Last verified: October 23, 2026. On 23 October I read every train time and fare in this guide from ONCF’s own booking system, for two Tuesdays four weeks apart, and checked a Friday too. The tram fares come from Casatramway’s offers page. The Hassan II Mosque’s price and tour times come from its foundation’s visit page. That site was down for maintenance on the day, so I read the page as archived on 16 September and checked the price against my own read of 15 October. Walking and driving times are routed, with no traffic. I re-read all of it every 60 days.
Most people who visit Casablanca are really changing trains or planes there. So is Casablanca worth visiting? The better question is whether it’s worth getting off. On ONCF’s cheapest fares for late October, getting off the Tangier to Marrakech train for five and a half hours cost 25 dirhams more than riding straight through.
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My verdict, before the working: yes, for half a day, and on a first trip not for a night. Five hours gets you the Hassan II Mosque, the old medina and the seafront between them, and the trains make it cheap to add. Stay a night only if a flight forces it, or if a big, working Moroccan city is what you came to see.
Key Takeaways
- Casablanca is worth half a day; on a first trip, not a night
- On the cheapest fares, a 5 hour 26 minute stop between Tangier and Marrakech cost 10 to 25 dirhams more than the through ticket
- The airport train runs hourly: 41 minutes, 60 dirhams in second class
- The Hassan II Mosque costs 140 dirhams for a foreign adult; until mid-March, tours run 09:00 to 12:00 and at 15:00 (Fridays 09:00, 10:00 and 15:00)
- Intercity and airport trains use Casa Voyageurs; Casa Port is by the medina
Table of Contents
Is Casablanca worth visiting, or just passing through?
Worth half a day. On ONCF’s cheapest fares, read on 23 October 2026, a 5 hour 26 minute stop in Casablanca between Tangier and Marrakech cost 10 to 25 dirhams more than the through ticket. That buys the Hassan II Mosque, the old medina and the seafront. A night needs a reason.
Most guides answer this question with a mood. Casablanca is “chaotic”, or “worth a long weekend”, or the mosque “alone makes it worth it”. Each has a point. None of them deals with how most travellers actually meet the city. Mohammed V is Morocco’s busiest airport, and the fastest trains between Tangier and Marrakech all change at Casa Voyageurs. You’re likely to pass through whether you plan to or not.
It is, because the city has one sight that’s in a class of its own, a short, walkable old medina next to it, and a long seafront. It doesn’t have what most first-timers came to Morocco for: the big souks, the riads, the old walled cities. Fes and Marrakech do that better.
That’s why the ten-day route skips Casablanca, and I agree with it: the mosque doesn’t justify a night on a first trip. What follows makes the case for giving the city the afternoon instead.
How much does a stop in Casablanca cost?
Very little on the cheapest fares. On ONCF’s booking system on 23 October 2026, the cheapest second-class Tangier to Marrakech fare four days out was 360 dirhams through and 385 as two tickets with a stop in Casablanca. A month out it was 178 against 188. On flexible fares the stop cost 55 to 70 dirhams.
There’s no direct train from Tangier to Marrakech. The fastest journeys in the planner run Al Boraq, the high-speed train, to Casa Voyageurs in 2 hours 17 minutes on the current works timetable (2 hours 10 normally), then a classic Al Atlas train south. The through ticket gives you 26 minutes to change. Buy the two legs separately and you can make that change as long as you like.
This is what ONCF‘s booking system priced on 23 October, for the 07:00 from Tanger Ville:
| Cheapest second-class fare | Through, 26-min change | Two tickets, 5h26 in Casablanca | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 27 October, four days out | 360 MAD (the only through fare on sale), in Marrakech 12:37 | 225 + 160 = 385 MAD, in Marrakech 17:37 | +25 MAD |
| Tuesday 24 November, a month out | 178 MAD | 129 + 59 = 188 MAD | +10 MAD |
The stopover is the 07:00 Al Boraq into Casa Voyageurs at 09:17 and the 14:43 Al Atlas out, into Marrakech at 17:37. The Al Atlas leaves Casa Voyageurs on the 43rd minute of every hour from 08:43 to 21:43, 2 hours 54 minutes to Marrakech, so you can make the stop longer or shorter. The price of that train moves with the hour, though. On 24 November the non-refundable Al Atlas fare was 49 or 59 dirhams, and on two departures it had sold out, leaving 120. A 4 hour 26 minute stop, leaving on the 13:43, cost nothing extra at all: 129 plus 49 is the same 178 as the through ticket.
