General Info
- You cannot get Moroccan currency, the Dirham, outside the country is restricted. Take some U.S. cash and convert it at a bank rather than a currency exchange for a better rate.
- Get a Maroc Telecom SIM card at the airport. Cost is 47 for 30 days phone, text and data. I never needed at top up for data even though I used maps a lot.
- French and Arabic spoken widely, English is larger restaurants and at markets.
- I used GetYourGuide app to get guides in Casablanca and Marrakesh. (We get at Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca and at the Hotel across from the market in Marrakesh.
- Hawkers are everywhere in the markets and can occasionally be aggressive. Be polite but firm if you do not want to be involved.
Casablanca
ONOMO Casablanca City Centre, corner of Blvd. Massira & Rue Normandie, is a modern hotel with a very nice outdoor patio for meals, and they have a gym. I had breakfast there every day and dinner once. The Moroccan wine was excellent: a Médaillon label Sauvignon Blanc.
The restaurant in the ONOMO hotel was good. I also liked the Spanish restaurant only a couple of blocks from the hotel, call Pepe Luis, Rue Normandie (about two blocks from the ONOMO hotel) and had a very good meal, but in recent reviews on Tripadvisor it got consistent 1 star ratings. I had talked to the owner of the restaurant when I was there and he talked of wanting to move to Canada (he had relatives in Montreal), so perhaps he did and the new owners ran it down.
Marrakesh
Stayed in a family run Riad in the old section of the city. Old but well kept an tidy and served an excellent breakfast. I would not stay there again because it is to hard to find (the taxi driver had to call the Riad and have the owner walk out to the taxi). From the Riad it is to hard to find your way around the city, hundreds of side streets and alleys.
Tangier
Stayed at the Hilton Tanger City Center Hotel, Place du Maghreb, located near the beach. Excellent service but I was only there one night. I had one of the best meals of my trip at their restaurant.
Ferry to Spain
Book though Direct Ferries and is a nice 1 hour ride across to the port of Algeciras. Note that the ferries leave from the Tangier Med Port which is about 50km east of Tangier. Get there by taxi, about $30. I made the mistake of thinking is was the Port of Tangier which is located right in the city.
