Top 10 Morocco Tourist Traps

In spite of an excellent range of riads and hotels in Morocco, the beautiful mountains, deserts, atlantic coastline and cities (Marrakech and Fes in particular), Morocco can also serve up some rather ugly tourist traps for the unwitting visitor.

Here are the top 10 tourist traps to look out for in Morocco.

1. Unlicensed tour guides
Particularly in the Souks of Marrakech, unlicensed tour guides will try to hassle their way into being your guide for the day, only to take you to the stalls of their ‘cousins’ where they will assist you in paying well over the odds for goods. Avoid these individuals and only book official guides through your riad or hotel.

2. Unmetered taxis
Often taxis in Marrakech have their meters missing or not working. Where a journey price is not agreed in advance with such taxis, tourists can often find themselves paying over the odds. Always agree a price before getting in and be prepared to walk away if this price seems too high compared to your other taxi journeys. If in any doubt, discuss or arrange your taxis through your riad or hotel.

3. Photograph backdrops
When taking photos, beware of your backdrop to your shot. Street beggars in particular often will demand a fee for being in your photo. If this happens, avoid an argument and move purposefully on. Better still, always select your photo-shot carefully and respectfully too.

4. Vegetarian food
Many Moroccan restaurants have still not caught on with vegetarian cooking and often they do not understand that a meat-cooked dish does not become a vegetarian dish when the meaty chunks are taken out. So never ask for a vegetarian version of a meat dish already on a menu, as this is what will happen. As a backup, eating at your riad or hotel in Morocco is always a good option as you can explain your preferences.

5. Not haggling
Not haggling over prices in the Souks for goods such as rugs, scarves, babouches, wood and leather items is a certain way to end up being fleeced. Prices in Morocco are set to be haggled over and brought down. As a rule of thumb divide starting price by four and then go up in decreasing increments until you are paying around half of the starting price.

6. Letting your credit card out of your sight
Over the last few years, stories have cropped up of a small minority of souk stall owners taking a customer’s credit card to payment terminals “in the back’ of their shops. In this ruse, payments are then taken more than once on the same card. Lesson is, never let your credit card out of your sight (although this should not be a risk with your own riad or hotel).

7. Fake or poor quality goods
From fake antique rugs to leather bags artificially tanned with dark polish (which washes off in the rain), there is a myriad of opportunities for buyers of goods to be duped. Best advice is to keep a clear, cautious head when shopping and remember that, whilst Morocco still offers excellent value for goods, there is rarely any such thing in life as a knockout bargain.

8. Palace-restaurants
Promoted heavily amongst tourists (although hopefully not by the better riads or hotels in Morocco), these venues are supposed to offer an evening of Moroccan music and dance folklore together with a local gastronomic experience. However, food quality is often low and the entertainment overdone, all in dining rooms packed with large, noisy groups of tourists. Personal taste perhaps, but we say avoid.

9. Telephone cards
High street teleboutiques in Morocco are a good way of calling home and avoiding expensive riad or hotel telephone charges. To use teleboutiques, telephone cards are bought on site but don’t expect these cards to be usable throughout Morocco - usually phone cards can only be used where purchased.

10. Water sellers, snake charmers and monkey handlers
In the main square of Marrakech, these colourful characters make a living from milling around and putting their various animals and reptiles around the necks or shoulders of tourists for a photo. They then try to charge tourists royally for the experience. Fine if you wanted the photo and give them no more than 10 or so dirhams, but not great value if you didn’t.

The Top 10 Morocco tourist traps was written by the team behind Morocco Gateway, a Morocco hotel and riad enquiry website for independent travellers

Christmas and New Year in Morocco

For people who are not tied to staying at home for Christmas and the New Year, Morocco offers a fascinating break at a range of riads and hotels only a short plane trip away.

Many of the riads and hotels in Morocco are open over the Christmas break and offer guests relaxation, great service and a certain exotic inspiration, just the tonic at the end of a long, hard year.

In Marrakesh, Morocco’s best known city, Marrakech Hotels such as, Riad Aya, Riad Dar Karma, Riad Isis, Riad El Cadi, Riad L’Orangeraie, Riad Dar Attajmil, Riad Dar Ilham, Riad Dar Sbihi, Riad Dar Housnia, Hotel Tigmi, Hotel Caravanserai, and Hotel La Maison Arabe all welcome guests over Christmas as well as offering spa and hammam facilities on site.

