ 10.8 MAD). Cards are widely accepted in hotels, riads and larger restaurants, but cash remains essential in souks, taxis, hammams and rural areas.

A backpacker in Morocco can hold a daily spend between €30 and €40 by staying in hostels (€8-15 a night) or family guesthouses, eating in local gargotes (€5-8 for a tagine of the day, €3-5 for street food on Jemaa el-Fna) and using public transport (CTM coaches, shared grand taxis). The mid-range traveller opts for a mid-priced riad (€50-90 a night for a double with breakfast), quality restaurants (€15-25 a meal) and a few guided excursions; the daily budget lands between €80 and €130. The luxury traveller, staying in Marrakech palaces or Fes design riads, eating at gastronomic tables and booking private excursions, easily exceeds €250-400 a day.

Line by line, expect: accommodation from €10 (dorm) to €300 (prestige riad); meals from €4 (popular tagine) to €40 (gastronomic table); short urban taxi rides €2-5 with the meter on (or a fare fixed before departure); a day trip to the Atlas or Aït Benhaddou between €25 and €60; entry to a traditional hammam €5-15, with a full beldi-soap scrub and massage running €20-40. Internal flights with Royal Air Maroc start around €60-100 one-way; ONCF trains between Casablanca, Fes and Marrakech cost €15-25 in second class.

Bargaining in the souks is expected and culturally fluent: start at half the asking price, stay cheerful and don't hesitate to fake the walk-out for a better deal. Tipping (baksheesh) is woven into Moroccan service: small change for porters, guides and bathroom attendants, 10% in restaurants, a few dirhams for help with directions. To save further, travel outside European school holidays, book flights and riads two months in advance, and eat at least one daily meal in a medina restaurant without a foreign-language menu. Plug type C/E (220V) is identical to continental Europe — UK and US travellers need a simple adapter.