Things To Consider When Traveling To Morocco

Things to Consider When Traveling to Morocco

Travel is something that many people do and experience on a regular basis and from travel we learn about different cultures and people that we could have never known about without being there in person.

Travel not only takes us out of our comfort zone but it can also allow us to take a break from our daily routine causing us to be happier and healthier.

However, people seem to hold themselves back from traveling, especially when traveling to a new or unknown country.

This is especially true about Morocco where many people fear traveling to it because of how much they don’t know. Unless you have lived, traveled, researched Morocco, it is unlikely that you will truly know much about the country without the usual stereotypes that many people have given the country.

I mean even if it’s not a typical stereotype, there are people who believe Moroccans are nomads who live riding camels around the desert. This just isn’t the case.

We will go through some common misconceptions about traveling to Morocco and try to understand how difference in culture blinds us from the reality of safety.

Morocco is Unsafe for Travel

As stated above, many people hold a stigma for travel that says that if it is outside of their borders then I can not trust them. This is especially true because of past events that have scared American travelers and others to view anybody outside their country as “bad.”

In America, there is a stigma of countries that people usually don’t travel to are bad or scary. They believe that going outside the U.S. is an easy way for people to target them and fear being kidnapped or taken hostage by terrorists who exist in the world outside of the U.S. border.

This is the case for most countries, but especially to Morocco where the Muslim population is very dense. Many fear “the worst case scenario” which entails placing a lot of stereotypes onto people they have never met or seen in their life. As it turns out with most countries this is not the case.

While many countries may be much safer, Morocco is relatively safe compared to other countries. The biggest risk to travelers is not crime or getting mugged, it is getting Scammed.

Getting scammed

in Morocco is a high risk possibility that most people traveling to Morocco should be aware of; but does this make the country unsafe? We don’t think so.

Scamming is something that happens almost everywhere in the world when you travel and you are almost just as likely to get scammed in Morocco as you are in any other country. While scams are an issue they are easy to avoid and when traveling with trusted tour guides it becomes a lot easier to avoid these high risk scams.

People in Morocco don’t Speak English

Many people fear going to other countries because they do not want to deal with a language barrier. The worry of not being able to communicate with people can be very scary. I mean, Imagine if you go to a country and have absolutely no way to talk to the taxi driver, hotel concierge, or any of the waiters at the restaurants you go to.

This limits you to pointing and most likely leads you to have a bad experience as there is no way for you to have a connection with anybody you are trying to speak to.

Luckily in Morocco this is not the case (at least in the big cities). Many people in the cities speak English. This helps travelers ease out of their comfort zone and helps the effects of culture shock to subside quicker.

However as you go out of the city and perhaps to some of the countryside with its beautiful views, you may run into people that don’t speak any English or any other language than their native language. This is where we would recommend a tour guide or interpreter that can help you understand the people you meet.

The Dress Code is Seriously Strict

Many websites or people that have traveled to Morocco will claim that the country has a very strict dress code that cannot be broken.

These websites are not entirely wrong, but it is not as strict as one may be tricked to believe. While there are a couple of rules, once you figure them out it really seems to be common sense. The basic sense is that if you are going to Morocco, dress conservatively if you don’t want to stand out too much. This may include wearing long sleeves or long dresses. This is because many people in Morocco are Muslim and may dress more conservatively compared to the U.S. or Europe.

This dress code is not that strict however, as any places where tourism is big: people can be regularly seen wearing anything from a crop top to a burka. Keeping this in mind, if you do plan to go to some more local spots, the long sleeves are your best friend.

And before you ask, Bikinis or swimsuits are welcome at the hotel but we don’t recommend wearing them out in public. These misconceptions are just the tip of the iceberg and could be expanded upon all day with many different ideas.