9 Things you need to know for travelling to Morocco

1. Cash is king
   You should expect to pay restaurants and even your accommodation in cash. It is rare, particularly in rural areas and less cosmopolitan towns for a business to accept card payments. Near the start of our visit to Morocco, we had to scrape together the equivalent of £300 in Dirhams or even Euros, just to be able to check out because we had wrongly assumed that our hotel would take payment by card. Don't expect this to be explained to you during your stay. Ask at checkin to avoid last minute panic at checkout. ATMs are not always easy to find, and some villages and small towns don't have them at all, so when you see one, take advantage of it. In Merzouga in the Sahara there was one ATM and it didn't work for UK cards. The nearest next ATM was 25KM away. Plan ahead and don't get caught out!
   
   The Dirham is a closed currency so you can't get your cash in the UK. If you're flying to Morocco, you can get some at a Bureau de Change Airside, after you've gone through security. If you're coming by land or sea, you will find that there are Bureau de Changes within the first few kms of the border. Having Euros on you is also handy - if you don't have Dirhams, some places will accept Euros.
    

2. The people are very friendly and very helpful BUT... 
   Just walking around the town or sitting in a restaurant, Moroccan people will sometimes just say hello and strike up a conversation. usually they have something they want to sell ultimately, but occasionally it's just that they want to practice their English. Even if you don't want to buy whatever they are selling, they will be friendly.
   
   Don't be afraid of asking someone for help - they will try to help you but beware the friendly and helpful young men and boys who approach you with concerned faces or big smiles offering to help you park your car, carry a bag or show you where your accommodation is. Even if you thank them and say no, they are known to be persistent and may continue to manipulate the situation to become involved. If you don't want help, be clear and repetitive. This is often the only way that some make their money so they can be a little pushy but when they know you are not interested, they will accept it and leave you alone.
   
   If you do want help, it will be given but not freely. Try to agree a tip in advance before you take their help. Recommended: for verbal directions or other help, tip MAD 10-20, For assistance getting to your hotel, carrying bags MAD 30-50, for a guide around a castle or around the town MAD 100-200).
    

3. Learn a little Arabic and French 
   The Moroccan people really appreciate it if you can speak a little Arabic. Make sure you know how to greet them (Salaam Alikum) and how to say thank you (Shoukran) and how to say goodbye (Bissalama). For general conversation, if the Arabic has you stumped, French is widely spoken by most people and at times I found myself pulling out the GCSE French phrases of my school days. Don't expect everyone to speak English because they won't; in touristy areas you'll be fine, but in more rural areas you'll need a bit of French if nothing else.
    

4. Toilet trouble
   Despite the warnings from people to expect old style hole in the floor toilets, in 2 months of travel we only came across this once (in a restaurant at the Ouzoud waterfall in the foothills of the Atlas mountains). All the other restaurants and our accommodation, however rural or cheap, always had western style toilets. 
   
   The plumbing is often old and struggling. If you're in an old building, and there is a bin in the bathroom, you will be expected to put all paper and sanitary items in the bin rather than the toilet. Pipes are narrow and will clog easily. In addition, you may get the gift of aroma; there were a few times that we had to endure smells from the sewers wafting up through the bathroom.
    

5. Keeping clean
   Showers often don't have a separate area, but instead are plumbed into the wall of the washroom and toilet. In this way you could have the toilet on one side, the shower in the middle and then the washbasin; all sharing the same space. This can make things tricky when you need the loo but the floor is wet from someone showering etc... You get used to it.
   
   In addition you might well find that hot and cold taps are the wrong way around. For some reason we kept finding that hot water would only come if we turned the tap to cold and vice versa. Time and time again, this was the same in our accommodation.
   
   If you expect to do laundry and don't want to do it by hand, most places you stay will offer a laundry service for between 30 and 50 Dirhams (£2.50 - £4) for a full standard size carrier bag full. They will usually wash it, hang it to dry in the sun and return it folded a day or so later.
    

6. Dogs and Cats rule 
   You will find that there are stray dogs and cats everywhere. We saw many more cats than dogs. You will see them wandering the streets of course, but don't be surprised if they are in and around your accommodation. We often went to sit on an outdoor sofa to find that it was already occupied by a cat or two. Whilst you'll find yourself sharing space with them, they mostly keep to themselves unless you choose to interact with them. You'll find dogs are more common in really rural areas - you'll see them walking through the mountains or on the side of the road, and often near the coast. All the animals we saw or encountered seemed to have a really good temperament and the local people tend to look out for the animals and make sure they're fed. But in a couple of places. there were dogs that were clearly in need and on particularly hot days we made sure they had water or fed them some meat. Some were so lovely they stole my heart and I would have packed them in the car if I had a home to take them to. If you are fearful of cats particularly, because of the number you encounter, you will struggle in Morocco.
    

