1 Month in Morocco: What to Budget & How to Plan Your Itinerary?

Are you planning an itinerary or road trip for 1 incredible month in Morocco? Well you’ve just hit the jackpot because this post explains it ALL!

We show you two possible 1 month Morocco adventures, one that starts in Marrakech and finishes in Tangier, and another loop itinerary. But my favourite thing about our 1 month Morocco itinerary is that it highlights some of the best riad accommodation options throughout the country.

Our previous 3 itineraries highlight smaller trips to specific regions within Morocco: 8 days surfing itinerary on the Atlantic, 10 days in Central Morocco & 12 days in Northern Morocco. But this one connects all 3 itineraries into an epic 1 month road trip and itinerary around Morocco.

Below we cover what you’ll need to budget for a 1 month Morocco itinerary, the best phone and data packages for your travel, the ATM’s we recommend, and information related to visas and so on. In addition to this, we explain the best places to visit, the hidden gems and our favourite tours that we consider worth paying for.

I know with 100% certainty that our itinerary works, because we used it for our 3 month slow travel around Morocco. The only difference is that we tweaked it to make it better… ironed out the creases so to speak!

So below, the t’s are crossed, the i’s dotted… and I feel tickled pink about sharing this Morocco road trip with you! I hope you love it as much as I do.

🪶 Read Also: A First Timer’s Itinerary to 14 days in Morocco – Everything from North to South, East to West compressed into a 2 week guide.

1 Month Road Trip Map for Morocco

In the same way we have shared our previous 3 itineraries, we break down the following month long trip of Morocco into 3 regions.

I’ll describe these throughout our guide below as Region 1 – central; Region 2 – the Atlantic coast; & Region 3 the north.

Each of these are displayed below on our map in three seperate colours. I know pretty right! So go ahead and safe this itinerary to return to later.

Alternatively, skip ahead to see the map of our 1 month loop itinerary of Morocco.

Understanding our Itinerary

Next up, we share a table outlining our recommended nightly itinerary, including suggested places to stay.

But you may also want to take a step backwards. Perhaps you are still trying to figure out what is where? Maybe you need a better understanding of each region in more detail?

In this case, click our feather link below the table for our master post – it contains every Morocco itinerary you could possibly need. In this invaluable post you’ll learn about each area of Morocco, narrowing in on what to see and where.

In other words, we help you figure out what parts of Morocco interest you and where you might want to focus your trip on. If it’s the Sahara, the markets, the mountains, the surf or the villages. Everything is explained and shared in bite sized pieces, to help you ACE your one month trip to Morocco!

🛑✋ Our full Morocco itinerary guide ALSO outlines everything you should know about taking public transport in Morocco. From the CTM bus, to SupraTours bus, to the ONCF train, taxis, self-driving, flights and ferries from Europe.

Itinerary Overview & Where to Stay

If however you’re ready to break it down… and get planning that 1 month road trip and itinerary then here it is! Then when you have your head wrapped around the itinerary overview table, move onto the next section for more details on each seperate region.

Now I know what your thinking with the following table. It’s BIG! But the beauty is that you can remove destinations from this itinerary and add nights where needed.

	REGION 1 – Central Morocco Itinerary
Riad Tizwa Marrakech	2 nights in Marrakech
Tour – Trek Atlas	2 nights in Aroumd Atlas Mountains
Todra Gorge – Dar Tawira Roses Valley – Kasbah Chems	2 night Roses Valley or Todra Gorge
Merzouga – Luxury Camp Mhamid – Bivouac Amaya	1 night Merzouga
Ouarzazate – Dar Kamar Ait Ben Haddou – Kasbah El Hajja	1 night Ait Ben Haddou or Ouarzazate
	REGION 2 – Atlantic Coast Itinerary
Dominium Residence	1 night Agadir (optional)
Inna Guest House	2 nights Mirleft & Legzira (optional)
Tamraght – Agachill Surf House Taghazout – Onda Surf	2 nights Tamraght, Taghazout or Imsouane
Inna Riad & Watersports Center	2 nights Essaouira
	REGION 3 – North Morocco Itinerary
Riad – Ryad 91 Apartment – Family ApartHotel	2 nights Casablanca (optional)
Riad Marhaba	2 nights Rabat (optional)
Dar Meknes Tresor	1 night Meknes (optional)
Dar Seffarine	2 nights Fes
Riad La Santa	2 nights Chefchaouen
Kasbah Rose	2 nights Tangier

