What's a good budget Morocco itinerary?

Morocco is one of the best-value destinations anywhere, and you don't need a tour budget to see it well — you just need to use the trains and eat where locals eat. I base a budget route on the excellent ONCF rail line that links the big cities. Start in Marrakech in a cheap medina riad or a sociable hostel, do the souks and Jardin Majorelle and Jemaa el-Fnaa, and eat from the food stalls and hole-in-the-wall tagine joints where a filling meal costs a few dollars. The medina is free to wander, and that's half the magic.

From Marrakech the train carries you north for very little: Casablanca for the Hassan II Mosque and the Corniche, then Rabat — a relaxed, walkable, and cheap capital with a free kasbah and beach. I travel second class on the trains (comfortable and a fraction of a private transfer) and always book riads or guesthouses with breakfast included, which sorts one meal a day. Booking a few days ahead in high season keeps both beds and train seats affordable.

Fes is the budget traveller's dream because the entire walled medina is a free, living museum — you can spend two days lost in it for the cost of mint tea. For the desert, rather than a pricey private trip, I steer budget travellers to a reputable shared 3-day group tour from Fes or Marrakech to Merzouga: a seat in a minibus, a night in a basic-but-magical desert camp, the camel ride, and all the gorges and Aït Ben Haddou stops bundled in for one modest price. Shared tours are how backpackers see the Sahara without breaking the bank.

Finish in Essaouira, an easy and cheap bus ride from Marrakech, where hostels are good, the beach is free, and the port grills you a plate of fresh sardines for pocket change. Across about two weeks — trains between cities, one shared desert tour, guesthouses, and street food — you can cover the imperial cities, the Sahara, and the coast on a genuinely tight budget. Tip your guides, haggle kindly in the souks, and Morocco rewards you generously for travelling light.