Our recent Marrakech trip taught us a few things to do and not to do while in this interesting city. Below we are sharing our top twelve dos and don’ts in Marrakech!
Dos and Don’ts in Marrakech:
1) Do stay in a riad
Nice hotels are a tempting choice as your money goes further in Morocco compared to other countries. But most hotels are outside the city centre and lack the charm and atmosphere of a riad. Staying in a riad was the highlight of our trip. It was nice to stay in a more intimate setting – most only have a handful of rooms.
We also loved the food and service, but most of all we loved the authentic atmosphere. How I wish we could live in a riad all the time. The inner courtyards were just so tranquil and a nice retreat hidden behind the alley walls.
2) Don’t let a local show you around
Locals are notorious for wanting to be your friendly guide but then demand money from you afterwards. Don’t be fooled! Even seasoned travelers fall for this scam. We almost did.
One guy approached us as if he knew us and said “Remember me ? From the hotel? I’m off work now so I’ve changed clothes”. We had just left La Mamounia where we had afternoon tea. So I thought maybe he was one of the servers there. He was super friendly and I didn’t think anything of it.
We said “Hi” and kept walking but he followed along asking where we were going, if we were going to the square or the souks. He offered to show us around and I realized “No! This is just one of those guys trying to be our fake tour guide“. We managed to brush him off by saying we were just going wandering with no particular place in mind and we just wanted to explore on our own.
3) Do pretend you know where you are going
Even if you don’t really know where you are going just fake it and don’t show that you are lost. Local men are quick to grab the opportunity to show you around but may even lead you further into the souks so that you need them to show you the way out. They will charge you way more than it is worth and since you are so lost you have no choice. Many people have horror stories of this, even being called names and sworn at by these men when they refuse to pay them.
Luckily we did not have any issues as we managed to get away from them all. Whenever we were approached we just kept walking and ignored them and said no thanks. Some were really persistent and kept following and asking questions. However we just ignored them, stopped responding and eventually lost them. I think it also helped that I had Ryan with me as they probably would be even more persistent if I was a solo female.
4) Don’t show too much skin
This is a mainly Muslim country and although it is a lot more lenient than say Jordan or the UAE I still found it to be helpful to cover up a bit. Mainly because I did not want to be harassed by the local men that I had heard so much negative things about.
I only wore pants or long dresses, never short shorts. When wearing sleeveless tops I wrapped a light scarf around my shoulders. I also didn’t wear any jewellery. I think this helped keep us from standing out too much and thus less a target for getting harassed. We always try to blend in wherever we travel.
Looking for things to do in Marrakech? Read Marrakech Itinerary: The Perfect 3 Days in Marrakech
5) Do download offline maps and use GPS
This really saved us! We didn’t get lost once and were so proud! The alleys all start to look the same after awhile so it is so easy to get lost. We just made sure to note the landmarks that were near our riad and as long as we used our offline maps we always made it back.
We didn’t really have any issue losing GPS signal but if you do, you can still use the map and find your way. Using apps on our phones also wasn’t as obvious as using a paper map so we were probably less of a target for those pesky wannabe guides.
6) Don’t be afraid to eat the street food
We loved the food at the Jemaa el fna. Our trick is just to always eat at the busy places filled with locals. If there are lots of locals it is more likely the food is good and fairly clean (if it made people sick then surely it wouldn’t be popular with locals?)
We also ate at some hole on the wall type places and loved it. The food was very tasty and affordable! And it was nice to sit there eating surrounded by locals. We didn’t have any stomach issues.
7) Do drink the fresh orange juice
The juice was absolutely delicious! I drank it every morning at our riad and every chance I could throughout the day. You can find juice stands selling it for only 4 dirhams.
8) Don’t complain about the call to prayer
Again this is Morocco – a mainly Muslim country. With that comes the call to prayer 5 times a day, starting very early in the morning. I hear people complaining about this waking them up and disrupting them. But I quite enjoyed it. Coming from North America, it is quite the experience hearing it echo throughout the city on the loudspeakers. Kind of peaceful in a way.
If you really don’t want to be disturbed by it, find somewhere you can stay that is a ways away from a mosque.
9) Do explore both the old town and new town
We were staying within the walls of the old town but had to venture into the new town to buy some necessities (our airline left our luggage behind so we were in Morocco with nothing! More on that in a separate post). We wanted to stay in the old town to get that true Moroccan feel and be immersed in the souks and local hustle and bustle. However we enjoyed getting a glimpse into the new town while shopping at the mall. They had an H&M, MAC, Starbucks, Aldo, etc.
The hot spot actually appeared to be McDonald’s! It was so busy each time we walked by! Tons of locals getting their McDonald’s fix, but also some foreigners, too (why anyone travels to Morocco and eats McDonald’s is beyond me….). It was a big McDonald’s and had lots of seating outside as well.
Seeing all those people enjoying their food made me want to stop and try a Moroccan McFlurry, though, to be honest lol. And there is free WiFi there too so we decided to stop and cool down while checking our email.
It was fun just to sit there and people-watch and contrast old vs new. It surprised me to see the local girls wearing tank tops and showing cleavage, not covering up like the women in the old town. It was neat to see young, hip, modern Marrakech. It’s great to see both sides but definitely spend most of your time in the old town.
10) Don’t accept the first price you are quoted in the souks
I was on the hunt for a Moroccan tea pot and everything in the souks seemed overpriced, even after my mild attempt at bargaining. We went to the Ensemble Artisanal as everything is a set price there and you don’t have to bargain. Well, even there the teapots seemed overpriced! So I didn’t buy one.
Then in the airport there were some shops and I ended up finding the most affordable wares that I saw in Marrakesh! So I ended up buying my teapot and cups there. Normally I find airports to be overpriced but in Marrakesh it seemed to be the opposite. I guess it’s also because I am not into haggling at the markets so didn’t get the cheapest price possible.
If you do want to attempt the souks, then make sure you go through the process and bargain the price down. They can drop it quite a bit, but how much depends on how good your haggling skills are and your patience. Some people love the bargain hunt and don’t mind the hassle so they love the souks.
Honestly I don’t enjoy the hard sell and hassle unless I reallyyyyy want something and it is worth the bargaining. I attempted to buy a scarf and tried bargaining a bit but still found it to be way overpriced and it just wasn’t worth wasting my time bargaining.
12) Do brush up on your French
Pretty much everyone we encountered working in the tourism industry (hotels and tours) could speak English. However when eating at basic restaurants and in the square or wandering around the souks, a lot of the locals could only speak Arabic or French.
We were actually surprised how much French was spoken. We hadn’t realized that Moroccans learn French in school. Coming from Canada people think we should speak French but really I forget almost all of what I learned in elementary school. It would definitely help to be able to speak a bit and be able to converse more with the locals.
We hope you’ve found these dos and don’ts in Marrakech helpful! If you have any to add, please let us know in the comments below 🙂
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