Morocco currency and payments

Morocco runs on two payment economies at once. Hotels, riads, city restaurants and larger shops take cards without drama. The medina, the souk, the taxi queue, the mountain cafe and every tip run on cash. Travelling well here means having both.

The dirham

The currency is the dirham (MAD), 100 centimes to the dirham. It is a closed currency: you cannot normally buy it outside Morocco, and you cannot take it home. That shapes the trip in two small ways: change money on arrival rather than before, and change leftovers back at the airport before departure.

Coins run in small denominations that matter for tips, and notes start at 20 dirhams. Ask for small notes when you change money; a 200-dirham note is awkward in a souk.

Cards and cash

• Cards: hotels, riads, city restaurants, car rental, larger stores. Visa and Mastercard are the reliable pair.
• Cash: souks, medina shops, small cafes, taxis, guides, tips, desert stops.
• ATMs: common in cities and tourist towns. When the machine offers to charge your card in your home currency, decline and take dirhams; your bank’s rate is usually better.

What things cost

Street food and a mint tea are a few dirhams; a good tagine in a city restaurant is well under 100; a grand-taxi ride within town is tens of dirhams once agreed. Agree taxi fares before getting in, or ask for the meter.

Tipping

Tipping is part of daily life, not an insult and not optional: 10 per cent in restaurants when service is not included, small notes for porters and housekeeping, a round-up for taxis. For a guide or driver across several days, ten to twenty per cent is the normal range, agreed before you start.

Returning

Change leftover dirhams back at the airport before security. Keep the receipt from any large exchange; it is sometimes asked for when converting back. The when to visit guide covers the seasons that set the prices.