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Tips for a first time traveller to Morocco

Thinking of visiting Morocco for the first time? We’ve asked experts and other travellers for advice. We’ve got the do’s and don’ts in Morocco, everything from which cities to visit, where to hike in the mountains, and how to handle the Sahara, so you can get the answers you were looking for. Our best bit of advice is to book a holiday with a Morocco expert – read on to find more.

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Tips for a first time traveller to Morocco

For many travellers from outside the continent, or outside the Arab world, Morocco is a threshold. It might be the first country you visit in Africa, or the first Islamic country you visit. Morocco serves as a fantastic introduction to both; it’s a welcoming country that’s very used to tourism. For your first time in Morocco, the first advice is: be prepared to fall in love.

In Morocco, tea means a sheaf of mint leaves and an iceberg of sugar, camping means serious stargazing, and camels are a sensible form of transport – but only in the desert.

The second piece of advice for first timers is: ignore outdated anecdotes. The country is changing fast. Morocco has a rapidly-growing middle class who are exploring their own country too, which means infrastructure for tourists is growing apace. There is high speed rail, there are fantastic design and fashion scenes. Yet for all the change, Morocco remains a fascinating place, and its historic cities, high mountains and immense desert merit multiple trips. Cross this threshold once, and you’ll know that you’ll definitely want to return.

Keep reading to discover our tips for your first time visit to Morocco.

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What to expect

Travelling to Morocco & getting around

Most tourists fly into Marrakech or Casablanca. From Europe, get ferries from Algeciras or Tarifa in Spain to Morocco – crossing the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier takes around an hour. Lots of tours involve driving and considerable distances. A common long drive day is between Marrakech and the edge of the Moroccan Sahara – to reach Tamegroute, or Merzouga takes over eight hours. Once you’re in the desert choose an even more inefficient mode of transport – many of our travellers cite a sunset camel ride as their best travel memory. Hikers, anticipate moderate to challenging walking in the Atlas Mountains and expect to be accompanied by a guide. Morocco had the first high-speed rail network in Africa. The train is a rapid way to hop between cities. A train between Fes and Meknes takes just 45 minutes. Rabat is four hours from Marrakech and three and a half hours from Fes. There aren’t many sleeper services – though you could go overnight from Tangier to Marrakech.

Sitting listening to the camels ‘talking’ to one another while the others were on the dune and I was sitting alone with them. Precious moment.

– Traveller Tracy Saunders reviews our Morocco cultural tour.

Eating & drinking

Morocco is rightly famous for its food, from sardines on the coast to an evening tagine with a heap of couscous. Street food might mean merguez sausages served in flatbread, or shawarma for your main; chebakia (deep-fried rose-shaped sweet pastry) and sfenj – Moroccan doughnuts – for dessert. “The street food is really tasty, with huge portions for what you pay,” says Simon Clifford from our small group adventure experts Exodus Travels. Travellers who went a while ago might tell stories about getting sick from eating certain foods. This is far rarer now, especially in cities – though you should be sensible in more remote areas. Don’t just eat a tagine, learn to cook one too. A cooking class in a small community can bring valuable income to a family. Mint tea (sweetened with a large amount of sugar) is synonymous with Morocco. Nomadic communities serve tea as part of their hospitality – among Amazigh communities you will encounter other lovely types, like thyme tea. Morocco produces wine – look to the foothills of the Atlas Mountains for vineyards but note that drinking alcohol is not allowed outside of licensed restaurants and bars. Anthony Horrobin, from our adventure specialists Encounters Travel, says: “In Marrakech go out to eat early, around 5pm, so that you can secure a balcony seat in one of the restaurants. From there you can watch the sunset and see Djemaa el Fna fill up.”

