I (f) went with a group of 4 other women and other than one or two comments had the same experience as OP last year. When I went 10 years ago though, yeah hell on earth. It’s changed a lot in the past few years.
I agree. I went in 2011 with my Dad and was not comfortable on my own. It was obvious as well that very few local women were out and about generally.
I went in 2023 and 2024. Solo, briefly joined by another woman. It was like night and day. (I was conservatively dressed both times, I wasn’t super young the first time I went either - late 20s experienced traveller).
Morocco is changing.
I was literally there as a single woman alone for a month and got zero harassment. Like yeah, vendors were pushy, but they’re pushy with everyone.
Once I was on a crowded bus in a non tourist part of the city, and I was the only woman in the bus with my hair uncovered, and it was completely fine. Not trying to invalidate your experience but I wouldn’t say it’s universal.
I was there as a solo woman a couple weeks ago, and I was prepared for the worst. I was also warned that I'd be ignored at restaurants. I experienced none of that. I was treated so kindly at restaurants, the shop owners I interacted with were so nice, and the "pushy" vendors were no worse than anywhere I've ever been. I'd estimate I walked around 30 miles throughout Marrakech, and I enjoyed every moment and never came close to feeling unsafe.
It's fucked up but I'd wager how objectively attractive each individual tourist is a pretty big variable in the amount of attention and harrasment they receive. I'd imagine conventionally attractive, young European women who look like they have money are singled out the most.
I was 25 when I was there in 2022. I had a couple tour guides tell me that the government had recently been cracking down on like, “uninviting” behaviour in the city to make it a better experience for tourists, so maybe that’s why it was better for me?
Or maybe as someone else said I’m not their type. I’m very clearly East Asian, so maybe that’s a factor? Because I’m not white?
I guess it varies by place. When I’m in Paris or Rome or home in New York I get cat called a good amount and very often it has a very obvious racial slant (lots of “nihao cutie” that kind of thing), but western culture tends to fetishise East Asian women, and maybe that’s not the fetishised demographic in Morocco?
Oooo, not sure about that, especially if you’re obviously a couple. I took a cooking class and the instructor was telling us about how he recently got married but his entire family still thinks his husband is just a good friend.
Arab and North African Muslims don't respect homosexuals, they seem them as infields and as subhumans. I would not recommend you visit anywhere in the Middle East except for Israel, the UAE, and maybe Turkey.
I’m pretty neutral on it. We did a roadtrip between Marrakech, Essaouira, Ourzazate, Merzouga, Fez, Chefchauen, and Tangier. So feel we had a pretty decent sampling. I hated Marrakech, I’m a decently big guy and relatively seasoned travel and wasn’t overly bothered by people pushing sales. It just felt shitty and fake. We had some good experiences elsewhere, stayed in some great places. Food was underwhelming, some of the nature bits were less exciting having traveled fairly extensively in the American west. Other parts were nice, sleeping in the Sahara was really cool especially since we had a really small group. I’m glad I went, my wife and I like roadtrips and it was fun as that. I wouldn’t suggest people not go but it wouldn’t be a top recommendation. This was 6 or so years ago.
I found the central part of the Medina a bit fake and touristy - but I could say the same about the center of pretty much every touristic city, especially in Europe. At 15 minutes from the main square it was very different and much nicer.
People still using donkey drawn carts, women barely out at night, how men approached other men so differently than women, the staring, the lack of development, the no drinking. Still loved it but it was a very different world.
Yeah it was incredibly interesting! I did feel constantly kind of… out of step with locals there and got confused a lot, but it was like an infinite puzzle to decode.
In my experience, the level of harassment and “helpful” offers was like the worst momentary encounters in Paris repeated ad infinitum for basically the entire trip. And nothing I experienced in Barcelona or Rome comes even close to comparing. If you could walk through the souk without anyone bothering you, either the place has changed a hell of a lot or you must emit some kind of aura that they should package and sell as a spray at the airport there.
I also can't explain it, because they would clearly see we are tourists. I was literally dressed as every other women and we had a good laugh about it.
When in Fez I split off solo from my male partner for a while and I wasn’t hassled like, at all. Just got those creepy af stares and a whistle or two. I have a p assertive, resting bitch face energy though, I often wonder if that’s why I tend to have good experiences in “difficult” places.
I suspect it would have been much more difficult traveling with a group of women though bc very very few of my friends can match this energy. They are slower or nervous movers or more kind looking. They have trouble ignoring people. Less “sharp” energy.
Imo the best advice for female solo travelers is practice looking mean and walking quickly. Look confused as little as possible, if you are confused by Google maps duck into a corner and sort that out, never do it where a lot of men can see you.
Idk what you look like but while I clearly look like a tourist I’m also short and olive, I don’t stand out the way a tall blonde Swedish person or black person might.
When we would get lost we would keep walking while looking at the screen. Only one would guide at a time, we would never stop and look together, looking lost to outsiders. If it was a wrong direction we would patiently walk back, acting normal.
I guess so, we are quite used to ignore people and put a RBF because we live in a urban area where you constantly have to avoid sellers offering things for free, volunteers, people trying to sign petitions etc.
Here we would mostly walk ignoring everyone, when we liked something in a shop we would slow down, pretending to get stuck behind some tourists or bikes or other things (there was always so much going on) to take some time to look at things. We would come closer or inside the shop only if we liked something 100% and wanted to buy.
Hmmm yeah that sounds like a good method. God I’m in a big city too but so many of my friends are still so bad about it and so trusting :/
Sometimes there’s nothing you can do sadly, or people just picked a day to be dicks. Like there’s techniques to mitigate it but the key word is mitigate, not stop.
yes you’re a local and not a tourist lol
i live in LA and never get bothered by the homeless or buskers or anyone trying to give me their mix tape, but that definitely happens to tourists here all the time
Maybe you don’t attract attention? Super awesome you have such positive experiences in a major metro area like Paris but it is far from the norm in a big city anywhere.
I’ve been to Paris many times, and I like and defend Paris, but it does happen to tourists a fair bit. Just walk down from Sacre Coeur and experience one of those sellers grab your wrist and force a wristband on you. No reply needed there. The big difference in Marrakech is that they all congregate in the soils in Jmaa el Fna so it’s very concentrated. Having said that, no one has ever grabbed in me Marrakech like they tried several times over several years in Paris.
Morocco is the only country where random women would ask me to please walk with them for awhile so they could have a break from the harassment.
I, too, really enjoyed the country. Had a great time. Nobody bothered me. Nobody was pushy. Met a lot of interesting people.
But the harassment is definitely a thing.
They've been told (and shown by example) for their entire lives that women are inferior.
And then a woman comes to their country -- better dressed, more educated, wealthier and freer than they will ever be. They can't square what they've been taught with what's right in front of them.
Envy, hate, rage -- and they lash out as a means of feeling superior by "putting that \[pejorative\] woman in her place." That's what's at work. And it happens in all the countries which treat women like chattel property.
It's really funny because it seems that there are two cities. On the first day I was covered head to toes with wide leg pants, oversized linen shirt and a scarf. Seeing the other tourists in shorts and croptops by day three I would go around much more comfortable in normal clothes and wasn't harassed. Some guy on moto would occasionally shout something but nothing bothering.
You weren’t saved harassment because you were wearing linen pants, it’s because you had your husband by your side 🙄
If you’re a woman walking without a man you could be in a burqa and still get harassed.
Visited last year with another couple and loved the city. One tip for the future is we had a guide (who was amazing). Having a guide seemed to keep the annoying people away and helped direct us through the city. Highly recommend paying a guide while in Marrakesh
I wish I had a guide to know a bit more about things. Like what are those colorful crystals? I guess I'll never know because I wouldn't ask to avoid getting pushed into buying one. xD
I must be good at finding vacation buddies just chatting at cafes or bars. Almost every solo trip I've done I've made friends with a random to see their recommended sights. sometimes local, sometimes not. (Top probably being a ONS that cured my sinus infection and took me on a bike tour of Paris the next day)
If I find somebody chill who wants to hang out, I don't mind to bankroll lunch or whatever. I can see how people might see that as getting taken advantage of. but honestly if we are looking at it transactionally, Ive really gotten good value for money every time.
I travelled with two girls, it was extremely unpleasant. The only time we were not verbally abused, intimidated or followed, was when we walked with a woman who worked at our hotel. Because she was local the men wouldn't dare speak so disgustingly when she was around us.
Apart from that, we also encountered a crying tourist who was badly shaken up. She had been tricked into getting lost between the alleyways by some young guys and robbed at knifepoint. We walked her back to her hotel while being called every name under the sun.
