If you haven’t read any of the prior expense reports from our trip, check them out below:
We spent 10 days and 9 nights in Aourir, Morocco, arriving on the afternoon of July 26th and leaving on the afternoon of August 4th. Morocco is actually the destination that I was most worried about on this trip, but those fears turned out to be mostly unnecessary. The purpose of stopping in Morocco was for Whitney to participate in a week-long women’s health retreat which was being hosted there. I had the option of staying with her at the retreat location, but I instead chose to save money by staying at an AirBnB about half a mile away. We arrived two days early and Whitney stayed with me at the AirBnB for those two days before the retreat started. Overall Morocco was very cheap for most things, including the food which was delicious.
Keep in mind that all of the expenses that I’ll talk about below are my expenses only, since Whitney and I have quite different spending habits, and her retreat was a big expense for her during this part of the trip. We split all shared expenses evenly, so my half of the shared expenses and then my individual expenses are how I calculate the numbers below.
Accommodations: As I mentioned above, all nine nights in Morocco I stayed at an AirBnB. The first two nights in Morocco, Whitney and I split the expense of the AirBnB, but for the week that she was at the retreat down the road I didn’t have anyone to share the cost of the place with. This caused my accommodation expenses to be quite a bit higher than they would have been if Whitney and I stayed at the AirBnB the entire time together. With that being said, I think it was a good thing for me to get outside of my comfort zone and explore a new area by myself while she was at the retreat.
Total for my expenses: $292
Food and drink: Eating like a local in Morocco is cheap and the food is very good. I really wasn’t worried about overspending as far as food and drinks were concerned, so I “splurged” at times where I wouldn’t have in other countries. This didn’t set me back much as far as money was concerned, but I did probably end up eating more than I would have if the food wasn’t as cheap. I could get breakfast including pastries, fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, and eggs for $3 in the mornings. I don’t normally eat breakfast because I usually do intermittent fasting, but when it’s that cheap and delicious, why not?! As a snack, pastries were only about 10 cents each, and a pastry shop right by my AirBnB sold avocado smoothies for the equivalent of $1.50. I did my best to abstain, but I made stops at that place three or four of the ten days I was there.
Depending on what I wanted for dinner, I could get a full sized meal at a nice restaurant for between $4-$10. I had planned to get groceries and cook at the AirBnB originally, but after finding out how cheaply I could buy dinner out, I decided to make the most of my time in Morocco by trying as many different restaurants and dishes as I could. A few of the days I paid to eat either lunch or dinner with Whitney at her retreat, which was quite a bit more expensive than if I had eaten at the local places. But the prices were still bad overall compared to the U.S., and it was good to get to spend time with Whitney and get to know some of the other people at the retreat.
- Total for my expenses: $146
Transportation: Airfare from Dublin to the Agadir airport was quite a bit more expensive than if we had flown directly into a bigger city like Marrakesh, but then we would have had to take a bus to Agadir which Whitney didn’t want to do. Overall it wouldn’t have been a huge difference in price after including the cost of the bus from Marrakesh to Agadir and the convenience was nice. The drive from the airport in Agadir to the AirBnB was almost an hour which I didn’t realize before we arrived. That meant that the cost of a taxi to the airport and back was more than I expected, but it was still reasonable with all things considered. Besides the cost of the flight and a taxi/shuttle bus to and from the airport, I didn’t need to spend any more money on transportation since there were dozens of restaurants, shops, and beaches within walking distance from the AirBnB.
- Total for my expenses: $201
Activities: I thought about spending the entire time in Morocco hanging out on the AirBnB rooftop terrace looking out over the city and the ocean, or laying on the beach which would have been free, but I decided that it would be a good idea to see some of the surrounding areas as well. I paid to go with Whitney and some of the other people at her retreat to some of the nearby attractions, which turned out to be more than worth the price. We went to Paradise Valley, Essaouira, and Taghazout which were each great places to visit. We also took beginner surf lessons. We weren’t very good, but it was a lot of fun and good exercise.
- Total for my expenses: $67
My total expenses for 10 days and 9 nights in Morocco, including accommodations, transportation, entertainment, and food was approximately $706!
Running total for entire trip to this point: $1,201.
We headed to London, England next, so stay tuned for my next update and watch the Facebook page where we are posting much more frequently about the trip!
Fifth Wheel Physical Therapist 