Morocco

Car Rental in Morocco

Car Rental

Car rental in Morocco can be expensive, from around [220/$375 per week or [36/$65 a day (there’s usually a three-day minimum) for a basic car with unlimited mileage. You will be expected to leave a large deposit, and petrol prices are high. However, having a car does pay obvious dividends if you are pushed for time, allowing you to explore unusual routes and take in much more in a lot less time. This is especially true in the south, where getting around can be quite an effort if you have to rely on local buses. Driving yourself also…

Driving in Morocco

There are few real problems driving in Morocco, but be aware that accident rates are high – in large part because much of the population is not yet tuned in to looking out for motorized vehicles. You should treat all pedestrians with the suspicion that they will cross in front of you, and all cyclists with the idea that they may well swerve into the middle of the road. Your fellow motorists may also be rather careless in their driving, particularly in towns, which can make negotiating city streets a rather hair-raising experience.

However, with that in mind, daytime and…

Buses in Morocco

Travel by Buses in Morocco is marginally cheaper than taking a taxi, and there are far more regular routes. Traveling on public transport for any length of time in Morocco, you are likely to make considerable use of the various networks.

Taxis are likely to do a journey in about two-thirds of the time a bus would take (though CTM now runs a few non-stop express buses). Buses, on the other hand are safer and more comfortable, though on some older buses leg room is extremely lim­ited and long journeys can be rather an endurance test for anyone approaching six…

Taxis in Morocco

Collectively, taxis are one of the best features of Moroccan transport. They oper­ate on a wide variety of routes, are much quicker than buses (usually quicker than trains, too), and fares are very reasonable. They are also a good way of meeting people and having impromptu Arabic lessons.

Taxis in Morocco are usually Peugeot or Mercedes cars carrying six passengers. Most business is along specific routes, and the most popular routes have more or less continuous departures throughout the day. Consequently, you don’t have to worry about…

Trains in Morocco

Trains cover a limited network of routes, but for travel between the major cities they are easily the best option – reliable, comfortable, efficient and fairly fast.

There are basically two lines which carry pas­sengers: from Tangier in the north down to Marrakesh, and from Oujda in the northeast, also to Marrakesh, joining with the Tangier line at Sidi Kacem. Branch lines serve El Jadida, Safi, Oued Zem and Casablanca air­port. There are plans to extend the railway south to Agadir, and on to Laayoune in the Western Sahara, but it’s anyone’s guess when that project will reach realization.

Schedules…

Flights in Morocco

Royal Air Maroc (RAM) operates domestic flights from its Casablanca hub to major cities nationwide, as does domestic rival Regional Air Lines. Between any other two points, however, you will usually have to change planes at Casablanca, unless both points are stops on a single Casa-bound flight (Dakhla to Agadir, for example). In gen­eral, flying is not really worthwhile except for long-distance routes such as to Laayoune or Dakhla in the Western Sahara, when they can save you a lot of time. A round trip from Casablanca to Laayoune (which costs less than the official one-way fare) would set you…

Moroccan Hotels Classification

Unclassified Morocco Hotels

Unclassified (non-classé) hotels, (mostly O and 8 in our price code box), are mainly to be found in the older, Arab-built parts of cities – the Medinas – and are almost always the cheapest accommodation options. They offer the additional advantage of being at the heart of things: where you’lI want to spend most of your time, and where all the sights and markets are concentrated. The disadvantages are that the Medinas can at first appear daunting – with their mazes of narrow lanes and blind alleys – and that the hotels themselves can be, at worst,…

Accommodations in Morocco

Hotels in Morocco are cheap, good value, and usually pretty easy to find. There can be a shortage of places in the major cities and resorts (Tangier, Fes, Marrakesh and Agadir) in August, and in Rabat or Casablanca when there’s a big conference on. Other times, you should be able to pick from a wide range.

The most important distinction among Moroccan hotels is between classified hotels (which are given star-ratings by the tourist board) and unclassified hotels (which are not). The latter tend to be cheap places, with few facilities, in the old Medina quarters. For any rever of…