How to Take a Day Trip from Marrakech to Casablanca

Spending a day in Casablanca is a great addition to any Morocco itinerary, and a day trip from Marrakech to Casablanca can fit seamlessly into your plans for your Morocco trip.

While there are so many interesting and exciting places to visit in Morocco, I do think a short visit to Casablanca is worth your time. The good news is that you can absolutely do a day trip from Marrakech to Casablanca as part of your stay there.

Quite honestly, I think a day is plenty of time to see what Casablanca has to offer, and a day trip makes it an easy and hassle-free experience, since you don’t need to deal with the burden of packing your things and checking in and out of hotels.

In this guide, I’ll share the top things to do during your day in Casablanca, and then all of your options in how to get from Marrakech to Casablanca. Let’s dive in!

This post contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help keep this site running. Thank you so much for your support!

What to See During a Day Trip to Casablanca

Hassan II Mosque

The #1 thing you need to see in Casablanca, and the main reason to come, is the Hassan II Mosque. This mosque is the 7th largest mosque in the world, with the 2nd tallest minaret, and is the only mosque in Morocco that is allows non-Muslims to enter. This was an absolutely incredible and awe-inspiring place to visit and I would for sure prioritize it.

Details: You can visit via a guided tour. Tour times are generally at 9am, 10am, 11am, and 3pm. The entrance fee is 130 dirham ($13). There is no required dress code to enter, although I would dress conservatively out of respect.

Other things to do in Casablanca include:

Visit the Old Medina: This walled historic quarter is a classic Moroccan medina, where winding passages, souks, and restaurants abound.
Admire Cathedrale Sacre-Coeur: This cathedral is relatively new (for Casablanca), being designed in the 1930’s, and incorporates traditional Moroccan architectural design (e.g. minarets). It was used as a church, then as a school, and today it hosts exhibitions.
Stroll La Corniche: La Corniche is the area of town right along the coast, with a wide boulevard extending right along the sea. It’s worth a stroll!
Marché Centrale: The main market of the city. Come to get a bite to eat, haggle for some souvenirs, or just wander around admiring all the colorful goods.
Visit Rick’s Café: This café is designed to recreate the piano bar in the famous movie, “Casablanca,” with many architectural details and décor items that hearken back to that classic.

Map of Things to Do With a Day in Casablanca

Getting from Marrakech to Casablanca

In this section, I’ll go through 6 different ways to get from Marrakech to Casablanca for your day trip. Five of these ways are self-guided, and the final one is a guided tour. There are different considerations for each option, so let’s get into it!

1. Bus

Taking the CTM bus is an easy way to get from Marrakech to Casablanca. This bus starts and ends at the CTM bus station in both cities. In Marrakech, the bus station is a 10 minute taxi ride from the western edge of the medina, and in Casablanca, its only a 6 minute ride from the mosque. Always remember to haggle for the price of the taxi (a fair price for a 10-15 minute ride would be 20-30 dirham)

Bus rides are pretty inexpensive, about $10-15 one way. These rides take anywhere from 3-4 hours, depending on the time of day you book.

👉Browse timetables for bus schedules from Marrakech to Casablanca here!

2. Train

An alternate option to the bus is to take the train between Marrakech and Casablanca. The train starts at the Marrakech Train Station and arrives at the Casa Voyageurs Train Station in Casablanca. Both of these train stations are approximately 10-15 minutes by taxi from the city center. Remember to haggle for taxi fare before riding!

Note that there are a few train stations in Casablanca, so when you’re coming back for your return trip, make sure you tell the driver the correct train station (Casa Voyageurs).

Ticket prices for the train are pretty inexpensive, around $13 for a one way ticket. The train ride takes about 2.5 hours.

Because the train and the bus are approximately the same price, but the train is quite a bit faster, I would recommend taking the train over the bus.

👉Browse timetables for the train from Marrakech to Casablanca here!

3. Grand Taxi

There are two types of taxis in Morocco: grand and petit. The petit taxis run within a city, and the grand taxis take you between cities. They also just look different – often the grand taxis are more like a minivan, while the petit are like a regular taxi car.

You can flag down grand taxis on the street, or ask your riad to call one for you. Again, remember to haggle! According to moroccocab.com, the one way, per person cost of a grand taxi between cities is about 268 dirhams per person, or about $25.

Of course, grand taxis operate on a full car basis, so you will likely be sharing the car with other travelers, or you will need to pay more per person. The estimate for the cost of an entire car is 1600 dirham, about $145.

The benefit of a grand taxi is that you will not have to transfer as many times, nor worry about keeping with the bus or train schedule. However, the cost is higher, you will need to exercise your haggling skills, and be willing to ride with other travelers in the car.

👉Read More: 16 Unique Things to Do in Marrakech

4. Private Car

Want a self-guided option with the least hassle and logistics? Hire a private transfer. This car will transport your group from Marrakech to Casablanca, with pickup and drop-off exactly when and where you want, and making any bathroom stops you may need at your discretion.

If you have a group of people, this can also be a very economical option, as the price is per group, not per person. Bigger group = smaller per person cost. Note that this is just a one way transfer – for round trip you’ll need 2 reservations.

Driving between cities takes about 2.5 hours.

👉Book a convenient private car experience here.

5. Rental Car

I would only recommend doing a day trip from Marrakech to Casablanca via a rental car IF you are planning on visiting Casablanca as the beginning of a longer Moroccan road trip. If you are just visiting for the day, I would do one of the other options listed on this guide.

However, generally speaking, a Morocco road trip is excellent fun and one of my favorite travel memories, ever. Check out my dedicated guide to driving in Morocco here!

Still needing a rental car? I always recommend booking through Rentalcars.com. They have the best prices and availability around.

6. Guided Day Trip Tour of Casablanca

If you’d rather have someone else handle all the logistics of getting to and from Casablanca from Marrakech, have a private guide, and be very efficient in seeing a lot during your day trip to Casablanca, consider going on a guided day trip tour!

This tour is a private, guided tour. You leave first thing in the morning and are picked up in a comfortable, air-conditioned van and driven to Casablanca.

Here, you’ll start by visiting the impressive Hassan II Mosque (entrance fee included), then Rick’s Café, La Corniche, some of the old city, the Place des Nations Unis, the Sacre Coeur Church, the old Medina, and the Royal Palace!

As this is a private tour, you can customize your day as you want with your tour guide. When you’re done, you’ll travel back in your van to get dropped off at your riad. You get the benefit of direct transportation, a personal tour guide, and being able to hit up all sorts of sites during your day trip to Casablanca.

This tour has 5 stars and is a good value for money when you consider the guide, the transportation, and the entrance fee, and the handling of all logistics.

👉Book this private guided day trip to Casablanca here!

Day Trip to Casablanca from Marrakech – Final Thoughts

As you can see, there really are a lot of ways to spend one day in Casablanca from Marrakech – with a variety of options to suit your personal needs and preferences. Hopefully one of these options should work for you and you can have a great day exploring the city of Casablanca!

How to Take a Day Trip from Marrakech to Casablanca