Morocco: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:25, 22 October 2013

Morocco is a wonderful place to be a nomad. Everyone is multilingual, everything is reasonably cheap, the weather is good and hospitality is abundant. It is important to understand that there are two very different sides to Morocco. There are the cities, from the modern industrial metropolis of Casablanca, to the crazy, filthy, magical streets of Marrakech. The beating hearts of Morocco, fuelled entirely by tourist dollars, some people hate the cities, others never want to leave them. The other side of Morocco is the countryside, the mountains and farmland, largely populated by ethnic Berbers, for whom hospitality is sacred. In the cities, people expect payment for nearly everything. By contrast, in the little mountain villages you would offend someone if you offered him money for his hospitality. If you are friendly and speak a little French, you can expect a cup of tea or even a meal at almost every Berber village. Keep a notebook to write Facebook addresses and phone numbers in! You will also have many interactions with European tourists if you stick to the main tourist routes. Camping is tolerated everywhere, although not technically permitted. The police are supposed to tell you to pack up your tent and find a hotel, but this never really happens.

In the cities, everyone speaks French and almost everyone speaks English. Spanish, Italian, German, even a little Japanese are often spoken to some degree by shopkeepers. But if you plan on exploring outside the cities, you will have a much better time if you speak a little French. It is often essential for hitchhiking and asking directions.

Template:Country Fes - The old quarter of Fes is one of the best preserved medinas in the Arabic world. The ancient leather tanning vats are a popular destination. As you try to enter people will tell you there is an admission fee -- this is NOT true;the vats are a public area, just push past the hustlers.

Essaouira - A very chilled out beach town in the south. The medina is small, but cleaner (only slightly) and quieter than what you find everywhere else.

It is often said on online forums that you can just pitch your tent on the beach in Essaouira. I hate to speak ill of what is a very friendly, pleasant city, but the fact is that some pretty unsavoury characters sometimes walk the beach at night. You're better off camping in the thick bushes and trees a few hundred meters behind the beach.

Chefchaouen - The goat's horns, a small city up in the Rif mountains, founded by Jews expelled from Spain after the Reconquista. Painted blue, laid-back, some hustlers(harmless, even though they can be annoying) trying to sell you hash.

Ouarzazate A fairly uninteresting city in itself, but friendly and clean, Oarzazate is the biggest city on the Saharan side of the atlas, and the hub for tours to Erg Chebbi, Erg Chigaga, the Dades and Todra gorges, and Ait Benhaddou. If you want to camp, walk about 2km west along the main highway, and find a hidden spot in the farms and orchards that line the road. Workers are usually out there until dusk, so either ask their permission or wait till they're gone. hitch:Morocco trash:Morocco couch:Morocco

