MOROCCO

Travel Tips

At the end of your trip, you should not rely on changing back your unused dirhams at the airports (Casablanca or Marrakesh), as the Change Bureaux aren't often open, and the Duty Free shops won't accept them.

Lonely Planet's advice on dealing with the constant hassling was right, but it is sometimes difficult to keep in good humour. Children's favourite demand was "Donnez-moi un stylo," so perhaps taking a stock of cheap pens would be a good idea.
Geoff Cosson, Spain (Jan 99)

If you are in Fes during Ramadan, go to a festival concert at one of the Salle de Fetes - ask the locals.

Learn a few simple words of Arabic. These will usually secure you a warmer welcome and an easier escape from the scammers. One phrase to keep up your sleeve is "Ensha'llah" - "If God Wills." Use this liberally instead of the word "Maybe."
Anthony & Annie Pascoe, Australia (Mar 99)

When trying to rid ourselves of unwanted attention, we, as unaccompanied women, reacted assertively, and then aggressively when this didn't work, saying **** off, etc. The Moroccan men found this very hard to deal with; often they reacted violently with agressive outbursts and sometimes spat on us. It was frightening and intolerable. In the end, we discovered the magic word was RESPECT. We would say, calmly and firmly: "I would like to be alone right now and spend time with my sister. Please respect my wishes and leave now." This was like magic! Because you have used the magic word, "respect," and made it clear that if they stay they are not respecting you, they run a mile. It was fantastic, and quite a relief to discover this.
Megan Brayne, Australia (Jan 99)

The traffic police are smart, courteous, charming and very helpful. Hopelessly lost in the Casa suburbs, I parked the car and walked out into the middle of an intersection to ask the way to the zoo. After giving wonderfully accurate instructions, the Cop began a surreal conversation about TV nature programs, as traffic whizzed past us on every side.

The Parque Zoologique (everyone calls it the zoo) was the find of our trip. It's a few km north of the centre (don't ask me where, ask a policemen!) It's not as spacious as the national zoo and some visitors will not enjoy it. But the animals are all in glowing health, the keepers careful and caring. What made the visit so special was that my son got to pet a healthy, happy lion cub, who more or less had the run of the place, with smiling keeper following behind to keep an eye on him.
Dr. C.M. Leyland UK (Nov 98)

I would just like to stress how important it is for women travellers to dress "appropriately", a fact which was brought home to me a few weeks ago when I passed through Morocco with a small party of American girls. We had read the LP section regarding this and most of us were dressed fairly practically - apart from the one girl who insisted on wearing a crop top and a part of skin tight shorts. She was singled out for abuse by a huge number of young Moroccan men and I still have the bizarre memory of the time when, on the Tangier-Fez night train, she was surrounded as she was sleeping by a crowd of around 15 young Moroccan males, who each produced toothpicks and took it in turns to prod any exposed flesh until she had woken up.
S. Whitehead, UK (Sept 98)

Be warned about cheap hire car companies. The one we used didn't take credit cards; the car had probably never been serviced; the registration ran out while we still had the car. So, it is vitally important to check all papers thoroughly before handing over your money - if anything goes wrong it's unlikely they'll give any refunds.
Maggie Cruickshank, Australia (Sept 98)

Lonely Planet mentions that Chefchouan is an easy place to get in but a very difficult one to get out of, especially if you want to head for Fes. Since we had enough time to think while waiting in Chefchouan, we came up with the perfect solution of leaving Chefchouan without having to pass some more unexciting days in the local bus station. You simply have to go to the window of CTM early in the morning and buy a ticket from Tetouan or Tanger to Fes (85 Dirham from Tanger). You pay for the whole trip and the very same day you can get on the bus in Chefchouan. You end up paying a little more but you are sure of your seat and it is still cheaper than a shared taxi to Fes, for which you pay 120 Dirham each.
An De Maesschalck & Peter Deleu, Belgium (Sept 98)