In the less visited but equally cultured city of Fez, Riad Numero 9, Riad Les Oudayas, Riad Mabrouka, Riad Alkantara, Riad Fes and Riad Ibn Battouta offer rooms in the €70-110 per night price range and welcome guests over Christmas. A stay in Fez can be combined with an overnight visit to neighbouring Meknes to stay at Riad Bahia, a small and friendly four roomed riad.

Many city riads in Morocco are small enough to be easily rented exclusively. This is popular as the service staff are still on hand to make a stay run smoothly. Riads and hotels in Marrakesh, such as Dar Warda, Riad Ksiba and Riad Zina are some of the best examples.

For people wishing to leave the city behind, then Morocco’s Atlantic coast is a fantastic destination for Christmas and the New Year. Riads Dar Liouba, Villa Allun and Lalla Mira and hotels Madada Mogador and Ocean Vagabond in Essaouira all host guests warmly over Christmas with the added benefit of offering long walks along the local beaches on Boxing day.

If physical activity is the order of the day, then a stay in the famous Atlas Mountains may be preferred. Hotel Kasbah du Toubkal and Ksar Shama offer comfortable rooms and facilities in easy access of the mountains for easy walks or multi-day treks.

For desert activities and excursions, hotels Kasbah Ennasra, Dar Azawad, Riad Dar Zitoune, Ksar Jenna and Auberge Derkaoua welcome guests and provide 4x4 and quad bike excursion, treks, camel rides and overnight Bedouin camping in the desert sand dunes.

Christmas shopping in Morocco

With Christmas on the horizon, many people are now thinking about the annual task of buying presents for all their families and friends.

One interesting option that is available is to hop on a cheap flight to Morocco and visit the famous souks of Marrakech or Fes. There, you can buy low price and unusual presents including jewellery, clothing, wood and leather goods as well as many other home decorations.

You can also combine the visit with a relaxing stay at some delightfully individual and innovative riads and hotels in Marrakech and Fes. And helpfully, many riads and hotels are also offering shopping special offers which combine discounted riads and hotel accommodation with an English speaking shopping guide as well as assistance in sending purchases home by post.

For travellers on a budget, Riad Zina, Riad El Mezouar and Riyad El Cadi all offer good quality rooms in the €100-110 per night price range, including a half day with an English speaking guide, various refreshments throughout a guest’s stay, and assistance in posting shopping goods back to the UK or Europe.

In a mid-price range, Dar Seven, is a stylish but understated and chic launch pad from which to explore Marrakech and its Souks and other shopping opportunities. This riad hotel offers a 2 nights stay or more in superior suites (its Loggia Suite and White Room) for €320 per night including half a day with an expert shopping guide, a complimentary massage, airports transfers as well as advice and assistance in shipping larger goods.

For those willing to spend a little more, there are many attractive riad and hotel options. AnaYela, also of Marrakech, is a elegant and romantic hotel which offers 3 nights in a double room for €550 per person (based on 2 sharing) including half a day with a shopping guide, airport transfers, welcome drinks and gifts, complimentary massage and, of course, advice and assistance in shipping larger goods home.

In the leafy, verdant Palmeraie district of Marrakech, only 20 minutes from the centre, Jnane Tamsna is a hotel made up of 5 luxury villa, created with flair and style by Meryanne Loum-Martin. Here, date palms planted centuries ago are colourfully surrounded with olive trees and fruit trees as well as rose-bushes and bougainvilleas. The hotel offers a shopping special of 3 nights stay in October, November and early December in a double room for €580 per person including two half days with an expert guide, a complimentary hammam per person, a complimentary shopping map and advice and assistance in shipping larger goods.

Whilst Marrakech is often a more obvious choice for guests to Morocco, the second ancient city of Fes is another good option. Here riads and hotels such as Riad Mabrouka, Riad Fes, Riad Numero 9, Riad Les Oudayas, Riad Ibn Battouta and Riad Alkantara all offer guests a high quality hotel experience in the €90-€150 price range. All these riads and hotels can assist and advise guests in getting the most out of a shopping visit to Fes.

House Parties in Marrakech and Morocco

In 2010 Marrakech and Morocco hotels and riads are experiencing an increase in the number of ‘special occasion’ celebrations where entire hotel or riad are taken over by a group party.

The house parties are proving popular for 40th and 50th birthday celebrations but also for Christmas, Easter breaks and exclusive hen parties.

The popularity of house parties in Morocco is down to the tightening of personal budgets, which means that group parties further abroad can be too expensive for at least some of the guests invited. Morocco however offers a more economic option for group celebration while still being exotic, stylish and, true to its decadent roots, well geared for partying.

