Print 
PDFFor the first time since I started traveling in 2006, I did not go beyond my estimated budget. Also for the first time (not including Myanmar since, it’s not possible there), I did not use my credit card nor my ATM/debit cards. It is indeed one small step to financial freedom and a giant leap for Nina.
Then again, there were activities and cities that we incorporated into the budget that we weren’t able to do or visit while in Morocco. Still, Morocco, though not as cheap as Southeast Asia, is a relatively cheap destination. Another thing that made a huge impact in keeping the costs down is having a travel buddy to share the tab with.
Excluding the airfare and my personal shopping, our total is a surprisingly low figure, considering that we traveled for 19 days. The trip took us through 7 cities and 5 UNESCO World Heritage sites. We ate in the streets and in the restaurants, we stayed at hostels and riads. It’s a great mix of budget and mid-range options that kept us happy and quite content.
Enough with the words, on with the numbers!
| Morocco 2011 | |||
| October 21 – November 8 | |||
| In local currency | In PHP | ||
| Accommodation | |||
| Riad Hiba | MAD 600.00 | PHP 3,209.64 | 1 |
| 2 nights, ensuite toilet, with breakfast | |||
| Pension Suika | MAD 178.00 | PHP 946.49 | 2 |
| 2 nights, shared toilet | |||
| Pension Sekaya | MAD 300.00 | PHP 1,609.09 | 3 |
| 2 nights, ensuite toilet, with breakfast | |||
| Auberge La Source | MAD 500.00 | PHP 2,681.82 | 4 |
| 2 nights, ensuite toilet, half board | |||
| Hotel Amlal | MAD 390.00 | PHP 2,064.03 | 5 |
| 2 nights, ensuite toilet, half board | |||
| Amour de Riad | MAD 431.00 | PHP 2,295.27 | 6 |
| 4 nights, ensuite toilet, with breakfast | |||
| Green Oasis | US$ 32.00 | PHP 1,369.60 | 7 |
| 1 night, shared toilet, with breakfast | |||
| Transportation | |||
| Trains | MAD 360.00 | PHP 1,950.77 | 8 |
| Buses | MAD 498.00 | PHP 2,671.13 | 9 |
| Grand taxis | MAD 65.00 | PHP 356.08 | 10 |
| Petit taxis | MAD 252.00 | PHP 1,344.96 | 11 |
| Food and Beverages | |||
| Meknes | MAD 122.50 | PHP 655.30 | |
| Chefchaouen | MAD 246.00 | PHP 1,311.11 | |
| Fes | MAD 288.00 | PHP 1,536.35 | |
| Merzouga | MAD 160.00 | PHP 858.18 | |
| Ouarzazate | MAD 71.00 | PHP 377.01 | |
| Marrakech | MAD 540.50 | PHP 2,881.81 | |
| Casablanca | MAD 46.00 | PHP 224.70 | 12 |
| Abu Dhabi | US$ 8.00 | PHP 343.24 | 13 |
| Activities | |||
| Volubilis admission fee | MAD 10.00 | PHP 54.78 | |
| Sahara sunset camel tour | MAD 150.00 | PHP 804.00 | |
| Ait Benhaddou tour | MAD 325.00 | PHP 1,730.18 | 14 |
| Ait Benhaddou admission | MAD 10.00 | PHP 53.06 | |
| Jardin Majorelle | MAD 40.00 | PHP 213.57 | 15 |
| Souk Cuisine cooking class | MAD 500.00 | PHP 2,662.72 | 16 |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| NAIA terminal fee | PHP 750.00 | PHP 750.00 | |
| Roaming charges | PHP 175.04 | PHP 175.04 | |
| Local sim and prepaid credit | MAD 60.00 | PHP 323.53 | |
| Postcards and magnet | MAD 42.00 | PHP 224.67 | |
| Keychains and t-shirt | MAD 100.00 | PHP 535.96 | |
| Postage | MAD 92.60 | PHP 492.39 | 17 |
| Toilet fees | MAD 15.50 | PHP 83.80 | 18 |
| Porter | MAD 20.00 | PHP 106.35 | 19 |
| Total | PHP 36,896.63 | ||
| 1 After traveling for more than 24 hours, Riad Hiba was a great treat. Our room was HUGE! It was pricier than what we would have wanted, but it was worth the warm hospitality of our hosts and the amazing breakfast. It was a great start to our Moroccan adventure. | |||
| 2 There was a huge downpour in Chefchaouen the day that we arrived and the room they reserved for us got flooded. They arranged for us to have a room at the hostel next door, Mauritania and transferred us to the following day. Most of the backpackers are staying there so it can be quite noisy at night specially in our room which is right next to the lounge. On the upside, we were right beside the wi-fi router and more importantly, they have a cat! | |||
