Tips to help you for a great trip in Morocco
We believe that a well informed tourist is safer. The more informed a tourist is the better and easier he enjoys the trip, which we conceder priority in our tour company.
We would like to invite you to read and help reviewing and submitting relevant tips you feel will be helpful to the Morocco travelers.
Before Morocco
1- Be aware of when your passport will expire. Morocco as any countries require validity of 6 months.
2- Pack healthy snacks for your flights and stay hydrated.
3- Discuss your trip with your doctor. Note that some vaccinations might not work in some destinations. (e.g. high altitudes)
4- Carry all prescriptions, your medicines in their original containers. Do not forget to carry a copy of prescriptions in case your important medication is lost.
5- Do not forget to visit your dentist before you leave.
6- If you wear glasses take a spare pair.
7- If you wear contact lenses, bring glasses for the airplane. The recycled air and the wind of Sahara incase could dry out your eyes ,and make you uncomfortable.
8- If you have a hearing aid take extra batteries as they will possibly be hard to find.
9- Alert your credit card providers as to when, where and how long you will be travelling.
10- If travelling with a companion, swap extra credit cards. If you lose your wallet your companion will have your back up card. It is also a good idea to divvy up your travel cash and credit cards into multiple safe spots.
11- Have a record of your passport details that can easily be accessed in the case of loss.
12- Understand your insurance coverage for: * loss of items / * cancellation of booked travel arrangements / * illness or accident while traveling
13- Make sure you know who to contact and how to make insurance claims to avoid any extra stress.
14- If you can't afford travel insurance you can't afford to travel. Young travellers are well known for not taking out adequate insurance.
15- On long distance flights. Medical experts recommend a walk and a stretch as often as possible, drink lots of water and avoid alcohol. Some doctors may also recommend aspirins.
16- Before each flight make sure you remove from your luggage old tags and barcode stickers and check you have contact details on both, the outside and inside of your luggage.
17- Smart suitcase packers bring clothes in neutral colors that can mix and match and only pack shoes that can be worn with multiple outfits. Make sure you pack comfortable walking shoes.
18- You may only carry liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) in your hand luggage in containers that have a maximum capacity of 100ml each, all packed in a re-sealable transparent plastic bag, capacity of the bag must not exceed one liter.
19- To avoid baggage fees, be aware of restrictions on the weight, size and number of bags you may take.(depends on each flight company) .
20- Take along a change of clothes in your carry on in the event your luggage gets delayed or lost, always pack a smart outfit. You never know when you will need it.
21- Use several “bright” and colorful labels for your check-in luggage, it will help you to identify them quickly at the carousel.
22- Get fit before you travel. The fitter you are the more fun you will have on your trip. (read 22 in Morocco)
23- When travelling don't stress too much as everything will probably work out in the end. Sticky situations can often work out to be a highlight of your trip, better work on your trip a bit before you travel that helps a lot to get less stressed.
24- Before travelling, ask your bank if they recommend using a certain bank's ATM at your destination. When travelling abroad you may be able to withdraw cash with your bank card or take a cash advance from your credit card and pay no surcharges or access fees by using a certain bank's machines.
In Morocco
* Morocco is a Muslim country therefore we would recommend women avoid wearing revealing attire if they wish to observe local custom. Take a piece of Morocco home with you and purchase some of the arts and crafts made by the locals in the Virgin Unite shop.
* For everyone who wants to help and make people happier; (money, clothes, books, copybooks, pencils, pens …). It is recommended not to take pictures while you are donating apart from your allowed (ask for that, it is considered rude if you don’t); better not to give children sweats, and money, it is not healthy, neither educative.
* In general feeding wild animals (i.e monkeys…) is spoiling nature, it does not help at all the animals; they get more aggressive, dangerous, moreover losing their ability to hint, and live naturally.
1- Learning some words of the Moroccan Arabic “DARIJA” will be an easy way to get closer to most of the locals in deferent parts of morocco,( i.e “SALAM ALIKOM” means HI …)
2- If invited to a family meal, better wash your hands first (ask for sank to wash) that is very important and polite. Meals begin only after the owner of the house says the “bismallah” in praise of God. It is proper to eat with the right hand and to try everything even if a person does not finish.
3- Visitors should avoid smoking during the month of Ramadan.
4- Avoid drinking wine in public. Close to mosques and mausoleums it is very rude.
5- Access to mosques and other holy places is forbidden to non-Muslims, the only exceptions are: Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Mohammed V Mausoleum in Rabat, the Moulay Ismali Mausoleum at Meknes and the Moulay Ali Cherif Mausoleum in Rissani.