Marrakech in particular offers a wide range of hotels and riads of 3-15 rooms that are ideal for house party celebrations. These Morocco hotels and riads elegantly presented, have trained staff teams on hand, and offer highly attractive rates in a competitive year for bookings.

Marrakech hotels and riads which welcome group parties include Riad el Mezouar, Riad Zina, Riad El Cadi, Riad Ksiba, Riad Dar Sbihi and hotels Tigmi and Zitoune.

The cost to hire an entire riad or small hotel in Morocco depends on the quality and size of the property in question as well as the time of the year. However, the cost of highly competitive when compared to Mediterranean or other locations abroad.

Alternative venues in Morocco that are even more unusual than Marrakech include riads in the ancient city of Fez, kasbahs at the edge of the Sahara desert or houses on the windswept but sunny Atlantic coast in towns such as Essaouira and Rabat

Atlantic coast hotels and riads in Morocco

Many people, tired of the idea of another Mediterranean holiday of packed and sticky beaches, are looking to Morocco and its relatively quiet beaches and fresh Atlantic breeze and invigorating waves. The backdrop of the exotic and colourful Moroccan culture and wide range of riads and hotels in Morocco is another draw for these visitors.

Morocco Gateway is offering an exciting range of privately owned and unique Morocco riads and hotels in resorts along Morocco’s fabled Atlantic seaboard; Essaouira hotels as well as other Morocco riads in coastal towns of Oualida, Agadir, Tangiers, and Rabat

These hotels include Madada Mogador, a modern and stylish Essaouira hotel. Whilst guests enter the hotel via a small stone staircase and an old wooden door, they will find themselves in an interior which is airy and modern, decorated simply yet stylishly with a zen-like ambiance.

Alternatively, only five-minutes walk from Essaouira’s historical port and ten minutes from its sandy beach, Villa Allun allows guests to explore Essaouira with ease, and return to a hotel furnished with lavish Moroccan style and comfort. The roof-terrace of this Essaouira hotel offers guests a place to enjoy the view over the Atlantic Ocean and to sunbathe. Complete with grill, the terrace provides an ideal place to enjoy a barbeque.

Along the coast in Rabat is another Morocco riad, Villa Mandarine, originally a farmhouse within an orange grove and since 2001 a hotel, run by the owning family, offering thirty-six rooms ranging from standard and deluxe to suite. The bedrooms have been furnished simply in a French style, are spacious, and benefit from lots of natural light. Each room has en-suite facilities and air-conditioning.

Located just forty minutes inland from Agadir and amongst lush gardens of olive and citrus trees is Riad Dar Zitoune, meaning “House of Olives. Located within a five-minute drive from the small village of Taroudant, Riad Dar Zitoune is a Morocco riad that allows guests to enjoy a peaceful break in a rural setting but to be in short distance from the sand and waves of the coast.

A week’s stay on Morocco’s coast can easily be combined with a few days in one of the country’s famous cities such as Marrakech or Fez. Anyone who has visited these cities will know that the choice of Marrakech hotels and Fes hotels is plentiful.

Or for those wanting yet more outdoor activities, a trek in the Atlas Mountains is a good option, even in summer when this mountain region and its hotels and riads all retain a certain freshness of temperature. For the more serious traveller, the destination of Morocco’s sand dunes at the edge of the Sahara can be reached within a day’s car drive

Budget Morocco

Hotels and riads in Marrakech, Essaouira and Fez and other locations throughout Morocco are listed by Morocco Gateway, which focuses on helping users to search easily for their Morocco hotels and riads of choice by providing them with information of the highest accuracy and independence.

Budget hotels and riad options in Morocco fall in the €60-90 per room per night bracket, which is competitive in spite of expensive exchange rates. For these prices, travellers can expect a room in a small but clean and well-run riad or hotel, close to the centre of Marrakech, Essaouira and Fez.

Often in this price band, Morocco hotels and riads will have small swimming pools, room service and roof top lounge areas with magnificent views. These services and facilities, when combined with the reliable North African sun, offer a certain value luxury that many travellers are looking for nowadays.

Marrakech hotels and budget riad options include Riad Villa El Arsa, a quiet and peaceful riad offering rooms at €70-80 per night with a roof-top terrace allowing guests to sunbathe and take in a view over the medina and Atlas Mountains. To cool down, there is a plunge pool in the courtyard or two indoor lounges.