1 Month Morocco Itinerary Details

Moving onto our itinerary details for 1 month in Morocco, here we loosely break down each region of the itinerary. You’ll see the days in each of the three regional itineraries add up to between 26 and 30 days. That is to say, this would be the number of days, if you were to follow our itinerary exactly as listed above.

The reality is that, moving every 1 to 2 days is somewhat exhausting as we’ve come to know as a full-time travelling family. Therefore, I strongly recommend finding one or two destinations, to factor in a little down time.

Basically, you want to treat the following sections like a summary and access point to our more complete travel guides.

On first click you’ll find a detailed itinerary – the information on how to get to and from each location via public transport, further details on where to stay, and bullet points on what to see and do.

Secondly, these detailed itineraries will then point you to our in-depth destination guides. For example a self-guided walking tour of Fes, or how to spend 3 days in Marrakech.

🧅 With each click you can pull back another layer of the onion. The deeper you go, the better the Morocco travel experience!

Region 1 Marrakech to Agadir: Days 8 – 10

Our itinerary for 1 month in Morocco begins in Marrakech. A super central location, that right off the bat introduces you to the best (and sometimes worst) of Morocco! But it’s a superb place to start, flights to Marrakech are easy to come by and it’s central.

It’s a city we loved. At first it’s intimidating, but take a couple of days to find your feet, and then just accelerate into it!

Generally speaking the people are friendly, and will call for your attention as you walk through the Medina. We regularly found ourselves waving to the cat call of “hey Ali Baba!” thanks to Mike’s beard.

When you’re ready, head to the Atlas Mountains with our good friend Ahmed. He will organise an incredible tour that celebrates Berber culture in some of the most gorgeous countryside. I will forever be grateful for our time staying in his village.

Then make your way on through the rest of Central Morocco, to the hidden Moroccan rivers and valleys, before continuing on to get a taste of the Sahara Desert. The final stop of the Central Morocco tour is to Ouarzazate and the famous Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou.

But certainly click our link below for everything you ought to know about planning this leg of your journey including how to get there and which buses to take. We also share gorgeous photos that will help you see that Central Morocco is a must when it comes to best places to visit in Morocco.

Region 2 Agadir to Essaouira: Days 7 – 8

The second leg of the journey, Region 2, brings you to some of the best of Morocco’s beaches and coastline. From Ouarzazate take the CTM bus towards Agadir and south towards the remote beaches of Mirleft and Legzira.

If you love beach time, surfing and getting off the beaten track, then this is a superb section of the itinerary for you to spend an extra few days. Very few travellers head south in this direction, but it is popular with van lifers.

However, if you want to keep things more mainstream, then from Agadir head north towards Tamraght and Taghazout. Thus freeing up extra days elsewhere.

Getting from A to B between Agadir and Essaouira is made super easy with the help of the Souk to Surf shuttle. Make sure to use them to your full advantage to get to these very chill little beaches and communities.

Undoubtedly one of my personal favourite locations in Morocco is Essaouira. After the sleepy chilled tones of the southern beaches, it’s time to get your teeth into something bigger. And Essaouira was this place for us. We loved it so much, that we staying for a month. Though it is considerably different depending on the time of the year you visit. Be sure to read below our section on the best time to visit Morocco!

