Once Upon a Time Travel in…Casablanca (Morocco)

To travel to Casablanca in Morocco is to take a small step back in time and is the doorway to the beautiful country that is Morocco.

Did you know that Casablanca IS NOT the capital of Morocco? That’s right, it’s actually Rabat, the next town over. It’s odd that Casablanca would have an international airport but not Rabat.

A TINY BRIEF OF HISTORY

Located on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, Casablanca (meaning White House) is the country’s largest city and busiest port with a population of over 3.5 million but for some reason isn’t its capital. For many, the name Casablanca evokes the romance of the 1945 film starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart; but the reality of the city is anything but romantic. After serving as a strategic port during World War II, Casablanca gained independence along with the rest of Morocco in 1955.

Our impression of Casablanca Morocco

Well let me tell you this, Casablanca totally lives up to its reputation. We felt like cats with 9 lives or better yet, that we should be a cat with 9 lives to live, walk and drive there. It is as dangerous to walk as it is to drive although, not as bad as in Hanoi. As it can get very intense, you should absolutely keep your kids close by. I wouldn’t recommend driving nor spending more time than needed in this city, especially if you don’t have much time to spend in Morocco. However, all we saw from Casablanca are the train stations, the Mosque and the Medina (Old city).

Getting There & Around

It’s easy to travel to Casablanca in Morocco as it has an international airport and two train stations connecting it to the rest of the country.

By Train

We took the train from the airport to Casa Port station in Casablanca. It is comfortable, inexpensive (about 3$USD) and takes about 45 minutes. The train runs every 30 minutes or so and if you are staying close to either Casa Port or Casa Voyageurs, this is the most convenient and cheaper way to get to the city. However, if there are 3 or more people in your group, taking a cab will be the same price as taking the train, give or take. You don’t need to make any reservation to get on the train. It is on first come first served.

The Train Stations

Casa Port is convenient as it is closer to the Medina and the Mosque but Casa Voyageurs allows you to take trains to other major cities. For more detailed information about the trains, look here.

Money tips

You can use your credit card at the machines to pay for your train tickets. DO NOT change $$ at the airport.

There are plenty of money exchange places near Casa Port that will give you a much better deal than at the airport. Also, you cannot change money before you travel to Casablanca or anywhere else in Morocco. You can only exchange money inside the country and cash is a necessity for tipping and taxis. Make sure upon returning home to either spend all your cash or exchange in your currency prior to boarding the plane.

Maps

I don’t have internet access when I travel abroad as I am cheap and I refuse to pay 10$ extra per day for that. Why should I when I can use the free Wifi in McDonald’s when there is one or where I am staying? Other than that, I use my wits and my guide books to lead the way. I know it sounds old school, but how do you think Gertrude Bell traveled way back then? She managed to get around without Google maps!

Luckily, you can now download the city map of your choice on Google maps before leaving onto your destination. No need for Internet access in that case. Therefore, don’t forget to do that before you travel to Casablanca in Morocco as it will be handy.

Where we slept

On the day we arrived, there was a time change. Funny enough, it seemed that not everyone was aware of it at the airport. Someone had forgotten to fast forward the clocks! So we ended up losing an hour in our plans.

I had booked a hotel close to the train station Casa Port in Casablanca to be close to the main sites. It was also a short taxi ride from Casa Voyageurs, the other train station, which we were departing from the next day to go to Fès. The hotel was very crappy, so I don’t recommend staying there (Rio Hotel). Luckily for me, out of all the hotels I booked during our trip to Morocco, this was the only bad one.

Where we ate

There was a Carrefour Market near our hotel and we were able to get snack supplies there in preparation for the arrival of the other members from our family.

I LOVE Carrefour and I so wished we had one in Montreal. If you plan to travel to Casablanca or anywhere else in Morocco for that matter, you have to go inside at least one Carrefour while there. So of course when Junior and I spotted this one, we just had to go inside! However, you can’t buy alcohol in this one as it is too small. If you like to drink, Carrefour is your best option to find some or you can drink some in hotels and high-end restaurants. Other than that, you are out of luck.

After our little escapade, we reunited with the whole gang at Hotel Rio. Funny enough, they had the same problem as us with the time change! So after catching up, changing clothes and eating our snacks from Carrefour, we set out all 8 of us for the Mosque (once again). Yep, Junior and I did a lot of walking our first day.

Use a guide for restaurant ideas

After visiting the mosque and finally getting back on a street where Junior and I first walked on, I took out my Lonely Planet travel book on Morocco for some guidance in Casablanca. I know with technology you can have everything on your phone but when technology fails a guidebook can save the day! Nothing seemed appealing to anyone in terms of food and there weren’t many food options near the mosque and we were STARVING.

In any case, luckily I had my guide book with me as everyone else was just as clueless as to where to eat. The guide book had a map that showed part of the area where we were walking into. Thanks to it, we found this great little place called Taverne du Dauphin to unwind and where us adults could sip on some beer. Needless to say that we all enjoyed our food.

