Morocco 2013 - Should we be concerned

[Rasthurlo]

was planning on going to Morocco in late April/early March - principally on a route that hugs the Algerian border.

should we be concerned with events in Algeria and the greater Sahel?

I know that its a few months off and a lot can change in that time, but what is the received wisdom on this?

Anyone currently in Morocco to give a sit-rep on the atmosphere?

[TheWarden]

Absolutely not, no need to be concerned for Morocco, the recent events in Algeria are a long long way from the border

Unfortunately our media often inaacuractly tarnishes the whole Islamic world with the same message

[Endurodude]

As above. I, too, am heading to Morocco later this year (although August) and, for a brief time, considered the same question. I agree that the recent incidents are far from Morocco, and I also agree that our media is prone to hyperbole. If we followed their advice, I'd never leave my front door!

[g6snl]

Last time I was in Morocco we saw fighting in the street in Fes, demonstrations in Fes and Rabat. Huge crowds of men in Fes on Friday night and someone we met there was robbed by a kid on a scooter.

Is there any reason to worry? No its fairly normal stuff really. It all looks much worse than it is. I love the place and the people are so friendly.

To be fair the fighting in the street was down to a coupled of hot headed cab drivers. The demostrations were political and loud but peacefull. The person robbed was wearing a gold chain around her neck outside her clothes.

[Peter Girling]

Hi All,

It's business as usual for us.

Peter

[twenty4seven]

I have always felt very safe in Morocco, the Moroccans are very caring in general and also it appears to me they guard their border robustly in the South of Morocco.

I would go back there tomorrow without hesitation if I could

[Roger Bruton]

Hello from Boujdour! No worries on this trip (other than mechanical!). Spent a lot of today with a great bunch of Saharawis helping to try and fix one of the vehicles. They even gave us lunch! Last night we were the only people at the Roi Bedouin campsite near Laayoune -- did not feel at all unsafe.

[Vaufi]

As said above: No worries about Morocco. We've just returned from an extensive trip in November. Initially we were a bit nervous about the Rif region, due to several posts in the UKGSer Morocco Knowledge Base Morocco GS Knowledgebase - ::. UKGSer.com .::
But taking in account that the warnings were from around 2007 we decided to give it a go.

Basically the people in the Rif mountains still pester you, trying to sell their dope, but we never ever got into a situation where we felt endangered. Same in Tangiers. Nobody tried to rip off luggage as a guy called "Fanum" reports in the Knowledge Base. Instead, we were pleasantly surprised how friendly the people were, no matter whether in the towns or in rural surroundings.

Having said that - Marrakech is a somewhat different. In the souk people do pester you, as soon as you show any interest in something. But usually a clear on distinct "NON" puts them off.

We were told that the present king has invested a lot in better infrastructure esp. in the notorious Rif region. Roads have improved cinsiderably compared to what Tim Cullis reports in the Morocco Knowledge Base. Additionally the government has put up a kind of "Tourist Police" in the main tourist centres, taking in account that foreign visitors are vital for the income....

You've got to accept that some time, somewhere you will be cheated in some way. But in respect to the fairly cheap costs of living and the wonderful landscape, just ignore it and be more careful next time

[Roger Bruton]

Just done two weeks in Morocco - top to bottom - now in Senegal. No probs at all. There are a LOT more speed traps (especially around Rabat) but if you are behaving......

The only place I was not looking forward to was the checkpoint at the Dakhla roundabout - got separated from 20 euros there last year for an "infraction" - but this year ALL the police could not have been nicer.