| 3 Truly an oasis in the midst of the Fes medina. The inside of the riad is pretty, but the room itself lacks character and had a tiny ensuite toilet and bath. | |||
| 4 The location of the hotel is perfect: right across the dunes of Erg Chebbi. What made this place special though is its host, Hassan Ougnir. | |||
| 5 It’s a great budget option located within walking distance to a lot of shops and restaurants. We opted to go half board here, and it seems it’s the right decision: their tagines are the best we’ve had in Morocco. | |||
| 6 Very easy to find and just 8 minutes from the Djemma el Fna square and the souks. And no stairs! (at least for our room) | |||
| 7 Booked this through AirBnB. It’s a room in a house in Casablanca’s ville nouvelle and it was gorgeous! Kinda regretted not booking more nights here. | |||
| 8 Train rides include: Casablanca airport to Casa Voyageur (main train station), Casablanca to Meknes, Marrakech to Casablanca and L’Opera to Aeroport. | |||
| 9 Fees include bus ticket and luggage fee. Buses taken: Meknes to Moulay Idriss, Meknes to Chefchaouen, Chefchaouen to Fes (CTM), Fes to Merzouga (Supratours), Merzouga to Ouarzazate (Supratours) and Ouarzazate to Marrakech (Supratours). | |||
| 10 Grand taxi from Moulay Idriss to Volubilis and Volubilis to Meknes. | |||
| 11 We took the petit taxi to get around, mainly when going out of the medina and into the ville nouvelle. Only a handful automatically turn on the meter when we get in. | |||
| 12 We stayed in a house where we have a fully equipped kitchen to use. We opted to talk a walk down to the neighborhood supermarket and bought things to cook for dinner. | |||
| 13 McDonald’s Quarter Pounder and fries. We do not regret it. | |||
| 14 We chose to go hire a car with a guide instead of commuting, and it was well worth it. Our ride was a Toyota Land Cruiser and our driver/guide veered away from the main road and we went off road. We had a great view of the landscape, which not a lot of tourist get close to. | |||
| 15 Pricey, but the garden is very well kept and very serene. | |||
| 16 My sister’s request. | |||
| 17 This is how I fully understood how far away we are from the Asia-Pacific region. | |||
| 18 Unless otherwise stated, toilets in Morocco charge between MAD 1 – 2 per person, per use. | |||
| 19 We mistook the tout for the porter that the riad sent. | |||
Download:
Morocco 2011.xlsx (323)
Morocco 2011.pdf (331)
ai ang layo mo pala, Adelaide kasi ako sis… so sis, yang 3 months multiple vah ay f ever...
I’ve been waiting for this post and din’t expect it to come this soon, not complaining though!:-D
Seriously, the first thing I did was scroll down the total, and whoa! this is making me so happy! Hindi naman pala ganon kamahal! Rejoice! haha! this is another encouragement to pursue the dream, thank you Nina, you are always an inspiration!
Haha, ito kasi ang pinakamadali since I use an expense tracker on my iPod and export it to Excel. Onting tweaks and formatting, ayos na
It’s relatively cheap to travel in Morocco, and can be done cheaper pa. Ang mahal lang talaga yung airfare going there
That’s amazing, Nina (and Cla)– and for 19 days, too! But I don’t see Uncle Moe!
Hahaha! Hindi kasama yung personal shopping!
But even with the personal shopping, still within range pa rin 
(the budget file does not include shopping!)
inaabangan ko din toh tlga tong post mu. kaso mahal nga tlga airfare so mga 10 yrs naipon pa cguro. haha thanks for sharing Nina!
Dapat may kasabay na Europe para sulit! (pero mas malaki ang kailangang ipunin!)
