Tips and things to know before you visit Morocco
Now you have picked all the hotspots to visit in Fez or Marrakech, piled up a few maps but ....what about phone calls and Internet? As you can imagine, these rascals from your mobile operator will charge you outrageous fee if you call while on roaming. How to avoid that? It’s easy, just follow along.
Internet is available in most cafes and hotels, so you can ask for the password. No matter where you come from - USA, Europe or some other country, when you first arrive at Morocco you should look for a SIM card to feed your phone. That is valid especially if you will stay for more than a couple of days. You can obtain the card from some of the major airports, railway stations or kiosks in city centers. Just ask the person behind the desk to help you with inserting the card and passing through all the necessary formalities. I believe they won’t need any prompt if they see you are a foreigner. They will ask you for a passport. Make a test call to verify that everything is running as expected, once everything is settled.
General information:
There are three big telecoms: Maroc Telecom, Orange and inwi. After a quick online I chose to go with the first one. Most people recommended it and what’s more it is the leader of the market. 50 Dhs is the price for a standard prepaid SIM Card. Unfortunately, I don’t remember all the details but you can ask the person behind the counter. The coverage and speed is pretty decent. After you purchase and use the available limit you can top up.
Possible pitfalls:
- Make sure your phone is not locked by your mobile operator. That happened to me and I had to buy the cheapest apparatus (220 – 250 Dirhams is still economically plausible) to get me going. It makes sense to speak back home to your own company in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.
- On two occasions when there was some problem causing delay, the guy at the kiosk served the next customers. That is a bit different to what you are used to if you are coming from European country, let’s say. My advice is to insist that you are in a hurry (if you have waited for more than several minutes) and that he should speed up the process.
Enjoy your stay at Morocco and B’slema!