6- The day is marked by five calls to prayer the first one is always in early morning (some people for the first time get panicked wreaking up on this high call, especially when hosting in a Riad in the Medina.
7- During the month of Ramadan, the Moroccans like the entire Islamic world fast, refraining from eating and drinking and smoking from sunrise to sunset.
8- Plan to have rest days in your itinerary so you can recharge. You do not want to burn yourself out on your holydays.
9- On arrival after a long haul flight go for a jog, a brisk walk or swim, or a warm Hammam and some massage to get your blood circulating and help with adjusting to local time.
10- Stay fit on your travels. Use a hotel's fitness centre where available. Keep hiking every day at least for 45 minutes.
11- Take a business card of the hotel you are staying at in case you get lost and need to catch a taxi back.
12- Suitcases with four wheels will definitely be appreciated. Whereas a back bag is needed for hiking and tricks (Sahara desert).
13- A plastic poncho could be very useful as might superglue and a Swiss Army style knife (in your checked luggage).
14- A small bottle of hand cleaner can be very useful in some local restaurants where it is sometimes hard to find a bathroom with soap and water.
15- Always check your bags every time they are loaded in vehicles, airports, hotels etc. Mistakes and mischief can happen.
16- As soon as you have settled into your hotel room, check out where the nearest exits are in case of fire and mentally plan your escape.
17- Hotelkeepers don't always check alarm clocks in rooms, you should use it to wake up for early flights as hotel staff don't get it sometimes right.
18- When impressed with the glitter of duty free shops try to remember their rent is high. Knowing the price at home of the items you want to buy helps a lot to get your great dial.(bargaining the prices is very common for handcrafts and antic items)
19- When arriving at a hotel early in the morning and your room might not be ready it helps if the hotel has a pool, spa or business floor where you can relax.
20- Bring some plastic and zip bags they are very useful. (i.e. dirty clothes, shoes…).
21- Socks and underwear washed in the bathroom of hotels dry quicker when rolled into a towel like a sausage.
22- When in Morocco or anywhere else it is better to avoid drinking water of taps, it is not very safe, it can cause you terrible stomach problems.
23- Visiting local pubs and farmers markets give you an insider's view of the people and region you are visiting. Food is a big part of the travel experience so it is a must to try local delicacies (Tagine, Couscous are the most popular, some restaurants in Medinas serve more verities of local food).
24- In the square of Marrakech it is better to avoid taking pictures of the animals used to entertain people, because that pushes these people to capture and kill more poor animals.
25- In the square of Marrakech, In what concerns the others; story tellers, and acrobats… it is better to fix the tip or do it before taking the picture, that can help very much.
26- Hang the “do not disturb” sign on the door when you get to your room this help on being calm in your room, at the same time keep it on door when you leave your room for your safety if you feel unsecure.
27- To avoid scams, be alert for distractions such as thieves who pose as willing and helpful locals. E.g. dropping a bag of shopping, being asked to complete a survey, even bird poo on the back of your jacket.
28- Work out a simple currency conversion formula before you go to the office of change when arriving (e.g. $1 = xx MAD, or 1£ = xx MAD….), it is better to work payments for your shopping using the local currency in order not to get confused.
29- A better rant of change is Always out of the airport.
30- Tipping is acceptable in Morocco, however tourist restaurants generally add 10% to their bills. For taxis, rounding up to 5 dirhams on the final total, ie: if the total is 13 dirhams, pay 15
31- In Morocco you can be detained for photographing such things as police and government buildings as well as police men; and people face to face unless you got permission
32- The weather and temperature:
Autumn: August, September, October after 15th august usually good weather sometimes windy temperature less worm (day 30°s night 20°)
Winter: since November to January (day 17° night –7°), very cold at night mainly since 15th December to 15th January.
Spring: February, March, and April (day 30°s night 17°-20°s) usually very good weather.
Summer: May, June, (day 40°s night 20°-30°s) and July are worm enough; it gets uncomfortable since 15th June till 15th August (day 52° night 35°)
--Usually Sahara desert, Fes, and Marrakech have the same temperature out of shade.
--The Atlantic and Mediterranean costs are cool and humid.
-- High altitudes are cool enough, sometimes chilly at night (Toubkal and Imlil).
When you leave Morocco
1- There is no departure tax when leaving Morocco.
2- Fees on over weight of luggage, be aware of the laws of your flight company.
***We the crews of Maghreb wonders wish you a best staying in Morocco.