FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

To ensure availability I highly recommend making a reservation in advance. If you are coming to Morocco in high season (April – September), booking at least 1 month in advance is recommended.
Anyway, feel free to contact me whenever you need. I will always try to find a private tour guide available for you.

After I have received your request, I will check our availability and will inform you the name of your private guide. Quality of service and tour itinerary will be the same with any of my professional colleagues.
Jewish tours are conducted only by Expert guides.
City Tour, Sighseeing and walking Tours are conducted by any of the tour guides of the team.

All the tours are in private. I can not arrange shared tours.

The best way to make a reservation ahead of time, please do not hesitate to contact me.

If it is your first time in Morocco, taking a classic city tour and going to a Fantasia show in Marrakesh is a must. If you belong to the Jewish community, the Jewish Heritage tour is a very interesting option to learn about the community in Casablanca.
You can also combine any half day tours as you like to do a full day tour (i.e. Tangier City Tour + Jewish Tour, City Tour + Tetouan, Assilah etc.).
Should you not find a tour that suits you, I will gladly tailor one according to your preferences.

Cash payment directly to your guide after the tour (USD, EUR).

All our tours are conducted in English, but I can provide you with a tour guide speaking almost any language. If you want a language other than English please let me know during the booking procedure.

Your personal tour guide will pick you up at the agreed time and place. Hotels: at the lobby. Cruise Ships: at the arrivals hall, holding a sign where it will be written your name.

The tour will end up at the same place where it started. Upon request your tour guide will drop you off at the place of your interest after the tour.

From the Airport
Your personal driver will wait for you at the arrivals hall holding a sign where it will be written your name. No matter your flight arrives earlier or it is delayed, the driver will be there at the same time your flight lands (we will track your flight number on the Internet).
After meeting you, he will help you with your luggage and take you to your hotel.
To the Airport
Your personal driver will pick you up at the agreed time and place to take you to the airport. Recommended pick up times are:
International Airport – 3 hours before flight departure.
Regional Airport – 2 hours before flight departure.

No need for that If you are travelling to Morocco.
The Travel Nurse at your local Health Department can not only tell you what immunizations you will need but she can administer most of them. And she can provide information on precautions to take while in the country which will help you have an illness free holiday.
You can also look this information up on the website www.cdc.gov

The Moroccan monetary unit is called the dirham. At the present time, the American dollar buys 8 dirham. Rates vary little between banks, but some banks charge a fee per traveler’s check which can add up to a considerable sum with the smaller denominations. Look for banks which don’t charge a fee or bring the money you are sure to spend in large denominations.
Major credit cards are accepted in the larger hotels and almost all shops. ATM cards can be used in many cities even in the south.
Use a money belt for all your valuable papers, checks, passport and credit cards.
For an up to date currency conversion see the website www.oanda.com

Covered is better. Moroccans appreciate respect shown for their culture. The Moroccans are covered and they look quite attractive. Loose, draped clothing enhances the human figure which too often needs all the enhancing it can get. Just compare a family of plumpish, pink, skimpily dressed tourists as they trundle about in the hot sun getting pinker and pinker to a Moroccan family dressed in flowing garments.
Men should avoid going bare-chested and neither sex should wear very short shorts. Walking shorts are fine for both sexes (knee length). Rather than sleeveless blouses or dresses, women should wear short sleeves. Skirts or jeans are equally accepted. Good walking shoes are necessary. Take only the jewelry you can’t do without.

In a word, delicious. Salads are lovely; fresh, succulent vegetables served with light vinaigrette on the side. Harira is the Moroccan word for a thick vegetable soup. A particularly delicious one contains a bread dumpling. Main courses are usually one of the following: grilled meat on skewers often served with French fries; couscous, either vegetarian or meat with vegetables; and Tagine, the Moroccan stew, usually meat, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and spices. Moroccan cooks use a mélange of spices such as cumin, turmeric, paprika, saffron and pepper for a subtly flavored cuisine. In the Sahara you can find ‘Berber pizza’. This is a double crusted pie filled with meat, hard boiled eggs, almonds and spices. Sometimes rather peppery, Berber pizza is best eaten with glass after glass of hot, sweet, mint tea.
Every seaport has freshly caught fish prepared by the fishermen on or near the piers. Do not miss this treat!
Fresh fruit is served for dessert; pomegranates, melons, bananas, apples, oranges and dates all produced in Morocco and all bursting with flavor.
One ongoing benefit of the French occupation are the fresh baguettes available nearly everywhere. Pastries both French and Moroccan are available in the many bakeries.

The official language is Moroccan Arabic which is quite different from the Arabic of the Middle East. French is the second language of the country with Berber spoken by the Berber peoples especially in the south. The Moroccans seem to have a finely tuned ear and can mimic the speech of almost anyone. In Tangier, almost of people do speak Spanish. Those who come into contact with tourists have taught themselves to converse in all the major languages. You will be humbled by their abilities especially if you have taken a language course and still can’t carry on a conversation in anything other than your mother tongue. To put it plainer, you really don’t need to speak French or Arabic, but there will be times when life would be much easier if you knew a few words. Bring a French or Moroccan Arabic phrase book.

