About this blog: We traveled in Morocco for 10 days during a winter break. For the most part we traveled by our own, did not arrange for any tour guide and felt absolutely safe in the country. I was mindful of taking some safety precautions so that the trip went smooth. In this blog post I discuss about how to travel safely in Morocco.
Is it safe to visit Morocco
It is absolutely safe visiting Morocco.
For context, I write this blog as a brown woman, who has been living in New York for the past 4 years. And I have been to 35 countries, mostly in Global South. And I am born and raised in India.
My experiences might differ a little from a white westerner, who is not born and raised in places with such intense cultural norms. However, overall, I found Marrakech to be a perfectly safe place to explore.
I want to write about the bitter parts at the beginning, so that the raise comes where it’s due.
In a nutshell, Morocco is an absolutely safe country to visit if you are going with a tour. The country benefits heavily from tourism, is a monarchy and heavily aligns with European Union laws.
Not very long ago, France was the colonial power in Morocco. France still holds a sizable power in Moroccan politics.
There is no reason to fret over the security disruption in Morocco.
Radicalism has not infiltrated the government/ monarchy. There has been a few incidents reported where few terrorists attacked hikers and beheaded them not very far from Marrakesh. However I want to highlight that is truly an one off incident. In a sharp contrast to neighboring Algeria, which is often hailed as one of the last stronghold of AL Qaeda in the region, Morocco has not really spiraled down the hellhole of terrorist activity. I have seen many people bike through Mount Atlas, often alone, and reach the finish line safely.
My experience with Moroccan shopkeepers has been quite harrowing.
They touch your arms and push you to buy things when you are not accompanied by a man. This put me off so much that I did not buy from a bunch of places when though I really liked their art and craft.
The guides are professional. In fact our guide Mouchine was a kind young man of whom I have only words of praise.
As a woman of global south I seek out women in the workforce when I am out of the country.
Morocco did not disappoint.
In Quarrzatte I discovered the person I was communicating with all these while for the Sahara Desert tour was a woman. She hooked me up with the 3 nights 4 days Sahara Desert tour from Marrakesh to Fes, which was an absolute highlight of my time in Morocco.
The men at the desert camp was fun, and ready to help me with luggage as well as boarding the vehicle while desert boarding.
It is unfair for the leaders of soft power industry to portray the men of this world in a certain way.
This is what I felt after traveling in Morocco. I had zero to null expectation to be treated fairly from the men of Morocco, but they went over and beyond in many cases. In most cases, their kind hospitality came from the roadside small shacks for which I paid in meagre cents.
Choosing a tour company in Morocco
For the Sahara Desert, you need to hire a guide or even better, go with a tour company to reduce the exorbitant cost.
We could self drive too but I was not sure. If I re visit Morocco, I would self drive the region.
Roads were good and there were plenty of police security check point.
I sat through one evening and went through almost every review of trip advisor to zero in on a tour company to visit the desert. I suggest you do your own research. If you have some time, go to Marrakesh and talk to people to secure a better deal.
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