Cheap fares come with conditions, and two tickets mean two sets of them. ONCF sold three kinds of fare on these trains. A flexible fare can be changed free five times and refunded in full until the day before. A semi-flexible fare can be changed once and refunded less half. A non-refundable fare can’t be changed or refunded at all, and on 24 November every ticket in the table above was that kind.
On 27 October the only through fare on sale was flexible, while the Al Boraq leg alone came cheaper as a 225-dirham semi-flexible fare, so the table flatters the stop a little. Like for like on flexible fares, it cost 70 dirhams on 27 October (270 plus 160 against 360) and 55 on 24 November (270 plus 145 against 360). The cheapest fares a month out are much lower on both legs, the pattern I found in August on how train fares move with booking date.
The catch is your bag. I couldn’t confirm a left-luggage office at Casa Voyageurs from ONCF’s own pages, so plan the stop with luggage you can carry, or ask at the station before you commit.
What can you see in Casablanca in half a day?
The Hassan II Mosque, the old medina and the seafront between them. From Casa Voyageurs the mosque is 5.7 km, about 6 minutes by car with no traffic, and from the mosque the old medina is a 30-minute walk along the coast. The rest of the city is for a night.
This is how I’d spend the stopover, getting off the 07:00 from Tangier. It works on a Friday too, because it uses the 10:00 tour. The walking and driving times are routed on OpenStreetMap data from ONCF’s station coordinates, with no traffic.
- 09:17, Casa Voyageurs. Take a taxi to the mosque. It’s 5.7 km, about 6 minutes on an empty road; on foot it’s 72 minutes, so don’t.
- 10:00, the mosque tour. Morning tours start on the hour until 12:00; I’d allow an hour inside.
- 11:15, the seafront walk. From the mosque to the old medina is 2.2 km, about 30 minutes, with the ocean on your left.
- 11:45, the old medina. It’s small and residential next to Fes or Marrakech, and that’s the appeal: it’s a neighbourhood, not a market. Eat here.
- 13:00, Place Mohammed V. About 1 km and 13 minutes on foot from the medina, the big square of the colonial-era centre.
- 13:45, a taxi back to Casa Voyageurs. About 3.5 km, 5 minutes with no traffic. Be on the platform well before the 14:43. If the 13:43 is the cheaper train on your date, skip the square and take that.
That leaves real slack, which you’ll want, because Casablanca’s traffic is the one leg I can’t route. If you’d rather walk more, the 2.2 km from the mosque to the medina is the stretch to do on foot.
What this plan skips: the Corniche at Ain Diab, 14 km by road from Casa Voyageurs, and the Habous quarter, the “new medina”, a 27-minute walk from the station in the other direction. Both belong to a night in Casablanca.
Can you see Casablanca on a layover?
Yes, if your connection leaves room for two train rides. The airport train runs hourly, 41 minutes into Casa Voyageurs and 43 back, at 60 dirhams in second class on ONCF’s booking system on 23 October 2026. The 09:55 in and the 14:57 back give you 4 hours 21 minutes in town.
Morocco’s busiest airport, Mohammed V, has its own railway station. On ONCF’s timetable for 27 October and 24 November, trains leave it at 55 minutes past every hour from 05:55 to 22:55, 18 a day, and reach Casa Voyageurs 41 minutes later. Coming back, they leave Casa Voyageurs at 57 minutes past the hour from 05:57 to 22:57 and take 43 minutes.
