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Casablanca Tours
Plan my shore day

Casablanca shore excursions from the cruise port

Put in the time you can step off the ship and your all-aboard time. See the day they make: the Hassan II Mosque on a slot you can actually reach, the medina, lunch at lunchtime, and back at the gate 1 h early.

  • Met at the terminal exit
  • At the gate 1 h before all-aboard
  • Mosque tickets on your quote
  • Written quote, nothing paid to ask

Photo: OussamaHamama, CC BY-SA 4.0

Your port day in Casablanca

Quick start: how long are you ashore?

Fills in typical times; then set your real ones.

Ship's time, from your daily programme: the earliest you can go ashore (not the docking time) and all-aboard. Overnight call? An all-aboard earlier than your start is read as the next day.

Your day

The mosque first, then as much of the city as fits, with meals at mealtimes.

Ashore

8 h

In the city

6 h 10 min

5 stops

Off the ship Road In the city Buffer before all-aboard
  • Add your port date to check the Friday and summer/winter mosque timetable.
  1. 08:00

    Off the ship at the cruise terminal

    Down the gangway and through the terminal; bring your ship card and passport (or the copy your ship asks for).

  2. 08:20

    Your driver meets you at the terminal exit

    Name sign at the exit; the driver's mobile number comes with your plan, so you need no data to find each other. The mosque and the medina are about 15 min away.

  3. 08:35The minaret of the Hassan II Mosque framed by a carved arch at twilight

    Hassan II Mosque, guided visit

    Visit at 09:20, about 45 min. Inside the prayer hall on the mosque's own guided tour, the only way non-Muslims enter. Ticket MAD 140 per foreign adult (fmh2.ma, check). Shoulders and knees covered.

  4. 10:20Jamaa Ould al Hamra mosque in the old medina of Casablanca

    The old medina

    The walled old town behind the port: the Sqala bastion and its cannon, the lanes of everyday Casablanca.

  5. 11:30A souvenir shop of lanterns, rugs and leather in the Habous quarter

    Habous quarter (New Medina)

    1930s arcades built in the Moroccan style: olive and spice stalls, booksellers, the pastry shops, the Mahkama courthouse from outside.

  6. 12:40People strolling along the Boulevard de la Corniche in Ain Diab, Casablanca

    The Corniche at Aïn Diab

    The Atlantic seafront west of the mosque: a walk on the promenade, a coffee facing the surf, the lighthouse at El Hank.

  7. 13:30

    Rick's Café (lunch or dinner)

    The film-set piano bar in a medina-wall mansion. About noon–15:00 and 18:30–01:00 (check); book ahead, it fills.

  8. 14:45

    Back towards the port

    About 15 min to the terminal; we leave earlier, never later.

  9. 15:00

    At the terminal gate

    1 h before your 16:00 all-aboard. When the day runs late, a stop goes; the hour never does.

Photos, Wikimedia Commons: OussamaHamama (CC BY-SA 4.0); Farid mernissi (CC BY-SA 4.0); Omalihy (CC BY-SA 4.0); Bertrand SOUBEYRAND (CC BY-SA 4.0)

How we count the time

About 20 min from the time you can go ashore to the port gate (longer on a big ship or a multi-ship day: tell us your ship); the sights are 10–20 min away by car; at the terminal gate 1 h before all-aboard, which we never shorten. The mosque visit is pinned to the foundation's timetable (fmh2.ma) and we allow time beyond its 45 minutes for queues on busy port days. An independent tour has no ship's guarantee to wait: if your call is short, the ship's own tour is safer.

Send us this port day

We check your flights against the plan and reply with a written quote, on WhatsApp if you use it, usually within a few hours. No payment now.

A Casablanca shore excursion works best as a private car and guide from the cruise terminal: the Hassan II Mosque sits on the seafront a short drive west of the port, and non-Muslim visitors can only go inside on a timed guided tour. With four hours ashore you can see the mosque inside and out; with six you add the Habous quarter and the old medina; with eight there's time for lunch and the Art Deco centre. We plan the day backwards from your all-aboard time and aim to have you at the terminal gate at least an hour before it.