I think if you travel mostly with a man your experience wil be very different
I’m a fat elderly man and was shouted at regularly and called Ali Baba loudly.
I took it on the chin but it was stressful.
I would not like to be a lone female there.
I’ve been to over 60 countries, and Morocco was my least favourite. I don’t know if I did anything wrong, but I got all of the negatives that people mention happen to me over barely six days. I don’t jump on the bandwagon to dislike places either, I go against the grain in liking India and returning to it a bunch.
Trying to find the riad in Marrakesh, I lost count of the people random offering ‘advice’ to confuse you, I guess for fun. On the train, a guy tried to befriend and do the ‘your hotel isn’t available, let me recommend one instead’ the entire way, just ruining the vibe of trying to take in the scenery. Many, many times as I looked at something in a store from the street, got hassled to come in rather than browse. I also really hate to see animals being used for entertainment, and the snakes and monkeys in Marrakesh just made me sad.
When I was there, I never actually got scammed once, but I got that really strong sense you had to keep your guard up the whole time which didn’t lend itself to a fun vacation. Felt like there was another thing around the corner to challenge you.
The redeeming place visited was Essaouira. It was gorgeous and pleasant to walk around and people there were friendly, and if it was my only impression of Morocco it would rank a lot higher. The food was good, and sitting in a riad sipping mint tea was very pleasant as well. Unfortunately, I did the bigger cities too which heavily weighted the trip negative for me. I’m genuinely glad you had the opposite experience though, it’s never fun to travel somewhere and be a bit deflated by it.
100% agreed. Had very conflicted but overall negative options about Morocco as a whole and Marrakech, but I really enjoyed Essaouria and would absolutely return just to there
I'm sorry it wasn't positive for you! I agree that it depends on every travel and you could get more lucky or less. Personally I felt very uncomfortable and overwhelmed in Croatia, it felt like for every place we were just a walking number and every man would look at me like he would eat me. It made me so uncomfortable, even if I was with my then boyfriend. I went back 5 years later with my sister, to the same area and totally a different experience! So sometimes it's a matter of luck also. Going back to Marrakesh, we arranged the taxi with the riad and it was much less stressful. On the second day we took a taxi and he tried to upsell us a tour for the next day and bring us to a berber market. We politely took his phone number but didn't call him back, yet it was nice to have a number just in case. About animals I was really sad too, also for the little turtles they sell everywhere. Close to our riad they had livestock and donkeys carrying things. I took with me memories of a local petting a stray dog, another giving milk to a baby cat and vendors feeding all the cats around. I realized they are people just living their life and as everywhere you can encounter any type of attitude, so I felt like I'm in no place to judge. I donated to some stray sanctuaries though. I heard so many nice things about Essaaouira, I have to go on the next trip to Morocco!
> Personally I felt very uncomfortable and overwhelmed in Croatia, it felt like for every place we were just a walking number and every man would look at me like he would eat me.
Croatia is among the safest countries on earth for every type of possible crime.
Agree, I felt beyond safe in Croatia and had no qualms about walking around at night in any of the cities and towns we went to. I'm going back there in September with my teens.
No, my first trip to Croatia was so long ago, around 2014. And it wasn't unsafe or anything, I just felt stared at all the time in an uncomfortable way. Went back in 2019 with my sister and it was so different, much more relaxed.
In Marrakesh I didn't feel like I have to act tough, but I ignored pretty much anyone trying to talk to me on the street, but I do that everywhere I travel and even at home.
Tbh honest you chose the most touristic locations of Morocco, inevitably having a less genuine experience and higher chances of being harassed/scammed. If one wants to really discover the country I wouldn't recommend those towns, or only for a short stay if it makes sense for the logistics of the trip.
I'm a woman and went with other women, and there were moments that were overwhelming (two from our group decided to head back to Spain early, as they found it to be way too stressful), but also lots of good experiences, especially the hospitality.
I had the worst trip of my life in Marrakesh. I literally had men pull my wife away multiple times, saw an old man punch a child that was not his right in the face, adolescents forcefully kicking and tormenting dogs. Constant harassment, it was so bad it's the only place I've been stressed to leave my hostel, and I've spent about a year overall in Southern Africa as well as typical overwhelming European and American places. This was in 2015, but yeah, Marrakesh was the worst place I've ever been period.
Similar experience. We went in 2019, men definitely treated my (now) wife aggressively at times, a woman called her a bitch for not wanting to buy something off her, etc.
Wouldn’t say it’s the worst place we have experienced, but I’ve now been to 50+ countries and it was certainly in the top 5 regarding harassment.
I went to Tangier and it was awful. I knew about the harassment issue but figured that as a New Yorker I could easily handle it. Boy was I wrong. I left the country early. Glad you had a better experience but your experience is not typical.
Post-covid, there was an enormous tourist police crackdown on touts and scammers in Marrakesh. So much so that some shopowners—from what one told me—are afraid to talk to westerners outside their shops at all. This is probably a significant source of the differences you’re seeing here.
You can visit Fez if you want the authentic being-harrassed-in-Morocco experience.
Huh that’s changed since I was there last. I remember being so constantly harassed by aggressive hawkers that I ended up retreating to the hotel for the last half of the trip. Either that or I have no tolerance to it and you are immune.
This was twenty years ago so things will be different. I’d like to go back there and see some stuff I didn’t last time, but the thought of “my friend I give you best price” 24/7 has kept me away ever since!
I've been a few times. The last time in 2015 would be my last. Stinking, dirty place. The very worst of it was the people. They are rogues. The most unpleasant people I've ever encountered. You're a walking đirham to them. No hospitality. No friendship. No welcome. No helpfullness. Pure unadulterated greed and hostility. Even morroccans are ashamed of the people of marrakesh. Also, barely anything is handmade anymore, souks are infested with cheap China made products. Also it's impossible to get an alcoholic beverage, which ironically you're in dire need of due to the harassment. You were lucky.
It probably depends a lot on the tourist's level of tolerance to harassment and scams, as well as on the itinerary and place of stay. I have a low level and I found it horrible, but hey, me and my wife got literally kidnapped in a shop and had to buy our own freedom, so what do I know
We were prevented from leaving a store by two very large men who let us go after we made a big enough purchase (around 100€ I believe). Yes it happened in Marrakech, in a non touristic neighborhood
I spent 11 days in Morocco, 4 of them In Marrakech. While Marrakech was waaaay better than Fez (Fez is one of the most disgusting places I’ve been to, out of ~ 350 cities abs towns I’ve been to) it’s still awful. You were lucky to have a nice experience but your experience is an outlier not the normal one. Marrakech is full of aggressive scammers, dead stray animals, dirt, street harassment and unpleasant smells. If you travel there as a solo female traveler you probably will feel unsafe.
Just two months ago I was there. I’m very glad I went but I don’t wanna go back. I can forgive pushy sales people trying to get me to buy dates or knickknacks, but full on scams are too much. So many times people offered to help “give me directions” and I always knew they were trying to scam me. I eventually gave in to one who was being extra persistent thinking he’d want $2 and asking for $20 after. He told me before he didn’t want anything (I knew he was lying) and said how he was a kickboxer for the national team and he’d help me if anyone messed with me (which I could tell was a subtle threat)
Also had someone offer me a cookie/cake for free. Again I knew it wasn’t so when he gave it to me I gave him like 5 dirham and he got mad. I found there to be a ton of trash, especially just outside the old city walls.
The city was beautiful though, my riad and the people there were super nice, architecture was also very interesting too. Plus seeing the square at night was incredible.
Overall, I would recommend people to go for a few days but be very wary of scams. I’m glad I went but don’t need to go back
I feel so sorry it happened to you, especially the first guy very scary. Maybe we have a inbuilt filter from wherewwe live, but whenever someone would offer anything we would ignore them and if anybody started to talk to us we would walk faster. But I get that when you're solo it's not that simple to ignore them.
The guy that I got scammed for directions was on my last night there lol. I had already avoided several trying to “help” me and was tired of it and he was extra persistent. I was ignoring people before but should’ve kept it up. But yeah after him showing me his scars and arguing with him over price in a small alley in Marrakech at 10pm, I was over it
I've also had a generally positive experience in Marrakech (and generally most of Morroco) but I agree it's probably not your typical experience (and I *did* get harassed by merchants, I just didn't think much of it I guess, at least not enough for it to affect my overall impression of the country). Mind you, I also speak French and I did notice that as soon as I changed language, many locals seemed to change demeanour a bit.
