Things to know before going to Morocco: 20 practical tips for 2026

The essentials before going to Morocco: travel on a passport (an ID card is refused) with plenty of validity left, expect no visa for a holiday of up to 90 days if you hold a UK, EU, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand passport, and leave any drone at home. Since 20 September 2026 the country has been on GMT all year, and 5G and Uber both arrived in late 2025, so many older guides are now out of date.

Below, our team in Marrakech sums up the rules and the surprises in short sections, each with a link to the full guide when you want the detail.

The short version: 20 things to know

1. Travel on a passport, not an ID card, with at least six months left: the safe rule for every nationality.
2. UK, EU, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand citizens need no visa for up to 90 days.
3. Leave the drone at home: without an import licence, customs keep it at the airport.
4. You may bring in or take out no more than MAD 2,000 in dirham notes.
5. Morocco has been on GMT all year since 20 September 2026: no more clock changes.
6. Carry cash for souks, taxis and small cafés; cards work in hotels and larger restaurants.
7. Tipping is part of daily life, so keep small notes and coins.
8. A local SIM or eSIM is easy to get, and 5G has run in the cities since November 2025.
9. Sockets take European two-pin plugs (types C and E, 220–230 V).
10. Drink bottled or filtered water, not tap water.
11. Alcohol is served in licensed hotels, bars and restaurants; drinking in the street is illegal.
12. Trains link the big cities; for the Atlas and the Sahara, a private driver saves a lot of time.
13. Uber has been back in Marrakech and Casablanca since late 2025.
14. Clothes that cover shoulders and knees are the easy, respectful choice.
15. Most mosques are closed to non-Muslims; the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the exception.
16. Ask before you photograph people.
17. Ramadan 2027 is expected from about 8 February to 9 March.
18. Medinas and riads are hard going with reduced mobility, so plan rooms and transfers ahead.
19. Children are welcome everywhere; car seats need arranging in advance.
20. Save 190 (police), 150 (ambulance and fire) and 177 (gendarmerie) in your phone.

Passport and visa

Passport, not ID card. Morocco stopped accepting national identity cards in 2015, even for French travellers on package holidays, and Germany's foreign office says the same for German ID cards. Children need their own passport.

Visa. Holders of UK, Irish, EU, Swiss, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports can stay up to 90 days as tourists without a visa, and nothing changed on this in 2025–2026. To stay longer, you apply for an extension at a police station before the 90 days are up. Other nationalities may need a visa, and some can apply for an electronic one on the official portal acces-maroc.ma. Check your own government's page before you book.

Validity. Governments word the rule differently:

Government advice	Passport validity it asks for
UK (FCDO)	expiry date at least 3 months after you arrive
United States (State Department)	at least 6 months left when you enter
Canada	at least 6 months beyond the date you leave Morocco
Germany (Auswärtiges Amt)	at least 6 months left when you enter
France (France Diplomatie)	valid for the whole stay

Airlines may apply the strictest reading at check-in, so six months left after your return date keeps you safe whatever your nationality.

At the border. Your passport must be in good condition: the UK warns that travellers with damaged passports have been refused entry. Make sure the officer stamps it on arrival, as people without the stamp have had trouble leaving. France also advises carrying your return ticket and proof that you can pay for your stay.

Customs: what you can bring (and leave the drone at home)

Drones. Moroccan customs prohibit the import of drones and remote-controlled model aircraft without a licence from the ministry in charge of foreign trade. Without one, the drone is held at the airport for up to 45 days while you sort out the paperwork, then treated as abandoned. Flying one also needs permission from the civil aviation authority, the UK government adds. These permits are built for professional shoots, not holiday footage: in practice, leave the drone at home.

Dirhams and foreign currency. You can bring in or take out at most MAD 2,000 (about €180) in Moroccan banknotes. Foreign currency is unlimited, but cash worth MAD 100,000 (about €9,000) or more must be declared on arrival, and that declaration is what lets you take it out again.

Duty-free allowance for each adult visitor:

• 200 g of tobacco products;
• one 1-litre bottle of wine and one 1-litre bottle of spirits;
• 150 ml of perfume and 250 ml of eau de toilette;
• gifts up to a total value of MAD 2,000.

Above that you pay duty, or you leave the extra in deposit with customs for up to 60 days and collect it when you fly home.

Medicines. Bring your prescription: customs accept medicines for personal use on presentation of one. Keep them in their original boxes.

Time: Morocco is on GMT all year

Since 20 September 2026, Morocco has stayed on GMT permanently. The GMT+1 regime of 2018 is over, and so are the clock changes before and after Ramadan. In practice:

• UK and Ireland: same time in winter, one hour behind in summer.
• Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, Brussels: one hour behind in winter, two hours behind in summer.
• New York: five hours ahead in winter, four in summer.

If a guide or a booking page tells you Morocco is on GMT+1, it was written before the change.

Money in one minute

The dirham is a closed currency: you get it in Morocco, from ATMs and exchange offices, not at home (MAD 2,000 is the import ceiling anyway). In autumn 2026 a euro bought about 11 dirhams. ATMs are everywhere in the cities but rare in villages and in the desert, so withdraw before you leave Marrakech or Fes. Cash pays for souks, taxis and small cafés; cards work in hotels, larger restaurants and shops. When an ATM or a card machine offers to charge you in your own currency, choose dirhams.

The rest, from exchange receipts to leftover dirhams, is in our guide to money in Morocco, and our tipping guide gives amounts for guides, drivers and restaurants.

