Catering For All Budgets
Djebel Kissane near Adgz, Draa Valley
Type Of Travel
Morocco was our fourth trip with an infant (at the time of travel, Jules was 16 months old), and given the overall price level & our need to rest and relax, we decided to splurge a little and actually upgraded our standards of travel, going to a mid-range (upper mid-range ?) type of travel:
- We chose a 4WD to be sure to be able to drive comfortably everywhere we wanted to go (that was strictly unnecessary, as roads in Morocco are really good);
- We stayed several times in really nice traditional Riads (nothing top-luxury, but pleasant traditional houses – ignoring that it wouldn’t be ideal with an infant starting to walk);
- Last but not least, we sampled quite a few times some fine Moroccan Cuisine, and it can be really delicious…
Itinerary & Time Of The Visit
We traveled 10 days in the beginning of November 2019, and drove a 1.200 km loop starting from Marrakech, taking us to Essaouira, Taroudant, Agdz in the Draa Valley, Ait Ben Haddou (including the spectacular drive to Telouet), and back to Marrakech.
Global Budget
Morocco is basically a cheap country to travel, that can cater for all budgets, from rock-bottom to top-luxury. And you will find the whole range! As written above, we chose to upgrade our standards of traveling and splurged in many ways. Nonetheless, the overall costs remained absolutely under control, given the level of comfort we enjoyed.
| Costs per Person per Day in € | 2019 |
| Long Distances’ Transport | € 33,60 |
| Short Distances’ Transport | € 0,00 |
| Total Transport | € 33,60 |
| Hotels | € 38,60 |
| Restaurants & Food | € 27,00 |
| Every Day Life | € 2,60 |
| Total Living | € 68,20 |
| Visits & Tours | € 2,70 |
| Activities | € 0,00 |
| Total Tours & Activities | € 2,70 |
| Total | € 104,50 |
Hostels & Hotels
Several of the places we chose were really nice traditional Riads or Lodges, offering a pleasant level of comfort in a partly unique atmosphere. Given the price, it was great value for money!
But… We hadn’t given it a thought, and found that those beautifully decorated Riads, with lots of stairs, sometimes swimming pools in the courtyard, … are not the ideal place when traveling with a baby starting to walk and run around… Beginner’s mistake, one could say!
Another mistake was the careful choice of hotels with swimming pools. Well, if days are pleasantly warm in Novembers, nights are cold (going down to 10 degrees Celsius or even lower at night), making that swimming pools were almost as chilly as the English Channel. Not exactly inviting for an afternoon dip in the pool!
| City | Hostel / Hotel Name |
Type of Accommodation |
Type of Room | Price per Night (€) |
Evaluation (1 to 5 Stars) |
| Marrakech | Riad Goloboy | Riad | Double | 73,00 | **** |
| Essaouira | Casa Lila & Spa | Riad | Double | 81,00 | **** |
| Taroudant | Riad Tafilag | Riad | Double | 84,10 | ***** |
| Agdz | Lodge Hara Oasis | Lodge | Double | 77,10 | **** |
| Aït Ben Haddou | Paradise Of Silence | Riad | Double | 66,90 | *** |
| Marrakech | Villa Riad Les Deux Golfs | Riad | Double | 80,20 | *** |
| Total | 77,10 | ||||
Restaurants & Food
Moroccan Cuisine is exquisite, and we enjoyed some very nice restaurants during our stay. We also ate at small local venues offering the traditional Tajines, offering much lower prices, I must say. Once again: Morocco caters for all budgets, and that is also true for food!
| City | Restaurant Name |
Type of Meal | Type of Restaurant |
Price Food (€) |
Evaluation (1 to 5 Stars) |
| Marrakech | Café des Epices | Diner | Restaurant | 10,29 | *** |
| Essaouira | Ocean Vagabond | Lunch | Restaurant | 12,34 | **** |
| Essaouira | Restaurant Adwak | Diner | Restaurant | 12,05 | ***** |
| Essaouira | Tara Café | Lunch | Restaurant | 13,41 | **** |
| Essaouira | Le Patio Restaurant | Diner | Restaurant | 15,97 | *** |
| Ikenderte | Tagine | Lunch | Local Restaurant | 4,02 | *** |
| Taroudant | Chez Nada | Lunch | Local Restaurant | 8,47 | *** |
| Taroudant | Riad Tafilag | Diner | Riad | 15,97 | ***** |
| Agdz | Café Restaurant Le Draa | Lunch | Restaurant | 6,78 | *** |
| Agdz | Lodge Hara Oasis | Diner | Lodge | 6,78 | ***** |
| Skoura | La Vallée des Fleurs | Lunch | Local Restaurant | 6,63 | *** |
| Telouate | Le Lion d’Or Atlas | Lunch | Restaurant | 13,07 | **** |
| Ait Ben Haddou | Paradise of Silence | Diner | Hotel | 10,00 | *** |
| Ait Ourir | Tagine | Lunch | Local Restaurant | 9,20 | *** |
| Total | 10,35 | ||||
Transport
We have no idea how public transports work, as we even haven’t looked into it. But there seem to be a rather good and efficient network, at least between cities.
Renting a car is a very good way to discover the country, it is cheap, safe and very convenient. Road conditions are excellent, and even Marrakech was easy to manage, with many parking possibilities close to the Medina (no, traffic is not as bad as often said, and actually much easier than in many Mediterranean Countries). Gasoline is easy to find, even in remote areas.
Beware of the following points, though:
- We rented a 4WD to be sure to be able to drive comfortably everywhere we wanted to go – And that was strictly unnecessary, as roads in Morocco are really good: a sedan car will do the job in most parts of the country;
- Police speed checks are numerous, so respect very carefully speed limits! The got caught twice, even though I basically respected the speed limits…
Splurge At Reasonable Costs?
As already mentioned, we significantly upgraded our standard of comfort, and Morocco is the ideal place to do so if you have some extra budget at hand, no matter if you fancy staying in one of those traditional Riads or eating at a nice local restaurant.
Reduce Costs?
Morocco caters for all budgets, and there are obviously efficient public buses between cities (you will lose the flexibility of a car, though), loads of cheaper accommodation options, and many possibilities to eat a full meal for a few euros in a local restaurant…
So yes, Morocco can be traveled on a tight budget!
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