CHEAP MOROCCO

But really cheap? Yes, that does still exist. And it's even the best way to get to the heart of the matter.

Only issue: that means very low budget hotels, and these are right those hotels that do not have the budget to market themselves online nor have a website.

So there you go. As travelers did for over a century, on a shoe string and without preparing.

Which is what traveling is about after all.

A cheap holiday in Morocco

In Morocco, as anywhere else, that means knowing where to go.

And, just as anywhere else, in Morocco that means: walking that extra 100 yards or 1 mile to be out of the tourist hot zone.

On the main square the coffee will be 3€, in the less touristy souk it becomes 2€, and in the back alley it is 50 cts. Here are some tips to make your holiday as cheap as possible.

About low budget hostels

They are everywhere, in every city or town, and even left, right and centre.

Over the past decade most train stations have moved out of the old towns to the new part of town, which also means the expensive part of town, so you will have some walking to do to the Medina.

Or take a cheap 1 or 2 EUR taxi to the old part of town.

Comforts: Mind that very low budget (under 20€) means very low comforts too. You will not have private bathrooms or toilets, if the hostel is in an authentic Moroccan building you will only have a window or door onto the patio, not a real window, and so on.

You have a bed, a blanket, space, and that's it.

But, very often these hostels are very safe too. Part of the robust construction that comes with an old house, part of the social control at the reception desk.

And it also means that you are often surrounded by other backpackers as well as local people, and that you do not find in the tourist chains.

Live cheap, do not be cheap

Do not act like these tourists that walk into a pluche riad and ask: "How much is this place"?

The riad owner starts to explain that this rooms starts at 80€, that room at... only to be interrupted with a : "We give you 20€".

That might work with the most desperate of small shops, but there are vary many worlds in one country.

Budget hotel in Tangier

Cheap Taxis

Make sure you take a Petit Taxi and only those with a meter that is on.

You can not blame taxi drivers, with their daily fight in a very competitive world, to be a tad creative...

...or very creative sometimes, up to a point that a New Yorker would be shocked about the price...

But you can not afford that. In general a standard short itinerary within the city centre limits does not have to cost you more than 1 or 2 EUR.

Cheap Flights

From or to European cities, the cheapest airline is Ryan Air.

They fly to all Moroccan cities, and this from almost all European cities.

Rates can be as low as 70€ retour (in september).

Typical 30-50€ room

Avoid the souks

Well, if you want your holiday to be cheap, avoid the souks.

Too much time there and it is a frustrating affair for all parties.

More and more they have become the place where tourists come to buy their souvenirs and presents, the competition is massive, and the whole survival of families depends on the sales techniques of the shop owner.