Marrakech, Morocco is a fantastic city to explore, with so many rich cultures, food and experiences. As two girls travelling alone, me and my friend were unsure of how we would get treated as woman in a male dominated country. Although you may hear stories about the safety of Morocco I felt that it was reasonably safe for a female travelling alone. Obviously being safety aware and issuing common sense are suitable suggestions for Marrakesh, but really as long as you are taking proper safety measures, there’s no reason why you cant enjoy a girls trip to Morocco hassle free.
That being said there are definitely some things I would have done different or would have been more careful about. Sometimes it’s a good idea to read up about the things you shouldn’t do to be fully prepared. I hope this helps and doesn’t deter from wanting to visit as Marrakesh is such a lively city that I would completely recommenced visiting.
Mistake 1. Getting Lost (and consequently scammed)
Before my trip to Marrakech I had read up about the various scams I might be faced with, yet I still got caught up in one! It’s so easy to get tricked, so here’s what happened to me so you know what to look out for! We were looking for the Marrakech medina and ended up getting lost somehow. We must have looked lost as well because a friendly old man came up to us with a big smile and offered to help.
He led the way to where he said the medina was (around the corner) but after walking around the corner there was nothing- “around the next corner” he says. Ok didn’t think too much of it. Around this corner he showed us a local mosque and started explaining about it. “ah crap”, at this point I had a weird feeling but it was hard to leave as all the streets looked so similar. Yet he still smiled and lead the way in such a friendly way it was hard to say no. He took us to his shop and offered us bread and tea. We accepted as not to appear rude but all the while I was thinking how we were going to get out of this.
Then he tried to sell us numerous carpets for hundreds of dollars and got annoyed when we said we had no money. We had to settle on bargaining for a bracelet just so they would let us leave. It was a little uncomfortable being in that position as we had no clue where we were. Luckily after over paying for cheap bracelets we walked out the shop and hopped into a taxi that happened to be passing, not before he asked if we had a present for him.
I was so angry I fell for it after having travelled a lot in the past and reading about that scam online! And I have no idea why I followed him even though I knew it wasn’t right, and why I accepted the bread and tea. These things happen but my advice would be to have a cautious attitude about the friendliness of strangers in Marrakech. Usually the locals will give you directions, etc and then ask for payment. Make sure you know exactly where you are going and have internet on your phone for gps signals.
Mistake 2: Not Being Careful With Food in Marrakech, Morocco
Travelling to other countries means being able to try culture rich food and a new cuisine. I love trying the food from the markets and local places but that wasn’t the problem on this trip- or previous trips. It’s eating at western places that is sometimes worse. As they are less visited then the local cafes so the meat can sit there for longer. I got ill from a chicken burger just before a 3 hour long bus ride to Essaouira- not good!
Mistake 3: Getting Scammed in a Marrakech Taxi
Another scam- and one that I didn’t fall for but perhaps one that I should have accepted. So I’m haggling for a taxi back to our hotel and we agreed on 15 dirham. I specifically double checked it was 15 before getting in. When we got to the plaza the taxi driver asked for 50 dirham. After my previous scam I was annoyed that this was happening again and I didn’t want to get cheated again.
I refused and said I would only pay what we agreed. He didn’t accept so we got out and walked off. He walked up after us and grabbed my 15 dirham, annoyed. A little bit of a scary moment, I know women do not really ‘chat back’ to men in this part of the world and wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do. If I was travelling completely alone I might have just given him the 15 dirham. Sometimes you have to accept that it might be better to pay in this situation and accept it for what it is.
Mistake 4: Not picking a Hotel in Convenient Location
Our hotel, although in a good spot close the plaza in the new part of Marrakech city, we didn’t realise it was separated from the plaza by a dark ally. Especially after our taxi scam above this was a little daunting having to walk down a quiet street with no lights. So my tip here would be to double check the roads leading up to the hotel and how accessible they are. It may appear close to the centre but double check by phoning up your accommodation beforehand and asking.
Mistake 5: Not Wearing the Correct Head Scarf
So we went into the souks and market stalls and one of the vendors tied our scarves we had just purchased over our heads, showing us how it was done. We walked out the stall thinking how great we looked in our new scarves, little did we realised that this was only acceptable for the mountains. Several men came up to us and told us “no, take it off, this is how we wear it in the mountains not here”. So be careful how you wear a headscarf if that’s what you will do- ask the locals for the correct way to wear one. We wore the scarf the correct way for the last few days of our holiday and discovered we had no harassment from the local men.
Mistake 6: Not Covering Up Enough
I’m really big on covering up and respecting local cultures but I do feel I perhaps should have done more so in Marrakech. The local norm is for shoulders and legs to be covered, and while I did this on a lot of places we visited I could have definitely have covered up further. I guess seeing hundreds of others dressing in shorts, etc made me feel like it was more accepted and I think I should have researched more on Morocco beforehand.
I was under the impression that it might not have been so important as other places I have visited in the past and I do think if I had done some more research it would have minimised unwanted attention. That being said even when I was covered from head to toe, we still had a few comments thrown our way. There’s no getting past that, just try to ignore it for the most part. Next time I visit Marrakech I will definitely do my research more and find longer and looser clothing to cover up with.
Whilst travelling with a friend as opposed to solo I found myself becoming a little more confident and relaxed than I would have been otherwise. Next time I will be more conscious of my surroundings and aware of potential scams. As a woman as long as you are prepared and use your common sense then you will be putting yourself in much better position.
This post was designed to help you not make the same mistakes I did and to get an idea of potential situations you might face. Remember the scams I mentioned were petty scams as most of them are in Morocco. Even with these mistakes I made I had the best holiday with my friend and would thoroughly recommend visiting Marrakech, Morocco as a woman. There’s so much to see and do and a hugely different culture to explore- be prepared and you will have a fantastic time!
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| A Girl’s Guide to Marrakech, Morocco |
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