About Morocco: Warnings and Dangers
General Precautions
First and foremost, generally, Morocco is a safe country to visit. The local authorities have taken great care to ensure the safety of the tourists, with tourism being one of the main sources of country's income.
After the 2003 Casablanca bombings, there have been some incidents, but nothing really dire has ever happened, especially in tourist meccas like Marrakech or Fes. Security has become even tighter after the bombings and there are many plainclothes policemen around. Marrakech is particularly safe, having even a special police unit dedicated to protect the tourists (called Brigade touristique) from frauds and such.
The general rule is: if you don't look for trouble, you won't find any. That being said, do not wander around at night anywhere in Morocco. If you are going for a night out, make sure that you have transportation available back to your place of stay.
Before your departure for Morocco, always seek the latest travel advice from your country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and make sure to know the contact information of your embassy and consulate in Morocco.
Faux Guides
Faux guide means false guide in French. Almost all of them are poor people trying to make a living off gullible tourists. You will encounter them near all the well-known tourist spots and famous landmarks in Morocco. Never ever accept their offers. They will charge you much more than an official guide and if you refuse to pay, you can be in trouble. Just ignore them, that's the best thing to do.
Offers and Proposals
You will often hear hotel receptionists, taxi drivers and official guides propose you a nice place to eat, a good carpet shop to visit, etc. Do not accept these, because you stand a chance of getting ripped of, also because the restaurant/shop owner will have to give a percentage to the person who brought you over to their place. Always make all the reservations by yourself. If you can't find the place you're looking for, call them and they will gladly explain to you how to reach their house or they'll even send someone to guide you.
Drugs
Illicit drugs are illegal in Morocco. Do not accept any offers! You will often hear someone passing near you asking you if you want to buy chocolat (chocolate — one of the many terms used for hashish). Many times, these are plainclothes policemen. Or real dealers, asking enormous sums for their stuff. Be it one or the other, you risk ending up in prison.
According to a United Nations report, Morocco is one of the biggest, if not the biggest producer of hashish in the world. Don't be fooled into thinking that because of this you may buy and consume this illicit drug in Morocco as you like. It is outlawed and do not listen to fairy tales describing Morocco as a hippie paradise. These times are long gone.
Also, because of cannabis cultivation, avoid the Rif mountains region. Even the official recommendation of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that you should not stop while travelling through Rif, avoid the secondary roads and not to travel at all during the night there.
Travelling by Car
If you have your own car or a rented one, there are some things to be aware of. First, don't drive during the night. Plan your trip so that you travel by day and to be able to arrive at your destination by evening.
Do not pick up hitchhikers.
Don't stop your car if you happen to see someone by the road in need of assistance. These are most often locals who are pretending to be having some kind of a problem with their car. In reality, they are waiting for naive tourists to stop to be able to rob them. Sometimes, you won't even know what hit you. After you provide help and move on, you will suddenly notice that there are a lot of items missing from your car.
Always try to make reservations in hotels that have a guarded parking lot.
In case of a car crash, take photos of the situation immediately, because sometimes, the local driver will try to move his vehicle so that it appears that he didn't break any traffic law/regulation.
For more information, please consult our section on transportation inside Morocco.