Casablanca

WHERE IS CASABLANCA?

Casablanca is a city located in the country of Morocco. It is situated along the Atlantic coast and is Morocco’s largest city and main port. It has Arab, Berber, European, and African influences which contributes to a city with great history and cuisine.

TRAVEL COMPANIONS

Marissa & Savannah 😊

MY FAVORITES

Casablanca Surf Coaching – Rick’s Café

CURRENCY Moroccan Dirham

At the time I am writing this, one USD is 10.10 Moroccan Dirham. Here is a link to see the current conversion ratio. I used my cash to pay for food at local coffee shops and local breakfast stores. I also used it to pay for the shoes I purchased in Central Marketplace and the pastries I purchased in Ancienne Medina. Finally, I needed cash to pay for my surfing lesson with Casablanca Surf Coaching. I can’t really remember how much cash I took out at the airport ATM, but I think it was around 100USD worth. This lasted me for my time in Casablanca and some in Marrakesh. I did have to withdraw more once I got to Marrakesh. For all the other things I needed to pay for, I used my VISA card.

BUDGET

I would say I spent a little less than 100 USD a day. This included food, transportation, activities, and our hotel. Obviously, your budget can be less or more depending on what you want to do and where you want to stay.

TIME OF VISIT

Early November

WEATHER

13 – 21 °C or 55 – 70 °F

The weather in Casablanca was lovely. During the day I could comfortably wear a sundress and carry around a jacket for when it got cooler in the evening.

CLOSEST MAJOR AIRPORT Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport

We flew into Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport from Istanbul. Since our flight landed around midnight, we took a taxi to our hotel. During the day, we would’ve taken the public transportation options available.

VISA REQUIREMENTS

It is not required for United States citizens to get a tourist visa if your stay is under 90 days. This requirement may have changed since I have written this post, so always double check the U.S. Department of State website for the most up to date information about visas, vaccinations, etc.

TRANSPORT my own two feet, taxis

We found it very easy to explore most of Casablanca by walking. When we wanted to go somewhere further away from our hotel, were traveling at night, or needed to get somewhere quickly, we just took a taxi. There are petite taxis everywhere that you can get. We connected with a taxi driver through our hotel and called him any time we needed a ride. If you need to take a taxi from the airport, plan on it being about 30 – 40 USD.

PACKING LIST

dress – swimsuit – jacket / sweater – pants – short sleeve shirt

ACCOMMODATION Hotel Astrid

We loved our stay at Hotel Astrid. Our room had three beds, a shower / sink room, and a separate room for the toilet. It was decorated so nicely! It was also large enough for each of us to spread out all of our belongings which is very rare at a budget stay. They had a variety of room options as well.

FOOD

La Sqala – mint tea – spiced Turkish coffee – Rick’s Café – tagine – Enjoy Casablanca

SHOPPING

Central Marketplace – Old City – Marina Shopping Center

LANGUAGE(S) French & Arabic

While there may be other languages or official languages, French and Arabic were the most commonly used by the people we interacted with in Casablanca. As always, I recommend downloading these languages on Google Translate before arriving so you can translate anything you need without internet. In addition, it is helpful to learn some basic phrases before arriving. “Thank you” is a great place to start (merci and shukran) 😊

GOOGLE MAPS PINS

Here is my Google Maps link for all of Morocco. You can zoom in to Casablanca to see only the locations around this area.

DAILY ACTIVITY BLOG

Day 1

Like most visits to a new city, we began day one in Casablanca by walking around. Our first stop was a department store because it was decorated for Christmas and we were so excited to see Christmas decorations after being in Kenya now for two Christmases in a row. I ended up purchasing a cinnamon scented candle and a new outfit here as well.

Our next stop was Arab League Park which is very large and such a relaxing place to walk around and have a sit.

We also stopped for a bit at a local coffee shop to try Moroccan mint tea and it was delicious.

From here, we walked past Sacred Heart Cathedral, Abderrahman Slaoui Foundation Museum, Square of Mohammed V / Pigeon Fountain, and United Nations Square.

On this walk, we tried spiced Moroccan coffee and that stuff will put hair on your chest. Not really something I would drink again to enjoy, but definitely got the caffeine job done.