Region 3 Essaouira to Tangier: Days 11 – 12

Following 7 to 8 days on the coast you better get a wriggle on and head north. There is a surprisingly large amount of sights still to see in the north of Morocco.

From Essaouira grab yourself a CTM bus to Casablanca.

Here you can spend a day or two getting to know the bigger cities – Casablanca and Rabat. Alternatively carry straight on through. It really depends on how much of the city you want to see. If you ask me, I prefer to see the more authentic side of Morocco, as such Casablanca and Rabat wasn’t high on my must-see list.

Meknes, Fes, Chefchaouen and Tangier on the other hand… definitely were! We share some excellent in-depth guides within our north Morocco itinerary. So don’t miss the opportunity to browse through these.

For example, the blue city of Chefchaouen is beautiful, but it’s good to get our tips before you go. Also find out the whereabouts of the hidden gem, God’s Bridge, in the Rif Mountains.

Ultimately, we leave you in Tangier to find your way home, and with many cheap flights to and from Tangier this shouldn’t be a problem. You’ll fly home knowing that you’ve seen some of the best places to visit in Morocco with memories of a lifetime.

Adjustments to the 1 Month Itinerary

We make a number of itinerary adjustment suggestions within our individual itineraries. However, in relation to our one month itinerary of Morocco, there are two that I would consider. The reverse Tangier to Marrakech and the Loop Itinerary.

The first and most obvious would be that this itinerary could easily be travelled in reverse. In other words, begin the road trip in Tangier and finish it in Marrakech. This would make sense if you are travelling with your own transport and arrive in Tangier by ferry.

1 Month Loop Itinerary

My second change would be to make this a one month loop road trip, starting and finishing in Marrakech. In this case, you’d see the Regions (Central, Atlantic & North) in a slightly different sequence.

• From Marrakech begin with the Atlantic Coast Itinerary.
• Then North Morocco Itinerary – from Rabat continue North to Tangier, then Chefchaouen, Fes and Meknes.
• From here, connect with the Central Morocco Itinerary, travel directly to Merzouga and work backwards to Marrakech.

See the map and itinerary table to make more sense of these adjustments. The places don’t change, just the sequence in which you see them! This itinerary also works with public transport routes. For example, from Meknes to Merzouga there is a SupraTours bus that easily connects the two regions.

	REGION 2 – Atlantic Coast Itinerary
Riad Tizwa Marrakech	2 nights in Marrakech
Dominium Residence	1 night Agadir (optional)
Inna Guest House	2 nights Mirleft & Legzira (optional)
Tamraght – Agachill Surf House Taghazout – Onda Surf	2 nights Tamraght, Taghazout or Imsouane
Inna Riad & Watersports Center	2 nights Essaouira
	REGION 3 – North Morocco Itinerary
Riad – Ryad 91 Apartment – Family ApartHotel	2 nights Casablanca (optional)
Riad Marhaba	2 nights Rabat (optional)
Kasbah Rose	2 nights Tangier
Riad La Santa	2 nights Chefchaouen
Dar Seffarine	2 nights Fes
Dar Meknes Tresor	1 night Meknes (optional)
	REGION 1 – Central Morocco Itinerary
Merzouga – Luxury Camp	1 night Merzouga
Todra Gorge – Dar Tawira Roses Valley – Kasbah Chems	2 night Roses Valley or Todra Gorge
Ouarzazate – Dar Kamar Ait Ben Haddou – Kasbah El Hajja	1 night Ait Ben Haddou or Ouarzazate
Tour – Trek Atlas	2 nights in Aroumd Atlas Mountains
Riad Tizwa Marrakech	2 nights in Marrakech

Budgeting for 1 Month in Morocco

One of the things I love to do while we travel is to analyse our expenditure. I know… geek to the core! And I have tried different budgeting apps, settling finally on the free – TrabeePocket. It’s not perfect, but it is very very handy in terms of telling us where we spend most.

