Tangier

Currency budget Morocco

The dirham cannot be bought abroad. If you arrive by ferry, the bureaux in the port give a fair rate and the Spanish side of the crossing does not sell dirhams at all; keep the receipt to change leftovers back on the way out.

ATMs & cards

Attijariwafa, BMCE and Banque Populaire machines line Boulevard Pasteur and the streets around Place de France. Machines charge foreign cards a flat fee per withdrawal, so take out more, less often. The medina and the Kasbah are cash.

Machines charge foreign cards a flat fee per withdrawal whatever the amount. Draw in the Ville Nouvelle before going into the medina, where there are almost none.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of Morocco

A much calmer city than its reputation, which dates from when every ferry was met by a crowd of hustlers. Some of that persists at the port and around the Grand Socco — men offering to guide you to your hotel or the Kasbah — and "la, shukran" while walking on deals with it. The medina is fine by day and in the busy early evening; later its upper lanes are dark and empty. Stay one night if you are only passing through on the ferry; three if you want the city, its cafés and the coast to either side.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa Morocco visa rules

Health & emergencies all of Morocco

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Tangier eats like the coast it is: grilled sardines, fried fish by weight, and bissara — split-pea soup with olive oil and cumin — at breakfast from the medina stalls. Mint tea at Café Hafa is about the view rather than the tea. Spanish is understood almost everywhere and tapas-style plates turn up in a way they do not further south.

Nightlife

A café city more than a bar city: the evening is spent on terraces over the Strait, with a few licensed bars and the beach clubs along the corniche.

• Café Hafa — tea on terraces above the sea, open into the evening
• Place de France — the old cafés of the Ville Nouvelle
• Tangier Marina Bay — restaurants and the newer bars at the port
• Avenue Mohammed VI — the corniche, its hotels and its beach clubs

Closing: The cafés around midnight; the licensed bars and the corniche clubs later, at weekends especially.

Alcohol is served only in licensed hotels, bars and restaurants, and drinking in public is not acceptable..

Getting around

• On foot — the medina, the Kasbah and the Ville Nouvelle are a steep but walkable twenty minutes end to end
• Petit taxi — metered, cheap, and the way up the hill when the walking stops being pleasant
• Al Boraq — the high-speed train from Tanger-Ville to Rabat in about 1h20 and Casablanca in about 2h10
• Train — the conventional ONCF line to Fes, Meknes and Marrakech, including an overnight sleeper to Marrakech
• Ferry — fast boats from Tarifa land at the old port beside the medina in about an hour; the ones from Algeciras use Tanger Med, an hour east of the city
• Airport: Ibn Battuta is 25 min from the centre by taxi

eSIM

A data eSIM for Morocco, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:Works hereWorks hereRevolutIn the app

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Arabic

• Helloمرحبا — MarhabaMAR-ha-ba
• Pleaseمن فضلك — Min fadlakmin FAD-lak
• Thank youشكرا — ShukranSHOOK-ran
• Yes / Noنعم / لا — Na’am / LaNA-am / la

Inshallah, meaning God willing, follows nearly any statement about the future and is conversational rather than religious.

Religion

Sunni Muslim

Islam is the state religion and the king holds religious authority. Non-Muslims may not enter most mosques — the Hassan II in Casablanca is the main exception. Ramadan changes opening hours everywhere.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Haggle in the souks — the first price is an opening, and good humour is part of it
• Dress modestly, particularly women and particularly away from tourist areas
• Use the right hand for eating and giving
• Accept mint tea; it is the standard gesture of welcome

Don't

• Do not follow unofficial guides who offer to show you the way in the medina; the help ends in a demand
• Do not photograph people, market stalls or performers without asking — payment will be expected
• Do not enter mosques unless you are Muslim; almost all are closed to visitors
• Do not show public affection, and avoid discussing the monarchy critically