Essentials

Culture and etiquette

Moroccans are famously welcoming. Dress a little modestly, greet people before anything else, ask before photos, and say yes to tea.

• Dress. Morocco is relaxed in the big cities and more conservative in the medinas and villages. Covering shoulders and knees, for men and women, is respectful and draws less attention. Swimwear is for beaches and pools.
• Mosques. Most working mosques are open to Muslims only. The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca welcomes everyone on paid guided tours outside prayer times. Look at the courtyards and doors from outside, and never photograph people praying.
• Ramadan. For a month each year, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. Visitors can still eat: hotels and many tourist restaurants stay open. Don't eat, drink or smoke in the street in daytime. Away from tourist areas, lunch can be hard to find: carry snacks and eat at your riad. Shops open later, everything slows in the afternoon, and the evenings after iftar are lively and warm. Trains and buses fill up around Eid: book ahead. If you're invited to break the fast, say yes.
• Alcohol. Alcohol is legal but discreet: sold in licensed hotels, bars, some restaurants and some supermarkets (Carrefour, Marjane). Drinking in the street is illegal. The UK government warns of methanol poisoning: buy only from licensed places. During Ramadan, many places stop serving.
• Photos. Ask before photographing people, and accept a no. Performers on Jemaa el-Fnaa (snake charmers, water sellers, monkeys) expect a few dirhams for a photo. Don't photograph police, the military or palaces' guards.
• Greetings. Salam alaykum, answered wa alaykum salam, opens everything. Handshakes are normal; many people then touch their heart. Some men and women don't shake hands with the other sex: wait for the other person's hand. Take time: ask how they are before asking for anything.
• Haggling. In souks, prices are a starting point. Decide what it is worth to you, offer well below, smile, and meet somewhere in the middle. If you name a price and it is accepted, buy. Fixed-price shops, supermarkets and restaurants don't haggle. Our price pages show what things really cost.
• Invited home. Hospitality is serious here and a joy to receive. Bring something small (pastries, fruit, tea or sugar), take your shoes off if your hosts do, eat with your right hand from the side of the dish in front of you, and expect to be pressed to eat more. Three glasses of tea is the custom.
• Left hand, right hand. Eat, give and take with the right hand. The left is for the bathroom.
• Tipping. Small tips are part of the day: 5–10 MAD for a café or a hand with bags, about 10% in restaurants, more for guides and drivers.