To give you an idea, the following prices are indicative of food, data and travel insurance –

• Tagine – $6 to $10 USD for a one or two person tagine
• Fresh juice – $1 to $4 USD
• Data & wifi – $5 USD for 5GB of data
• Travel insurance (under 40 years) – Safety Wings $50 USD / World Nomads $144 USD

The following sections break down budget categories in more depth. We explain what you might expect to pay for tours and sightseeing, public transport and accommodation. Then finally we share the overall figures, on what you’d want to budget for 1 month in Morocco.

Tours, Sightseeing & Entrance Prices in Morocco

As an example of the busier cities – the entrance to gardens in Marrakech cost between $6 to $12 USD per person. While the palaces and government sights cost around $2 to $8 USD entrance.

A cooking class will cost on average around $20 to $30 MAD per person.

An overnight tour to the mountains or the desert will cost around $50 to $150 per person, depending on they type of tour you book – private or group.

Average Price for Public Transport

We found the cost of public transport in Morocco very reasonable.

For the road trip we have laid out here for a month, you can expect to pay anywhere between $200 to $300 USD per person. This figure is based on what we spent on transport following a similar Morocco itinerary and road trip. It includes all modes of transport from taxis to buses to trains.

Most bus routes cost between 100 to 300 MAD ($10 to $30 USD) depending on the length of travel.

Average Price for Accommodation

According to Budget Your Trip, the average cost of accommodation is $61 USD per night. In my opinion, this isn’t entirely accurate.

If you plan to visit off-the-beaten track locations, then it’s possible to find great little hidden gem riads in this price range. However in reality you can expect to pay between $100 and $200 for a double room, mid-range option, in hubs such as Marrakech and Fes. While budget options are more likely to range between $30 to $70.

Hostel prices in Morocco range between $8 and $15+ USD per night for a shared dorm.

What to Budget for 1 Month in Morocco

It would be impossible to predict an exact budget for a month, given that everyone spends differently. But based on our experience, and the above average figures on public transport, accommodation, food, sightseeing and insurance we would estimate for a month –

• Budget solo backpacker – $1250 USD – shared rooms in hostel
• Budget couple – $3400 USD – private rooms in hostel
• Midrange solo traveller – $1900 USD – shared rooms in hostel
• Midrange solo traveller – $2500 USD – private room in hostel
• Midrange couple – $5800 USD – $100 USD nightly riad stays

🍳 These budgets are based on $13 to $20 USD daily food allowances per person. Breakfast is almost always included in the price of your accommodation, even in hostels.

Currency and ATMs in Morocco

Currency – Moroccan Dirhams or MAD, 10 dirhams equates to approximately 1 Euro or 1 USD

ATM Machine – We preferred to use the Barid Bank ATM. They seem to have the best rates and are widely found throughout Morocco.

✅ Get Wise! I definitely recommend travelling with a Wise Card. We would be lost without ours, they are a game changer in terms of international travel.

Visas for Morocco

In a nut shell, there are a list of countries who do not require a visa for entry into Morocco. This is referred to as the visa exempt countries, which means on arrival you receive an automatic 90 days to travel within Morocco.

It’s important to note that you should have 6 months validity left on your passport and an exit flight from Morocco. In saying this, we flew to Morocco without a return ticket and were granted entry, no questions asked.

The Best Month to Travel in Morocco

Our favourite months to visit Morocco would be from March to May, or between September and November. I say this very casually though, as I honestly believe Morocco is one of those travel destinations that is good year round.

In terms of our slow travel journey around Morocco, we visited bang smack in the middle of the summer months – May to August. Yes it was warm and sticky in some destinations, such as the desert, Marrakech and Fes. But it was super pleasant in the mountains and on the coast in Essaouira for example. In which case, I suggest that any month over the year can be a suitable time to visit Morocco and varies based on the places you seek to visit.

