Forget the guidebook tiers. Here is what things cost in Morocco in real dirhams, the prices Moroccans pay, not the prices tourists are quoted.
A coffee — espresso, called nous-nous when made half milk — costs 8-12 dirhams in a local café. In the Gueliz neighbourhood of Marrakech or a riad rooftop, 25-40 dirhams. The coffee is the same.
A meal. Street food — a bowl of harira, a plate of brochettes, a sandwich from a hole in the wall — runs 15-40 dirhams. A sit-down lunch at a local restaurant: 50-80 dirhams for a tagine with bread and salad. A dinner at a well-known Marrakech restaurant: 200-500 dirhams. A dinner at one of the palace restaurants in the medina: 600-1,500 dirhams. The food at the 50-dirham place is often better.
Water. A 1.5-litre bottle of Sidi Ali or Ain Saiss: 5-7 dirhams at a corner shop. Do not drink tap water. Do not pay 30 dirhams for water at a tourist restaurant — walk ten metres to the nearest hanut.
A taxi within the medina: 10-20 dirhams. A taxi from the medina to the airport: 70-100 dirhams. A grand taxi from Marrakech to Essaouira: about 75 dirhams per person, shared.
The hammam. The neighbourhood one: 15-20 dirhams entry, 20-50 dirhams tip for the scrub. A tourist hammam and spa: 300-700 dirhams.
A rug. This is where it gets complicated. A small kilim: 300-800 dirhams. A medium Beni Ourain: 2,000-8,000 dirhams. A large vintage piece: 5,000-25,000 dirhams. If someone quotes you in euros, you are in the wrong shop.
SIM card. Maroc Telecom, Inwi, or Orange at the airport: 30-50 dirhams for a prepaid SIM with data. Top up at any corner shop.
Tipping. 10% at restaurants. 5-10 dirhams for the taxi driver. 20-50 dirhams per day for the riad staff. 200-300 dirhams per day for a guide. It adds up. Budget for it. It is not optional — it is how most people in the service economy supplement wages that are genuinely low.
The dirham is roughly 10 to the euro, 11 to the dollar. Round to ten and you will be close enough. ATMs are everywhere. Cards are accepted at tourist establishments and ignored everywhere else. Carry cash.
The Facts
- —Coffee (nous-nous): 8-12 MAD local, 25-40 MAD tourist
- —Street food meal: 15-40 MAD
- —Tagine lunch: 50-80 MAD
- —Water 1.5L: 5-7 MAD
- —Petit taxi medina: 10-20 MAD
- —Airport taxi: 70-100 MAD
- —Local hammam: 15-20 MAD entry
- —SIM card: 30-50 MAD
- —Tipping: 10% restaurants, 200-300 MAD/day guides
- —~10 MAD = 1 EUR, ~11 MAD = 1 USD
Sources
- Bank Al-Maghrib exchange rates; HCP consumer price index; practical observation
