Auberge de Jeunesse (Casablanca Youth hostel) : on a nice
little square in the old souq at 5 min of Casa Port train station, very
clean, communal showers with cold water, no IYHF membership card needed,
45 dirham per bed in dormitory room, 120 dirham for a double room, 180
dirham for a triple room, breakfast included. Our first impression was
very good, but the very hard matrasses, the noisy and light rooms (the
wall only goes halfway the ceiling which makes you hear everything from
the other rooms) and the rather expensive doubles made us decide to try
one of the many other cheap guesthouses in the old souq, which proved
to be better in the end.
Hotel Helvetia , one of the many similar cheap budget guesthouses
in the old souq (the first two we tried were full), 70 dirham per double
room (seems to be the price everywhere), rooms with balcony are clean,
quite nice and airy, no shower but water basin on the room, telephone
022276852
Hotel Terminus, right opposite the Casa Voyageurs
train station, a good budget hotel if you arrive late by train.
Internet cafes in Casablanca: are quite hard to
find, there is one in boulevard Mohammed V, 81 where you can surf on the
internet for 10 dirham per hour.
Visiting the Casablanca medina: walking through the medina in Casablanca
is quite easy and hassle free. If you are planning to do some souvenier
shopping, try to avoid doing it here since Casablanca is the most expensive
city in Morocco.
Mosque of Hassan II: an arcitectonical master piece built
in 1993 with the help of Moroccos most skilled master artisans in traditional
handicrafts such as wood carving and tilework. The mosque is situated beautifully
on the Casablancan beachside and absolutely worth a visit. Unfortunately
you can only enter the mosque if you telephone them and book yourself in
on a 10 euro or so visit, but it is possible to peep inside through the large
entrance gate. You can make a nice walk starting at the big entrance of the
medina and walking through in the direction of the coast. Upon exiting the
medina you soon reach the mosque, easily seen from everywhere around with
it's 220 meter high minaret. After having a good look at the mosque and surrounding
buildings you can continue along the beach promenade to the ville nouvelle.
The best view of the Hassan II mosque is actually from that beach promenade
Visa for Mauritania in the Mauritanian consulate in Casablanca
For more information on our trip through Mauritania see the See my Mauritania
report.
Embassy in Rabat (T 037656678/75) :
does no longer issue visa, you have to go to the consulate in Casablanca
Consulate in Casablanca : Route d'El Jadida 382, 15 dirham to
travel by taxi from the centre, telephone 022257373 and 022257878. You
need 2 photos, a copy of the first 3 pages of your passport (there is
a copy kiosk nearby) and 100 dirham (about 10 euro). The Mauritanian
visa is valid for one month from the day of issue. The fact that the
visa mentions as "place
d'entree : aeroport Nouackchott" is
only for administrative reasons and gives no problems if you enter
Mauritania by land. If you come between 9 and 1030 am you can pick
up the visa the same day at 2pm.
Traveling by public transport from Casablanca
Casablanca Train station : there are two train stations;
Casa Voyageurs is the main station where you will most likely arrive.
Casa Port is right next to the old town where you want to be. Most
trains don't stop, leave or pass by Casa Port. There are connecting
trains between the two stations (about 45 minutes travel) but it is
a lot easier to take a petit taxi for 15 dirham, which brings you in
less than 15 minutes from one station to the other.
Travel by train from Casablanca toMarrakesh :
train Casa Voyageurs - Marrakesh : 75.5 dirham in second class, 3.5 hours
travel, there is a train every two hours.
Travel by train from Casablanca to Rabat: the easiest
option is with the express shuttle train running every hour from Casa
Port station (40.50 Dirham) 1,5 hour.
Travel by plane from Casablanca toMauritania and
Senegal :
Air Maroc : return flight Casablanca - Dakar costs 4675 dirham and Casablanca
- Nouackchott costs 4613 dirham. One way flights are a bit more expensive.
Travel by bus from Casablanca toDakhla : The
state bus company CTM (022-438282) has one bus a day which leaves Casablanca
at 10am, arrival in Dakhla the next day at 5pm, a ticket costs 460 dirham.
The private bus company Supratours (044435525) sells tickets for the about
the same price which you can buy in the Casa Voyageurs train station. The
Supratours ticket consists of a train ticket from Casablanca to Marrakech,
their bus leaves to Dakhla from the bus stop in Marrakesh, next to the
train station. In fishing season you better make a reservation at least
a day in advance as then Dakhla is a popular destination. There are also
3 CTM buses to Laayoune, from where you can catch more buses to Dakhla.
Traveling with your own vehicle in and around Casablanca
Driving in Casablanca is not easy, look out well for suicidal motorcyclists,
cyclists and taxidrivers. The traffic rules are not always the same
as in Europe ie in a roundabout the traffic entering from the right
have priority before the traffic already in the roundabout.
There is a well maintained pay motorway running along the Atlantic
coast between El Jadida about 100 km south of Casablanca, via Casablanca
and Rabat to Tanger. An inland branch of the motorway runs between Rabat
via Meknes to Fes.
Accommodation
and hotels in Casablanca