In Essaouira, Lalla Mira is Morocco’s first eco hotel, sourcing its under-floor heating from solar-power and growing its own organic fruit and vegetables wherever possible. Meals encompass traditional Moroccan dishes as well as Mediterranean cuisine, and are readily available for guests who are vegetarian. Rooms here fall in the price range of only €38 for a single to €80 for the largest suite.

Also in Essaouira is Chez Rebecca, a self-catering apartment on the third floor of a house in Essaouira’s historically listed medina. The house itself is about 150 years old and was turned into apartments in 2003, renovated in 2008. It is owned by four English friends and managed by Moroccan staff. Its location is central, with food souks on the doorstep, and the beach only a ten minute walk away. Daily rental of Chez Rebecca works out at £55-£80 depending on the season.

For the budget traveller, Morocco also benefits from being served by a number of budget airlines which fly from the UK and Europe to airports in Marrakesh and Fez. Travel onto Essaouira can be easily arranged by taxi and at a reasonable cost.

Magical Marrakech

The city of Marrakech offers a fantastic activities which include spending time in the main square, the Djemaa El Fna, at the heart of the city, with its entertainers, food stalls, shops, cafes and restaurants, or browsing the souks, an amazing labyrinth of stalls selling jewellery, spices, textiles, leather goods, wood and metal works, clothing, rugs and babouches. Other activities include visiting the many famous gardens, palaces and museums of the city.

In the evening Marrakech boast an array of high quality and stylish bars, restaurants and clubs to rival any European city. In the daytime there are also a number of beach clubs, which offer large swimming pools, eating and drinking, and lounging facilities to a backdrop of music from live DJs, al under the North African sun.

For accommodation style seekers, Morocco Gateway offers Maison MK, a chic guesthouse created by fashion photographer Paul Hopkins, AnaYela that seeks to offer a “cultural, sensual and mental” experience and Le Palais Rhoul with its fine Romanesque styling in its lush out-of-town palm-grove location.

For the style-conscious on more of a budget, La Maison Arabe, Riyad el Mezouar, Riyad El Cadi and Riad L’Orangeraie all offer high standards of service, cleanliness, facilities, a central location, and double rooms for under €150 a night. Riyad el Mezouar and La Maison Arabe also offer classes on Moroccan cookery, which are always popular with visitors.

For travellers on a tighter budget, Morocco Gateway offer Riad Villa El Arsa, a quiet and peaceful riad with a roof-top terrace offering rooms at €70-80 per night, Dar Attajmil a peaceful, hidden riad with a beautiful patio courtyard, and its own library which offers room for €90 a night.

A stay in a riad in Marrakech can also be easily combined with a short stay in another of Morocco’s ancient cities of Fez and Meknes, or to the famous Atlas Mountains, to the desert region with its mystical sand dunes or Essaouira hotels on the beaches of the Atlantic coast.

Fez experiences

Many people, late-bookers amongst us in particular, are now looking at their options for summer holidays. With long distance travel and expensive hotels being somewhat out of fashion in 2009, many people are looking at Morocco, which benefits from being a short flight away from the UK and Europe. Morocco also offers a fantastic range of competitively priced high quality riad and hotel accommodation against a wonderful backdrop of the fascinating and exotic Moroccan culture, outdoor activities, and reliable north African sunshine.

Proving popular in 2009 is the city of Fez, Morocco’s second city after Marrakech. Fez is the cultural and intellectual heartland of Morocco with its palaces, gardens, souks, mosques and other buildings of note. It was the capital of the medieval Merinid empire and remains the spiritual heart of Morocco.

Morocco Gateway is offering an exciting range of raid and hotel options in Fez to suit all tastes and budgets. These include Ryad Mabrouka, a guesthouse of 6 suites and 2 rooms, complete with a small swimming pool and restaurant. Renovated and restored in 2000, Riad Mabrouka is ideal for guests looking for a comfortable stay to re-charge their batteries and also for those wanting to explore Fez and its surrounding attractions.

Alternatively Riad Fes is a larger hotel offering twenty-one rooms where guests has the option of room in a modern style or the standard rooms which provide more of a traditional Moroccan authenticity. Riad Fes also serves a complimentary breakfast on the patio outside daily, surrounding the its pool and garden.

Finally, Riad Numero 9, a charmingly traditional three-storey home, built in the eighteenth century by a wealthy merchant. The present owners originally bought the riad as a holiday home but their choice to renovate and open it as a guesthouse in 2007 allows guests to take advantage of a home from home. The riad’s three guestrooms all look over the same courtyard. The standard room is situated on the first floor and is joined by the junior suite on the other side. Ascend another staircase and guests will find the master suite, extending over the whole third floor, spacious and beautifully decorated in French, English and Asian antiques.