The port is busier than it used to be. Since the new cruise terminal opened in September 2025 it handled 53 ships and about 94,000 passengers in under four months, according to the National Ports Agency (Morocco World News, Jan 2026). Global Ports Holding, which runs the terminal, reported more than 100 calls expected in 2026 (GPH). On a multi-ship day the mosque slots fill and the port exit slows down. That's why we plan around the clock.

Your day runs backwards from all-aboard.

Count from the moment you can step off the ship to the all-aboard time, then take an hour off for the buffer. That's your real window.

  1. 0:00

    All-aboard

    It's printed in the ship's daily programme, usually 30 minutes or more before sailing. We work back from it, not from the departure time.

  2. −60 min

    At the terminal gate

    We plan to have you at the gate at least one hour before all-aboard. When time runs short, we drop a stop. We never cut the buffer.

  3. 10–20 min

    Port gate to mosque

    The mosque is on the seafront just west of the port: 10 to 20 minutes by car from the terminal exit (our estimate; traffic and the exit in use decide it). We confirm timing for your berth.

  4. 09:00

    The mosque slot

    Guided visits run at fixed times, the first at 09:00, fewer on Fridays and in Ramadan. Your arrival time decides which slot you can reach, and the slot shapes the rest of the day.

Time ashore, honestly divided

Under 4 hours
Hassan II Mosque from the outside and the seafront esplanade, a short Corniche drive
Only take the guided interior if a slot lines up with your arrival. Otherwise, don't force it.
4 hours
One guided mosque slot and the esplanade, with time kept for the queue; a Corniche drive-by if the slot runs on time
The tightest plan that still includes the prayer hall.
6 hours
Mosque slot, then the Habous quarter and the old medina on foot, mint tea
The plan most cruise passengers should take.
8 hours
Mosque, the old medina and the Habous, the Corniche, and a sit-down lunch
Rabat is possible on a long call, but it's about an hour each way. Ask us first.

Pick by hours ashore, not by wish list.

The minaret of the Hassan II Mosque framed by a carved arch at twilight
The minaret of the Hassan II Mosque. Photo: OussamaHamama, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

4h

The mosque and the sea

  1. Your driver meets you at the cruise terminal exit with a name sign.
  2. Short drive west along the seafront to Hassan II Mosque.
  3. Guided visit of the prayer hall, minaret hall and ablution hall on a timed slot, with time kept for the queue.
  4. The esplanade, a Corniche drive-by if the slot ran on time, then straight back to the terminal.
Plan the 4 hours day
A souvenir shop of lanterns, rugs and leather in the Habous quarter
A shop in the Habous quarter. Photo: Omalihy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

6h

Mosque, Habous and the medina

  1. Terminal pickup and the mosque on the first slot that fits.
  2. The Habous quarter: olive and spice stalls, bookshops, the pasha's courthouse from outside.
  3. A walk through the old medina near the port, with mint tea.
  4. Back at the terminal with the buffer described below.
Plan the 6 hours day
Jamaa Ould al Hamra mosque in the old medina of Casablanca
Jamaa Ould al Hamra in the old medina. Photo: Farid mernissi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

8h

A full Casablanca day

  1. Mosque visit on the first slot you can reach.
  2. The old medina by the port, then the Habous quarter.
  3. The Corniche at Aïn Diab, then a sit-down lunch: seafood or a tagine (paid locally), or Rick's Café if you want it.
  4. Back to the terminal an hour before all-aboard.
Plan the 8 hours day

Hassan II Mosque guided-visit times

Official timetable, fmh2.ma, checked October 2026. Reduced hours in Ramadan. Confirm for your date.
SeasonSaturday to ThursdayFriday
16 Sep – 14 Mar09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 15:0009:00, 10:00, 15:00
15 Mar – 15 Sep09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 15:00, 16:0009:00, 10:00, 15:00, 16:00

Back before all-aboard: what we promise, and what we don't.

