Marrakech: Useful Information

• Tourist Offices and Guides
• Transportation
• Money, Banks
• Post Offices
• Consulates
• Health and Emergencies
• Warnings and Dangers

Tourist Offices and Guides

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Transportation

Petit taxi

Petit taxis can be found almost anywhere (except in the medina, of course). Expect to be ripped off: almost all the Marrakchi taxi drivers will tell you that their taximeter "doesn't work". They will often charge anywhere from 30 to 50 Dh for a ride that would otherwise cost 15-20 Dh. This is a consequence of Marrakech being a beautiful city visited by hundreds of thousands tourists each year and much of its poor inhabitants trying to make a living off them.

Be patient, because you will rarely find a taxi driver who isn't trying to make some extra cash by ripping tourists off. Tell the driver to turn the taximeter on, if he doesn't - ask him to pull over and leave his cab and search for another one.

Grand taxi

Grand taxis are operating as in every other Moroccan city: set the price of the ride before you enter the car. Unlike the petit taxi, the grand taxi can go outside city limits and even take you to other cities and towns.

A ride in the grand taxi for 6 passengers from Marrakech to Ouarzazate costs about 600-800 Dh. The departure points are around Bab Robb and Bab Doukkala.

Bus

Buses cost 3 Dh per ride. The main lines interesting for people visiting Marrakech are:

• n°1: Jemaa-el-Fna (near the park entrance)-Avenue Mohammed V-Guéliz.
• n°4: Sidi Mimoun bus terminal (near Jemaa-el-Fna)-Koutoubia-Hotel de Ville-Bab Doukkala-Daoudiate.
• n°11: Jemaa-el-Fna (close to the crafts building - centre artisanal)-Ménara gardens-Airport.

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Money, Banks

There are plenty of ATMs in Marrakech, especially around the Jemaa-el-Fna square. You can change money at almost every bank. Banks are open from 8.30am to 3.30pm.

A small note: Even if you happen not to have dirhams with you, shopkeepers in medina will almost always accept euros and dollars. But of course, make sure that you have local currency with you, because you will need it everywhere else!

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Post Offices

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Consulates

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Health and Emergencies

Night pharmacies

Hospitals

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Warnings and Dangers

Marrakech is rife with faux guides (lit. false guide) who are offering to show you around the city. Never accept these offers. Sometimes, they can even show up in palaces, looking for tourists without an official guide.

You will possibly encounter hashish dealers here and there in Marrakech, who will just murmur their offer to you while passing by. Ignore them completely unless you want to explore Moroccan prison cells.

Like everywhere in Morocco, it is not recommended to wander around at night. If you are going out for a dinner in a restaurant or exploring the nightlife, make sure to have transportation available back to your hotel.

With Marrakech being such an attractive place for visitors, it is no wonder that there are so many locals trying to make a living by ripping off tourists, be it the faux guides, shopkeepers, etc. To solve this problem and make Marrakech a more pleasant place for tourists, a special police unit, Brigade touristique, was formed. If you feel that you have been really had at some shady deal or that someone is trying to rip you off big time, you can call them and they will resolve the matter really quickly and efficiently.