USE OF GUIDES

It is not necessary to hire guides in most cities in Morocco, with the only exception the city of Fez, where due to the complexity of the streets of the medina and the number of sites to visit it is advisable to hire a guide.

The rules for hiring a guide are the following:

• First of all get as much information as you can (maps, guides, web, etc) of the sites you want to visit, the restaurants where you want to eat and the streets you want to walk…
• Ask in your hotel for a person of trust and the estimated price of the service during a certain time.
• Make sure you negotiate the price before accepting and give them a clear idea of the things you want to see, the things you don´t want to see (shops) and when you want to see them, and the price, of course.
• Starting from the estimated price given by the people in the hotel you have to negotiate the price downwards
• Pay the guide at the end of the day, never before.
• And MOST IMPORTANT keep reminding him, even after you have agreed the price, that you don´t want to see shops.

Even so, they will try to take you to “their shops”, where you will spend your precious time seeing thousands of carpets, sniffing untold number of fragances, etc. while the time slips by without enjoying what really matters: the hustle and bustle of the streets, the colourful  dresses of the people and their unique houses, and their customs…

If the guide still persists in his attempt to “do his business” do not enter the shops, wait for him at the door, and he will get the message.