Thinking of visiting Morocco? Well, maybe you should think again… There are a whole heap of reasons not to visit Morocco.
Before you book your flight to this seemingly enchanting land of spices, sunsets, and souks, consider my list of 15 pretty pressing reasons to steer well clear. From hordes of horrible hustlers to harems of hammam-shamers, there is an altogether pretty fucking awful side to Majestic Morocco that the tour brochures opt not to mention.
While this country isn’t always awful, they certainly do a good job of making sure the dark side of Morocco is easy to find. You often don’t have to look very far to see where their bad reputation comes from (especially if you’re landing in Marrakesh).
So, buckle up and prepare to be thoroughly discouraged from embarking on what could be the adventure of a lifetime – or dare to prove us wrong. 😉
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
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Why You Shouldn’t Go To Morocco
As you’re about to find out, I didn’t have a great experience in Morocco. Some people I know have the most incredible experiences.
Does that mean that I would I give it a second chance? Nope.
Does this mean that I think you should “try it for yourself”? Perhaps.
But first, let me enlighten you on some of the worst things I found when travelling this strange land.
1. Moroccans can be awful
Ok, so I may as well dive straight in and get the ‘offending 37 million people’ bit out of the way. There is no nice or even measured way to say this, but I encountered a lot of the most awful people I have ever come across on my travels in Morocco, especially when I stayed in Marrakesh.
Photo: Ana Pereira
From aggressive officials to hordes of hustlers (see reason 2) to disturbingly dangerous cab drivers, I had far too many bad interactions with far too many different people in this country for it simply to be my bad luck or ‘my own karmic energy’.
All I can say is try not to take it personally. From what I could see, Moroccans are not just awful to tourists, they are often unpleasant to women, animals (more on these points later) and even to each other. OK… maybe even especially to each other.
2. Nasty hustlers and tasteless touts
By far the worst of the worst of the people of Morocco are the hustlers and tours who plumb new depths of annoyingness. Every time you leave your riad or rental, you will be shouted at, harangued or even chased down the streets by people trying to sell you some kind of souvenir, service or scam.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
Seriously, if you are a traveller in Morocco, do not expect to enjoy a single minute in this country without somebody trying to either flog you something or fleece you. They work hard to ensure Morocco’s reputation as one of the worst countries to visit is upheld. Don’t expect them to be remotely nice or polite about it or to display any gratitude if you decide to take them up on whatever it is they are soliciting.
3. The summers are revoltingly hot
If you visit Morocco in the summer months (June – August) then expect it to be punishingly hot. I mean man, I like the heat, but the Moroccan summer is seriously uncomfortable, especially in areas like Marrakesh which get very little in the way of breeze relief.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
Of course, the simple workaround here is to visit in any other season. So it’s kinda on you if you rock up in July and die of heat stroke.
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View on Osprey View on REI4. Cats are treated badly 🙁
One of my absolute personal mantras is that you can tell a lot about a society by how it treats its cats. And in Morocco, (some parts more than others…) they are treated quite badly.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
I do love a city with a good street cat scene (check out Istanbul, Koto, Tel Aviv) but in Morocco, my joy at being surrounded by random kitties was often sharply pricked by seeing the sorry, skinny, scabbed state that some of them were in. I even witnessed the occasional local kick them.
Granted, it’s not everywhere and everyone in Morocco. Some cats are well looked after and loved. But that brings me to point 5…
5. Marrakech…
The grand city of Marrakech is a reason not to visit Morocco all in itself. This mysterious and charming city surrounded by majestic mountains is sadly, just not a very nice experience.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
Besides Marrakech, being an intensely overwhelming experience, it’s Morocco’s epicentre of scams and harassment. That said, you can pick up some ace leather wares if you don’t mind getting lost in the Souks while local kids deliberately send you the wrong way.
6. Rampant Misogyny
Since we are having frank conversations, I may as well come out and acknowledge that some countries are just not ideal destinations for solo female travellers owing to culturally embedded hyper-misogyny.