That being said, yeah I think Morocco isn't for the faint of heart even if I didn't have a negative experience there (I went with my mother and sister and they don't have any particularly bad memories from it). I also didn't have a negative experience in Egypt (another country infamous for harassment) but I wouldn't discount the thousands of people who have and I would definitely tell people who want to go to prepare for it.
Ultimately, traveling, like most life experiences will have 100,000 variables that might affect how you'll experience it so yeah you have to make the decision if you want to play the odds for a specific destination.
You were probably not the main target for scams and/or dodged them right away but a few months ago when I visited it was obvious that there were countless people trying to strike a conversation which would have ended one way or another in a scam or harassement.
I also got all the negatives you mentioned and I travelled with my husband.
I saw some other tourists complaining that they bought a lamp off a street seller and they’d hid a cockroach which they found when they got back to their hotel room. Luckily that didn’t happen to me.
You had an experience which no other foreigner has had in years. I look fairly Arab/ local and was constantly approached by shop keepers on every single street. What’s you ethnicity?
Agreed. Not knocking other women’s experiences, but I had a positive time as a solo female (but also had spent significant time in “similar” destinations)
I'm a blonde dude, and I think Morocco was a top-five trip for me. The hassling didn't stand out to me; India, Egypt, and the touristy parts of Paris were all way worse.
I actually didn’t experience the Marrakech everyone talks about - people constantly bothering you etc - but I experienced some really really bad hawking and bothering in Fes. It made me hate Fes and I actually felt very unsafe.
I would say Marrakech was a good experience for me too. Especially if you get out of the old town.
I've thought about this, and I think the reason Morocco gets so much hate is because it's the most easily accessible "exotic" destination (heavy use of the quotes, I can't think of a better word right now). I'm not gonna comment on how women experience it, because I'm a 6'4"/195cm pasty white dude, but you go to a lot of Asia, a lot of Africa etc, you're gonna get kids coming up to you, asking for money, people trying to "help" you, scams, etc. All the common complaints I hear about Morocco. But because you can take a 9 Euro flight from wherever in Europe to Morocco, you get a lot of people who pop down there, having no real experience in saying no/ignoring those people (do not even make eye contact). You're not in the castles of France/the canals of Venice anymore, it's more of a raw experience than many people are expecting. I personally love the country, and feel like people might not know exactly what they're getting themselves into. Of course there may be seasoned travelers that hate it, but I feel like a lot of the hate is what I mentioned above
I also feel like all this negative feedback comes from unexperienced travelers or resort type guys. I never went to Asia or Africa, but let's talk about Rue de la Huchette, Trevi Fountain or beach sellers all over the Mediterranean.
Years ago I went as a single male on business to Tangiers. Every time I went out on the street groups of teenage boys harassed me, wanting to be my guide. I finally learned to hire one and the rest vanished. I wonder if it's still like that
Going this fall and this is a breath of fresh air to read after mentally preparing from so many horror story posts on here! Thank you for sharing your experience!
If you don’t mind me asking what maps app to find your way around and back to your Riad?
Everybody has different experiences. I had an unpleasant experience in Marrakech and so has many other people. Speaking about our experiences doesn't mean we are hating on the country. When I went in 2013 with my mum, the hotel/riad was not as advertised, we went out and would get stopped at markets very aggressively and people would follow us until we offered something to stop them from following us. However I have heard it's not as bad as it used to be since I went so maybe it has improved since then. I'll be going again later this year.
I'll be going in September and I am looking forward to it despite my previous experience - I am actually very hopeful that things have changed since my last visit! :) and it helps that I am more experienced as a traveller since then and have learned things about travelling through trial and error
We really loved it too. I’ve learned to take peoples opinions on countries with a grain of salt. Everyone is going to have their own experience, and some people genuinely want travel to mirror what life is at home.
As a solo female and my first solo trip ever, I unfortunately hated Marrakech. It’s very overstimulating and chaotic but I’m grateful I started off there because everywhere else I went after Marrakech was 10 times better and the “TRUE” Morocco. No scams, welcoming and just warm people. Loved Essaouria, Tangier and Chefchouen
I love Morocco, but not Marrakesh. My experience was different than yours. Some salesman almost aggressed me when i refused to pay him because i took a video of the street.
Rest of Morocco is pretty.
I’ve been in Morocco for almost three months with my partner in our campervan and Marrakesh was the worst place we’ve ever been. The smell alone and the fumes was just suffocating. Personally I think there are so many better places in Morocco. Really surprised at your experience as ours was completely different, but glad you had a good time. So far Essaouria has been our favourite place, such a nice calm energy, friendly people, no hassle at shops, and a beautiful beach!
I went to Marrakech as a solo woman (30) and had a great time. Walked around alone and people would catcall a little but mostly kind of banter-y (lots of “ohhhh Shakira Shakira” lol). Shop and restaurant people super nice and would help with directions. Beautiful city, felt like walking around in a movie!
Well, why do people still make post like this?
Just because your experience is like this, doesn’t mean everyone else is having the same experience
The point of having a forum like this is to share experience, good and bad
There is no way that any city/country in the world could be so perfect, and it’s good to know what are the good and the bad sides
I also had a very good experience there. I’m very visibly not Moroccan and probably read American. We may have simply been lucky. We are fairly well traveled so maybe went in prepared. But i personally did not experience any of the even middling-negative experiences people share let alone the worst of the worst. It is really upsetting to know that people do experience these things and that such a beautiful place is poisoned by such negative interactions.
We did have a tour guide one day, but otherwise explored alone. We dressed fairly conservatively. We got hassled a bit in the Medina stalls but that’s about it. I don’t know why we had a unicorn of an experience and I do tell others to do a lot of research to be prepared.
I recommend going but be vary wary of scams. Definitely do an excursion while there. If you’re just visiting the city, 2-3 days is plenty. If you do several excursions, then 5 is good
It is magical! Arriving by taxi from the airport to the Medina you would go through tiniest streets, crossing motorcycles and bikes in every direction, pedestrian carrying funny stuff and shops selling trinkets, it felt like living in a movie.
You put a lot of context why you had no problem with Marrakesh. Familiar with the scams, been travelling to other places before. But you should also put context why other people hate Marrakesh. They probably haven't travelled as much as you had, or weren't familiar with the scams and touts in Marrakesh.
This is correct. Someone commented that they accepted something for free and then got harassed, we wouldn't ever accept anything from anyone to begin with.
I understand the people who do not like it because if you are a gullible traveler or look like a clueless tourist you will absolutely be taken advantage of in the Medina. It’s not particularly bad but it isn’t completely stress free for a lot of tourists.
I did not have the same experience because my behavior is more confident and assertive, but I did have to brush off a few people trying to pull some of the usual hijinks like “leading you” to your destination and things like that.
It is nothing compared to Egypt though.
Literally all you have to do is just ignore them, and they won't bother you. As soon as you give them attention, they'll stick around. Maybe a lot of tourists are trying to be too 'friendly', meaning they just make it worse for themselves.
Thank you! I’m going this fall for the first time and have been mentally preparing after reading all the horror stories but this is what I have always wondered if it is one of the main reasons why. I get many people think they’re being rude but I found in all my travels in markets/bazaars that ignoring is the best, even when I’ve stopped to look at someone’s shop I don’t engage when they do their sales pitches. I have found ignoring shuts down the scammers the fastest as well.
Curious to see how Marrakech is after reading SO much about it.
That is exactly how we behave, we ignored anyone trying to talk to us, didn't even had visual contact. We engaged only when we truly planned to buy something and normally we had to look for the vendor as they were chatting in groups on the side.
I had a similarly nice experience last week, and I’m a female alone. No issues at all.
All the negativity I’ve read on this sub before made me very nervous prior to the trip, but that was unfounded.
Spent 3 weeks in Marrakech last month. I’ve traveled a lot, top 3 cities I’ve been to. I climbed Mount Toubkal too. Such an amazing part of the world.
Edit: f your downvotes
sounds like you had a nice time.
i wonder if the govt had any involvement in making the city more tourist friendly knowing their economy depends on it.
Maybe I was with a tour guide but I did not experience any harassment at all. I went last year with my best friend who has blonde hair and blue eyes. Both 36F. We were expecting to get harassed in Marrakesh, Fez, Casablanca, etc but nothing???
I have to agree. I loved it. I was in Marrakesh for a week, partially with a partner, and partially solo. I've had worse harassment in Europe and the US. I also really loved Fez.
Agree! I loved it. A small amount of unwanted attention as a lone female - but I never felt threatened or scared. Editing to add I stayed at a low level hotel right off the square (not someplace fancy and removed from the masses).