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+Morocco is a wonderful place to be a nomad. Everyone is multilingual, everything is reasonably cheap, the weather is good and hospitality is abundant. It is important to understand that there are two very different sides to Morocco. There are the cities, from the modern industrial metropolis of Casablanca, to the crazy, filthy, magical streets of Marrakech. The beating hearts of Morocco, fuelled entirely by tourist dollars, some people hate the cities, others never want to leave them. The other side of Morocco is the countryside, the mountains and farmland, largely populated by ethnic Berbers, for whom hospitality is sacred. In the cities, people expect payment for nearly everything. By contrast, in the little mountain villages you would offend someone if you offered him money for his hospitality. If you are friendly and speak a little French, you can expect a cup of tea or even a meal at almost every Berber village. Keep a notebook to write Facebook addresses and phone numbers in!
+You will also have many interactions with European tourists if you stick to the main tourist routes.
+Camping is tolerated everywhere, although not technically permitted. The police are supposed to tell you to pack up your tent and find a hotel, but this never really happens.
+In the cities, everyone speaks French and almost everyone speaks English. Spanish, Italian, German, even a little Japanese are often spoken to some degree by shopkeepers. But if you plan on exploring outside the cities, you will have a much better time if you speak a little French. It is often essential for hitchhiking and asking directions.
 {{Country
-|transport=[[Hitchhiking]] is quite doable.
+|transport=[[Hitchhiking]] Hitchhiking is fairly easy and quite common among locals. Moroccans use the index finger instead of the thumb. The only problem is that about half the time people expect payment. Usually it's easy to tell if someone is expecting money, but if you want to be sure, tell them you can't pay before you get in the vehicle. 10 dirham is usually enough for rides under half an hour, 20dh for an hour or more.
-|accommodation=Cheap.
+A rather filthy trick is to only flag down new-looking cars. These will usually be middle class Moroccans from the northern cities who will not expect payment, or European tourists with rental cars who will often speak English and even buy you lunch.
+Another thing you'll have to endure while hitchhiking is taxis stopping and trying to lure you inside. You'll get used to shouting "Non, merci!" and giving them a lazy wave.
+[[Taxis]]
+Taxis are the most popular method of transport. I hardly ever used them so I don't know about prices; please edit this section if you have experience. Always try to get a shared cab; they can be extremely cheap since the driver will try to cram in as many people as he can possibly fit. Always agree on a price BEFORE getting in the vehicle. Taxis to and from airports are usually complete rip-offs. From the Marrakech airport to the city they will try to shake you down for 50 to 100dh; a fair price would be 10-20.
+[[Buses]]
+Buses are by far the best and cheapest way to get long distances, and are more comfortable and often faster than trains. The only problem is it is easy to get ripped off. The rule for buying bus tickets is to only buy from the driver, or from someone behind a desk. People stand around bus stations preying on people unfamiliar with the bus system. Ignore them; even if they aren't successful at overcharging you, they will expect a tip.
+To know if you're being cheated you should know typical prices. Depending on the bus company, you should be charged 20-30 dirham per hour. So if they ask for 100dh, the bus ride had better be several hours long. They will usually charge you 10 dirham extra for your baggage. Sometimes this is legitemate, sometimes not.
+Marrakech’s main bus station is notorious for hustlers. A better station is just around the corner from the YHA hostel, near the French consulate.
+'''Trains'''
+I have little experience with trains, but Moroccans say that they are dirty, uncomfortable, and excruciatingly slow, since they stop at every tiny village. They are a good way to get to the Casablanca airport from the city.
+|accommodation=Accommodation is very affordable. 100 dirham (9 euro) seems to be the standard price for a hotel room in the cities, but it is easy to find cheaper. The YHA hostel in Marrakech is 70 dirham/night, and is clean and  comfortable, if a bit hard to find. If you feel like spending more, 200 dirham, roughly the price of a hostel bunk in Europe, will get you a nice Moroccan B&B room with dinner and breakfast included. It is unusual to haggle for the price at hotel reception, but when someone approaches you on the street and invites you to a hotel, you can negotiate for a lower price.
 In [[Fes]], a sleeping place on comfy mattresses piled on top of one another on the (covered) roof veranda of Hotel Cascade, in the medina, costs 40 dirham or 4 euro (February 2011 price, may have gone up and is probably more expensive in the high season).
