During the last part of our time in Morocco we spent a week in Tangier and two days in Casablanca, where we caught a flight to Malta (Air Malta runs two flights a week from Casablanca in to Valleta!). These are some of the things we did in Tangier and Casablanca with kids.
Tangier
After Chefchaouen we took a four-hour bus ride to Tangier, a city in northern Morocco that is a blend of cultures and influences unique to Morocco. In fact, for most of its history, the city wasn’t even governed by Morocco. Tangier was a cosmopolitan city with great food options, lots of cafes and bakeries, and a very relaxed vibe. Also, like the rest of Morocco, Tangier felt very safe for traveling.
Where we stayed in Tangier:
As usual, we stayed at an Airbnb while in Tangier. We found a spacious and comfortable apartment to spend our week in the city and it was great! The kids loved all the space they had and our location in the newer part of the city was perfect as we were close to the medina, cafes, and restaurants, and an easy ride to the mall, bus station, and train station.
What we did in Tangier:
- We went to the main beach to dig in the sand and watch the horses and camels pass by. The beach was beautiful and, on a clear day, you could see Spain in the distance. The only disappointing part was seeing how much garbage was on the sand, everywhere. To be fair, we’ve found trash almost everywhere we’ve been, not just in Morocco. It has been really sad to see how much trash is improperly dumped all over the world. We’ve seen rivers full of floating bottles, canyons that serve as dumping places, beaches without trash cans, and the list goes on. We read that the beach in Tangier is cleaned up during the summer months when people flock to the beach to escape the heat.
- We visited the medina, known as the white city because most of the houses are painted white. The medina in Tangier was a lot easier to navigate than the ones in Fez and Marrakech. Like the other medinas, there were lots of cats walking around the streets. One day we visited with a box of cat food so the kids could feed the cats. We’ve really enjoyed seeing how well people in Morocco treat all these stray cats. Often times you’ll see them setting out food and water for them, so they were happy to see Hugo and Valentina feeding the cats too!
- One morning we took the kids to ride their scooters at the nearby Plaza de Nations. They had a blast riding their scooters up and down the ramps and cruising on the empty plaza. Later that day, after dinner, we walked by the square again and found lots of people hanging out, playing futbol, riding bikes and even some guys doing some incredible parkour moves. The kids got inspired by the parkour and started jumping on and off every street curb they found on our way back home.
- We went to the Tangier City Mall to bring the kids to Play Land, a kids area on the top floor of the mall that had kids’ rides, a large play space/jungle gym, slides, and go-carts. The kids had a blast playing there for a couple of hours and we would definitely recommend this play space to any families traveling to Tangier.
Casablanca
After a week in Tangier, we headed to Casablanca, the capital city. To get to Casablanca we took the newly opened high-speed train (TGV) and made it there in just two hours at a very smooth 200 mph (as compared to the prior train, which took 5+ hours). We only spent two nights in this city because we didn’t find many things we wanted to see and do there other than visiting the Hassan II Mosque.
Where we stayed in Casablanca:
Settling into an apartment in Casablanca really was a comedy of errors. Upon greeting us, our Airbnb host took us to a different location and then told us that the apartment on the listing had flooded so he’d found us a different one. Well, the one he found us did not meet basic safety standards for us so we told him we couldn’t stay there. Then he took us somewhere else. The new place was okay but didn’t have the amenities we had paid for and it smelled like cigarette so we simply contacted Airbnb, cancelled our reservation and found a different place to stay. Airbnb took care of reimbursing us for the original reservation plus covering the additional cost for the new reservation. We really love using this platform during our travels as they are 100% reliable and their costumer service is wonderful.
At the end, after hours of playing musical houses, we were pleased with the apartment we booked as it was walking distance from the mosque and was bright and comfortable. As you know, we are not picky at all, but we will not stay anywhere that is not safe for our kids (think broken glass and an abandoned needle) or that reeks like cigarette smoke. I think that’s pretty reasonable.
What we did in Casablanca:
- We spent the morning exploring the gorgeous grounds of the Hassan II Mosque. The mosque, built right next to the Atlantic Ocean, is the third largest mosque in the world and it is truly a beautiful thing to see. The carvings, the tile work, the arches, the doors, everything has been carefully crafted and it’s just beautiful. Over 6,000 master craftsmen worked on the mosque. It holds 25,000 worshippers inside and can fit another 80,000 on the huge courtyard out front. Oh, and it has a retractable roof so people can pray under the sunshine on nice days!
- We went back to the mosque around sunset when all the people were out enjoying the beautiful evening. There were families walking by, people selling balloons, kids riding their bikes and kicking balls, etc. It was so fun to see how these places turn into gathering spaces for the community later in the day with everybody coming out to play! The kids loved running around the grounds and jumping everywhere!
- On our last morning in Casablanca, we did a guided tour of the inside of the Hassan II Mosque. The tour took about 45 minutes and our guide, a woman who fell in love with Valentina, did a great job of providing interesting information about the mosque and how it was built, and letting people admire the architectural details of the mosque and taking their time to take it all in. The kids really enjoyed the tour and so did we.
And, just like that, our month in Morocco came to an end. We feel incredibly lucky to have been able to explore so much of the country at such a leisurely pace. We want to emphasize that Morocco is a beautiful, diverse and tolerant country that welcomed us with open arms. The country’s infrastructure is as good as that of any European city and, in fact, we found our apartments in Morocco to be more modern than some of the ones we stayed at in Europe. Their intercity transit system is easy to navigate, making it a breeze to move around the entire country, even with kids. As far as safety goes, we never found ourselves in a situation where we felt scared or intimidated, which is not always the case when traveling. We highly recommend Morocco as a destination for anyone and everyone!
To read more about the places we’ve traveled to, go here.