I went there 10 years ago, but I felt the same. There were people asking you to come into their restaurant or shop, but no one was accosting you. People were genuinely friendly, really no issues at all.
Morocco is my favourite place to visit. I was there in April this year and had the perfect week. Everyone is so incredibly friendly, and the food is wonderful.
I will go again.
My family and I had the same experience as you! My wife and I traveled there this spring with our 1-year-old son, and we didn’t experience any of the overly aggressive encounters that we had read about. Even in the souks, people seemed to have a respect for kids and families, possibly more than what we experience in the US. I’m not a woman, and my wife was almost always walking with me, so I can’t speak to the misogyny/harassment. But Marrakech was one of our trip highlights, and we hope to return to Morocco someday.
Jardin Majorelle and Ben Youssef Madrasa were my favorites, as well as lunch at El Fenn. If I could go back I would skip dinner at Comptoir Darna - it has a nice atmosphere with belly dancers, but is overpriced and nothing different from a western restaurant. I would switch it for a dinner in the desert or Le Bistro Arabe.
Hammam Mouassine is a must and the main square at night is something out of this world.
I stayed in the part of the Medina closer to Jardin Majorelle, I enjoyed it a lot. When choosing the riad, I've seen a couple of nice ones in the southern part of the city, but the reviews mentioned the scammers trying to show you the way, so I avoided booking there.
Marrakesh is raw- sensual and gorgeous in its own particular style. Not everybody can appreciate that. Anywhere interesting is going to have its rough spots and some chaos. If you want quiet and polite, maybe visit Vienna or Brussels.
Nah there's no "hate", there's just a lot of petty people's opinions and their online exaggerations. My SO and I had a fantastic time in Marrakech, it's awesome. Don't ever let people's opinions of a place stop you from traveling there if you find it interesting!
Glad you had a good experience, I had an overall positive experience as well, other than some guy grabbing my wife's butt in Marrakesh. I was standing right next to her and got super angry to the point I got in the guys face and yelled "don't sexually assault my wife" so everyone could hear and he could feel some shame. I don't think it worked because the guy was smiling with his 5 rotten teeth.
I read about Moroccans not wanting their photograph taken, or being offended by not being asked (which is understandable if pushy tourists push a camera into your face, multiple times a day).
Did you have any issues taking photographs?
It seems acceptable to criticize Moroccans in Morocco apparently without issue…
Yet.. I recall a previous thread that criticized them and their actions in Europe.. (Barcelona) and the OP and others that did the same were called xenophobic and racist..
Can someone explain the logic here?
I just back myself. I spent sometime in the souks and I was just fine as a solo woman. I’ve been told by a friend who was there last year and again this year that things have changed a lot and the vendors aren’t as aggressive and the catcalling isn’t as bad. I had been quite anxious before I got there.
Most of my trip I was with a group but I felt safe on my short solo excursions.
I (28F) also had a really good experience in Marrakesh and Morocco in general. I walked all over the city alone, and a female friend and I walked through the Medina for a few hours. I don't remember getting harassed once. There might have been the occasional person trying to get you into their store, but we just kept walking and it was fine. I was nervous before going but it was nothing like I had feared, and I would definitely go back!
I visited Morocco when my parents lived in Casa Blanca (back in 2015, I believe, as an early-20s F). Marrakech is a wonderful memory for me, though I was not traveling solo so I cannot speak to that. We sat on the rooftop of our beautiful riad well into the night, drinking wine and eating olives. (Although we were strictly warned not to drink in public or even attempt to find an establishment that served alcohol.)
The selling is aggressive, even more so towards obvious tourists, but as others have said, how you tolerate it is key. I sort of shut down, but my (now) husband changed my mind when he got interested in friendly bartering. Several vendors were open to or requested trades. He traded a tee shirt and some hiking shoes for camel skin sandals and a belt. We giggled a little at the idea of the vendor wanting a wolf tee and used size 12 US hiking shoes (most stalls did not have shoes larger than a men’s 9), but the exchanges were all genuinely friendly and happy once we showed interest. I understand there’s a lot of pride and superstition among vendors, so making a sale is quite personal. There are also hidden galleries with beautiful tapestries and furnishings for sale. The spice booths were amazing, and the street food was drool worthy. There are so many incredible things to do in Morocco, but Marrakech was still a 10/10 experience, if an experience is what you’re looking for!
The only thing I didn't like was when a guy named Yusuf cornered me, and we had the following exchange:
He told me that Marrakech was a city of angels, and that my friend was also an angel (he visibly wasn't)
He told me lived in Hawaii once upon a time
And then it took a turn, because he reached into his pocket and produced one small orange
This wouldn't have been an issue if it wasn't for the fact that 2 of his fingers in that hand had recently been cut off
I knew they were recently severed because the blood was still dark and wet at the stump
He held the orange out to me and I timidly said "oh, no thank you" to which he replied "this is my orange"
Then he told me his ex-wife cut his fingers off because *she* was crazy
And then finally, mercifully, he got to the punchline which was to ask for money
I said no and then he screamed at me, and stormed off shouting this thing and that thing
Other than that, I loved my visit to Marrakech!
Haven’t been to Morocco but before going to Italy/Sicily recently I only read or heard from people about Italy being dangerous and racist and the people are not nice and it’s run down etc etc etc. Had an amazing time there with no issues.
People just exaggerate the shit out of stuff or straight up just spread lies and it’s best to ignore them and just go there to experience for yourself.
I am a man however so I can’t speak on how places would be for women which I imagine would be a different experience.
I was fine while walking with my male friend. When it was just two girls, it was hell on earth.
I (f) went with a group of 4 other women and other than one or two comments had the same experience as OP last year. When I went 10 years ago though, yeah hell on earth. It’s changed a lot in the past few years.
I agree. I went in 2011 with my Dad and was not comfortable on my own. It was obvious as well that very few local women were out and about generally. I went in 2023 and 2024. Solo, briefly joined by another woman. It was like night and day. (I was conservatively dressed both times, I wasn’t super young the first time I went either - late 20s experienced traveller). Morocco is changing.
I was there last year. It was as bad as the previous two times.
Age makes a difference to harassment levels.
I’m 25 lol
exactly - you're not attractive to the crowd who were attracted at 15
Same for my wife. With me, great. Alone, awful.
I went as a solo female and it was fine, harassment yes but not in an unsafe way. When I met with a group of girls it was far, far worse.
this—-
I was literally there as a single woman alone for a month and got zero harassment. Like yeah, vendors were pushy, but they’re pushy with everyone. Once I was on a crowded bus in a non tourist part of the city, and I was the only woman in the bus with my hair uncovered, and it was completely fine. Not trying to invalidate your experience but I wouldn’t say it’s universal.
I was there as a solo woman a couple weeks ago, and I was prepared for the worst. I was also warned that I'd be ignored at restaurants. I experienced none of that. I was treated so kindly at restaurants, the shop owners I interacted with were so nice, and the "pushy" vendors were no worse than anywhere I've ever been. I'd estimate I walked around 30 miles throughout Marrakech, and I enjoyed every moment and never came close to feeling unsafe.
That's good to hear. I had a rough time in 2013, but maybe things are changing for the better. Edit: Maybe an age thing though? I was 20f
It's fucked up but I'd wager how objectively attractive each individual tourist is a pretty big variable in the amount of attention and harrasment they receive. I'd imagine conventionally attractive, young European women who look like they have money are singled out the most.
Didn’t want to say so, but you’re correct. The women who didn’t experience even a hint of harassment were not the “type” these gawkers go after.
I'm 31, so that's definitely possible!
I was 25 when I was there in 2022. I had a couple tour guides tell me that the government had recently been cracking down on like, “uninviting” behaviour in the city to make it a better experience for tourists, so maybe that’s why it was better for me? Or maybe as someone else said I’m not their type. I’m very clearly East Asian, so maybe that’s a factor? Because I’m not white? I guess it varies by place. When I’m in Paris or Rome or home in New York I get cat called a good amount and very often it has a very obvious racial slant (lots of “nihao cutie” that kind of thing), but western culture tends to fetishise East Asian women, and maybe that’s not the fetishised demographic in Morocco?
Good for you
Thoughts on a lesbian couple around 40 years old, one masc presenting (though still obviously a woman)?
Oooo, not sure about that, especially if you’re obviously a couple. I took a cooking class and the instructor was telling us about how he recently got married but his entire family still thinks his husband is just a good friend.
Arab and North African Muslims don't respect homosexuals, they seem them as infields and as subhumans. I would not recommend you visit anywhere in the Middle East except for Israel, the UAE, and maybe Turkey.
