Morocco Holiday Queries

mr_edge_to_you

Hi Everyone,

myself and my fianceé are off to Agadir in Morocco in 3 weeks time.

I just have a few quick questions, some of you might be able to answer, please.

1. Will laser/debit card work in ATMs there? Do they even have ATMs over there? Please excuse my ingorance!

2. Should I bring Euros and change small amounts locally on a daily basis, I found this useful in Turkey.

3. We're only there for 1 week, I'm told a trip out to the sahara is worthwhile but is it an option when we're only there for 7 nights?

4. Are they like the egyptians who expect a tip for saying hello to you?

5. Eating out - how much can I expect to be paying for a nice meal out?
Any other advice would be welcome. We are staying in a place called the Argana hotel.

Cheers,
D.

Jellab

Go onto tripadvisor. I am going myself this week. It looks good.

see below for money
Morocco Banks & Money



Currency


The official currency of Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham, denoted as MAD or DH. A Moroccan Dirham is comprised of 100 centimes. Notes are available in denominations of DH 200, 100, 50, and 20. Coins are available in denominations of DH 10, 5, 2 and 1, or 50, 20, 10 and 5 centimes.
The Dirham is only available in Morocco, and the import and export of the currency is outlawed. All currency purchased during a visit to Morocco must be converted back before departing the country. Most of the main foreign currencies may be exchanged at a Bureau de Change in the airport or port upon arrival, at a bank or in most hotels, although smaller hotels in more remote areas may not be able to exchange large amounts at one time without prior notice. Most hotels will exchange at the same rate as the banks, and without charging commission. Exchanging money in the street is illegal, so travelers should look for official Bureaux de Change, identifiable by a golden sign. Travelers should be advised to keep the receipts of currency exchange, as these will be required for the conversion of Dirham back to foreign currency prior to departure; this rule is not alwys adhered to though.
When bringing dollars, pounds, euros etc., make sure that they are in good condition - not torn or scribbled on. Do not bring Scottish or Irish sterling notes - impossible to cash.
Some tourist places quote prices in Euros rather than Dirhams, when there were 10 dirhams to the euro it made conversion easy, now the Euro has strengthened to around 11 to the Dirham it makes conversion harder. Some traders prefer to use the rate of ten to one perhaps to extract more money from the tourist, in essence, by overcharging. Current exchange rates can be checked at http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Credit Cards
Some credit cards are accepted (especially Visa, MasterCard), although surcharges will likely apply, or an unfavourable exchange rate will be used.
Advise your bank or card issuer that you intend to travel abroad so that no block will be put on the usage of your credit or ATM cards. Notify the issuer and give them a 'phone number where you can be contacted abroad.
Before travelling, ensure you make a note of all credit card numbers and associated contact numbers for card issuers in case of difficulty. The numbers are usually free to call as you can reverse the charges, make it clear to the operator of your hotel, riad etc that you wish the call charge to be reversed.
ATMs
Multiple ATMs can now be found in most towns and accept Visa cards, Maestro, Cirrus etc and these will usually give you a better exchange rate than changing cash. Check with your bank for charges for using ATMs abroad.
Popular destinations such as Tangier, Marrakech, Agadir etc have ATM's in hotels as well as on all main roads. The medina of Marrakech has in excess of 20 ATM's.
Using a credit card (VISA etc) to obtain money from ATM's is also possible but one must remember that interest is charged from the moment money is dispensed. The normal practice of an interest-free period which applies to purchases, typically over 50 days, made on the card does NOT apply to cash withdrawals. Banks will allow cheques to be cashed but must be supported by a guarantee card.
ATM's generally dispense only 100 and 200 dirham notes so getting change for small everyday purchases like water, taxis etc can be a challenge. At weekends you may have difficulty acquiring cash as machines are not generally restocked. Sometimes your card may work in some machines and not others, or may support smaller withdrawals rather than larger ones, and may work at some times and not others. You should ensure you have a backup means of funding your visit. Some cash changing ATM's will not always accept the new UK £20 note, and be prepared for a complete meltdown of ALL the ATM's in Essaouira, which are working fine the following day.
Travelers are advised not to carry travellers cheques as it is very difficult to find a bank that will cash them and although hotels will cash these, the commission rates are high. If you do take them, take larger value denominations to reduce the commission as this is charged per cheque.
When making payments with a credit card, for example at a hotel for services, it is vital to memorise the PIN as signatures in many instances are not accepted, however certain establishments such as restaurants may still use the old method of signing.

Possibly an Interesting Little Fact
In markets, currency can be referred to in three different ways. For ten dirhams, a trader may shout:
"dix dirhams" or "achra dirham" (ten dirhams)
or
"alf franc" (one thousand francs=1000 centimes=10 dirhams)
or
"miateen d'rial"( 200 rials [one rial = 5 centimes] = 10 dirhams)

cfitz

1. Will laser/debit card work in ATMs there? Do they even have ATMs over there? Please excuse my ingorance!

There are ATMs in the downtown area that take laser cards with Cirrus.

2. Should I bring Euros and change small amounts locally on a daily basis, I found this useful in Turkey.

You could do this so that you don't end up changing too much. I don't see any other reason for this though? They'll make you change anything remaining back to Euro in the airport though - you're not allowed take Dirham out of Morocco.

3. We're only there for 1 week, I'm told a trip out to the sahara is worthwhile but is it an option when we're only there for 7 nights?

A night in the Sahara is great, but you'd probably spend more than half of your holiday getting there and back. Well you could get to closer desert, but maybe not with lots of big dunes.

4. Are they like the egyptians who expect a tip for saying hello to you?

No, it's not like Egypt that way.

5. Eating out - how much can I expect to be paying for a nice meal out?
Any other advice would be welcome. We are staying in a place called the Argana hotel.

For the nice restaurants near the beach, maybe about 40-70% of what you'd pay here. For a cheap restaurant outside the tourist area much much less.