» » Whatever you give, you’ll often get the ‘you can’t possibly be serious’ look. The best reply is
the ‘I’ve just paid you well over the odds’ look.
» » Maintain your good humour and, after a couple of days in a place, the hassle tends to
lessen considerably.
» » Official guides can be engaged through tourist offices and some hotels at the fixed price of
around Dh250/300 per day (plus tip) for a local/national guide.
» » It’s well worth taking a guide when exploring Fez and Marrakesh medinas.
» » The guide can help you find interesting sights and shops in the melee, stop you from getting
lost and save you from being hassled by other would-be guides.
» » If you don’t want a shopping expedition included in your tour, make this clear beforehand.
DRIVING & TRANSPORT
» » Drivers should note that motorised hustlers operate on the approach roads to Fez and
Marrakesh. These motorcycle nuisances are keen to find you accommodation and so on, and
can be just as persistent as their counterparts on foot.
» » Travellers disembarking (and embarking) the ferry in Tangier may receive some hassle from
touts and hustlers.
» » Arriving by train in cities like Fez and Marrakesh you may run into ‘students’ or similar, with
the uncanny knowledge that your preferred hotel is closed or full, but they just happen to know
this great little place...
GOVERNMENT TRAVEL ADVICE
For the latest travel information log on to the following websites:
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de German Federal Foreign Office.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
http://www.minbuza.nl Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
http://www.mofa.go.jp Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
http://www.safetravel.govt.nz New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au Australian Government’s travel advice and consular information.
http://www.travel.state.gov US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.
http://www.voyage.gc.ca Canadian Consular Services Bureau.Telephone
» » Within Morocco, dial the local four-digit area code even if you are dialling from the same
town or code area.
» » You can make calls from téléboutiques (private telephone offices) and public payphones.
» » Attendants at téléboutiques will usually change small notes into coins.
» » Most payphones are card-operated.
» » You can buy télécartes (phonecards) at tabacs and téléboutiques .
» » Méditel’s Dawlia card also works for national calls (from Dh0.75 per minute to a landline).
» » Payphones have easy-to-follow instructions.