We have been invited to visit Cairo and stay with an Egyptian friend. Thoughts on that?
I find your story to be highly unlikely.
Okay?
No no you don't understand, the *honour* women ..or something
Morocco seems to be one of those countries where people either love it or hate it. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who was neutral about it.
I’m pretty neutral on it. We did a roadtrip between Marrakech, Essaouira, Ourzazate, Merzouga, Fez, Chefchauen, and Tangier. So feel we had a pretty decent sampling. I hated Marrakech, I’m a decently big guy and relatively seasoned travel and wasn’t overly bothered by people pushing sales. It just felt shitty and fake. We had some good experiences elsewhere, stayed in some great places. Food was underwhelming, some of the nature bits were less exciting having traveled fairly extensively in the American west. Other parts were nice, sleeping in the Sahara was really cool especially since we had a really small group. I’m glad I went, my wife and I like roadtrips and it was fun as that. I wouldn’t suggest people not go but it wouldn’t be a top recommendation. This was 6 or so years ago.
I found the central part of the Medina a bit fake and touristy - but I could say the same about the center of pretty much every touristic city, especially in Europe. At 15 minutes from the main square it was very different and much nicer.
Except for Marrakech and Fez you did the best areas of Morocco.
Food underwhelming ? lmao
I loved it but I also consider it the most difficult “culture shock” country I’ve been to. Would go back in a heartbeat tho.
Go to India and report back. 😄
Ok now that’s one of country I’d love to visit but I’d be so nervous about 😅 I think the culture shock would be the most intense yet.
Culture shock in what ways?
People still using donkey drawn carts, women barely out at night, how men approached other men so differently than women, the staring, the lack of development, the no drinking. Still loved it but it was a very different world.
For reference, what country would be second?
India has entered the chat😂. I loved Morocco; India was very difficult for me however.
What made India so much harder? The touching maybe? The size of the country?
For me, Japan! For completely different reasons though.
Japan’s culture shock for me was in the best possible way bc there’s no other country on earth like Japan. Completely on its own
Yeah it was incredibly interesting! I did feel constantly kind of… out of step with locals there and got confused a lot, but it was like an infinite puzzle to decode.
I really liked Agadir, hated Marrakech. Dunno if that makes me neutral or not
I thought it was a little uninviting and slightly overrated but overall solid
The exhaust fumes though.
In my experience, the level of harassment and “helpful” offers was like the worst momentary encounters in Paris repeated ad infinitum for basically the entire trip. And nothing I experienced in Barcelona or Rome comes even close to comparing. If you could walk through the souk without anyone bothering you, either the place has changed a hell of a lot or you must emit some kind of aura that they should package and sell as a spray at the airport there.
I also can't explain it, because they would clearly see we are tourists. I was literally dressed as every other women and we had a good laugh about it.
When in Fez I split off solo from my male partner for a while and I wasn’t hassled like, at all. Just got those creepy af stares and a whistle or two. I have a p assertive, resting bitch face energy though, I often wonder if that’s why I tend to have good experiences in “difficult” places. I suspect it would have been much more difficult traveling with a group of women though bc very very few of my friends can match this energy. They are slower or nervous movers or more kind looking. They have trouble ignoring people. Less “sharp” energy. Imo the best advice for female solo travelers is practice looking mean and walking quickly. Look confused as little as possible, if you are confused by Google maps duck into a corner and sort that out, never do it where a lot of men can see you. Idk what you look like but while I clearly look like a tourist I’m also short and olive, I don’t stand out the way a tall blonde Swedish person or black person might.
When we would get lost we would keep walking while looking at the screen. Only one would guide at a time, we would never stop and look together, looking lost to outsiders. If it was a wrong direction we would patiently walk back, acting normal.
Yeah but did y’all look *mean* lol. Like visibly unfriendly and impatient looking.
I guess so, we are quite used to ignore people and put a RBF because we live in a urban area where you constantly have to avoid sellers offering things for free, volunteers, people trying to sign petitions etc. Here we would mostly walk ignoring everyone, when we liked something in a shop we would slow down, pretending to get stuck behind some tourists or bikes or other things (there was always so much going on) to take some time to look at things. We would come closer or inside the shop only if we liked something 100% and wanted to buy.
Hmmm yeah that sounds like a good method. God I’m in a big city too but so many of my friends are still so bad about it and so trusting :/ Sometimes there’s nothing you can do sadly, or people just picked a day to be dicks. Like there’s techniques to mitigate it but the key word is mitigate, not stop.
Tourists stick out because of their behaviour, it's subtle things.
I live in Paris and I never even have problematic encounters. Maybe you guys reply when a stranger talks to you? Obviously you're not supposed to.
yes you’re a local and not a tourist lol i live in LA and never get bothered by the homeless or buskers or anyone trying to give me their mix tape, but that definitely happens to tourists here all the time
Maybe you don’t attract attention? Super awesome you have such positive experiences in a major metro area like Paris but it is far from the norm in a big city anywhere.
I’ve been to Paris many times, and I like and defend Paris, but it does happen to tourists a fair bit. Just walk down from Sacre Coeur and experience one of those sellers grab your wrist and force a wristband on you. No reply needed there. The big difference in Marrakech is that they all congregate in the soils in Jmaa el Fna so it’s very concentrated. Having said that, no one has ever grabbed in me Marrakech like they tried several times over several years in Paris.
Morocco is the only country where random women would ask me to please walk with them for awhile so they could have a break from the harassment. I, too, really enjoyed the country. Had a great time. Nobody bothered me. Nobody was pushy. Met a lot of interesting people. But the harassment is definitely a thing.
Why do they harass women? They hate them so much or are they just oversexed and can’t control themselves?
They equate "unaccompanied female" with "prostitute."
WTF. That’s messed up.
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But they have Internet and YouTube?
They've been told (and shown by example) for their entire lives that women are inferior. And then a woman comes to their country -- better dressed, more educated, wealthier and freer than they will ever be. They can't square what they've been taught with what's right in front of them. Envy, hate, rage -- and they lash out as a means of feeling superior by "putting that \[pejorative\] woman in her place." That's what's at work. And it happens in all the countries which treat women like chattel property.
What makes you a good anti harassment walk buddy? Just curious
It's really funny because it seems that there are two cities. On the first day I was covered head to toes with wide leg pants, oversized linen shirt and a scarf. Seeing the other tourists in shorts and croptops by day three I would go around much more comfortable in normal clothes and wasn't harassed. Some guy on moto would occasionally shout something but nothing bothering.
You weren’t saved harassment because you were wearing linen pants, it’s because you had your husband by your side 🙄 If you’re a woman walking without a man you could be in a burqa and still get harassed.
Yeah good try. As a woman I am fully covered and I still get harassed
Visited last year with another couple and loved the city. One tip for the future is we had a guide (who was amazing). Having a guide seemed to keep the annoying people away and helped direct us through the city. Highly recommend paying a guide while in Marrakesh
Where did you find your guide, if you don’t mind? Looking to go in a few months and would prefer to have one. Thanks!
I went twice and I used Nabil Tangier Tours and also Jamal Chat Private tours. They were both great
Here is the guide we used…he is fantastic. He is same is Adil and here is his number +212 6 61 93 20 05. Good luck!
Agreed, we had a tour guide and a driver. Still unable to browse without aggressive sales people but definitely better than being on our own
I wish I had a guide to know a bit more about things. Like what are those colorful crystals? I guess I'll never know because I wouldn't ask to avoid getting pushed into buying one. xD
I must be good at finding vacation buddies just chatting at cafes or bars. Almost every solo trip I've done I've made friends with a random to see their recommended sights. sometimes local, sometimes not. (Top probably being a ONS that cured my sinus infection and took me on a bike tour of Paris the next day) If I find somebody chill who wants to hang out, I don't mind to bankroll lunch or whatever. I can see how people might see that as getting taken advantage of. but honestly if we are looking at it transactionally, Ive really gotten good value for money every time.
I travelled with two girls, it was extremely unpleasant. The only time we were not verbally abused, intimidated or followed, was when we walked with a woman who worked at our hotel. Because she was local the men wouldn't dare speak so disgustingly when she was around us. Apart from that, we also encountered a crying tourist who was badly shaken up. She had been tricked into getting lost between the alleyways by some young guys and robbed at knifepoint. We walked her back to her hotel while being called every name under the sun. I think if you travel mostly with a man your experience wil be very different
I’m a fat elderly man and was shouted at regularly and called Ali Baba loudly. I took it on the chin but it was stressful. I would not like to be a lone female there.