  • We plan to have you at the terminal gate at least one hour before all-aboard.
  • Your driver keeps the clock. When time runs short, we drop a stop. We never cut the buffer.
  • You get the driver's mobile number before the port day, and the driver waits at the terminal exit.
  • We can't control Casablanca traffic, and an independent tour doesn't have a ship's guarantee to wait. If your call is short, we'll say so and suggest the ship's own tour.

Casablanca port day: your questions.

How far is Hassan II Mosque from the Casablanca cruise terminal?
The mosque stands on the seafront just west of the port. By car it is a short hop; in our experience 10 to 20 minutes once you are out of the port gate, depending on traffic and which exit the port uses that day. Walking is possible but long and not pleasant through the port area, so most passengers take a car, a taxi or the shuttle if the cruise line runs one.
What are the Hassan II Mosque visiting times?
Non-Muslim visitors enter only on a guided tour. The foundation's official timetable for 16 September to 14 March lists 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 15:00 from Saturday to Thursday, and 09:00, 10:00 and 15:00 on Friday. From 15 March to 15 September a 16:00 tour is added. Hours are reduced during Ramadan. Check fmh2.ma for your date, because the timetable can change.
How much is the mosque ticket?
The official rate for foreign adults is MAD 140, with reduced rates for children over six and students and free entry for children under six (fmh2.ma). On our plans we buy the ticket for you and it appears as its own line on your written quote.
Will you get me back to the ship before all-aboard?
We plan the day backwards from your all-aboard time and aim to have you at the terminal gate at least an hour before it. That margin is how we handle traffic, a slow port exit or a delayed mosque slot. We can't control the roads, so we won't promise what a ship's own tour promises: the ship waits for its own excursions, not for independent ones. If the day runs late, the plan gets shorter, never the buffer.
Is a private shore excursion better than the ship's tour?
It's smaller and more flexible: just your group, your own driver-guide, and stops you choose. The ship's tour has one advantage we can't match, the ship's guarantee to wait. If your call is very short, or you are anxious about timing, the ship's tour is the safer choice and we'll tell you so.
What should I wear to visit the mosque?
Shoulders, torso and knees covered. You take your shoes off in the prayer hall (a bag is handy). Women don't need to cover their hair for the tour, though a scarf is welcome.
Does my ship dock or use tenders in Casablanca?
Ships berth alongside at the cruise terminal, which has a quay of about 650 metres (Global Ports Holding). We don't expect tenders. If your ship's programme says it will anchor, tell us, because tendering eats into the time ashore.
Do I need cash on a Casablanca shore day?
A little. The mosque ticket and your transport are on the quote, but tips, mint tea and small souk shops are usually cash in dirhams (MAD). There are cash machines in the city centre; the Moroccan dirham is a closed currency, so you can't buy it before you travel.
Is it manageable with limited mobility?
Mostly. The car takes you to the edge of the mosque esplanade, which is flat paving. The guided visit is on foot and you remove your shoes in the prayer hall; the ablution hall is downstairs. The Habous and medina lanes are uneven. Tell us in the form and we'll shape the plan around it.
Can I see Marrakech on a Casablanca port day?
Only on a very long call, and we will tell you honestly if yours isn't one. Marrakech is about 3 to 3.5 hours each way by motorway (Holland America quotes about 3.5), so a round trip needs roughly 11 hours or more ashore before you have any real time there, and an independent tour has no ship's guarantee to wait. On a normal call, Casablanca itself or Rabat (about an hour each way) is the better day.
What do you need from me to quote?
Your ship, the port date, the earliest time you can go ashore and the all-aboard time from your daily programme, how many of you there are, a mobile number (and whether it's on WhatsApp), and anything about mobility, such as a wheelchair and whether it folds. With that we send a written plan and a fixed price within 24 hours.

Plan more.

A fixed price in writing, within 24 hours.

Price on request. Send your ship and port date, and the plan comes back with it.

Send your ship and port date