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Morocco..again..this time just Marrakech

Posted by (new york) on

I've all but decided to take a week in Marrakech before my stay in Andalucia in late winter. Will travel solo (female) and might treat myself to La Mamounia which is close to the Medina and somewhere I've always wanted to stay.

I've been to Morocco 3 x before.....once to. Club Med in Agadir if you can imagine that! From there we rented a car and did a few days in Marrakech... But all of these visits were years ago so I almost feel like a first timer.

I'm fine wandering around alone from a safety perspective but I think on the first day I might like to hire a guide to drive me around to the various areas of the city to give me an overview... I'm sure I can have the hotel set me up (at a big price). But if anyone here has a driver who you'd recommend for this type of thing, I'd love to have the information...basically Ii just want to hang around with a trusty local, maybe even have a meal with that person, just as an intro to the city.... I know that many Moroccans speak Spanish, so without English fluency that would be fine, too...

Any thoughts on this??

Posted by
75 posts

What a lovely plan, and La Mamounia sounds like a great treat. I’d really recommend Hamza. He was our private driver on my last trip around Morocco. We had my kids with us, and he was kind, patient and cheerful the whole time, never flustered. His English is good too, so chatting with him (or even sharing a meal) would be easy, Reach out to the company, he works for, Morocco Family Vacation, and ask if he’s free for your dates. I think you’d be in good hands. Have a wonderful trip !

Posted by
2017 posts

A few more questions:

I won't have any MAD with me upon arrival at the (RAK) airport. I plan to take a taxi from there to my hotel. As I understand it, I can pre-book a taxi on arrival and pay with a credit card, Later, once I've checked in to the hotel, I can go out to a nearby ATM to get cash.,

I need cash mostly for taxis, shopping, tipping, and for inexpensive eating places...most other things can be paid with cards, including entrance to major sights/museums. Is this last sentence correct, or have I missed something?

About tipping: Shall I apply (my personal) European guidelines to my stay here (no tipping of bellmen in hotel; very small roundup of the bill in restaurants.....; no tipping taxi drivers....

I have not been to Morocco in decades and will be traveling alone (female). If there anything at all I should watch out for, assuming I take all the normal precautions for wandering around a big city?

Many thanks, in advance..

Posted by
124 posts

We didn't ever pre-book a taxi, so I cannot speak to that. If you see an ATM in the arrivals area or before you leave the airport, I might get cash to be safe. We also had many people in Marrakech take Euro.

So, we found cash to be highly preferred even at major sights this past Spring. We also needed cash for random things like using the bathroom if it is not attached to a private restaurant or hotel. We generally did not tip the people you mentioned, but throughout our time in Morocco, we found people in Marrakech more insistent on rounding up than in other places (Rabat, Fez, mountains). This happened in taxis as well as restaurants.

We were bothered less as two women in Marrakech than Fez, but be prepared for people to be constantly offering to "help" you, especially near the medina.

Posted by
2017 posts

Thanks so much, Acher! I'm prepared for the badgering; I'm even beginning to learn a few words like:

Hchouma! (Shame!!)

But will I remember to say the right words in the right situations???

Posted by
124 posts

"No" and "Non" worked for us just fine!

I wish I had learned "no thanks, brother" in Arabic as the only addition to my list.

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