If you are going to go from Algeciras, Spain to Tangier, Morocco it is best to buy an open return ticket because if you have a Eurail pass you can get a 20% discount on your ferry ticket, but only in Spain. Morocco won't give any discount so a regular return ticket is 6400 ptas, but with the discount it's only 5120 ptas - a pretty good saving plus you won't have to pay the port tax.
Derek Wilby (July 98)

Overcoming stench of nasty toilets - Top Tip - nasal inhaler up one nostril held in place by neck warmer! No toilet is too smelly.
Liz Brant & Peter Nankivell (June 1998)

Tangier is well worth visiting. Although it may not be the place in Morocco, it still provides an amazing contrast to Spain. Get ready for the hustlers because they attack like a pack of wild dogs at every ferry landing. Don't go with any of them, not matter how friendly they are, what badges they show you, how they are just students who need some money, or that they work for the government....it will just cost you lots of money and you will spend all day being taken to the shops that they get commission from. Ignore them and they will eventually go away. Take it from someone who fell for everthing on my first trip to Morocco.

People from the BENELUX no longer need a visa.

In big cities there are a lot of ATMs where you can withdraw cash with a cirrus/eurocard/mastercar without transaction costs. There are two ATMS at the Mohammed V Airport.

Be careful buying phone cards as some can only be used in the 'teleboutique' where you bought them.
Antoine Pekel (May 1998)

The Cascade d'Ouzoud falls are stunning but they seem to be situated in a slum. Aggressive faux guides lead to heavily eroded path which lead to large piles of rubbish. Hotels have doubled their prices and the one I stayed in had no running water in the WC, let alone shower. I'd recommend Ouzoud for tourist with their own vehicle, maybe for campers, but not for anyone using public transport and hotels. I also had my worst meal in Morocco there.

Toupkal - CAF Mountain Refuge/Hut. You might want to note that the advantage of an earlier start hiking to the hut is that you arrive before the sun has set behind the mountains and temperatures have plummeted. Anyone hoping that February is the low season and they will miss the crowds at the hut will be in for a surprise. The hut is packed with skiers and their help. After the sun sets, it's freezing and dark outside leaving three hours of trying to find a place to sit amongst package tour skiers less than eager to make an acquaintance with independent budget tourists.
Mark McHugh (Mar 98)

There is a second stretch of motorway between Casablanca and Kenitra, currently connecting Fes with Khemisset and being extended west to join the coastal motorway at Rabat. The main roads are generally OK, but this inland motorway was wonderfully empty and also toll-free at the time when we used it.
Dr. C.M. Leyland UK (Nov 98)

Morocco - Mauritania : The only possibility to cross is at the southern fort of Al Gargarat about 365 km south of Dakhla. Every traveller has to have a visa for Mauritania except French and Italian, who might be granted entry without visas. Since there is no public transport from Dakhla to Nouadhibou (the first town in Mauritania) you have to catch a ride in a tourist vehicle or with Mauritanians who leave Dakhla in convoys every Tuesday and Friday around midday, to arrive in Gargarat in the late evening.

The night is spent there, next to the military base on a parking ground without any possibilities to buy food or water. There are two small houses, one for Mauritanians, the other one for tourists. The next day the convoy will reach Nouadhibou in the afternoon or night. There are different camping grounds in town. You'll find the police station to get your passports stamped just across the main road. I met people (Australian, German Belgian) who were sent back to the Moroccan border because their visas were not yet valid - they either had to stay in the desert no-man's-land or go back all the way up to Dakhla and come back with the next convoy - so make sure you carry a valid visa by the day you get into Mauritania.

Mauritania - Morocco : The way south-north is officially closed and forbidden. Nevertheless there are possibilities to cross because the Moroccans let you in if you are in/on a motor vehicle (lorry, car, motorcycle) and have a valid Moroccan visa (if necessary). They won't let you in if you are walking or if you are a black African.