A good place to try out some seafood with decent pricing at about 100dh for a meal. The only drawback is that the non-smoking section is upstairs instead of downstairs so we could still smell a lot of the tobacco.

ACTIVITIES TO DO IN CASABLANCA

Honestly, there isn’t much to do in Casablanca. Due to its loudness, it makes it hard to enjoy. There is only one thing you really want to do while there, get the heck out of it. One day travel in the city of Casablanca Morocco is plenty enough.

As we had time to spare before the arrival of Jacky, Zazou, Ioio, and Loulou (part of the Macchu Pichu kids gang), Junior and I decided to go and check out the famous Mosque while Big Boss and Blondie Bear rested.

Hassan II Mosque

Junior and I set off on foot to check out the famous Hassan II Mosque and it took us a good 30 minutes to get there from our hotel. It was great getting some alone time with Junior. As it turns out, it would be the only 1 on 1 time we would get during our trip; boys and hormones and my mother is annoying…you know the drill.

Information & Impression

Our first impression of the mosque was its stunning beauty. You have to buy tickets in order to go inside and you can only access it during certain times and on certain days. Although we couldn’t get in, we truly enjoy its stunning exterior beauty.

This is the second-largest mosque in Africa and the 6th largest in the world according to Wikipedia and it has the highest minaret measuring 60 stories high! It is the only mosque in Morocco that you can visit as a non-muslim.

I know I am putting my foot in my mouth with the following statement but how can you tell if I am Muslim or not? In Europe, anyone can just go as they please into a place of worship. In Morocco, religion is taken seriously. I just wish we could have had the time to go inside but that didn’t happen.

Hassan II Mosque was built in 1993. The fact that it was built during my lifetime blows my mind. It is unfortunate that we don’t take more time to design and build buildings nowadays. I mean, the craftsmanship and the details on this work of art is simply WHAOWH!

In any case, the exterior is absolutely stunning. We tried to take some ‘Instagram worthy’ pictures. It didn’t go as planned but we had fun trying though. During mid-afternoon, there are lots of people around along with scaffolding which makes a cute picture taking impossible.

Hassan II by night

Seeing the Mosque at night is just as beautiful and mesmerizing as it is seeing it by day. We had fun taking a lot of pictures there. If you visit Morocco in December-January, bring warm clothing for the evenings as it gets really cold and heating doesn’t really exist there.

The Medina

We also strolled around the Medina. Each major city in Morocco has one. Essentially, a Medina is an old part of a city. It is usually walled with old narrow streets. This is where, if you are planning on bringing home Moroccan art and artifacts, you will spend the majority of your time.

Casablanca’s Medina was so disappointing. There is nothing authentic in the Medina, just sweat pants and sneakers.

There are a few market stalls that are always a welcoming sight. For that alone, you can take a leisurely stroll at least to wake up your senses.

Trip planning – Our Misadventures

First of all, I am a planner. I think I am pretty good at it. We get to see a lot during our travels. I admit that sometimes it is a little too fast paste. In my defense, it’s because most places we go to, I know that the chances of going back there are slim. Therefore, I want to make sure that I see as much as possible. Another reason is that we don’t get much vacation time in Canada.

What happened?

Anyways, the beginning of our journey DID NOT go as planned at all. I messed up BIG TIME on that one. Since I needed to book 4 tickets and I was looking at different sites. Somehow it seemed cheaper to book 3 and then 1 from 2 different sites.

I booked Junior’s flight with the Hopper app I had discovered and so has everyone else it seems. It is a great app to have on your phone to keep track of flights. Also, they let you know when will be the best time to buy, etc… The other tickets we booked through Skyscanner, another way of looking for flights throughout the world.

Logistics

The problem in multitasking (as I was also planning a wedding at the time and starting up Airbnb in our own home) is that you overlook things. I realized that the hard way, at the airport. It turns out, I had bought the 3 tickets for different dates than Junior’s, leaving one day later and returning one day after. WTF!!!

To make a very long story short, we ended up paying 800$ to be able to be on the same flight as Junior. Luckily for us, some people didn’t show up or couldn’t board on the plane. As for the return flight, we didn’t change it, and we were able to find someone to pick up Nouki from daycare on the day we should have been home. It was much cheaper to pay for an extra hotel night than to change our plane ticket.

The End

I got everything resolved as I was getting to my seat on the plane. Why? Because if you miss your first flight, then your return flight gets canceled. I needed to make sure that by taking our flight a day early, our return flight wouldn’t ‘t get canceled. It was a nightmare but we made it, on empty stomachs!!! I had to deal with two different booking agents. By the end, I wasn’t so sweet as they were each giving me different prices and I needed to get on the plane with the problem resolved. In the end, we didn’t pay anything else aside from that 800$, praise the lord for credit cards.

Although the first part of this adventure was a little rock & roll, it was great meeting up as a family in a foreign country. The rest of our adventure just got better from there.