I’ve had so many questions about Marrakech and what to do so I thought I’d do a series of blogs with my top tips to share my experiences with you.
The Marrakech souks are one of the must see sights, consisting of traditional market-style shops scattered across the outside of the central square and down various back streets and alleyways. Located by the El Fna central square, there is plenty to see and do round this area. Keep reading for my top tips.
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Marrakech seems to get quite a bad rep when it comes to travel. I’ve had so many people say to me things along the lines of “why are you going there”, “it isn’t safe there” and so on. I personally think Marrakech is really up and coming and is full of tourists - I think it has definitely come a long way since those comments may have been true. Like anywhere, there will be places and things to avoid but overall it is a very safe city to travel to and I highly recommend it!
I thought I’d share some of our tips that helped us, particularly around the souks & central square:
“Don’t travel alone”
We were initially told to not go alone as it wasn’t safe so we booked onto an ad hoc mini tour at the hotel with our rep (which turned out not to be a tour at all, just a very expensive taxi- but that’s another story). It definitely was safe. The area was full of tourists and local people shopping and there were no areas that were deserted. The only issue is that people are constantly trying to talk to you and entice you to look at their goods but I think that is to be expected when that is their only source of income in a developing country. Politely say no and continue walking and they will leave you alone.
Haggle, haggle, haggle.
Don’t take the first price you are told as the final price. The local sellers will see tourists as having lots of money and will overcharge you. Barter with them on the prices and be prepared to walk away if they don’t accept your price. 9 times out of 10 they will do as they will want to secure the sale but if not, there are many shops selling the same items so you’ll find what you were after in another shop.
Taxis.
Taxis are one way that the locals see as a way of making money and for this reason, they definitely up the prices significantly. If you’re in a busy area in the centre, never go to a taxi rank. They will charge you up to 4x the standard rate and many will say that their meter doesn’t work, giving you a fixed fee. Flag a taxi down on the street and ask for a price. Anywhere central should only cost around 20-30dhm (approximately £2) so don’t be ripped off by paying more than this.
Timing.
I would recommend visiting (if you can) early evening on a weekend. We arrived for 6:30pm so it was cooler, albeit still very warm, but it made it much more bearable. In the evenings, there are also performances in the main square with locals coming to sing along and show their support. It had a real community feel and it was such a nice vibe walking round. We also watched the sunset at one of the rooftop restaurants which I’d highly recommend!
We absolutely loved the souks and El-Fna Square and I would highly recommend visiting! Here’s a few of my favourite photos:
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