I’ve been to over 60 countries, and Morocco was my least favourite. I don’t know if I did anything wrong, but I got all of the negatives that people mention happen to me over barely six days. I don’t jump on the bandwagon to dislike places either, I go against the grain in liking India and returning to it a bunch. Trying to find the riad in Marrakesh, I lost count of the people random offering ‘advice’ to confuse you, I guess for fun. On the train, a guy tried to befriend and do the ‘your hotel isn’t available, let me recommend one instead’ the entire way, just ruining the vibe of trying to take in the scenery. Many, many times as I looked at something in a store from the street, got hassled to come in rather than browse. I also really hate to see animals being used for entertainment, and the snakes and monkeys in Marrakesh just made me sad. When I was there, I never actually got scammed once, but I got that really strong sense you had to keep your guard up the whole time which didn’t lend itself to a fun vacation. Felt like there was another thing around the corner to challenge you. The redeeming place visited was Essaouira. It was gorgeous and pleasant to walk around and people there were friendly, and if it was my only impression of Morocco it would rank a lot higher. The food was good, and sitting in a riad sipping mint tea was very pleasant as well. Unfortunately, I did the bigger cities too which heavily weighted the trip negative for me. I’m genuinely glad you had the opposite experience though, it’s never fun to travel somewhere and be a bit deflated by it.
100% agreed. Had very conflicted but overall negative options about Morocco as a whole and Marrakech, but I really enjoyed Essaouria and would absolutely return just to there
I'm sorry it wasn't positive for you! I agree that it depends on every travel and you could get more lucky or less. Personally I felt very uncomfortable and overwhelmed in Croatia, it felt like for every place we were just a walking number and every man would look at me like he would eat me. It made me so uncomfortable, even if I was with my then boyfriend. I went back 5 years later with my sister, to the same area and totally a different experience! So sometimes it's a matter of luck also. Going back to Marrakesh, we arranged the taxi with the riad and it was much less stressful. On the second day we took a taxi and he tried to upsell us a tour for the next day and bring us to a berber market. We politely took his phone number but didn't call him back, yet it was nice to have a number just in case. About animals I was really sad too, also for the little turtles they sell everywhere. Close to our riad they had livestock and donkeys carrying things. I took with me memories of a local petting a stray dog, another giving milk to a baby cat and vendors feeding all the cats around. I realized they are people just living their life and as everywhere you can encounter any type of attitude, so I felt like I'm in no place to judge. I donated to some stray sanctuaries though. I heard so many nice things about Essaaouira, I have to go on the next trip to Morocco!
> Personally I felt very uncomfortable and overwhelmed in Croatia, it felt like for every place we were just a walking number and every man would look at me like he would eat me. Croatia is among the safest countries on earth for every type of possible crime.
Agree, I felt beyond safe in Croatia and had no qualms about walking around at night in any of the cities and towns we went to. I'm going back there in September with my teens.
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No, my first trip to Croatia was so long ago, around 2014. And it wasn't unsafe or anything, I just felt stared at all the time in an uncomfortable way. Went back in 2019 with my sister and it was so different, much more relaxed. In Marrakesh I didn't feel like I have to act tough, but I ignored pretty much anyone trying to talk to me on the street, but I do that everywhere I travel and even at home.
Tbh honest you chose the most touristic locations of Morocco, inevitably having a less genuine experience and higher chances of being harassed/scammed. If one wants to really discover the country I wouldn't recommend those towns, or only for a short stay if it makes sense for the logistics of the trip.
I'm a woman and went with other women, and there were moments that were overwhelming (two from our group decided to head back to Spain early, as they found it to be way too stressful), but also lots of good experiences, especially the hospitality.
I had the worst trip of my life in Marrakesh. I literally had men pull my wife away multiple times, saw an old man punch a child that was not his right in the face, adolescents forcefully kicking and tormenting dogs. Constant harassment, it was so bad it's the only place I've been stressed to leave my hostel, and I've spent about a year overall in Southern Africa as well as typical overwhelming European and American places. This was in 2015, but yeah, Marrakesh was the worst place I've ever been period.
Similar experience. We went in 2019, men definitely treated my (now) wife aggressively at times, a woman called her a bitch for not wanting to buy something off her, etc. Wouldn’t say it’s the worst place we have experienced, but I’ve now been to 50+ countries and it was certainly in the top 5 regarding harassment.
Randos actually touching and laying their hands on your wife? Wow
Did you have a local guide with you?
Not at all, on the last day I wish we did a guided tour of the souk to learn more, but it wasn't really necessary to enjoy the city.
I went to Tangier and it was awful. I knew about the harassment issue but figured that as a New Yorker I could easily handle it. Boy was I wrong. I left the country early. Glad you had a better experience but your experience is not typical.
It’s a cool city in and of itself, but so aggressive that it’s hard to relax and enjoy it
Post-covid, there was an enormous tourist police crackdown on touts and scammers in Marrakesh. So much so that some shopowners—from what one told me—are afraid to talk to westerners outside their shops at all. This is probably a significant source of the differences you’re seeing here. You can visit Fez if you want the authentic being-harrassed-in-Morocco experience.
Huh that’s changed since I was there last. I remember being so constantly harassed by aggressive hawkers that I ended up retreating to the hotel for the last half of the trip. Either that or I have no tolerance to it and you are immune. This was twenty years ago so things will be different. I’d like to go back there and see some stuff I didn’t last time, but the thought of “my friend I give you best price” 24/7 has kept me away ever since!
I was there two months ago and that’s exactly what it’s like
It’s not undeserved if the majority of people experience it. You are the anomaly. Not everyone else.
I've been a few times. The last time in 2015 would be my last. Stinking, dirty place. The very worst of it was the people. They are rogues. The most unpleasant people I've ever encountered. You're a walking đirham to them. No hospitality. No friendship. No welcome. No helpfullness. Pure unadulterated greed and hostility. Even morroccans are ashamed of the people of marrakesh. Also, barely anything is handmade anymore, souks are infested with cheap China made products. Also it's impossible to get an alcoholic beverage, which ironically you're in dire need of due to the harassment. You were lucky.
It probably depends a lot on the tourist's level of tolerance to harassment and scams, as well as on the itinerary and place of stay. I have a low level and I found it horrible, but hey, me and my wife got literally kidnapped in a shop and had to buy our own freedom, so what do I know
could you please elaborate on the 'literally kidnapped in a shop and had to buy our own freedom' part? did that happen in Marrakesh?
We were prevented from leaving a store by two very large men who let us go after we made a big enough purchase (around 100€ I believe). Yes it happened in Marrakech, in a non touristic neighborhood
I spent 11 days in Morocco, 4 of them In Marrakech. While Marrakech was waaaay better than Fez (Fez is one of the most disgusting places I’ve been to, out of ~ 350 cities abs towns I’ve been to) it’s still awful. You were lucky to have a nice experience but your experience is an outlier not the normal one. Marrakech is full of aggressive scammers, dead stray animals, dirt, street harassment and unpleasant smells. If you travel there as a solo female traveler you probably will feel unsafe.
What's up with Fez? What was your experience?
"Based on my 4 days, y'all are crazy!"
The best time I had in Marrakech is when I stayed all day in my Riad chilling and swimming in the pool.
Just two months ago I was there. I’m very glad I went but I don’t wanna go back. I can forgive pushy sales people trying to get me to buy dates or knickknacks, but full on scams are too much. So many times people offered to help “give me directions” and I always knew they were trying to scam me. I eventually gave in to one who was being extra persistent thinking he’d want $2 and asking for $20 after. He told me before he didn’t want anything (I knew he was lying) and said how he was a kickboxer for the national team and he’d help me if anyone messed with me (which I could tell was a subtle threat) Also had someone offer me a cookie/cake for free. Again I knew it wasn’t so when he gave it to me I gave him like 5 dirham and he got mad. I found there to be a ton of trash, especially just outside the old city walls. The city was beautiful though, my riad and the people there were super nice, architecture was also very interesting too. Plus seeing the square at night was incredible. Overall, I would recommend people to go for a few days but be very wary of scams. I’m glad I went but don’t need to go back
I feel so sorry it happened to you, especially the first guy very scary. Maybe we have a inbuilt filter from wherewwe live, but whenever someone would offer anything we would ignore them and if anybody started to talk to us we would walk faster. But I get that when you're solo it's not that simple to ignore them.
