Oxford defines the word Stopover as “Break in a Journey” I like to call it more, the possibility of getting to know a city that I had not thought of on my trip or doing two trips in one. In this case I was going to Mauritania and later to Senegal.

If you have a bit of luck when buying flights, you can try to choose a combination of flights that suits you to make a stopover in an intermediate city and take the opportunity to go down to visit it. In this case, the lucky one in the direction of Mauritania was Casablanca. This was my second time in Morocco and I took advantage of this short visit to visit one of the cities that I had pending.

Next I will explain the route and how to make your stopover worthwhile and how much time you need to get down to the city.

Everything you need to know for your express visit to Casablanca:

1. How much time do you need to make a stopover in Casablanca
2. Basic tips for your stopover in Casablanca
3. What to see in your stopover in Casablanca

Official exchange rate 1EUR = 10 MAD (Dirhams)

How much time do you need to make a stopover in Casablanca

Casablanca is with 3.5 million the largest city in Morocco and it also hosts the largest airport in the country. This is located relatively far from the city, about 45 – 60 minutes depending on the method of transport you are going to use.

You need at least 8 hours between your arrival flight and your departure flight to make your short visit to Casablanca worthwhile.

The passport control is slow and tedious, make sure you are in the first rows of the plane and run ahead of everyone to save time. I was the first to the queue behind another passenger plane and had to wait about 90 minutes to pass the control.

The exit from the luggage area is slow, make sure you check in all your luggage and only carry a handbag to be more agile and skip the queue, since you have nothing to declare.

Finally transportation to the city, to get to Casablanca there is a train (55 dirhams) that leaves every hour and takes about 45 minutes (it is very punctual). Arriving by taxi is an option, although it will take longer due to possible traffic and it will cost you more, but if you have just missed the train it is an option to consider.

On the way back you will have to calculate the same plus arrive on time to cross the security controls. As you have seen, all this logistics has taken you about 5 hours.

From here, depending on how much time you have, decide if it is worth visiting. My time between flights was 8 hours and I spent about 3 hours exploring Casablanca.

Basic tips for your stopover in Casablanca

If you already know which train you are going to arrive (to return above all). I recommend that you buy your tickets in advance (official Moroccan train site), since at the main train station there are some scandalous queues and the machine did not accept my cards. You will save yourself time and suffering.

Bring some cash either dirhams or euros to change in the city, otherwise you will not be able to access tourist attractions, buy food, pay for taxis, etc… and you will have to limit yourself to eating at the McDonalds at the train station.

Download the maps of the city offline, I don’t think you’re going to get a sim card for a short visit and the Moroccan medinas are a real labyrinth. It can be useful to you or to know in which direction to walk.

Most European nationalities do not require a visa. Spanish citizens can stay for a maximum of 6 months with no less than 90 days in each of those periods.

What to see in your stopover in Casablanca

One of the reasons why I did not visit Casablanca the first time I went to Morocco is simply for the same reason that I am going to give you below. It is a city that does not have much to offer, it is seen very quickly, even with a stopover of 3 hours you are going to be left with the feeling of good and now what.

I am not in favor of saying that you do not visit a city only because of my experience, but if you are touring Morocco consider many other places before Casablanca in your visit.

My recommendation is that you take the train for the price and for the time. You avoid haggling with taxi drivers a price of 230 – 300 dirhams and it takes the same time. The station you should take as your final destination is Gare du Port. The train only has one destination and three stops, the last one is not lost.

Los tres indispensables de Casablanca son los siguientes:

• Hassan II Mosque: I had the bad luck that it was closed because it was later than 5pm and you couldn’t visit it anymore. But if you arrive earlier, you should not miss it. It is the main reason why you should visit Casablanca. It is the seventh largest working mosque in the world and its 210m minaret is the second tallest in the world. The 45-minute visit must be guided and costs 120 dirhams.
• Corniche: Right next to the Hassas II Mosque is the corniche (promenade), in the afternoon in summer, hundreds of young people and families gather to bathe in the ocean and watch the day fall. Its natural pools make it a perfect place for young people.
• Medina: It is worth it to discover the hectic day of the Arab medinas wherever you are. Despite this, if you have been to Marrakech or Fez (or both), you will see that it is not the same and that it lacks that architectural style, smells and madness.

In short, in my opinion, for a day or a few hours. Casablanca is worth it, but don’t spend too much time on it in your itinerary. Of course, never waste the opportunity to make a stopover, it is not the first or the last, like the one I did in Istanbul.