Shopping tips

Break up big notes and have small denominations of dirhams available so that stallholders don’t have to get change from their neighbour. Simon Clifford advises: “Avoid getting taken into a shop: carpet or otherwise. It’s much harder to leave without buying from inside! Be firm with shopkeepers and stall holders. You don’t have to buy anything!” Shopping in cooperatives – for example, pottery cooperatives, or women’s cooperatives which specifically support female artisans, can be a good way to ensure that the craftspeople behind that gorgeous piece of tableware you want are being fairly paid and employed. You’re probably not going to become an expert in leather goods, spices or crafts just because you’re in a souk. A local guide can help you seek out quality produce. Avoid unverified recommendations from people who may be getting a kickback in return. Shopping is getting easier in Morocco. “The hassle that you might expect in busy places from hawkers, pushy sellers, all of those things have calmed down a lot over the years,” says Mark Stallwood from our partner Nomadic Tours. Expect to barter. It helps to have a ballpark price in mind going in.

Highlights not to miss

What are the must see places in Morocco for a first time visitor?

Atlas Mountains

Massive, snow covered in winter, containing the highest peak in Morocco, the High Atlas Mountains are a popular walking destination – and they’re incredibly easy to reach from Marrakech. You may also consider the Anti Atlas, which are lower, with a longer hiking season.

Chefchaouen

Built into a valley, Chefchaouen tumbles in front of your camera like a waterfall. On a surface level, travellers come to Chefchaouen because it is blue (Essaouira, on the Atlantic coast, is also full of attractive blue houses). But you can also enjoy the surrounding walking in the Rif Mountains.

Essaouira

Day trippable from Marrakech, just three hours’ drive west towards the coast, Morocco’s Atlantic-facing city is famous for surfing. It’s got a busy and atmospheric port from which blue wooden fishing boats ply, and a sandy (but windy) beach.

Fez

Morocco’s former capital is historic – it has the world’s oldest continuously-operating library, and university, and a fantastic old city that’s wonderful for wandering on foot. You can visit the historic city of Meknes, close by, and the Roman ruins at Volubilis.

Marrakech

Marrakech is the best city to visit in Morocco first time around: easy to reach, close to the Atlas Mountains, well set up for visitors, and full of sights – from the Majorelle Gardens to the main square, Jemaa el-Fnaa and the medina souks.

Mount Toubkal

The highest mountain in North Africa, Mount Toubkal (4,176m) is found in the High Atlas Mountains. Whilst you can summit it in a couple of days, you don’t need to conquer the peak to appreciate it. Its surrounding Toubkal National Park is a great place for walking.

If you get out into the real desert you can get stars. You have to go down to the Zagora area – the Merzouga area is too heavily built up.

– Mike McHugo from Kasbah du Toubkal

Sahara

The Moroccan Sahara is one of the easiest, most accessible ways for travellers to experience the world’s largest hot desert. You can drive from Marrakech to the edge of the desert in a day, to a place like Ouarzazate, known as ‘gateway to the Sahara’. Once you’re here, have a camel ride, and enjoy nomadic hospitality.

Todra Gorge

Todra Gorge, ‘Morocco’s Grand Canyon’ shouldn’t be compared to the US giant, but is still a beautiful place – a river running under high red limestone cliffs, past mud-built houses in rural villages. It’s a great place for rock climbing and hiking.

And where not to go

Casablanca has the fantastic Hassan II Mosque, built right on the seafront, which is the seventh largest in the world. Aside from this, it is a big, busy, working city with few other attractions for tourists. It’s a starting point for some tours, but you’ll find you don’t spend much time there. “It’s very much a business city,” says Andy from Rediscover The World, “If people want to break up the journey between Marrakesh and Fez, we advise staying in Rabat.”

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Tourism

Tourism is one of Morocco’s biggest industries , alongside agriculture and phosphates. Visitor numbers are growing fast, exceeding government targets. King Mohammed VI wants to attract 26 million tourists by 2030 and wanted to attract 17 million by 2026. Such is the tourism boom in Morocco that the country achieved this latter target two years ahead of schedule, in 2024. Some 10 percent of Moroccans are employed in tourism, but in some communities – such as the Atlas Mountains – communities rely even more heavily on the industry. This means responsible tourism that allows for sustainable development is crucial. Marrakech is particularly busy with visitors, going from having just a handful of riads (traditional houses in Morocco, many of which are now solely used for tourism) to hundreds. Water security is a huge and growing issue – be sparing with water, especially in smaller communities, and in the hammam (Turkish bath)! It’s still common to see animals misused in the tourism industry: snakes, monkeys, chameleons – avoid encouraging this by refraining from interacting or taking photographs. Camels, horses and mules are also common, and used by our holidays – in this case, close attention is paid to their welfare.