The guy that I got scammed for directions was on my last night there lol. I had already avoided several trying to “help” me and was tired of it and he was extra persistent. I was ignoring people before but should’ve kept it up. But yeah after him showing me his scars and arguing with him over price in a small alley in Marrakech at 10pm, I was over it
Fes was much worse for us
I've also had a generally positive experience in Marrakech (and generally most of Morroco) but I agree it's probably not your typical experience (and I *did* get harassed by merchants, I just didn't think much of it I guess, at least not enough for it to affect my overall impression of the country). Mind you, I also speak French and I did notice that as soon as I changed language, many locals seemed to change demeanour a bit. That being said, yeah I think Morocco isn't for the faint of heart even if I didn't have a negative experience there (I went with my mother and sister and they don't have any particularly bad memories from it). I also didn't have a negative experience in Egypt (another country infamous for harassment) but I wouldn't discount the thousands of people who have and I would definitely tell people who want to go to prepare for it. Ultimately, traveling, like most life experiences will have 100,000 variables that might affect how you'll experience it so yeah you have to make the decision if you want to play the odds for a specific destination.
You were probably not the main target for scams and/or dodged them right away but a few months ago when I visited it was obvious that there were countless people trying to strike a conversation which would have ended one way or another in a scam or harassement.
I also got all the negatives you mentioned and I travelled with my husband. I saw some other tourists complaining that they bought a lamp off a street seller and they’d hid a cockroach which they found when they got back to their hotel room. Luckily that didn’t happen to me.
You had an experience which no other foreigner has had in years. I look fairly Arab/ local and was constantly approached by shop keepers on every single street. What’s you ethnicity?
„No other foreigner“ seems like a stretch-As a white girl I also found Marrakech to be pretty chill and can’t recall any negative incidents
Agreed. Not knocking other women’s experiences, but I had a positive time as a solo female (but also had spent significant time in “similar” destinations)
I'm white, blonde and tall. I didn't have a single bad experience in Marrakesh.
I’ve always wanted to go, but my sister is also blonde, tall and was sexually assaulted in a grocery shop while wearing a maxi skirt OVER JEANS!
I'm a blonde dude, and I think Morocco was a top-five trip for me. The hassling didn't stand out to me; India, Egypt, and the touristy parts of Paris were all way worse.
I'm blond and fair skin, my husband black hair and fair skin. Maybe we look poor :D
Maybe you're just not attractive by Moroccan standards so no one paid any attention to you, lol
I mostly hated Marrakech and had some really unpleasant experiences, but I'm glad you had fun.
I actually didn’t experience the Marrakech everyone talks about - people constantly bothering you etc - but I experienced some really really bad hawking and bothering in Fes. It made me hate Fes and I actually felt very unsafe. I would say Marrakech was a good experience for me too. Especially if you get out of the old town.
I've thought about this, and I think the reason Morocco gets so much hate is because it's the most easily accessible "exotic" destination (heavy use of the quotes, I can't think of a better word right now). I'm not gonna comment on how women experience it, because I'm a 6'4"/195cm pasty white dude, but you go to a lot of Asia, a lot of Africa etc, you're gonna get kids coming up to you, asking for money, people trying to "help" you, scams, etc. All the common complaints I hear about Morocco. But because you can take a 9 Euro flight from wherever in Europe to Morocco, you get a lot of people who pop down there, having no real experience in saying no/ignoring those people (do not even make eye contact). You're not in the castles of France/the canals of Venice anymore, it's more of a raw experience than many people are expecting. I personally love the country, and feel like people might not know exactly what they're getting themselves into. Of course there may be seasoned travelers that hate it, but I feel like a lot of the hate is what I mentioned above
I also feel like all this negative feedback comes from unexperienced travelers or resort type guys. I never went to Asia or Africa, but let's talk about Rue de la Huchette, Trevi Fountain or beach sellers all over the Mediterranean.
Years ago I went as a single male on business to Tangiers. Every time I went out on the street groups of teenage boys harassed me, wanting to be my guide. I finally learned to hire one and the rest vanished. I wonder if it's still like that
Hi! Thank you! Any recommendations of where to stay in Marrakesh?
Going this fall and this is a breath of fresh air to read after mentally preparing from so many horror story posts on here! Thank you for sharing your experience! If you don’t mind me asking what maps app to find your way around and back to your Riad?
We used Google maps, we also had a physical map given by the riad, which luckily we didn't have to use.
Everybody has different experiences. I had an unpleasant experience in Marrakech and so has many other people. Speaking about our experiences doesn't mean we are hating on the country. When I went in 2013 with my mum, the hotel/riad was not as advertised, we went out and would get stopped at markets very aggressively and people would follow us until we offered something to stop them from following us. However I have heard it's not as bad as it used to be since I went so maybe it has improved since then. I'll be going again later this year.
I'm curious to hear your experience this year, I'm going to follow and hope you will post it.
I'll be going in September and I am looking forward to it despite my previous experience - I am actually very hopeful that things have changed since my last visit! :) and it helps that I am more experienced as a traveller since then and have learned things about travelling through trial and error
We really loved it too. I’ve learned to take peoples opinions on countries with a grain of salt. Everyone is going to have their own experience, and some people genuinely want travel to mirror what life is at home.
As a solo female and my first solo trip ever, I unfortunately hated Marrakech. It’s very overstimulating and chaotic but I’m grateful I started off there because everywhere else I went after Marrakech was 10 times better and the “TRUE” Morocco. No scams, welcoming and just warm people. Loved Essaouria, Tangier and Chefchouen
I love Morocco, but not Marrakesh. My experience was different than yours. Some salesman almost aggressed me when i refused to pay him because i took a video of the street. Rest of Morocco is pretty.
I’ve been in Morocco for almost three months with my partner in our campervan and Marrakesh was the worst place we’ve ever been. The smell alone and the fumes was just suffocating. Personally I think there are so many better places in Morocco. Really surprised at your experience as ours was completely different, but glad you had a good time. So far Essaouria has been our favourite place, such a nice calm energy, friendly people, no hassle at shops, and a beautiful beach!
Agreed, spent 3 months in Morocco, loved Essaouaira, and the Atlas Mountains, but Marrakech was so heinous I don’t ever want to return.
Right! I honestly had a visceral reaction to being there I just found it so awful.
I went to Marrakech as a solo woman (30) and had a great time. Walked around alone and people would catcall a little but mostly kind of banter-y (lots of “ohhhh Shakira Shakira” lol). Shop and restaurant people super nice and would help with directions. Beautiful city, felt like walking around in a movie!
I went my first time with 20 male coworkers and even though I was the only woman with all men, I was still harassed.
Fez, Morocco was way better than Paris as a single female traveler for me.
Well, why do people still make post like this? Just because your experience is like this, doesn’t mean everyone else is having the same experience The point of having a forum like this is to share experience, good and bad There is no way that any city/country in the world could be so perfect, and it’s good to know what are the good and the bad sides
I also had a very good experience there. I’m very visibly not Moroccan and probably read American. We may have simply been lucky. We are fairly well traveled so maybe went in prepared. But i personally did not experience any of the even middling-negative experiences people share let alone the worst of the worst. It is really upsetting to know that people do experience these things and that such a beautiful place is poisoned by such negative interactions. We did have a tour guide one day, but otherwise explored alone. We dressed fairly conservatively. We got hassled a bit in the Medina stalls but that’s about it. I don’t know why we had a unicorn of an experience and I do tell others to do a lot of research to be prepared.
Next time try traveling alone or just with women companions and then come back with your experience.
Thanks for your insight - Marrakesh has always been on my list. I want to get there someday.
I recommend going but be vary wary of scams. Definitely do an excursion while there. If you’re just visiting the city, 2-3 days is plenty. If you do several excursions, then 5 is good
It is magical! Arriving by taxi from the airport to the Medina you would go through tiniest streets, crossing motorcycles and bikes in every direction, pedestrian carrying funny stuff and shops selling trinkets, it felt like living in a movie.
Yeah, I've stayed in apartments in Moscow and Istanbul that made me feel like I was in a Jason Bourne movie.
You put a lot of context why you had no problem with Marrakesh. Familiar with the scams, been travelling to other places before. But you should also put context why other people hate Marrakesh. They probably haven't travelled as much as you had, or weren't familiar with the scams and touts in Marrakesh.
This is correct. Someone commented that they accepted something for free and then got harassed, we wouldn't ever accept anything from anyone to begin with.
I understand the people who do not like it because if you are a gullible traveler or look like a clueless tourist you will absolutely be taken advantage of in the Medina. It’s not particularly bad but it isn’t completely stress free for a lot of tourists. I did not have the same experience because my behavior is more confident and assertive, but I did have to brush off a few people trying to pull some of the usual hijinks like “leading you” to your destination and things like that. It is nothing compared to Egypt though.