Bilib na bilib talaga ako sayo Nina! Ako hindi ko kaya mag-trackdown ng travel expenses not unless siguro kung matutunan ko na talagang i-apply ang ‘stick to the budget’ concept
Hmmm… magkano kaya inabot ang personal shopping
)
Kailangan i-keep track para alam ko kung gaano pa puede kong gastusin
i had to check the list twice if may visa fees ba talaga at baka nagbago na ang rules. visa free pa din ang morocco! awesome!
it appears to me your stay in riad hiba incurred the biggest spending! must be nice to live there. at any rate (pun intended), affordable talaga ang Morocco! WOW, Nina! but the airfare is another story. hihi
Korek! Ibang usapan talaga ang airfare! Kawindang windang! Pero happy rin naman kasi sulit na sulit ang binayad ko hihihi
Teh! para san yung postage fee? Im now curious with the airfare haha!
Sorry teh, hindi ikaw ang pinadalhan ko ng postcard! lol And speaking of postcards, mas nauna pa akong nakarating ng Pilipinas.
ang hardcore ipronounce ng mga places and food! haha
oh, thanks sa FILIPINO. nagustuhan ni mama =)
same with dyanie’s question – how much ang airfare?
Walang anuman! Di naman kayo na-offend? hahaha
Ang airfare ay… mas mahal pa sa total budget lol
great post, super thanks! i will bookmark this… i wanna go to morocco too!
Go go!
This is very helpful, Nina! I have been toying with the idea of going to Morocco for the longest time, but I just haven’t saved enough yet to afford the trip. Hayyy!
Wee! This is an awesome guide for budgeting! We’re still deciding whether to include Morocco in this RTW or not, we’ll see how the moolah goes.
Hi Nina,
Its me Geo from Marvin & Babes Bora wedding
How did you get Morocco Visa? How much is the airfare?
Thanks
Hi! This looks great. Glad you shared your budget for the trip, how much was the air fare though?
My round trip ticket to Casablanca from Manila set me back US$998 :-/
Morocco is an awesome destination! Is it a place you’ve been itching to go to for the longest time, or spur-of-the-moment trip?
Wala lang.. it’s not a destination that most people would go to, at least from Asia, pero cool!
A friend suggested it, and I took the bait
I think 36k for ground costs for 18 days in Morocco is not bad at all! I heard from some friends that it’s not that cheap… kasi marami raw tourists from Europe na pumupunta dun.
It helped that I was traveling with a friend, so there’s a huge savings on accommodation and transportation vis-a-vis me traveling solo. Morocco isn’t super cheap; just a bit pricier than the Philippines.
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37K for 19 days! WOW! Is it a good place for honeymoon
(giddy)
It is! Morocco a really lovely place to explore!
So inspiring!
how did you get there? how much did you spend on airfare?
We flew Etihad from Manila to Casablanca, which transited via Abu Dhabi, UAE. The airfare cost $998
Hi! I noticed na mura pa ung nabook mong flights to Morocco MNLA to Casablanca. Considering na nag business class ka pauwi or pati papunta? How did you book that flight? Is there a promo by that time? Now I’m checking around $2k to 3K ung business class.
i love your blog nina. Its very informative. BTW, is the $998 airfare already a roundtrip? Thanks
Thanks Win! Yup, that is roundtrip na. The route is Manila-Abu Dhabi-Casablanca-Abu Dhabi-Manila
hello, Nina! was just passing by and found your blog. congratulations on your trip to Morocco and at that cost! wow. question? did you need to have a Visa when just transiting Abu Dhabi? how much was the cost?
Hi Gela, we didn’t exit the airport nor did we pass through immigration, so there was no need for a transit visa
Hi Nina, I would like to ask which airline did you use for Morocco? Thanks!
Hi Alecks, we flew with Etihad Airways, via Abu Dhabi, UAE
Hi Nina,
Can you let me know what travel agent you used for this trip? Or did you pretty much do everything on your own through research & on-line booking?
Thanks much!
We did not use an agent for this trip, it was all DIY
Oh wow! Gotta start doing my researching then. Will look into your trip as guide. ;-)
Hi nina im planning din to go to morocco. I want to know if yung 37k total na yun for both of you or 37k for each one? Thanks
Hi Angela, the total was just for one person.
Hello Nina
Is Morocco pretty much a safe country to visit for single female travelers?
Is immigration easy? Lots of questions? Thanks
It’s okay naman. There were solo female travelers din. Just read up on the warnings and cautions regarding women traveling in Morocco.
Immigration isn’t too bad. Just the usual questions about how long we’re staying, where we’re going.
wow…thanks nina…its very helpful…now i can say..im going to plan a plan going to morocco…my dream place..many thanks…