Language

Morocco’s official languages are Classical Arabic and Amazigh (Berber). Historically, French was seen as useful around Morocco as it is taught in schools. Be aware that not everyone in Morocco will have been to school, or be able to read, write or understand your French. Increasingly, English is taking over in very touristy places like Marrakech, whilst French remains a useful lingua franca outside of hotels and restaurants. A local guide can help you learn phrases in Amazigh or Arabic, which will be better received than French or English.

Customs & modern culture

Beware outdated reputations. People may tell you that they were sick in Morocco, or that they were hassled, but the picture is changing very fast. “Morocco still suffers from these legacy reputations – they take a long, long time to shift culturally,” says Mark from Nomadic Tours “That’s what people remember and that gets spread around.” For many travellers Morocco is the first Muslim country they visit – and it’s worth noting that though it is fairly relaxed towards non-Muslim tourists, having Islam as the state religion comes with particular customs and expectations around dress, alcohol consumption, and public displays of affection. Amazigh culture is rooted in nomadic herding traditions and is very hospitable to guests. If you’re visiting Morocco as a woman solo exercise the usual precautions you would in any destination. You could consider joining an all female tour, and getting some unique insights into the experiences of Moroccan women – gender inequality and gender-based violence are still unfortunate realities. Homosexuality — even same-sex kissing — is still illegal in Morocco. Morocco is modernising fast. Car ownership has soared. The road infrastructure is improving apace in places like the historically less-developed south. High speed rail appeared in 2018. Moroccans like visiting Morocco: “Internal tourism is very, very significant in Marrakech,” says Mike McHugo from our partner Kasbah du Toubkal. There is a fast-growing middle class who are exploring their country. Cities are expanding. “I lived in Marrakesh in the mid-nineties for a while,” says Andy from Rediscover The World. “In those days you could travel from the airport into the city centre. Now the city has expanded and there’s huge suburbs around the airport. It’s like you are landing in the middle of the city.”

Packing tips

Pack light. Many people make lots of purchases once they’re in-country and need room to take them back – especially if you succumb to a large, beautiful tagine from a pottery collective. Warm clothes are vital in the desert and in the Atlas Mountains – the temperature plummets at night. A water bottle with a filter can help you avoid contributing to Africa’s plastic pollution problems, and the risk of an upset stomach, since you’re not accustomed to the tap water. Travellers are often told to dress modestly, wear long sleeves and trousers and bring a head-covering scarf. In more cosmopolitan cities this dress code can feel surplus to requirements. “In Marrakesh and Casablanca you could be free to dress as you would at home I think,” says Mark from Nomadic Tours, “But of course it is quite a conservative country – in the more rural areas you need to be more mindful of that.”

Travelling with your family

Our Morocco holidays are best suited to children aged five and upwards. Our values writer, Sarah, visited Essaouira with her young children: “my kids loved it,” she says, describing “souks a-plenty laid out in a traffic-free grid system that felt safe enough for us to let go of hands and let my four- and seven-year-olds run and explore. Haggling is still expected but the starting prices feel fair and there’s very little hassle, so the girls could wonder at shops full of local woodwork, ceramics, and amlou (known as Berber Nutella) to their hearts content.”

Teenagers will get a lot out of Morocco’s cultural treasures and adventure-ready landscape – Mark from Nomadic Tours has plenty of experience running family trips, and advises parents to prepare their kids about any potential cultural differences beforehand for the best experience.

