旅遊摩洛哥: 一些心得丶意見丶資料 / Travel to Morocco: Some experience, suggestions, and information

Is Morocco a safe place to visit?

There are always risks involved with travelling abroad. Some of the more dangerous places I've been to are actually in north America e.g. east end of Vancouver, 49th Street of old Manhattan, and the 'combat zone' of Boston.

Morocco is relatively safe if you exercise the normal precautions as you should when travelling overseas. These include, among other things:

* Don't put yourself into a high risk situation such as taking an unlicensed taxi;
* Stay in the main tourist areas;
* Deal with legitimate local tour guides/companies (so your names are recorded somewhere);
* Put your passport and other valuables in a hidden pouch close to your body/chest;
* Never flesh money, expensive cameras, and jewelry around;
* Keep abreast of any security, health/medical, and other important issues of the region;
* Pay attention to personal hygiene (e.g. Don't use tap water to wash your contact lens or eyes; use only bottled water for drinking and brushing teeth, etc);
* Before leaving home, read several good guidebooks abt the country and region;
* Don't forget to purchase your trip cancellation, health/medical, travel and other insurance BEFORE your trip. Read the fine prints of your contract as to what are covered and what are exempted. Be prepared for emergency situations, esp if you plan to go off the beaten tracks.

In Morocco, female travelers should dress modestly in public places e.g. avoid tank tops, low-cut dresses, body-tight clothing, short shorts, and stilettos. Try to blend in with the locals (no expensive Gucci please). Strangers may try to talk to you. It is not impolite to just shake your head, ignore them and keep on walking, unless you really want to buy their goods or services, or strike up a conversation.

Morocco is an exciting place to visit. I think if one takes the normal precautions and is aware of the local culture and traditions, as well as security, health/medical, and other important issues, then there should be no problems. The best for single female travelers is to join a tour group organized by a licensed and legitimate company.

For more info, please consult the following websites:

(1) "Peregrine Adventures": This is an Australia-based company that has local tour guides in different parts of the world. I was quite happy with the Classic Tour group that I had joint in Casablanca. This tour company appears to be quite popular with many single female travelers from Australia. You may wish to ask you own travel agent to make the booking with Peregrine.

Classic Tour (8 days, 5 cities & 1 village, not a loop trip): http://www.peregrineadventures.com/Middle-East/Trip/Overview.html?trip=Classic-Morocco&tripid=1957

Other tours in Morocco: http://www.peregrineadventures.com/Middle-East/Country/View-All-Trips.html?country=Morocco&countryid=164&SEARCH_TYPE=trip_search

(2) Frommer's Morocco (Feb 2008 edition): This is an online book with 448 pages of updated information.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=yf7f9ZrumucC&dq=Frommer

(3) "Imagine le Voyage": This is a Marrakech-based local tour company that is recommended in Frommer's Morocco. Don't expect five stars service, but by local standard, it's reasonable. I made the travel arrangements by visiting their Marrakech office and talking to them in person. The operators speak English, French and Arabic.
http://www.saharaexpe.ma/

Disclaimer: The above must not be considered as professional travel advice. Please consult your travel agent or someone knowledgeable before making any decisions.