The fare was 60 dirhams in second class and 80 in first on both dates, four days and a month ahead. Unlike the intercity trains, the airport line doesn’t reward booking ahead.
The layover version of the plan uses the 09:55 into town, the 11:00 or 12:00 mosque tour, the seafront and the medina, and the 14:57 back to the airport, there at 15:40. Add it up before you leave the terminal. From the first train to arriving back at the airport, that plan takes 5 hours 45 minutes.
Friday is different, because there’s no tour between 10:00 and 15:00. Take the 08:55 into town instead, at Casa Voyageurs by 09:36, for the 10:00 tour. The 12:57 back has you at the airport at 13:40, 4 hours 45 minutes in all; staying for the 14:57 makes it 6 hours 45. I checked a Friday, 30 October, and the airport trains ran to the same times as on the Tuesdays. On top of that come entry formalities, which I can’t time for you, and your airline’s check-in deadline. Count back from the deadline, not from your departure time.
If the train doesn’t suit, a taxi will, but not any taxi: Casablanca bars city taxis from the airport, and how taxis work at the airport and in town explains what to take instead.
Casa Voyageurs or Casa Port: which station to use
Casa Voyageurs for Al Boraq, Al Atlas and the airport; Casa Port for the old medina and the Rabat shuttle. Casa Port is a 6-minute walk from the medina and 34 minutes from the mosque. Casa Voyageurs is about 3 km from the medina, a 42-minute walk.
The two names catch people out because both say “Casa”. Here’s how far each is from the places a half-day visitor goes, routed on foot and by car with no traffic:
| From | Old medina | Hassan II Mosque | Place Mohammed V | Habous quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Port | 6 min walk | 34 min walk, 3 min drive | 16 min walk | 43 min walk, 5 min drive |
| Casa Voyageurs | 42 min walk, 6 min drive | 72 min walk, 6 min drive | 40 min walk, 6 min drive | 27 min walk |
Casa Port matters for one more reason. ONCF’s timetable for 27 October lists 27 shuttles a day to Rabat Ville, taking 1 hour 8 to 1 hour 19 minutes, at 45 dirhams in second class, again flat across both dates. If what you wanted from your half-day was an old walled medina, Rabat’s is an hour up the line for the price of a lunch.
The same trap waits in Rabat, Fes and Marrakech, and I’ve set out which station to use in each city.
How much is the Hassan II Mosque, and what should you wear?
140 dirhams for a foreign adult, 30 for children aged 4 to 12, free under 4, on the foundation’s own visit page. Residents and foreign students pay 70. Guided tours start on the hour, at 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 15:00 from Saturday to Thursday between mid-September and mid-March.
The Fondation de la Mosquée Hassan II‘s visit page sets out the tour and the prices. Its site was down for maintenance when I checked on 23 October, so that link is the page as archived on 16 September. The 140 matches what I read on the live page on 15 October. Older guides still say 120. The page gives three seasons of tour times:
- 16 September to 14 March: Saturday to Thursday at 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 15:00; Friday at 09:00, 10:00 and 15:00.
- 15 March to 15 September: the same, with a 16:00 tour added every day.
- During Ramadan: a shorter list, with the last tour by 14:15.
There’s no tour at 13:00 or 14:00, so a stop that reaches the mosque after 12:00 waits until 15:00. On a Friday, 10:00 is the last morning tour. Build the half-day around the tour.
The tour has three parts, according to the page: the prayer hall, the minaret hall and the ablutions hall.
You take your shoes off and carry them in a bag they give you. The dress rule is written down and applies to everyone; I’ve quoted it in full with the mosque’s written dress code. The short version is cover shoulders and knees, and no shorts.
How do you get around Casablanca?
For half a day, by taxi between the far ends and on foot in the middle. If you stay longer, the tram: 8 dirhams a trip, or 14 for two, on Casatramway’s own page read on 23 October 2026. The city council voted higher fares in May 2024, and the operator’s page still shows the old ones.