Travelling during Ramadan

“Morocco is a relatively easy place to travel during Ramadan,” says Andy from Rediscover the World, noting that a European influence means that Ramadan is less restrictive for non-observing tourists than in other Islamic countries. Restaurants may have different opening hours, but many will stay open in touristy areas. Some tours plan their activities for earlier in the day, as some sites closer earlier. When the sun sets the streets become abuzz with night markets as observers break their fast for the day. It’s vital to be respectful at this important time of year. Do not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum in public, do not dance, play loud music or swear, and observe local dress codes.

Travel requirements

If you are travelling on a full British citizen passport, you do not need a visa to visit Morocco. Tourism visits must not exceed 90 days. Always refer to your country’s travel advice and/or the Moroccan consulate. In the UK, use FCO, for advice and warnings, and the NHS’s Fit For Travel pages for vaccination requirements. “Because of some of those preconceived ideas about safety, health and being hassled – and with what’s going on in the world geopolitically, some travellers think they are going to get a bad reaction,” says Mark from Nomadic Tours, “They often say how surprised they were about how warm and hospitable and non-judgemental Moroccan people were.”

Best time to go

Most of our tours run all year round. For the most pleasant weather, go in spring: April and May, or autumn: September and October. Winter can be chilly, especially in the Atlas Mountains, and people are often surprised that Marrakech has lows in the single digits in winter. Summer can be very hot; the average high is Ouarzazate (gateway to the Sahara) in July is 38°C. “If you’re coming in the summer, you really ought to be coming to the mountains or the coast,” says Mike McHugo from Kasbah du Toubkal.

How long is needed to see Morocco?

In a week or less

If you’ve got less than a week, head to Marrakech. It’s only an hour from here to the Atlas Mountains and three hours to Essaouira. A week is a good amount of time to trek in the Atlas Mountains or make the summit of Mount Toubkal (4,167m), which takes a couple of days. In a week you can twin centre Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains, or Marrakech and a stay in the Sahara at a Bedouin camp.

In two weeks

If you’ve more than a week to spare, consider a tour that sees more cities: starting in Casablanca, you can work your way down through Rabat, Fez, Meknes (very close to Fez) and Volubilis. Break up the cities with an Atlas Mountains homestay, ending in Marrakech.

Two weeks or more

Its proximity to Europe makes Morrocco a common starting point for overland exploration of Africa – even if you haven’t taken a ferry from Spain. Overland trips follow the coast east or west from here, avoiding the Sahara. Our tours west can take you all the way into West Africa – Cotonou, Benin, or Dakar, Senegal.

Health and safety

HEALTH

There are no required vaccinations for travel to Morocco, but always check NHS site Fit for Travel for more details. Rabies does exist in Morocco. Warn your children, whose natural inclination might be to stroke stray cats and dogs. If you are hiking in the High Atlas, altitude sickness can be an issue, particularly as you hit the nausea territory of around 2,800m. Motion sickness can be an issue when you’re driving on sand dunes. It doesn’t occur to many people but bring sea sickness tablets to the desert. Common causes of illness are dehydration, too much sun exposure, and an upset stomach – though the latter is far less common than it used to be. The water sellers in the souks did serve a real purpose in the past, but now they are mainly there to be photographed. The water they dispense does not have a good record in terms of cleanliness.

SAFETY

Always get up to date information at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advisory department before travelling to Morocco. Marrakech has long had a tourism brigade: plain clothes officers keeping an eye and ensuring that people feel safe, and to cut down on aggressive selling tactics being employed in souks. However, as in all cities, look out for petty theft. Adventure travel is growing rapidly in Morocco, but not everywhere will adopt international safety standards; get active with a responsible operator. Morocco has a poor road safety record, so drive carefully, or take the train. The Western Sahara region is a disputed territory. The FCO advises against all travel to parts of this region, not only because of potential conflict, but also because there are territories known for land mines. Sea currents can be very strong on some parts of the Moroccan coast. Always seek advice about safe swimming and surfing areas. Don’t underestimate the Sahara. “In the desert keep hydrated. We keep out of the sun as much as possible – our camel trek is designed for sunset, sunrise – as you can dehydrate quickly,” says Mark from Nomadic Tours, “And checking your shoes in the morning for scorpions is always a good thing.”