Digital Nomad Marrakech Guide For All Travelers

Welcome to the ultimate Marrakech guide for digital nomads! As a city, Marrakech is wild and exciting, and a little bit of preparation can go a long way.

There’s a good chance that Marrakech is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. As a digital nomad, Marrakech is especially exciting, and this guide will help you hustle your way through the city. From the moment that you arrive, to when you leave – we’ve got you covered.

Looking for epic destinations for surfing nomads? Read our blog here.

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Where to Stay in Marrakech

When searching for a digital nomad hotel, Morocco uses another name – riad.

The term riad refers to a traditional Moroccan house. During our stay in Marrakech, we learned a lot about what makes a successful visit to this historically rich city. Overall, it’s best to stay close or in the medina in order to maximize the authenticity of your stay.

To help you pick a place to stay, read our blog on the best riads in Marrakech.

Being close to the sounds and smells of the medina is something that will stay in your memory forever. This part of the city is the historical center, and as you can expect, it has the infrastructure design of a city that is hundreds of years old.

The buildings sit on top of each other and in weird twisting and turning ways which give the place tons of soul. As a digital nomad, it’s important to choose a spot that is close to the action – but far away from the noise.

If you are thinking about visiting the city of Fes, Morocco, check out this guide.

Setting up Telecommunications

As a digital nomad, you’ll want to be online and connected as soon as possible. The connectivity in Morocco is decent, so you just need to do a bit of preparation to get started.

Forex – Where To Change Money In Marrakech

Be warned that the airport is a rip-off. The best place to change money is in the market (and you’ll have options in the Medina). Although, you will probably need some cash immediately so make sure that you change about USD $100 at the airport and save the rest for the medina.

Pro tip: shop around for the best conversion rate.

Mobile Phone / Sim Card

Get a sim card at the airport where the staff can help you preload data. The cost isn’t extorted compared to outside and will cost you roughly USD $3,5. Data will help you get around the city, while most riads have wifi for you to work.

Arriving in Marrakech

Between sightseeing, exploring, and setting up a routine, you’ll need to know how to get around the city.

Get a Taxi from the Airport

When you arrive in Marrakech your senses will go in overdrive. Ask your riad to order a taxi in advance and make it a priority to get settled in your new home before getting acquainted with the city.

Getting Your Bags To Your Riad / Hotel /Airbnb

The streets are super narrow, barely enough to get a rickshaw through (this doesn’t dissuade them though). This means that if you are staying in the center of the medina, your taxi will drop you outside the perimeter of the medina and you will have you haul all of your bags, old-fashioned style to your accommodation.

This might be up to around 800m through the windy alleyways. Our advice for this is to make sure you pack light. We didn’t and we paid dearly for it.

Cobblestone Floors EAT Wheelie Bags

If you are staying in a super swanky place, your host may take care of this for you. However, for fellow budget travelers, prepare to hoist your own gear.

TAKE NOTE – the streets are cobbled and wheelie bags will often have to kick into 4×4 mode, be carried, or fall victim to the jaws of the medina’s rocky floor (my wheelie bag survived fine but took some hits).

Arriving At Night

The medina can be a daunting place if you are arriving at night (as we did). Our riad made it mandatory to use their shuttle service from the airport if arriving after dark which was a good call.

We were dropped on the outskirts of the medina and linked up with our host who showed us the way to the riad.

If we had tried to navigate this ourselves, our street smarts probably wouldn’t have let us go down certain alleys as they can be pitch black and there is a good chance you will get lost.

The non-main streets of the medina at night go completely dead in stark contrast to the INSANE hustle and bustle of their daytime state.

Important Marrakech Lifestyle Details to Note

Don’t be under any illusion that Marrakech is anything but hot. With this in mind, you’ll want to adjust your priorities and itinerary to consider the following.

Swimming Pools

The one and most crucial piece of advice you can get: BOOK A RIAD WITH A SWIMMING POOL. Seriously. I’m warning you. Listen to me now.

The heat in the middle of the day is so unforgiving that it even gave us Saffas (South Africans), who have experience with the African sun, pause. The sun will drain your energy, enjoyment and potentially transform your magical Moroccan adventure into a stroll through the fiery pits of hell.

Moroccan Siesta

The main square of the market Jemaa El Fna goes all day and late into the night. It buzzes from 10 am until approximately 2 am.

The souks (shop stalls in the maze of alleyways) do the same but close around lunch for what can only be described as a siesta.

Due to it being exceptionally hot around lunchtime, the shops close their doors during these hours. We suggest that you take shelter at your nearest pool during this time. Save your energy for the cooler times of the day. Copy the locals, they know what’s up and have been doing this a long time.

How to Haggle/Barter

You will notice that none of the shops advertise the prices of their wares outright. This ain’t Walmart. The Moroccan idea of business is to haggle. Every item has its price, and they just need to be negotiated to that point.

These market stall owners will take the measure of you the moment you walk in. Think of it as a test.