Well, Morocco may not be the worst but it is certainly fighting for its place in the Champions League. If you’re travelling with a man, you’ll likely have a much easier and more enjoyable experience – because Moroccan men would rather deal with your male companion.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
Female travellers in Morocco can look forward to being leered at, jeered at, patronised and expected to be married with children before they turn 22. My girlfriend and her friend were abandoned in the desert on a camel tour after she refused the advances of the tour guide… unless it’s actually because they were French?
Which brings me to my next point.
7. It’s full of French tourists!
Perhaps because of old colonial ties or perhaps because of a strange desire to be amongst equally rude people, the French seem to flock to Morocco like Brits to Benidorm. Yep, French tourists are everywhere in Morocco.
I will tell you what though, I found that by pretending to be French I got less attention from the aforementioned hustlers so practice nonchalantly saying “Non Monsieur” and waving your hand dismissively in the mirror before you fly.
(Don’t be offended here. French jokes are our hereditary, ancestral right as Englishmen. And besides that, my girlfriend is French, so chill…)
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Hide Yo’ Money!8. LGBTQIA+ unfriendly
Like much of North Africa and the Middle East, Morocco is a conservative, Islamic culture and as such, it ain’t OK to be gay here.
LGBTQIA+ travellers in Morocco are well advised to conform as much as they possibly can to “hetero-normative standards” during their visit.
9. Lack of decent nightlife
Did you know that on average, half a human lifespan is lived at night?
Yes, while a good chunk of this is usually used for sleeping, most of us like to have at least a little something to do once the sun sets. In fact, I am sure most of you agree that the dark hours are usually when the most fun is had.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
Well, Morocco has barely any nightlife to speak of at all. This is mostly down to Morocco’s dismissive view of alcohol and its suspicion of music, dancing and the mingling of the sexes.
Now there are some pretty elaborate clubs in Marrakech and Casablanca but sadly they are soulless, expensive bro-ins. And the only women you will see in these places are working in one form or another…
10. Bland food
Normally when I travel, I like to get stuck into local cuisine and usually come home raving about it with a couple of new recipes to add to the Freeborn Cookbook.
However, Moroccan grub is amongst the least remarkable that I have come across. Don’t get me wrong, it ain’t bad and I do love a good tagine from time to time, but by far and large the local food is just bland and boring.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
If you manage to get off the beaten path, you may be lucky enough to come across their olive oil and bread that easily rivals that of their European neighbours. But this quality food isn’t offered out to tourists unless you work hard to find it .
11. Aggressive animal handlers
Animal lovers and especially ethical vegans will not approve of the standard of animal rights on display in Morocco. In most Moroccan tourist hubs, tacky backstreet animal tourism is big business with men wandering around with monkeys on leashes and snakes in jars.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
And get this, if you politely decline to lubricate the wheels of animal cruelty by declining to watch their sorry show, they may not react well. One of our writers even complained of having a snake thrown on her by its handler after she refused to tip for waving it in front of her face.
12. The Sahara desert… it’s just a load of sand!
I eagerly anticipated our trip to the windswept romantic, balmy majestic Sahara.
But when we got there I was disappointed to find that one of the biggest deserts in the world is actually just a load of sand. I don’t know what I really expected, but you know, maybe a Starbucks or something.
Photo: Ralph Cope
In fact, I was so bored I even tried counting how many grains of sand there were in the Sahara. I lost count at 22 but it’s definitely a lot I can tell you.
As you can tell, I’m not a desert person. After I visited the Sahara, I definitely am not a desert person. If you are a desert person, please enlighten me… what’s so great about sand and only sand as far as the eye can see?
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13. The Shame of Hammams
I like hammams, you like hammams, we all like hammams. But some of our team had some pretty bad times in the steam rooms of Morocco.
Now normally if you say you are not up for getting stark bollock naked and being aggressively scrubbed down in a hammam by a total stranger, then your freedom of choice would be respected.
“Sure, you do you. A naked hammam scrub ain’t for everyone”.
