Travel Info

A LITTLE HISTORY AND SOME INFORMATION ABOUT MOROCCO

Morocco is situated in northwest Africa. It has both Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Morocco is a Muslim country, whose official language is Arabic, but also frequently spoken is French and to a lesser extent English and Spanish. A thin line of ocean separating the country from Spain, is the Strait of Gibraltar is so close, that at night the lights are distinguishable from the Spanish coast. In its territory there are all kinds of climates, from the eternal snows, to the warm Sahara desert or the temperate zones inland.

Islam is the official religion and there are five pillars of Islam, which are: the belief in one God and his prophet Mohamed, alms giving, the five daily prayers, Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca. The king is the leader of the believers, the entrance to mosques and religious marabous is forbidden to non-Muslims. In some of the Imperial cities there are a few that are open to non muslims, but not in Marrakech.

In southern Morocco, between the southern slopes of the High Atlas and the Sahara, the region is very arid. There, life is concentrated along the rivers and oasis where sometimes little or no water flows as it descends from the high mountains. Occasionally there is huge rainfall which can leave devastating damage even though the water is a blessing. In these oasis, known as the pre-Saharan valleys, there is an architecture that despite the austerity of the materials with which they are built, earth and palm trees, they are of great beauty and harmony with the natural environment and climate.

OFFICIAL NAME: The Kingdom Of Morocco (al-Mafgreb al-Aqsa) “The farthest land of the setting sun”.

SITUATION & AREA: Northwestern of Africa, in the West bordered by Algeria and by the South Mauritania. The area 446,550 km².

CAPITAL OF THE COUNTRY: Rabat.

ECONOMIC CAPITAL: Casablanca.

INTERNATIONAL CALLING CODE: +212

WHAT TO BRING: Sunglasses, sunscreen cream, protective anti mosquito cream, lip balm, soap, tissues (these are easy to buy on the street), ibuprofen, aspirin, laxatives, astringents (just in case), comfortable shoes, sandals, jacket for cold nights, batteries for devices that require them (in Africa batteries are of very poor quality) chargers for your devices and a socket adapter if you have 3 pin plugs.

SHOPPING: Morocco is developing so everything is a little cheaper than in Europe. Even today it is marketed as formerly with bartering, exchanging objects or food. It is normal for haggling, to buy you have to negotiate the price with the seller with skill and without abusing. In normal shops most things are a fixed price.

FOOD: Travelers from other countries should only drink bottled water. Green tea with mint is part of the tradition; it is a ritual to celebrate the welcome of the newcomer. The national dishes are the Tagine and couscous, cracked wheat steamed over a delicious stew of vegetables and meat. Each region has its specialty.

HEALTH: To travel to Morocco there are no required vaccinations. But it is advisable to purchase health insurance, and that public health system is not working as in Europe. If you want more information on health advice you can consult the website of the Ministry of Health of your country.

PASSPORT: Most Europeans can enter Morocco without a visa. Check with your embassy. You need a valid passport with a minimum validity of 6 months from the date of entry to Morocco. The maximum stay legally authorized is 90 days from the stamp of entry.

CURRENCY: The currency is the Dirham, 1 euro is about 11 Dirhams; $ 1 about 8 DH. The DH cannot be change abroad. It is a closed currency. Credit cards can be used in large cities and touristic places.

GUIDELINES AND RULES FOR TRAVELERS IN MOROCCO

Medical care and insurance.

ATTENTION! Medical insurance is required to be purchased by every traveler in the country of  residence.

In Morocco the medical care has European level: a great local clinic, very qualified doctors, a lot of pharmacies. But we strongly recommend to have individual first aid kit.

Possible additional costs during the tours in Morocco:

Meals, optional excursions, tips, personal expenses, souvenirs.

Food: food costs during the tours in Morocco are near 10-15 dollars a day.

Additional tours and independent visits of sightseeing places in your free time are paid by the participants on their own.

Please read carefully what is included and what is not included in the page of  tour.

Expenses on taxi: if you want to go anywhere by yourself at the free days or evenings, you should take into account your spending on taxi.

Tipping: in Morocco it is usual to pay tips to guides and drivers working on the tour.

Please consider this amount when planning your expenses for a tour.

The participants gives tips to the drivers of their car at the end of the journey.

Tipping the guides on our tour are given at the discretion of the participants.

Also it is necessary to realize that we are not responsible for force majeure circumstances, such as: lost baggage, weather disasters, which led to the changing of flight, air transport, etc.

But we are always and at all times support the participants in our tours and, if necessary, try to provide all possible assistance.

It also means that you carefully read the tour program and these rules and recommendations, and you are completely satisfied with the schedule of excursions, activities, travel times, and listened carefully to our recommendations and regulations for travelers to Morocco and took them.

From our side we will do the best for you, and try to make your stay in Morocco comfortable, safe and very interesting.

If reading you have some questions to us – please ask us.