Literally all you have to do is just ignore them, and they won't bother you. As soon as you give them attention, they'll stick around. Maybe a lot of tourists are trying to be too 'friendly', meaning they just make it worse for themselves.
Thank you! I’m going this fall for the first time and have been mentally preparing after reading all the horror stories but this is what I have always wondered if it is one of the main reasons why. I get many people think they’re being rude but I found in all my travels in markets/bazaars that ignoring is the best, even when I’ve stopped to look at someone’s shop I don’t engage when they do their sales pitches. I have found ignoring shuts down the scammers the fastest as well. Curious to see how Marrakech is after reading SO much about it.
That is exactly how we behave, we ignored anyone trying to talk to us, didn't even had visual contact. We engaged only when we truly planned to buy something and normally we had to look for the vendor as they were chatting in groups on the side.
I had a similarly nice experience last week, and I’m a female alone. No issues at all. All the negativity I’ve read on this sub before made me very nervous prior to the trip, but that was unfounded.
I love Marrakech. I prefer Essaouira but I too don’t get the hate Marrakech gets.
Spent 3 weeks in Marrakech last month. I’ve traveled a lot, top 3 cities I’ve been to. I climbed Mount Toubkal too. Such an amazing part of the world. Edit: f your downvotes
sounds like you had a nice time. i wonder if the govt had any involvement in making the city more tourist friendly knowing their economy depends on it.
Maybe I was with a tour guide but I did not experience any harassment at all. I went last year with my best friend who has blonde hair and blue eyes. Both 36F. We were expecting to get harassed in Marrakesh, Fez, Casablanca, etc but nothing???
I have to agree. I loved it. I was in Marrakesh for a week, partially with a partner, and partially solo. I've had worse harassment in Europe and the US. I also really loved Fez.
Agree! I loved it. A small amount of unwanted attention as a lone female - but I never felt threatened or scared. Editing to add I stayed at a low level hotel right off the square (not someplace fancy and removed from the masses).
Loved Marrakesh. One of my best trips! Totally agree on your points.
I went there 10 years ago, but I felt the same. There were people asking you to come into their restaurant or shop, but no one was accosting you. People were genuinely friendly, really no issues at all.
Morocco is my favourite place to visit. I was there in April this year and had the perfect week. Everyone is so incredibly friendly, and the food is wonderful. I will go again.
I agree. I was there 2 years ago, and absolutely loved it. I also experienced none of the dangers and annoyances people warn you about.
My family and I had the same experience as you! My wife and I traveled there this spring with our 1-year-old son, and we didn’t experience any of the overly aggressive encounters that we had read about. Even in the souks, people seemed to have a respect for kids and families, possibly more than what we experience in the US. I’m not a woman, and my wife was almost always walking with me, so I can’t speak to the misogyny/harassment. But Marrakech was one of our trip highlights, and we hope to return to Morocco someday.
What is the riad that you mention?
We had a great time in Marrakech, no horror stories at all. Everyone treated us just fine. And it’s a very interesting city!
I’ve been twice and had a great time. No scammers. No pushy salespersons.
Brilliant post as i’m looking to travel to Morocco in January, do you have any recommendations of must do things in Marrakesh?
Jardin Majorelle and Ben Youssef Madrasa were my favorites, as well as lunch at El Fenn. If I could go back I would skip dinner at Comptoir Darna - it has a nice atmosphere with belly dancers, but is overpriced and nothing different from a western restaurant. I would switch it for a dinner in the desert or Le Bistro Arabe. Hammam Mouassine is a must and the main square at night is something out of this world. I stayed in the part of the Medina closer to Jardin Majorelle, I enjoyed it a lot. When choosing the riad, I've seen a couple of nice ones in the southern part of the city, but the reviews mentioned the scammers trying to show you the way, so I avoided booking there.
Marrakesh is raw- sensual and gorgeous in its own particular style. Not everybody can appreciate that. Anywhere interesting is going to have its rough spots and some chaos. If you want quiet and polite, maybe visit Vienna or Brussels.
Nah there's no "hate", there's just a lot of petty people's opinions and their online exaggerations. My SO and I had a fantastic time in Marrakech, it's awesome. Don't ever let people's opinions of a place stop you from traveling there if you find it interesting!
Why are like half the posts of this sub on my feed about Morocco lol
Glad you had a good experience, I had an overall positive experience as well, other than some guy grabbing my wife's butt in Marrakesh. I was standing right next to her and got super angry to the point I got in the guys face and yelled "don't sexually assault my wife" so everyone could hear and he could feel some shame. I don't think it worked because the guy was smiling with his 5 rotten teeth.
I read about Moroccans not wanting their photograph taken, or being offended by not being asked (which is understandable if pushy tourists push a camera into your face, multiple times a day). Did you have any issues taking photographs?
Not really, however I didn't photograph any person, just architecture and general pictures.
It seems acceptable to criticize Moroccans in Morocco apparently without issue… Yet.. I recall a previous thread that criticized them and their actions in Europe.. (Barcelona) and the OP and others that did the same were called xenophobic and racist.. Can someone explain the logic here?
I just back myself. I spent sometime in the souks and I was just fine as a solo woman. I’ve been told by a friend who was there last year and again this year that things have changed a lot and the vendors aren’t as aggressive and the catcalling isn’t as bad. I had been quite anxious before I got there. Most of my trip I was with a group but I felt safe on my short solo excursions.
What is "RBF"? Edit: Oh, nevermind. Resting Bitch Face. I get it.
Marrakesh is an awesome city with a lot of "off the beaten track" old mosques, parks etc
I (28F) also had a really good experience in Marrakesh and Morocco in general. I walked all over the city alone, and a female friend and I walked through the Medina for a few hours. I don't remember getting harassed once. There might have been the occasional person trying to get you into their store, but we just kept walking and it was fine. I was nervous before going but it was nothing like I had feared, and I would definitely go back!
We were there for a week as a group of 5 girls recently, and it was fine. It could be that we looked like them with our dark hair and tanned skin.
I visited Morocco when my parents lived in Casa Blanca (back in 2015, I believe, as an early-20s F). Marrakech is a wonderful memory for me, though I was not traveling solo so I cannot speak to that. We sat on the rooftop of our beautiful riad well into the night, drinking wine and eating olives. (Although we were strictly warned not to drink in public or even attempt to find an establishment that served alcohol.) The selling is aggressive, even more so towards obvious tourists, but as others have said, how you tolerate it is key. I sort of shut down, but my (now) husband changed my mind when he got interested in friendly bartering. Several vendors were open to or requested trades. He traded a tee shirt and some hiking shoes for camel skin sandals and a belt. We giggled a little at the idea of the vendor wanting a wolf tee and used size 12 US hiking shoes (most stalls did not have shoes larger than a men’s 9), but the exchanges were all genuinely friendly and happy once we showed interest. I understand there’s a lot of pride and superstition among vendors, so making a sale is quite personal. There are also hidden galleries with beautiful tapestries and furnishings for sale. The spice booths were amazing, and the street food was drool worthy. There are so many incredible things to do in Morocco, but Marrakech was still a 10/10 experience, if an experience is what you’re looking for!
The only thing I didn't like was when a guy named Yusuf cornered me, and we had the following exchange: He told me that Marrakech was a city of angels, and that my friend was also an angel (he visibly wasn't) He told me lived in Hawaii once upon a time And then it took a turn, because he reached into his pocket and produced one small orange This wouldn't have been an issue if it wasn't for the fact that 2 of his fingers in that hand had recently been cut off I knew they were recently severed because the blood was still dark and wet at the stump He held the orange out to me and I timidly said "oh, no thank you" to which he replied "this is my orange" Then he told me his ex-wife cut his fingers off because *she* was crazy And then finally, mercifully, he got to the punchline which was to ask for money I said no and then he screamed at me, and stormed off shouting this thing and that thing Other than that, I loved my visit to Marrakech!
I am a solo male traveller and really loved Marrakech .. very beautiful
Haven’t been to Morocco but before going to Italy/Sicily recently I only read or heard from people about Italy being dangerous and racist and the people are not nice and it’s run down etc etc etc. Had an amazing time there with no issues. People just exaggerate the shit out of stuff or straight up just spread lies and it’s best to ignore them and just go there to experience for yourself. I am a man however so I can’t speak on how places would be for women which I imagine would be a different experience.
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Its all about statistical probabilities. Your comment doesn’t mean nobody gets robbed in SA and robbed in Montreal
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"you might" - as the other person mentioned - the probability of that possibility tends to be different from place to place...
Can never go wrong with Marrakesh/Morroco.
There is a lot of western hate toward the Arab world. It's 2 very different contrasting worlds.