We continued our walk through Central Marketplace and the Old City and we each bought a pair of shoes here. There were so many great options! For anyone traveling to both Casablanca and Marrakesh, we found the goods in Casablanca to be cheaper than those in The Medina of Marrakesh and they both offered pretty much the same stuff.

After the Old City, we entered the Ancienne Medina and purchased some pastries to enjoy on the rest of our walk to La Sqala for dinner.

This place was awesome! Savannah and I split prawn risotto and vegetable tagine. If you stay in Morocco for a while, you will have many opportunities to try tagine. I think the tagine we got from La Sqala was some of the best we had our entire time in Morocco. Our meal also came with bread and olives and I tried their fruit drink flight. Everything was so tasty.

After dinner, we walked to the Hassan II Mosque (the largest mosque in Africa and 5th largest in the world) and watched the sun set over the city and the ocean. It was beautiful 😊

We walked back into town once the sun went down and stopped to see what Marina Shopping Center had to offer. We loved their food court!

I enjoyed ice cream from Les Quatre Cerises and it was some of the best I’ve ever had. I got flavors of raspberry, blueberry, and mango.

After our sweet treat, we walked across the street to Rick’s Café. Yes, the once associated with the movie “Casablanca” 😊 If you want to eat here, you will need to make a reservation in advance. But, if you just want to enjoy a cocktail and see the place, you can go to the bar. This is what we did and we had a blast. I enjoyed a delicious margarita and a special cocktail from the bartender that was Christmas themed. To get back to Hotel Astrid, we took a taxi home.

Day 2

We started our day early so we could enjoy a good breakfast. We went to the local shop around the corner from our hotel and it turned out to be a great choice. I had msemmen, a breakfast crepe/pancake/flatbread. I ordered mine to be filled with cream cheese and it was delicious.

From here, we walked to the Notre Dame of Lourdes, a Catholic church with gorgeous stained-glass windows on all four sides of the building.

We then went to the gate of the Royal Palace where the King of Morocco lives.

We also passed Mankama of Pacha and looked at the markets of Quartier Habous while we were on this side of town. This was the end of our second day in Casablanca because we headed to Marrakesh by train this afternoon.

Day 3

We returned to Casablanca after spending a few days in Marrakesh and the Sahara Desert. Don’t worry, a blog for these places is soon to come 😊 We quickly checked back into Hotel Astrid before taking a taxi to Aïn Diab beach for our two-hour surf lesson with Casablanca Surf Coaching.

We didn’t read the directions too well on how to meet up with our instructors, so upon exiting the taxi, we just started to wander around to find our group. We walked to the nearest shop and told them we had a lesson reserved and they gave us wetsuits to put on. After putting on our wetsuits and getting ready to get in the water, we got a message from our actual instructors that they were waiting for us on the beach. Woops! We quickly got back undressed and headed to our real instructors 😊

We found our three guides at their spot on the beach and got into their wetsuits. For the next two hours, we learned how to surf! The lesson was so much fun. All three of us were able to pop up on our own by the end of it as well which was even more fun. I would highly recommend this group to anyone visiting Casablanca and wanting a beginner’s surfing lesson. They are on Instagram and are very responsive.

When we finished our lesson, we rinsed off and headed to the Marina Shopping Center for a late lunch / early dinner at their amazing (in our opinion) food court. I tried food from three different places because they had so much food that I can’t get in Kenya. I got a calzone from Pizza Hut, sushi from a sushi shop, and spring rolls from a Thai restaurant. I left very full and very happy.

We headed downstairs in the mall to the grocery store to get some snacks before going back to the food court for the same ice cream we had on day one in Casablanca. It was a great end to our last full day in the city.

Day 4

We were able to sleep in today which was lovely. We finished packing up our things before walking around the corner to Enjoy Casablanca for brunch. This place was so cute and the food / coffee was delicious. I ordered a ham and cheese panini, a Nutella crepe, and a mocha caramel coffee. The woman who owns the shop with her husband is from Romania and she was so sweet to us. This was our last stop before heading to the airport for our next adventure 😊