Casatramway‘s offers page lists a single trip at 8 dirhams and two trips at 14. A rechargeable card costs 15, then 6 dirhams a trip; a weekly pass is 60 and a monthly 230.
Those aren’t the fares the city voted. On 15 May 2024 the council approved 9 dirhams a trip, 16 for two and 7 on a 30-dirham card. It also set a weekly pass at 70, a monthly at 250, a 24-hour pass at 50 and three days at 120, as H24info and Le Matin reported that day. I can’t tell you which the ticket machine charges, so carry 10 dirhams a ride and you’re covered either way.
For a half-day, though, you won’t need the tram. The mosque, the medina and the square sit along about 3 km of walking; it’s the stations at either end that need a taxi. I’ve also placed the tram in the national picture, alongside the trains, coaches and grand taxis.
Is Casablanca worth visiting for a night?
Only for a reason: an early flight, a late arrival, or a real interest in the city itself. The first airport train leaves Casa Voyageurs at 05:57 and reaches the airport at 06:40, so a flight before about 08:00 is the classic case for a night. For the sights, half a day is enough.
There are good reasons to stay. Casablanca is a big, working city, and it doesn’t perform for visitors the way Marrakech does. If you like early 20th-century architecture, the streets around Place Mohammed V reward a slow morning. The Corniche at Ain Diab is where the city goes in the evening.
What a night doesn’t buy you is more of what first-timers came for. So my default is the stop, and the night only when the timetable makes it the easy option.
If you’re thinking about a longer stay, Casablanca is a different proposition: it had the cheapest furnished flats of the three cities I priced, and I’ve written up Casablanca as a base for a month separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Casablanca worth visiting?
For half a day, yes; for a night, only for a reason. On ONCF’s cheapest fares, read on 23 October 2026, a 5 hour 26 minute stop between Tangier and Marrakech cost 10 to 25 dirhams more than the through ticket. That’s time for the Hassan II Mosque, the old medina and the seafront.
How many days do you need in Casablanca?
None for the sights. Five hours covers the Hassan II Mosque, a walk along the seafront and the old medina. Stay a night if a flight before about 08:00 makes it easier, since the first airport train leaves Casa Voyageurs at 05:57, or if you want the city itself.
How do you get from Casablanca airport to the city?
By train. On ONCF’s timetable for late October 2026, trains leave Mohammed V airport at 55 minutes past every hour from 05:55 to 22:55 and reach Casa Voyageurs in 41 minutes. A second-class ticket was 60 dirhams and first class 80, the same four days and a month ahead.
How much is the Hassan II Mosque tour?
140 dirhams for a foreign adult, 70 for residents and foreign students, 30 for children aged 4 to 12 and Moroccan students, and free under 4, on the foundation’s visit page. Between mid-September and mid-March, tours run Saturday to Thursday at 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 15:00, and on Fridays at 09:00, 10:00 and 15:00 only.
Can you visit Casablanca on a layover?
Yes, if your connection leaves room for two 41 to 43-minute train rides and the check-in deadline. The 09:55 train from the airport and the 14:57 back give you 4 hours 21 minutes in town, enough for the 11:00 or 12:00 mosque tour and the old medina. On a Friday, take the 08:55 instead for the 10:00 tour.
Where to start
Treat Casablanca as a stop. Get off the train or out of the airport in the morning and take a morning mosque tour (10:00 on a Friday). Walk the seafront to the old medina, and be back at Casa Voyageurs by early afternoon. Is Casablanca worth visiting on those terms? Yes, and a month ahead, on the 13:43 out, the stop cost nothing extra. Then fit it into the rest of the trip.
What I didn’t measure: these are timetables and published prices read on 23 October, plus the mosque’s page from its September archive. I didn’t ride the trains or take the tour. I couldn’t confirm left luggage at Casa Voyageurs, taxi fares or traffic, and I didn’t price beds, because the verdict doesn’t need a night. I’ll re-read all of it in December.