The city of Fez is also a good base from which to explore the surrounding region that offers the Atlas Mountains, the spa towns of Moulay Yacoub and Sidi Harazem and the calmer imperial city of Meknes.

Morocco - Wilderness Adventures

When we think about a Morocco Holiday we usually think bustling cities, bright colours, souks and markets, well you would be right, but Morocco also has a few hidden gems away from the cities all across the country just waiting to be explored.

From the north to south there is so much to see and plenty of tours, follow sparking coastlines or cross deserts by car or by camel. One of Morocco’s biggest features is the Sahara Desert and is a remarkable natural attraction to explore; being the second largest desert in the world after Antarctica it covers most of northern Africa and stretches into Morocco bordering the Atlas Mountains. Naturally this attracts lots of tourists every year and there are many Sahara Desert tours and trips to help you explore this vast area including four wheel driving tours, camel trekking safaris, quad biking and desert walks and trekking.

Another fantastic feature of Morocco are the Atlas Mountains, being the biggest mountain range in North Africa they are hardly hidden away but are vastly unexplored and often just considered a stunning back drop to the bustling city of Marrakesh.

There are actually small but thriving villages in the High Atlas with extremely friendly and hospitable residents offering stylish and traditional Moroccan accommodation, so your Morocco holiday will be filled with genuine Moroccan culture. If you are not staying in the High Atlas there are plenty of tours and trips in which you can explore the mountains, in the West and East hiking tours are extremely popular, where as the central High Atlas are popular for rock climbing and trekking.

Whatever you are into a holiday to Morocco exploring its beautiful wilderness will be sure not to disappoint!

Marrakesh - the "Red City" in the Africa

Also known as the ‘Red City’ because of the original red clay on the buildings and houses in the city, Marrakesh is Morocco’s most popular tourist destination with visitors returning there for their Morocco holiday every year!

Founded over 1000 years ago in the Almoravid dynasty but was destroyed sometime later, the city was rebuilt by the Almohads in the 12th century which is also when the Koutoubia Mosque and other famous landmarks were built.

There are many reasons why this ancient city is a favourite among so many people as there is so much going on! From the bustling souks the lush gardens there is something for everyone in Marrakesh.

One of the first things you will see and love about Marrakesh is the Dejemaa el Fna, this market is bustling full of Acrobats, fire eaters, snake charmers and many more enchanting features. As you walk through the market place you can soak up the atmosphere of traditional Morocco, smells and sounds you will never forget. North of the Dejemaa el Fna square market you will also find the souks; these are tiny Moroccan shops selling everything from clothes to paintings, everything soaked in traditional Moroccan culture.

Another popular tourist attraction and one of the oldest buildings in Marrakesh is the Koutoubia Mosque, it was built by Sultan Yacoub el Manour and is one of three, and the other two are in Seville and Rabat.

In Marrakesh there are also museums, ancient tombs and lush tropical gardens including the Menora Garden, Agdal Gardens and Oasis Aiea. Not forgetting the famous Atlas Mountains which create a stunning back drop to the city, Marrakesh is also the main gateway for tours and trips to the Atlas Mountains.

A holiday to Marrakesh is a promise that you will be amazed and is one of the few cities in the world where you will find a true sense of culture and natural beauty.

Morocco Holidays

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Morocco holidays are perfect for those who seek cultural activities, adventure holidays, trips and tours. Situated between in the north of Africa, Morocco is one of the most stimulating and awe-inspiring travel destinations on earth.

Morocco has a great climate, a rich heritage, a wealth of antiquities, over 1800 km of dramatic coastline, with its high peaks and a vast Saharan wilderness of desert dunes. With its rich traditions Morocco is a place for escape, for experience, for adventure, for revitalisation and for reconnection with a lifestyle fast disappearing in the developed world.

For many travellers Marrakech is the main gateway. This fascinating city is getting the attention it has always deserved. Marrakesh holidays are a fantastic Moroccan experience with bustling souks, a plenty of ancient attractions, lush gardens and the fabled medieval square of Djemma el Fna with its acrobats, snake-charmers and musicians. And not to forget the snow-capped peaks of the Atlas Mountains which make a stunning back drop to the city, it is no wonder that many travellers return time and time again for their Morocco holiday.