Morocco Tourist Traps

  Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
by aussirose
 
  • Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
      Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
    by aussirose
  • Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
      Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
    by aussirose
  • Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
      Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
    by aussirose
  • Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
      Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
    by aussirose
  • Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
      Goats in trees near Essaouira Morocco
    by aussirose
 

Most Viewed Tourist Traps in Morocco

1.

General Warning   Marrakesh

General Warning, Marrakesh

 20 Reviews  I live in Marrakech most of the year as I am retired and here are some key points to remember when coming to Marrakech. 1. People will be over friendly. Don't get sucked into this...It's all about... 

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2.

Old Medina   Casablanca

Old Medina, Casablanca

 5 Reviews  If you are a tourist, they will seek you out, follow you and try to be your guide or cut you a deal. I never knew I had so many friends! The medina is worth an afternoon of wandering if you can... 

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3.

Water Sellers / Beggars / Intrusive People   Marrakesh

Water Sellers / Beggars / Intrusive People, Marrakesh

 19 Reviews  André's tips to Marrakesh: DON’T SHOW NERVOUSNESS- even if your knees are shaking. BE EASY GOING- Moroccans are outgoing people, and most of them well intentioned. Keep that in mind and you’ll see... 

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4.

Places/ Buildings to avoid   Marrakesh

Places/ Buildings to avoid, Marrakesh

 6 Reviews   This was the restaurant in which I had my fall but that is not the reason I am suggesting that it is a tourist trap. Even if I had not been in pain during our meal here I would still have regarded it... 

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5.

Do not get lost!   Marrakesh

Do not get lost!, Marrakesh

 5 Reviews  If you get lost in the souks trying to find that particular cafe or one of the many sights nestled within the narrow alleyways and a friendly face offers you directions they will expect to be paid for... 

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6.

Local Traditions   Marrakesh

Local Traditions, Marrakesh

 4 Reviews  On a trip out of Marrakesh to Essaouria we went through an area which is home to goats that climb trees (allegedly). A goat may well have climbed an argan tree in the past in order to eat the fruit or... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Tinfou Dunes: (Very) Mini-Sahara

by Over60

We visited these dunes as the supposed climax of an otherwise pleasant day trip from Ouazazate along the Draa River Valley to Zagora. The trip itself was enjoyable, with oases, kasbahs, mountain views, and picturesque villages in abundance, though I would rate the nearby Dades Valley with its striking gorges as more impressive. It was the Tinfou dunes that proved to be the big disappointment. They are real dunes, to be sure, but the area they cover is not more than a kilometer in diameter and lies in the middle of an otherwise not especially interesting desert plain surrounded by mountains. With careful choice of camera angles, you can take pictures that might convince your friends back home that you saw the Sahara, but it is really quite a poor substitute, and the tour companies' advertising really obscures that fact. The concentration of tourists in such a small area also attracts...

Buying Atlas Mountains Quartz Crystal

by aussirose

This could also be seen to be a tourist trap. When we arrived at our first Atlas Mountains lookout we were met with the locals selling their wares. Being a rock lover I could not resist buying some quartz crystal. The colours were beautiful so it took me a while to pick a favourite.Here is what I selected - a lovely rock still in tact but when halved, presented a gorgeous array of pink quartz crystal. Luckily it arrived home safe and sound as Australian customs are pretty tough when it comes to this sort of stuff.It reminded me of when we were young and used to go thunder rock smashing in an endeavour to find some lovely crystals :o) It's common to find quartz crystal around volcanic rock and the Atlas Mountains is full of volcanic rocks.

aussirose buys quartz crystal in Atlas Mountains
Buying Carpet in Morocco

by aussirose

I'm sure you are all well aware of the tricks of the trade that hagglers in Morocco use to get us tourists to buy their wares. Most common is the trick where they say 'you just look' along with an assurance that you don't have to buy.....then the pressure is put on you once you show an interest in something. We were well aware of this trick and others before we arrived in Morocco. We had decided before our trip that we were not going to buy a carpet and we had done well so far having avoided all the tricks of the trade in Marrakech. But we were totally duped here in Tinghir, in the Moroccan outback. Well actually we were duped in a nice way and consequently could not resist buying a carpet from Razouk in Tinghir near the Todra Gorges Morocco. When we arrived at our Raid in Tinghir Habib our guide arranged for us to have a tour around with a local guide. We greatfully accepted and Razouk...

