Hey there, fellow travelers! Today, we’re talking about visiting Casablanca, a beautiful city set on the northwest coast of Morocco. As a financial hub, Casablanca isn’t as touristy as some areas of Morocco, so a couple of days is usually enough to explore before moving on to other areas of Morocco. For first-time visitors, there are some things you should know before visiting Casablanca.
What to Do in Casablanca
There are many cool things to see in Casablanca. A few of the highlights to include in your Morocco itinerary should be:
- Hassan II Mosque is one of only a few mosques that allow non-Muslim visitors to enter. It’s really beautiful inside and outside. There are several tours scheduled each day.
- Cornish is the area of Casablanca where you’ll find nightlife. Make sure you dress the part, as they have pretty strict dress codes. During the day, there’s a nice boardwalk area to explore.
- Swimming pools are all along the Casablanca beaches because the surf is too rough for swimming.
- The King’s Palace is nice to see from the outside, even though you can’t go inside
- Casablanca Museums include the Museum of Moroccan Judaism and several excellent art museums.
- The Old Medina is a great place to experience a traditional Moroccan medina.
What to Eat in Casablanca
Casablanca food is tasty and affordable, and there are many restaurants to choose from. Tajine is a popular cooking style in Morocco and is named for the shape of pottery that it’s cooked in. You will surely see lots of Tajine options on the menu, as well as some fantastic seafood since Casablanca is on the coast. You’ll also see a lot of international restaurants, as Casablanca is a cultural melting pot.
You can dine at Rick’s Cafe, which is modeled after the cafe in the movie Casablanca. The cafe in the movie was a set filmed in California, but it’s still fun to visit this piece of movie history.
Getting Around Casablanca
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, so there’s a lot of ground to cover. There are many taxis in Casablanca, but it’s important to know the difference. The white taxis are private and will just be you or your party. You will negotiate your price before getting in. The red taxis are shared, and you just pay for your seat and will have other passengers joining you. Public transportation is not super helpful for tourists, so we recommend using the taxis, which are pretty cheap. We really liked our first taxi driver, so we hired him for the entire day to drive us around.
Official Tourism Website of Casablanca: https://www.visitmorocco.com/en/travel/casablanca
Getting To or From Casablanca
If you are traveling around Morocco by train, you should know there are three different train stations in Casablanca. The Casa-Voyageurs station is the main one you will use; it serves suburban areas as well as long-distance trains, including the TGV that can take you to Marrakech.
Taking the Train from Marrakech to Casablanca
If you are flying in, you can take a train from the airport or a taxi. Going back to the airport, your hotel can arrange a taxi for you. Make sure you allow plenty of time to make your Casablanca flights. We flew out on a holiday with no traffic, and it still took us 45 minutes just to get to the airport. Have your passport ready or you won’t even be able to get inside the airport.
Other Casablanca Travel Tips
Just a few other things you should know before you visit Casablanca:
- Credit cards are pretty widely accepted in tourist areas
- Morocco is still very cash-based, so I recommend you still try to carry some cash with you
- ATMs are available at banks and we never had trouble finding one to withdraw cash
- Plan to tip around 10% in Casablanca restaurants, but only in cash. You can’t add a tip to your credit card.
- The tap water is not safe to drink, so stick to bottle water
Click here for the State Department Travel Advisories for Morocco
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While we don’t recommend spending a lot of time in Casablanca, it is the main entry point for most Casablanca flights into Morocco, and there are some cool things to see in a few days before moving on to the rest of your Morocco trip. Want more travel tips from Africa?