Considering this, I would suggest you adjust the itinerary allowing for extra nights in the cooler locations during summer, and warmer locations during winter.

Data, WIFI & Connectivity in Morocco

If you’re asking me… I believe the best way to stay connected is to grab a local sim card. Roaming data can cripple the budget and don’t expect to easily find free wifi as you might in other countries.

Sim cards are cheap and you have the option of Orange, Inwi and Tele Maroc. While the data isn’t super cheap, it’s certainly not bad, and having it provides an ease in relation to mobility and at the same time a feeling of security. We purchased an Orange Sim card for 20 MAD and paid 50 MAD for 5GB of data.

In order to top up your data, look for the signs, Orange, Inwi etc – they are advertised everywhere. Tell the vendor how much you want and they either top your account up automatically, or give you the recharge card. If you need call time, you need to specify this.

Do You Need a Car in Morocco

While we love the independence of travelling with a car, we do find it a more expensive way of travelling. By the time you have included car rental and gas, which let’s face it continues to rise year after year, the travel budget is stretched somewhat.

If you are flexible with a budget, then certainly, go rent that car and enjoy the freedom. If you’re worried that you really can’t travel Morocco without a car, well I can tell you… it’s not the case. So no, you don’t need a car to travel Morocco. We are the proof of that. What’s more we managed public transport all around Morocco with kids.

For a cheap car rental option in Morocco – check out QEEQ. We used them on our road trip in Turkey and were more than satisfied with their platform.

The Best Tours to Do in Morocco

There are two tours I recommend you consider during a visit to Morocco. A hike into the Atlas Mountains is the first, and the Sahara desert is the second.

Atlas Mountain Tours – As explained in our itinerary of Central Morocco, we recommend a one or two night tour with our friend Ahmed from Trek Atlas. This trip is well worth the money – but read our post for the full review on what to expect from one of his tours.

Sahara Desert Tours – If the Central Morocco itinerary seems like too much to organise, there is an easier way. Many travellers decide to join a single day or multiple night guided tour, that ventures into Central Morocco and the desert. While it is more rushed, it is a popular way to journey into this section of the itinerary.

See our recommended shortlisted tours below for a visit into the Sahara Desert.

Is Morocco Safe to Visit

Morocco is as safe as the next country, depending on the manner in which you explore it. If you make wise choices and stay savvy you’ll be absolutely fine.

This doesn’t take into consideration, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But of course the unforeseen can happen anywhere in the world.

There are a few guidelines we travel by as a family, in terms of keeping safe –

• Never carry more cash than you need
• Keep bank cards split between different wallets
• Always dress modestly – especially females
• Don’t photograph people without their permission
• Don’t travel in the evenings
• In Morocco it’s best not to ask for directions – use Google Maps
• Ask taxi drivers for the price before accepting a ride
• Avoid putting money in a pocket, keep everything secure in a good day bag

⛑ ALWAYS travel with good travel insurance – get free online quotes with World Nomads or Safety Wing. Two travel insurance providers we use and trust.

More on Morocco

Morocco is definitely one of those destinations that we have fallen in love with and one we will undoubtedly return to.

It’s super vast, with so much to see and experience, that it really can’t be done in just one trip. But we hope that this 1 month itinerary helps you experience MOST of it. If you’re fortunate enough to take an extended holiday, then Morocco is a place that deserves your time!

We wish you an incredible trip to Morocco, and urge you to get in touch if you have any questions. And click through to some of our epic guides below for more awesome Morocco content.

👩‍🍳 A Moroccan Cooking Class Review – Bab Sahra Cooking Lesson
🐎 Horse Riding on the Beach in Essaouira – Yassine Cavalier Stables
🛏 What’s it Like to Stay in a Moroccan Riad – Ryad Watier Review
🚌 Taking the Bus in Morocco – Marrakech to Essaouira
💪 Living on a Work Exchange in Morocco – Volunteering in a Berber Home

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