Well, not in Morocco. When we declined the invitation to cast aside our garments and get scoured by a dirty cloth by Johnny Random, we were met with nothing less than derision and shaming as if I’d we had just taken a massive, sloppy, smelly shit all over some time-honoured tradition.
14. Dirty Ole Streets
Yeah Morocco has some of the dirtiest, most litter-strewn streets I have walked upon. And I have been to Athens.
It’s not as bad as India – but that’s not saying much, is it?
I mean, at least there’s some nice hostels in Taghazout, but that’s about it!
15. Everything feels like it is about money
Finally, and unfortunately, I think the worst thing about Morocco is that every single encounter you have with anybody feels shamelessly transactional. They make no effort to hide the fact that all they see in you is a walking wad of dollars.
Although it’s a place where budget backpackers can stretch their budget far, many locals don’t seem to understand that not everyone is arriving with a fat stack of cash. I felt like a walking ATM in Morocco and encountered near to zero human connection during my visits.
But more than this, it feels like the entirety of society is just a huge hustle with everybody trying to get a few coins out of everybody else.
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Final Thoughts
I expect that if you made it this far it’s because either (1) you fully and entirely agree (2) are red with rage and want my name and address or (3) you found this funny.
I will be honest, it doesn’t exactly feel great to shit on a country like this… but we feel it all had to be said. We have talked about the happier side of Morocco elsewhere on this site and perhaps for balance you should go and look over some of that stuff now.
Personally though, I cannot imagine myself ever visiting this country again.
See you anywhere else guys.
Image: Nic Hilditch-Short
- Check out our extensive guide to backpacking in Morocco for a wealth of info!
- Backpackers and frugal travellers can use our budget travel guide.
- Sort your international SIM card out to avoid unnecessary hassle.
- We’ve also got where to stay in Morocco covered with our epic guide.
- Real adventures begin when you learn how to travel off the beaten track.
- Swing by our super epic backpacking packing list to prep for your trip.
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In the south, towards the desert, I think it was Tamegroute, we met a local guy who showed us around his pottery business. Very friendly. We didn’t buy anything, but I offered him a tip (we were getting used to Moroccan habits) and he REFUSED it. He was black, maybe Berber, not like many Moroccans who look more middle-eastern. Just happy to chat to us. They’re not all money-grabbers!
I worked around three months in Morocco in 1998 and the harassment was bad even then. I loved the rawness of it all but had to threaten more than one unwanted tour guide with police, and when that didn’t work (and I don’t say this with pride) physical violence if he did’t stop walking with me and insisting on being a paid guide. Unaccompanied women weren’t allowed out at night, but surprise surprise, the working girls and married men were. Huh, go figure. Parents would send their kids across the street to pretend to be orphans and beg for money. The trash was like nothing I’d witnessed to that point (I’ve since been to India). If there is one good thing about old school tech, all the earbuds had wires back then, so I learned to wear them even when not on the phone or listening to music, and anytime someone walked up to me I pointed to the buds and mouthed “sorry but I’m on the phone.” If going, try that, wires or not, even a 50% success rate is something. GOOD LUCK!
Sounds like it hasn’t change. I was there in 86 – turned 19 there. I was literally pulled by each of my arms in the medina to the point of my skin tearing – each guy pulling on my arms and hair trying to get me into their shop on opposite sides of the alley. I traded a pair of jeans with a guy for a teapot, and whatever metal it was made for melted into a silvery soup trying to heat some water for tea. Then the 10 year old kid who appointed himself our “guide” gathered 6 of his friends and they pelted me with an rocks when I told him I didn’t need him as a guide.
Sounds exactly like Egypt, except being a woman I don’t know about hammams. I found Egypt absolutely exhausting and a real disappointment. Partly my fault for having high expectations. I would’ve enjoyed the pyramids, temples, tombs etc if it hadn’t been for the trash, animal abuse and Egyptians constantly trying to get money, not taking no for an answer, getting angry and yelling. Ugh. Pity to hear Morocco is like that too