Casablanca, Morocco | September 2017

I had heard from friends that Casablanca could be skipped, but we weren’t in a rush and the flights into Casablanca were more affordable so we decided to spend a night. We felt a night was enough. Visiting the Hassan II Mosque was incredible,  but rest of the areas we walked around felt very industrial and lacked charm.

The Hassan II Mosque gives tours several times a day in several languages, and the details can be found on their website. I would recommend joining a tour as it gives you access to areas and information you would otherwise miss.

We chose to travel by train from Casablanca to Marrakech. With my very limited French, I was unable to book our tickets online, so we purchased them at the station the day before traveling to ensure a first class seat. We had read that it was worthwhile, as you were guaranteed a seat and the first class cabins were air conditioned. Train travel is very reasonable in Morocco, two first class seats cost us around $30. The train was comfortable, but patience was a required trait for the journey. Our train arrived at the station over an hour late, and stopped several times without apparent reason along the way.