Safety Tips in Morocco

While driving from Agadir to Marrakech I stopped for fuel at Afriquia gas station. I think it was the Imintanoute rest stop, it's the one on the top of the hill at about 1200m/4000ft elevation. I asked the guy at the pump to put in 100MAD worth of fuel. He seemingly typed something in the pump and put the nozzle in. After a while he put it out and said he'd finished. I payed him but when I started the car, I saw that the fuel gauge hadn't moved at all and I was still almost on reserve. When I mentioned this to him he insisted that he fueled the car and that the gauge must be broken. After a couple of minutes of arguing in my bad French, I gave up because I had a plane to catch that day.

I went on to the next rest stop, afraid that I would run out of fuel, but I made it. There I fueled the car and the gauge worked normally. I don't know whether it was a scam or the guy was just incompetent. But when you fuel the car, before you pay check that there is the amount of money and fuel written on the pump.

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Morocco for some reason does not have nearly enough bridges. To that end, be safe and pay attention to the weather forecasts and be warned that roads frequently flood over and make sections impossible.

Delays can last up to several hours after the storms stop, so you should have some basics in the car (water, etc.) to make any delay a bit more comfortable. If you don't know how your vehicle handles in high and/or fast moving water, don't even try it.

I don't how many times we had to stop and wait at various points along the way. To be conservative, I'd say at least 4 times, up to several hours each time. There were multiple examples of both cars, trucks and buses who either attempted to cross or were caught unaware, but either way, they did not make it.

Donkeys will not move out of the way for you on a crowded street.
Donkeys will not make much noise to alert you on a crowded street.
Donkeys will knock you over with themselves or their cargo on a crowded street.

You need to keep your eyes open when in tight spots in the medina.
You need to keep your ears open for a warning call "BALAK" or "ANDAK" - which could a cyclist, cart pusher, or donkey.

Photos by Jamal Morelli, uploaded at Studio Shamharush

My wife thinks it might be the way that I walk, but I was grabbed by the crotch by a passing fellow. This was as I was checking my mail on my phone as I was heading down some stairs in a guilez cyber cafe. I had a word with him about his misjudgement of the situation and he appeared to heed my wise advice.

Hi! Me and my husband and two kids (ages 8 and 12) are in Morocco for 2 weeks. Our travel agent in Canada booked reputable hotels (3 star and very nice!). The hotel has very well organized trips for tourists and the staff are very knowledgeable. This has made our trip very very nice and exciting. We did a camel safari into the desert in the late evening. We attended a moroccan feast. All this was listed with the hotel.

I got the impression they care about tourism.

Well if he is totally basing his advice giving on opinions rather than bothering to uptodate himself I can understand him saying this sort of thing - Ive been coming to Morocco for the past 7 years and its almost home to me - travelled around a lot of it, been in many different situations and with different levels of society - but growing up in NZ and Australia as world educated and aware as we really are there, and I do often laugh with amazement at the turnout of events - that I am so much at home in Morocco - that I came with the same understanding that its a dangerous country - we grew up in NZ and Australia with that understanding - our families used to really worry when one of our cousins went on a group tour/mission trip there - and then also when another couple of cousins went shock, horror independently!
When Ive read back through Moroccos history, particularly when the French had taken over and were oppressive it was a dangerous country - and during the 60s and 70s it was not strange to read of awful things happening to foreigners here and there - but gradually things have become safer and as far as I can see I totally agree its one of the safest countries, and particularly one of the safest islamic countries in the world.

The instigation of Tourist police in the big city centres has played a big part in this of course.

So as far as a travel agent still coming out with that sort of guff its just plain not bothering to get aware of his destinations or yes just plain lies. Get him onto a tour so he can see for himself! and ive got some very good connections who could get him around seeing it from a more grass roots place and for you too.
But travelling independently is a great way and very enjoyable way to see Morocco. Particularly with a car. There are a lot of locals who have now set up as tour companies and they tend to make nice little groups going around in a 4x4, makes things more personalised, often getting off onto interesting 4x4 required routes and really seeing off the beaten track and what Morocco is all about. But you dont have to do it that way.

If you want to get a guide that can be a good idea too - this can help maximise the time you have there and your experiences as you will generally end up at his families or connections places along the way which can really make your trip.

Have a read around our VTer written travelpages and get some ideas of what youd like to see - and you will get a pretty good idea that its not regarded as a dangerous destination!

When I was in Morocco 6 months ago, I wanted to send postcards to neighboring Canary Islands, to South Africa, and to Asia. As we didn't have time to find the post office to get stamps, I took the offer of the kiosk owner (where I bought the postcards) who told me that they also sold stamps, which he emphasized, could be used for sending postcards abroad. He took out an entire sheet of yellow stamps and told me I only needed one stamp for each destination -(I told him one was for Asia), and that those stamps are valid for ALL destinations. I took one for each of my 3 postcards, and as instructed (by the same man) dropped them into the next mailbox I saw.

Unfortunately, none of those postcards ever got to where they were supposed to go. The kiosk owner spoke quite good English, so I'm sure we understood each other. Until now I don't know what I did wrong, although of course, it's very probable that he only wanted to sell the postcards and the stamps, and he himself was in no position to know how many to give me. In any case, none arrived, and will never be expected to arrive -- 6 months is an unthinkable length of time even for snail mail.

So for those wanting send postcards to anywhere, go to the post office yourself and ASK how long it would take to reach the addressee or better, buy some nice postcards and mail them from home! I'ts not the same, of course, but it would save you the disappointment.

Morocco, despite the trappings of modernity, is still deeply traditional. And as images of persons are prohobited in Islam, taking photos of people is considered offensive, unless one has asked permission of the person to be photographed and has been granted it.

Despite the strong temptation to photograph this immensely photogenic land and people, one has to exercise care and restraint. Women wearing the veil and traditional clothes are especially wary of tourists with their cameras.

Respect for the local customs and the people is still the most important thing a traveller must bring with him/her wherever he/she goes.