7. This is not Europe
   A cheap overnight stay in Morocco can leave you with a sour taste in your mouth. Some places are advertised on popular platforms for very low prices with a handful of photos and maybe one or two short but good reviews. In our experience, these can be very very poor in cleanliness, presentation and facilities provided. Unless there are clear photos of the kitchen and bathroom, we encourage you to pay a few dirhams more and stay somewhere better.
   
   BUT, don't expect European standards of accommodation. Apart from very large cities, a western style hotel will be harder to find. Even a decent moroccan hotel or traditional riad may have some elements that raise an eyebrow. We found that it was common for paintwork to be very poorly finished, wiring to be exposed where a wall light might be added one day, or a door to have a large gap underneath for example. We stayed in an expensive beach cabin where the roof was made using ornate wooden panels that had decorative holes in it - great in the summer, bad when it rained. But it's just cest la vie. This is Morocco, take a deep breath and go with the flow. 
    

8. Need a drink?
   When you arrive at your accommodation, it is common in Morocco for the host to greet you and offer you Moroccan Mint tea. If you don't like the mint tea, you could ask for water or a coffee and usually they can and will accommodate. Note, this welcome drink is about greeting you so expect it to be free. But, if you are offered a drink or you ask for one during your stay, expect it to carry a costand usually added to your room bill. We were caught out in our first Riad where the hosts were so friendly and kept offering Moroccan tea or coffee, and we kept accepting it without understanding there was a price tag. In other riads, when we've had drinks we've understood that there is a cost, but we were never told a price unless we asked before ordering. So, a tip - always ask how much! 
   
   English breakfast tea with milk is hard to come by, and of course the milk is very different so tea lovers psych yourselves up for going cold turkey while you're visiting. And the coffee is usually served as an espresso even if you ask for an americano, so strong coffee lovers will be fine. Fancy coffees are not readily available, and when we did ask for a cappucino in a cafe, it arrived with whippped cream. Safe to say, we didn't order another.
   
   The only diet fizzy drink you will be able to get in Morocco is Coke Zero. They don't have diet coke or diet anything else, so I learned to like Coke Zero! 
   
   Morocco is a muslim country so Alcohol is hard to come by in most parts of the country and comes with a price tag that may make you wince a bit. Even in Marrakesh, most restaurants didn't serve alcohol, and when asking our hotel reception where to buy alcohol, we were advised that the closest place was a about a mile away. Generally we did without.
    

9. Driving in Morocco
   The roads in Morocco are generally paved and in good condition and outside of the cities are relatively quiet and easy to navigate. Half of the country is flat, and the other half is mountainous. The mountain roads can be slow, but compared to other countries, the majority of roads are wide enough and have barriers. The government here are investing in replacing some of the old mountain roads; we drove through large sections that were being replaced and widened, so it's only going to get easier.
   
   No matter where you are, you won't be far from a petrol station. We were pleasantly surprised at how frequently they crop up and how many are also being built. In late Summer 2022 the fuel prices were cheaper than those in Europe, but fuel is still an expensive commodity. Petrol stations throughout the country often have a cafe or restaurant attached and they are actually quite often ok places to eat and competively priced. We were surprised how popular these places were with locals. 
   
   Some larger petrol stations have car wash bays, where you can get your car hand washed and even fully valeted if you want. We left our keys and went for food next door while our car was washed and valeted inside. It cost MAD30 (£2,50) and we couldn't believe the quality of the clean. Absolutely recommended.
   
   There are toll roads (on some motorways), but tolls are very cheap - normally just a few coins.  They are manned toll booths so having the right change isn't necessary, but again, cash is king.
   
   Driving across the Morocco border.
   If you drive to Morocco, make sure you know what you need to do, and what papers you need to present to cross the border into Morocco.
   We took the Ferry from Spain to Ceuta (Spanish enclave in Morocco) and crossed the land border to Morocco in Ceuta. Make sure you check what is relevant for your border crossing.
   In August 2022 we had to show 

• 1. Passport

• 2. Driving Licence

• 3. Vehicle registration documents (V5c for UK registered vehicles)

• 4. Valid MOT certificate (to prove road worthiness of your vehicle)

• 5. Vehicle insurance (at least 3rd party)

However there was one other requirement that we didn't find out until we attempted to go to the border and were turned around by a border official. We needed to get a ticket from the Spanish border officials who had commandeered a car park up the hill from the border. It was very stressful trying to figure out what we needed to do and what this ticket was, especially being unable to converse easily with the guards. Ultimately we found the carpark, queued up, were given a QR code, then took that to the border and were allowed to proceed. This may have been a temporary requirement.

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Hope you found these travel tips helpful!