These Are Things That You Should Avoid Doing Before Bargaining:

• Showing too much interest in the exact item you want. Pretend you are vaguely interested in a few things. This will insinuate that you don’t mind leaving at any moment as you don’t necessarily need/want anything you are looking at desperately. If they know you want one exact item, they have you by the balls.
• Sounding like a foreigner. This is a tough one for us English people because unless you can speak Arabic or French like a local they are going to assume you are a “gringo”. If they think you are American or European, they will highball you on their price. We were bargaining for a pair of sandals and when we told the shop owner that we were South African and not American (as he assumed), and he sliced the price in half.
• Flashing your cash. Don’t let the bloke catch a look at the fresh wad cash you just exchanged with the forex lady down the alley. If they know how flush you are, they will do everything in their power to separate you and your Benjamins.

These Tips Will Help You Secure A Fair Price For Your Items:

• Start as low as possible. This will probably be the lowest price you begin haggling up from. The salesman will highball as much as possible out of you, so fair is fair. This isn’t offensive to the salesman either, provided that you do that dance that they call “BUSINESS”. Add a little to your price and he will chop a bit off his price. Do this a few times until you hit the sweet spot.

Note: Souk salesman will find it offensive if you don’t do a bit of haggling. This is their way of doing business. Do the dance.

• Shop around. You will have no idea of how much a product is worth as there are no prices anywhere. The only way to figure this out is to get prices from a few different stalls. This way you will begin to piece together the true value of an item.
• Pretend to exit the haggle completely. I normally do this when it seems I’ve hit a barrier in price reduction. As you slowly slide out of the shop with a resigned look on your face, the shop salesman will call you back with a better price (if there is a better price). This can happen quickly as you turn away or even once you are 50 meters down the road (this is my favorite). So don’t be afraid to walk off. You can always come back later or try another souk.
• It’s not one of a kind. If a stall salesman tells you that the thing you are looking at is one of a kind. It isn’t. There is always another one. No matter how obscure the product is.

Remember, the goal of haggling isn’t to get the salesman to sell his wares at a loss. The goal is to find the sweet spot between what makes the salesman some dosh as well as get you what you want at a bargain.

There is a saying that goes: “When both the salesman and the customer are unhappy, a fair deal has been made.”

The Biggest Bargains In The Souks

This has to be the leather wares. Prepare to secure yourself a nice leather weekend bag or a leather handbag for the ladies.

I purchased an amazing leather bag for approximately USD $35 after bargaining over three days or so. It’s decent quality leather which you will probably pay USD $200 for anywhere else. Honestly, I wish I could have taken more leather stuff with me but alas, minimalism.

Oh, and If you are feeling particularly liberal, grab yourself a pair of leather sandals. Your vegan mates back home will eat their hearts out (ironically).

How To Deal With Snake Charmers And Performers

Imagine Candi’s terror at some guy trying to wrap a snake around her neck and then shake me down for cash. This happened. Keep a beady eye out for this. They will want money for pictures with them too. Probably worth it though if you can handle the death socks (snakes) in close proximity.

Drink Mint Tea And Fruit

Drink lots and eat lots. Alcohol is a rip-off around these parts and mint tea is great refreshment in the heat.

BEWARE The Food Stall Rip Off

Where do I begin? The people that run these shops are super sneaky. They will lead you into a false sense of security and before you know it, the complimentary olives and bread have now grown a nice little price tag.

They will throw food at you without you even asking for it and laugh at you as they add it to your bill shamelessly. Protect yourself by declining any suspect complementary food or ask outright if it’s free. If they say yes, you should be golden and it won’t wind up on your bill.

Each food stalls differ too, so just because the pita and tomatoes were free last night doesn’t mean that they are tonight. Other than the cutthroat salesman, the food is great at the stalls in Jemaa el-Fna.

You have to try a Tangier (slow-cooked meat in a clay pot – the most tender) and a Tagine (more commonly found dish, also in a clay pot – normally chicken and veg).

DO NOT BRING YOUR DRONE TO MOROCCO

THEY WILL TAKE IT. They took mine. Yay. They X-Ray your bags when you leave and enter the airport and can spot them in a flash.

How It Works:

If you have a drone, you can declare it as you arrive at the airport and they will keep it there and return it to you when you leave the country. If you don’t do this and take the drone into the country, they will confiscate your drone when you re-enter the airport.

I did not know this and after settling at my riad on arrival, I pulled out my laptop to check any restricted airspaces around Morocco, and boom I was screwed.

They conveniently didn’t spot my drone on exiting the airport upon arrival. But it took them all of two seconds to spot it on the way back in. Granted, I’m the idiot for not thoroughly investigating the drone laws of Morocco, but I was coming from Portugal blah blah blah no one cares. I messed up.

I have been in touch with the authorities regarding the return of the drone for about two years now. They keep telling me that they are waiting on a decision about the legality of drones from “the court”. But in all likelihood, I’ll never see it again. So – a fair warning to all.

Enjoy Marrakech as a Nomad!

All in all, this place probably culture-shocked me the hardest in recent memory, which I love as it stretches you and tests your mettle. So be prepared to haggle, eat amazing food, interact with weird and wonderful people, dodge scam artists, get some great pics, and most of all, keep hustling.

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