You have to leave Mauritania secretly, avoiding any contact with mine fields, police and border officials or military. There are guides to accompany vehicles to a place in sight of the Moroccan border post 6 km south of Al Gargarat. You can find the guides in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and their help will cost you 1000 French Francs. Ask for possibilities in the restaurant "Le Petit Paris" in Nouakchott close to the Novotel or at the camping ground "Tergit Vacances on the coast. From Nouakchott you'll have to count on 1,000 km without buying food or drinks all the way up to Dakhla/Morocco which might last four to five days (including border stops with the Moroccans).

From Nouadhibou it's only about 70 km to the Moroccan border, so think of one day to get there - it's a 36 hours waiting time at Al Gargarat and then a day's trip up to Dakhla. Beware of people who offer much cheaper guidance who often don't know the way and want to make easy money, just hoping to avoid mine fields and avoid the military - Inch Allah.
Hans-Peter Hauschild, Germany (Oct 98)

The roads across the mountains have lots of mineral sellers. Beware: the brightest crystals, especially the orange ones, are actually dyed.
Geoff Cosson, Spain (Jan 99)

Beware of the Cascades d'Ouzoud. The hustlers on the road to the falls are ruthless - the worst in Morocco in my opinion. Many fellow travellers were hassled and taken advantage of by these folks. It's a pretty isolated spot, so there's little choice if you're stuck in an unpleasant situation.
Andrew Grossman & Michael Levin, USA (Mar 99)

On the train from Algeciras to Casablanca, we were approached soon after boarding by a tall, dark-haired thin man who was a perfect gentleman and spoke excellent English. He wore a green Jelaba (caftan). He was very nice and seemed intelligent. Soon after, we were approached by a shorter, squat, middle-aged man in a tweed jacket. He said that he had heard that we were going to Fes and would like to be our guide for only US$200. When we laughed at this, he became very aggressive, yelling and threatening us. He tried to hit us physically and the "nice" man protected us. It was very frightening. The "nice" man then offered us a safe refuge at the village where his mother lived, and said that we could stay with him and her overnight and continue in the morning. He said that the villages were safer than the cities, and although we had our heads covered, we needed a jelaba to be safe in Morocco. This is where LP saved our lives. LP said that the villages were more dangerous than the cities, and that a headscarf was sufficient for women in Morocco. Of course I trusted the LP more than this guy's story. When we refused this "nice" man's invitation, he also became violent, aggressive and threatening. We stood firm, and he disappeared into the crowd. These two men are in a scam together where they play the "good cop, bad cop" game to get travellers off the train. Once you are in a remote village, they drug you and steal your luggage. The "nice" man has an American passport photo of a young, blonde girl in his wallet. I don't believe that this is an isolated incident. I have since met a Canadian who got off the train and was drugged.
Megan Brayne, Australia (Jan 99)

Another ruse to beware of is children offering to show you the way to the Kasbahs or other sights of interest. You don't get much of a say, as they tend to follow you anyway, and then after a small length of time, ask for money for their "services." Frequently, we found that polite refusals did not work, and would give in and hand over a little money. On one occasion, we gave some money because they had asked us to take photos of a donkey, and then begged us to take a picture of them. Both photos were taken only to humour them, and the money give as a kind of payment/goodbye present. This was a big mistake. The children immediately demanded twice what we had given, and called their friends from nearby to also harrass us. We found our path back to the main road blocked, and were being showered with Arabic curses, to which we could not reply, since they did not speak French and we did not know the Arabic words for "Enough," or "Leave us alone" or even "We will call the police!" A complete nightmare that soured the day. So my advice would be: avoid taking photos of children only to humour them, as you will inevitably have to hand over money in return, and they may never be satisfied with what you give. Also, you may also have to give money to all their friends once you start dispensing coins, and very few people carry that much change with them.
Anna Walters, UK (Jan 99)