These 11 must-know Marrakech travel tips will help you prepare for your trip to Marrakech!

First-time traveling to Marrakech and want to know some helpful tips to help you navigate the bustling city?

I’ve put together 11 useful Marrakech travel tips to help you enjoy your trip smoothly.

Marrakesh is a vibrant extraordinary city full of culture and traditions.

If you want to familiarize yourself with some of the customs Marrakech has then this list of Marrakech travel tips will surely help you make the most of your trip!

11 Marrakech Travel Tips you Need to Know

1. Exchanging cash for dirhams

The currency in Morocco is the dirham, $1 = 10.17MAD.

You can exchange money at the airport or any currency exchange store. There are ATMs in Morocco but I recommend bringing cash and exchanging it for dirhams.

Once in the city center, my tour guide recommended going to a money exchange store near the Medina off of Rue Moulay Ismail, located next to Restaurant Pâtis to exchange money since the exchange rate was better compared to other money exchange businesses.

2. What is the tipping culture in Morocco?

Tipping is not mandatory but it is standard practice. 7-10% should be fine. Also, make sure to leave the tip in cash, it’s not common practice to tip with credit cards.

3. The standard form of greeting

The standard form of greeting is a handshake. Locals are very friendly, they will greet you and start a conversation with you. Don’t be alarmed if a shop owner invites you to their shop to have tea, they are simply being hospitable and love to have conversations with tourists.

4. Taking pictures

Walking around the median you’ll see incredible artisanal work from carpets to shoes to ceramics. Everything is colorful and picturesque. If you want to take a picture of a local shop, you must ask for permission first. It’s looked down upon if you snap a picture without asking for permission. Engage in conversation first and ask if you can take a picture, more often than not they will say yes.

And lastly please please PLEASE don’t take pictures of/with the monkeys or snake charmers! The animals are treated horribly and more than likely are abused so don’t condone it by taking pictures!!

5. Getting directions from a local

The medina is full of surprises with its labyrinth alleyways, making it easy to get lost in. This may be difficult but try not to look lost. Most often a local will come up to you and give you directions and they will then ask for money or take you to their shop. If a local tells you that a street is closed and to follow them, try to be stern and say no. It may be hard but from experience getting lost in the medina and getting directions from a local only to be taken to another shop was not something I was not prepared for. You’ll eventually find your way, it is best to walk with confidence and keep major landmarks in mind.

6. Bargaining

An important part of shopping around the Souks is the bargaining culture! Merchants will always ask above the asking price so prepare yourself to do some bargaining. I was told by my tour guide that you should never pay more than one-third of the asking price. However, if you feel comfortable paying the asking price, by all means, go for it! It is relatively cheap either way.

While walking around the medina you will get a lot of the shop’s merchants coming up to you convincing you to see their store or buy something, this is another situation where I would suggest being stern if you do not wish to see their store. They can be very persistent in making you buy something, kindly say no, and go about your day.

While walking in the main square of Jemaa el- Fna you will get a lot of people asking to try this or take a look at what they are selling. There are several ladies around the main square asking if you want henna. My tour guide said to never get hennas in the main square as they are made with gasoline along with other toxic chemicals. So I would highly suggest avoiding getting henna in the main square.

7. Do not drink tap water

Tap water in Morocco is not safe to drink. Bottled water is available for sale just about anywhere, but if you don’t want to waste plastic you can get the Grayl water bottle that purifies water in the bottle! Normally water shouldn’t cost more than $1.

8. Visiting mosques

There are several mosques around Marrakech, a place for prayer and worship. The most famous mosque in Marrakesh is The Koutoubia Mosque, which is a beauty to see. However, only Muslim people can enter mosques. Still, it is nice to admire the mosques from the outside and experience the call to prayer throughout the day.

9. How to dress in Marrakech

Morocco is a Muslim country so ladies should be mindful and dress respectfully. No law states what you can and cannot wear but it is best to dress conservatively to avoid unwanted attention. For example, cover your shoulders and knees, and wear sleeved shirts, pants, or long skirts! Though it may be hot (over 90°) I wore long flowy pants with a sleeved shirt or a tank top with a linen cardigan to cover my shoulders.

10. Can you drink alcohol?

Muslims do not drink, it is prohibited due to their culture. Therefore alcohol isn’t widely available, it may be offered in hotels and some restaurants. However, alcohol is expensive because of certain taxation so do keep that in mind!

11. Public restrooms

Just like in Europe, you have to pay for public bathrooms. Best to go when dining at a restaurant, most of the public restrooms don’t have toilet paper so I would be mindful of that.

Final Thoughts

If you’re like me and do intensive research when planning a trip, then I hope my Marrakech travel tips helped you familiarize yourself with the Moroccan culture as a tourist and prepared you for your trip! I think the most important takeaway from these tips is to have confidence and don’t think that everyone is out to get you. Locals are very friendly and hospitable, from experience some will even invite you to their store to chat and have tea. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t always feel safe, I would recommend traveling with a group or a friend. Overall, I had an exceptional time in Marrakech, it was eye-opening to experience a bit of the Muslim culture, food, and traditions. I would 100% go back and will always recommend it to people.

Hope you found my 11 Marrakech travel tips useful and helped you prepare for your trip!