A digital camera is always the best!
If you are outside you can use ASA 100 or slower for landscapes. If you are deep within a Kasbah or inside a nomad’s tent you will need to push your ASA 3200 or use a flash. If you only bring one type of film, make it color. And bring a good supply, although color print film is sold almost everywhere now if you do run out. Black and white film may be difficult to find.
Morocco is practically synonymous with color. Deep blue skies contrast with golden sands, the green of the palmeries with the red hues of the mountains, tiles of blues, reds and yellows against walls of indigo blue, an orange turban paired with a dark Jellaba with a purple hue… color film is a must.
Black and white is great for the drama of indoors. The rugged faces of nomads in their tents, the black tunnels of the Kasbahs with stabs of bright sunlight gleaming off gowned men and women as they sweep through the labyrinthine passages, hennaed hands, the latticed shadows of the market place combined with the beauty of the people will guarantee that you will bring home pictures worthy of hanging on your walls.

It won’t be easy. If you have the time to wait until you become inconspicuous, you will probably get what you want. However, even if your subject is not aware of your camera, someone else will be and he/she will warn that person. Then you may be the recipient of a lecture or a demand for money. You can either leave or ask the person to pose in exchange for a small amount of money. Make sure that they understand that you will take several exposures for that agreed upon sum. Otherwise, they will expect that amount of money for each exposure.
It is somewhat daunting to go through this procedure every time you want to take a picture. If you have a guide, he can intercede for you, approach the subject, help with any negotiations concerning money and translate your instructions regarding posing.
It is difficult if not impossible to photograph women unless they are unaware of you. Sometimes they will agree if you offer to pay. However, oftentimes their husband will appear out of nowhere in high dudgeon and demand that you stop. This you must do. Women can be frightened of the camera for fear of what her husband will say or do if he finds out that she has allowed her picture to be taken. Even a guide cannot help you here.
Do not be discouraged. With charm and sincere appreciation of their culture, Moroccans can change from seemingly hostile to hospitable in seconds. It’s up to you to bridge the gap.
Although many professional photographers feel that they should not have to pay for any photographs they have taken, it seems only fair to compensate some people who have in reality ‘modeled’ for you. You have paid a great deal of money to travel to Morocco in order to have some unique photos, why not compensate the people who have made this possible?

The Hollywood fantasy of the guttural whisper of “Come with me to see Kasbah” is just that a fantasy. Just as in the west, a person’s demeanor conveys a message. Purposeful, confident behavior does tend to discourage unwanted comments.
Some young women who were traveling alone, riding the bus and having a budget of only a few dollars per day for accommodations, said that the harassment consisted of wanting to chat her up, giving her compliments such as telling her how many camels she is worth, or remarking on her beauty. It wasn’t so much what was said, but the fact that the western women couldn’t have a moment’s peace. When one fellow stopped, another soon took his place. According to these women, the way to avoid unwelcome intrusions on buses etc. is to sit with some older women.

Very little alcohol is consumed by Moroccans. The mere fact that public drunkenness is rare cuts down on any untoward acts. Moroccans are for the most part religious and will treat you with kindness. They are eager to know you, often inviting you into their home where you will sit with the family, drink tea while you smile and utter your meager French over and over. (Merci, trés bon and trés jolie are stock phrases good for almost any social situation).
If you are traveling alone, it is hard to avoid at least one of these encounters, but you are none the worse for it and in the long run are better prepared for the next encounter.
Being in the company of a Moroccan friend such Aziz will ensure that no Moroccan man will approach you in the hopes of selling you something or being your guide. Aziz will be your expeditor for any situation, from a problem with your hotel room to pointing out the shops where you will most likely find the best buys.

Moroccan roads are the best in Africa with this caveat: most are one lane with no shoulder. It is sometimes like a game of chicken with the smallest chicken giving way. Trucks, buses and taxis bear down on smaller vehicles and there is no choice but to slow down and get at least two wheels off the pavement. Much of the time you have the road to yourself, but you must be watchful for animals, children or even adults who might cross the road in front of you.
Morocco is a safe place both for tourists and for her own citizens. You will find the people helpful, charming and welcoming. Their kindness and generous hospitality will amaze you.

The best way to be a successful bargainer is to know the going price of the article you are interested in buying. How can you know this? Here at home, you can research Moroccan goods in specialty shops in the larger cities. You can go to flea markets where you will probably find someone who makes a living selling goods imported from Morocco. Not that this person will tell you what he paid, but you know he is asking a 100% markup including the shipping. The best bargainer I ever saw is a friend of mine who likes ethnic jewelry and goes to gem shows frequently. When she came up against a Moroccan jewelry salesmen, the poor guy had a melt down. He kept insisting she was not American but Moroccan. you really don’t need to speak French or Arabic, but there will be times when life would be much easier if you knew a few words. Bring a French or Moroccan Arabic phrase book.Or Aziz will help you advising you what a fair price is.