Phone and internet: SIM, eSIM and Wi-Fi

Three operators share the market: Maroc Telecom, Orange and inwi. They have counters in the arrivals halls of the main airports and shops in every town, and every line is registered to an identity document: as a visitor, you show your passport. 5G went live commercially on 7 November 2025, starting with the big cities. Coverage thins out in the high Atlas valleys and in parts of the desert, so download offline maps before long drives.

eSIM. Travel eSIMs sold online run on the Moroccan networks and can be installed before you fly. The local operators sell eSIMs too: Orange, for example, prints the QR code on a prepaid voucher in its shops, with the same passport registration.

Roaming. Morocco is outside the EU, so European "roam like at home" deals don't apply: check your plan's rates before you land.

Wi-Fi is standard in riads and hotels. In desert camps it varies and some have none, so download what you need beforehand.

Plugs and power

Morocco uses type C and E sockets, the round two-pin European kind, at 220–230 V and 50 Hz. Plugs from France, Belgium, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands fit; Italian three-pin plugs need an adapter, two-pin ones don't. Visitors from the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand need an adapter. Most phone and laptop chargers accept 100–240 V (check the label), but single-voltage American appliances such as hair straighteners need a converter.

Pack a power bank: the first and last days of our 3-day Merzouga tour are 8 to 10 hours on the road, and sockets are few in a desert camp. Our desert packing list has the rest.

Water and health in brief

Drink bottled, filtered or boiled water, as the UK's TravelHealthPro advises; sealed bottles are sold everywhere. Make sure your routine vaccines are up to date and see a travel clinic a few weeks before you go: hepatitis A is recommended for unvaccinated travellers, and typhoid for most. Don't stroke stray dogs or cats, as rabies is present, and take travel insurance with medical cover. Ice, salads and the rest are covered in can you drink the tap water in Morocco?

Alcohol: where you can drink

Alcohol is legal for visitors in licensed hotels, bars and restaurants. Some large supermarkets in the new towns, Carrefour among them, sell it in a separate section; inside the medinas you will rarely find it. Drinking in the street, or anywhere other than a licensed place, is illegal and can lead to arrest.

• During Ramadan fewer places serve, and the rules vary from city to city: in February 2026 the Fes authorities allowed tourist establishments to serve foreign visitors during the month. More in visiting Morocco during Ramadan.
• Riads and desert camps: some hold a licence and some don't. Ask before you go rather than assume.
• Never buy spirits from informal sellers: the UK warns of methanol poisoning, which you cannot taste or smell.

Getting around

Trains link Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca, Fes and Marrakech, with the Al Boraq high-speed line between Tangier and Casablanca; its extension to Marrakech is under construction, as our article on the high-speed train to Marrakech explains. Elsewhere you take long-distance coaches or shared grand taxis. Uber returned to Marrakech and Casablanca in late 2025, and our guide to Uber in Morocco explains how it compares with the petits taxis.

For the Atlas and the Sahara, a private driver saves a lot of time: distances are long and public transport is thin. If you are thinking of renting a car, read driving in Morocco first; the full comparison of trains, coaches and taxis is in getting around Morocco.

Safety and scams

Most visits go smoothly. The usual problems are pickpockets and bag snatchers in the medinas, people posing as official guides, and taxi fares inflated for visitors. Agree on a price or ask for the meter before you get in, and politely turn down unofficial guides: licensed guides carry an official badge. Our article is Morocco safe for tourists? covers the common scams and how to avoid them.

Dress, mosques and photos

Dress. No law tells visitors what to wear, but clothes that cover shoulders and knees are the easy rule, cool in the heat and welcome in the villages. Our guide on what to wear in Morocco as a woman goes place by place.

Mosques. Most mosques in Morocco are open to Muslims only. The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the well-known exception, with guided tours for all; the others you admire from outside, as our guide to Islam in Morocco for visitors explains.

Photos. Ask before photographing people, especially children, and accept a no. Taking pictures near sensitive political or military sites is illegal, so keep the camera down near barracks and other official sites. On Jemaa el-Fna, performers with monkeys or snakes expect money for a picture. More everyday customs are in our Morocco etiquette guide.

Friday, prayer times and Ramadan

• Friday is the day of the main weekly prayer, at midday. Some souk shops close for an hour or two, but it is a working day: the weekend is Saturday and Sunday.
• The call to prayer rings out five times a day, the first before dawn. Light sleepers staying in a medina should pack earplugs.
• Ramadan 2027 is expected from about 8 February to 9 March, with Eid al-Fitr around 10 March; the exact dates depend on the moon. Sights stay open, but the rhythm of the day changes.

Travelling with reduced mobility

Morocco takes some planning, and we prefer to be honest about it. Medina lanes are uneven, with steps, slopes and crowds, and cars cannot enter. Many riads have stairs, narrow doors and no lift, so ask for a ground-floor room or choose a hotel outside the medina. A private vehicle can drop you at the gate closest to your riad. Desert camps sit on sand, where wheels struggle. Ask your airline for assistance when you book, for both flights. Then tell us about your needs on WhatsApp, and we will plan the pace around them.

Travelling with children

Children are welcome everywhere in Morocco. Car seats are not standard in taxis or vans, so bring one or ask for one in advance, and a baby carrier copes with medina lanes better than a pushchair. Our guide to Morocco with kids has the rest.

Emergency numbers

The UK and Canadian governments list these numbers:

Service	Number
Police	190
Ambulance and fire	150
Royal Gendarmerie (outside towns and on the roads)	177

Local lists also show the older short numbers 19 (police) and 15 (fire and ambulance). In Marrakech, the tourist police (brigade touristique) has an office on Jemaa el-Fna. Save your embassy's number and your riad's address too.

Still unsure about something on this list? Ask us on WhatsApp before you fly, and if you want a gentle first day, our private guided tour of Marrakech is an easy way to find your feet in the medina.