No visa is required for citizens of EU countries,
Americans or Canadians. The stay, for tourist purposes, is limited
to three months. You must have a passport valid at least till
the date of your planned return.
If you go through customs as a member of an organized group
managed by a travel agency, you might be asked only for your
personal ID card. In such a case, you must enter and leave Morocco
within the group, and not extend your stay. This is not granted
to all agencies, especially since the increase of anti-terrorism
measures.
A pet may come with you, with a certificate of good health issued
no later than six days before, and a rabies vaccine within the
past six months.
Non-resident tourists can export locally-bought items without
procedure and under no limitation of value. It is better to
have an invoice to prove the purchase was made in Morocco. This
applies also to a dozen different fossil and semi-precious stones.
Artworks, collectibles and antiques must be authorized by the
“Département des Affaires Culturelles” prior
to departure.
If you come with your own vehicle, you must produce your matriculation
card, and an international insurance green card (or take out
insurance when entering Morocco). You will receive a temporary
import licence, valid for six months. If you want to continue
your travel to other countries, such as Mauritania, a customs
booklet is necessary.
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| 10 dirhams is roughly 1 euro or 1 US dollar,
and a little bit more than half a sterling Pound.
You are not authorized to export dirhams, and will have to exchange
all your money before leaving the country.
You’ll automatically be asked how much money you have
with you (dirham and foreign currencies), and customs officers
like to check. You’ll have to change your cash before
going through customs. Warning: after clearing customs, in the
free-tax area of Casablanca, shops officially accept foreign
currencies only (except bars and food shops) and the exchange
rate they operate if you try to pay in dirhams is extortionate!
It is quite easy to find cash machines in most cities. Commission
is generally not too high. Often, the machine will deliver no
more than 4,000 dirhams (2,000 at weekends), but you can get
money several times if you need.
Banks offer exchange at separate counters, whose opening times
are often different from those of the bank, and usually close
half an hour earlier. In the very big cities (Casablanca, Marrakech,
Rabat…), it’s possible to find exchange offices
opened all day.
In all tourist areas, shops will accept payment
directly in euros, dollars or pounds. The exchange rate is a
standard one, at least for euro, of 10 dirhams to the euro.
Hotels will also offer exchange at this rate.
When you tip someone, pay a shoe-shiner or
a luggage-carrier, don’t forget that the money has a different
value. A manual worker earns around 50 dirhams a day, so to
give one or two dirhams is neither ridiculous nor mean. To give
too much will just encourage children to beg tourists, “Give
me one euro, give me one euro”.
A few prices :
The man watching your car in the street
: 2 dirhams; 5 dirhams in some areas like Jemaa El Fna in Marrakech,
or in cities like Casablanca, and Marrakech.
A bottle of water : 5-7 dirhams (1,5 litre)
A tip in a small Moroccan restaurant : 2-5 dirhams
A shoe-shiner : 2-3 dirhams
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Flying in:
you can choose between regular airlines (British Airways, Royal
Air Maroc, KLM, Lufthansa, Air France…) and charters or
travel agency flights. Which has the best price will depend
on the time of year. It’s worth checking, since for the
same trip you can have up to 200 euros difference. If there
is no direct flight to your final destination in Morocco, instead
of connecting flights, maybe you could take the train? There
is a railway station in the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca.
Coming by coach:
CTM (Compagnie des Transports Marocains) cooperates with Eurolines
and offers departures from Paris, Brussels or other European
cities with connections to Paris. The trip takes a day and a
half, via Tanger. Warning: you cannot break your journey. Other
companies exist, such as SAT and Tramesa. In summer, it is better
to book tickets in advance, because many Moroccans travel home
for holidays. (See CTM internet pages, www.ctm.co.ma,
and Eurolines pages www.eurolines.fr or www.eurolines.co.uk)
Coming by train:
you can reach Algesiras with an Inter-rail card. From the ferry,
Moroccan train connections are quite good.
Coming by ship:
from France, you’ll leave from Sète, mostly for
Tanger. The ferry is quite high-class, and the crossing takes
40 hours. The line is operated by the Moroccan company Comanav
(see its internet www.comanav.co.ma)
in cooperation with SNCM Ferryterranée. It is also possible,
in the summer, to head directly to Nador. From Spain, you have
several choices, the most common option being Algesiras-Tanger
in 2h30, with a departure every 90 minutes (but sometimes several
hours waiting time). There are a dozen others, such as Almeria-Melila.
Main companies are Trasmediterranea (www.trasmediterranea.es),
Comarit and Euroferrys (www.euroferrys.com);
they all offer a common timetable in Tanger.
If you are travelling alone, your arrival in Tanger can be stressful.
Beware of pickpockets and fake guides who will try constantly
to get your attention. A useful word, to be repeated several
times with a firm tone, is “Sir! Sir!”, which means
“go away”.
Travelling in
Morocco by train: connections are easy on one of the
best networks in Africa, and it is cheap. Southwards, trains
stop in Marrakech, further south, you’ll have to take
the bus, and the railways work in tandem with Supratours. Schedules
can be found on the railways website, www.oncf.org.ma. The main
differences between ordinary trains and others are in comfort,
rather than speed.
Travelling in
Morocco by bus: most cities have a bus station. Traffic
is dense, and it is sometimes difficult to find what you want.
Other companies than the CTM are also available. Some people
will offer to guide you to your bus for a small tip (and a percentage
from the bus driver) but it is up to you to check that you are
in the right bus! Lock and protect your luggage as well as you
can before departure, and check at each stop that they are not
unloaded by mistake. CTM asks 5 extra dirhams per item of luggage,
and has quite comfortable buses.
Travelling in
Morocco by taxi: small taxis inside a city, large taxis
for long trips (up to 70 kilometres, after that you must change
cars). They have different sizes (Fiat Uno or Mercedes), different
colours (small taxis have a colour specific to the city, red
in Casablanca, blue in Essaouira; large taxi are always beige),
and a sign on the roof. Small or large, you can share them,
and a large taxi will always wait to have its full load of six
passengers (plus luggage) before leaving… even when that
takes time. You can also pay for two “seats” and
sit in the front, which will give you the advantage of comfort,
and quicker departure. Small taxis may also take extra passengers
if they want to go the same way – which is a good way
to make friends. In remote areas, there are also 4x4s or pickups
operating as taxis, mainly on market days.
Renting a car:
the large international companies are in Morocco, of course,
but they are very expensive. It is better to try to rent from
small local agencies, where you can find, after discussions
and bargaining, a Fiat Uno for 250 dirhams a day, or a 4x4 with
driver and fuel for 1,500 dirhams a day (small cars are delivered
and returned with just a few drops of fuel). Pay attention to
insurance details, and check that the price includes all taxes.
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