Carpet making with Razouk El Mahjoub, Tinghir
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A Camel Ride

by traveldave

Being near the Sahara Desert, I just had to try a camel ride. These rides are offered in Marrakech, and can be reached by asking a taxi driver to go where the camel rides take place. The camel herders set up shop in a vacant lot near the old section of the city. The cost of the rides is not high, but haggling is necessary to agree on a price. The rides are not long--only about five minutes--but it is fun and worth the effort. While this is not an adventurous experience like riding camels across the Sahara Desert, I can at least say I rode a camel in North Africa.

Snake Charmers

by bekahl

There are lots of them on the square of Jemaa El Fna and they insist that you take photographs of their snakes or of you holding the snakes but then they ask for large sums of money for the privilege. If you really want the photo then just pay a small amount no matter what they insist on.

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HENNA!!!!!!

by bekahl

As we were walking across the square of Jemaa El Fna a lady came over and before I knew it she had put a henna design on my arm so I gave in and let her finish it. However, once done she managed to talk me out of 500 DRH. I was totally robbed. After talking to our riad owners they said I should have paid 100 DRH maximum. It's pretty hard to say no to the ladies once they have put it on you. Just ignore the ladies, if they approach you say a firm no and keep walking. If they put some on you then wipe it off and keep walking.

my henna
Hitchhikers in Morocco

by msaraceni

If you drive in Morocco, often you will find people hitch-hiking. Some of them really want a lift somewhere. Many of them want to sell you something. While the real hitch hikers tend to be quite poor, the fake ones are dressed in very colourful traditional clothes, speak many languages and are well off. Also, the fake ones will stand literally in the middle of the road and virtually force you to stop the car. A typical trick is the 'broken down car', whereby one or two people pretend to have their car out of action and need a lift to a nearby village. This will lead to a visit to their carpet shop. It's totally harmless, of course, provided you know what the game is. Obviously, don't buy anything you don't want to buy, and the general bargaining rules apply: if you are interested in an item, always offer about one third of the price you were asked initially and, really, stick to that,...

Beware the Travel/Tour Guides

by johnjw81

I am writing to warn about a tour guide who is apparently licensed by the Ministry of Tourism.A friend and I took a three day excursion with a guide named Salem Azizi (of Salem Aventure). I had a terrible experience with the guide, and I wish to complain about our experience.Salem Azizi, whom we had hired for three days, refused to take us to any shop, store, or establishment that was not operated by his friends. I constantly wondered whether he was always taking commissions on the side. When I confronted him (on several occasions) about taking us only to places that his friends owned, he insisted that I did not trust him and also that I was "not intelligent". He became aggressive and quite abrasive on occasions when I refused to purchase anything from his friends. This dynamic occurred on often, and yet he still refused to take us anywhere we asked him to take us. When I demanded that...

Too much.....so much......

by angiebabe

....sleeping around of tourists with the locals - especially out in the desert area and auberges of the Merzouga sahara area.Theres a mixture of women particularly who go there because they know the young local guys who work out in the desert area are always on the look out for 'opportunities' and younger or older women who are naiive enough to believe their stories that they are special and that they are or will be the only one. The ones who are just travelling through and dont mind one night stands are bad enough because they dont think about the ongoing effects of these young guys forming attitudes and ideas that this is normal western behaviour - their own women have to stay chaste until marriage and once married, particularly in this area, are bound within society to conform to expectations of their roles to stay at home with the family until their husband comes home - nor do they...

Carpet shops - visit our 'exposition'!!

by angiebabe

So many carpets are made in Morocco - they are mass produced in places such as Tazenakht and distributed to carpet shops all over the country - many are made though by women with their own hands and in cooperatives and can be very beautiful, colourful, cultural stimulating and rewarding, and a good quality product to have at home to add to your taste or warm your feet!It would seem that 3/4 of the population are looking for ways to make some money any way they know how - and involving tourists or visitors to Morocco - so guess what if youre doing a tour or gaining any friendship with hotel staff - you will be taken to an 'exposition'! - you might think this sounds an interesting introduction to local arts and crafts or tribal peculiarities of the area - but though a first-time intro visit is worth doing to learn the symbols and traditons of carpets amongst the various tribes and living...

Top 3 Hotels in Morocco

La Maison Arabe  Marrakesh

 4 Reviews and 507 Opinions  This riad is consider the oldest- may be the fiart- and best riad in Marrakech. Hoever. it is a bet... 

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Villa Maroc  Essaouira

 4 Reviews and 134 Opinions  Suites #27, #29,#30 are built around an open central light well. There is no way to insulate any of... 

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Hyatt Regency  Casablanca

 5 Reviews and 174 Opinions  I worked very hard during the day in a office witout air conditioned. You can understand how I was... 

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Morocco Tourist Traps

Reviews and photos of Morocco tourist traps posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Morocco sightseeing.
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