 In [[Chefchaouen]], a bed in Pension Ibn Batouta cost 3 euro per night.
-|food=Cheap.
+|food=Food is also very cheap. The staple of the Moroccan diet is their white, circular loaves of bread, which can be as cheap as 5 dirham -- practically free! Cookies, cheese, sandwich meat and tinned sardines can also be purchased from little corner shops for very little; this will be your diet if you're really trying to save money.
+Restaurant meals in a touristic city range from 40-50dh (4-5 euro). In towns outside the tourist route you can get bread, salad, meat tagine, and a drink for 30dh. Restaurant food can often be very bad, so you should also try the street food in the cities; kebab meat fried with onions on a bun for 10dh, or a delicious handmade donut for 5dh.
+|connectivity=Internet cafes are easy to find in cities, and there is usually one in large towns.
+Visit the botanic gardens in Marrakech for free access to the touch-screen internet kiosks.
+Mobile phone coverage across the country is reasonably good.
+|Overview=Morocco is a wonderful place to be a nomad. Everyone is multilingual, everything is reasonably cheap, the weather is good and hospitality is abundant. It is important to understand that there are two very different sides to Morocco. There are the cities, from the modern industrial metropolis of Casablanca, to the crazy, filthy, magical streets of Marrakech. The beating hearts of Morocco, fuelled entirely by tourist dollars, some people hate the cities, others never want to leave them. The other side of Morocco is the countryside, the mountains and farmland, largely populated by ethnic Berbers, for whom hospitality is sacred. In the cities, people expect payment for nearly everything. By contrast, in the little mountain villages you would offend someone if you offered him money for his hospitality. If you are friendly and speak a little French, you can expect a cup of tea or even a meal at almost every Berber village. Keep a notebook to write Facebook addresses and phone numbers in!
+You will also have many interactions with European tourists if you stick to the main tourist routes.
+Camping is tolerated everywhere, although not technically permitted. The police are supposed to tell you to pack up your tent and find a hotel, but this never really happens.
+In the cities, everyone speaks French and almost everyone speaks English. Spanish, Italian, German, even a little Japanese are often spoken to some degree by shopkeepers. But if you plan on exploring outside the cities, you will have a much better time if you speak a little French. It is often essential for hitchhiking and asking directions.
+|Bartering=Even experienced nomads could walk away from a Moroccan city $100 poorer and with no idea how it happened. You might feel a little uncomfortable if you've never haggled before, but keep in mind that for them it is normal and expected -- and they are very good at it. The most important tip to remember is *don't let them know you're interested*. Even if you want or need an item, look at it with lazy eyes, look at other items in the shop, then eventually come back to it and casually make an offer.
+Bear in mind, however, that tourism is a staple of many Moroccan's livelihoods, and most shopkeepers in medinas barely make enough to feed and clothe their families. 20 dirham probably isn't much to you, but it is a lot to them.
+It is not the custom to haggle for food, even in shops.
 }}
-'''[[Fes]]''' - One of the best preserved medinas in the Arabic world. Traditional leather tanning vats. A lot of hustlers.
+'''[[Fes]]''' - The old quarter of Fes is one of the best preserved medinas in the Arabic world. The ancient leather tanning vats are a popular destination. As you try to enter people will tell you there is an admission fee -- this is NOT true;the vats are a public area, just push past the hustlers.
+'''[[Essaouira]]''' - A very chilled out beach town in the south. The medina is small, but cleaner (only slightly) and quieter than what you find everywhere else.
-'''[[Essaouira]]''' - Beach town in the south.
+It is often said on online forums that you can just pitch your tent on the beach in Essaouira. I hate to speak ill of what is a very friendly, pleasant city, but the fact is that some pretty unsavoury characters sometimes walk the beach at night. You're better off camping in the thick bushes and trees a few hundred meters behind the beach.
 '''[[Chefchaouen]]''' - The goat's horns, a small city up in the Rif mountains, founded by Jews expelled from Spain after the Reconquista. Painted blue, laid-back, some hustlers(harmless, even though they can be annoying) trying to sell you hash.
+'''[[Ouarzazate]]'''
+A fairly uninteresting city in itself, but friendly and clean, Oarzazate is the biggest city on the Saharan side of the atlas, and the hub for tours to Erg Chebbi, Erg Chigaga, the Dades and Todra gorges, and Ait Benhaddou. If you want to camp, walk about 2km west along the main highway, and find a hidden spot in the farms and orchards that line the road. Workers are usually out there until dusk, so either ask their permission or wait till they're gone.
+[[hitch:Morocco]]
+[[trash:Morocco]]
+[[couch:Morocco]]