Is Morocco safe? An honest answer, with sources

Morocco receives more than ten million visitors in a normal year, and almost none of them are harmed. That is worth saying plainly, because the question is usually asked after reading something alarming, and the honest answer is that the risk profile is that of a middle-income country with a large tourism industry: petty crime in the busy places, some scams, careless driving, and a small number of very serious incidents.

What follows is drawn from the British and Australian governments, which publish the most detailed public advice on Morocco. Read your own government’s page as well, because advisory levels differ, and this is not legal or medical advice.

What the official advice actually says

The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Morocco, potentially indiscriminate and potentially in transport hubs, tourist locations, government buildings, crowded places and businesses with Western interests, with an increased threat linked to Moroccans sympathetic to or belonging to Daesh. It adds that the authorities regularly disrupt cells.

Australia’s Smartraveller goes a step further and advises a high degree of caution in Morocco overall because of the threat of terrorism, with higher levels in some areas, and warns against all travel within 30 kilometres of the Berm, the militarised boundary in the disputed Western Sahara.

Neither government tells people to stay away from the country. Both tell them to stay aware, follow local news and follow the instructions of local authorities.

Crime: the risk you will actually meet

Petty crime is the thing that happens to visitors. The British advice lists pickpocketing, bag-snatching and theft by motorcycle of visible jewellery and handbags, common in medina quarters and on beaches. It also warns of occasional violent crime, including criminals using knives in street attacks, thefts and burglaries in major cities and along beaches, and advises avoiding quiet areas after dark and carrying large amounts of money or valuables.

The Australian advice adds muggings when walking at night, aggressive begging and harassment, particularly near cash machines, and sexual harassment of women travellers. That is a fair summary of what people report: an atmosphere in the crowded parts of the big cities that is sometimes exhausting, and a small number of street crimes that the usual habits avoid.

Leave the good watch at home, keep the phone in a pocket rather than in a hand at the kerb, keep the passport in a safe, and split your money between two places.

Scams, taxis and the guides who are not guides

Credit card fraud and confidence tricks are common. The standard shapes are the shop that substitutes inferior goods for what you thought you bought, the double charge on a card, the friendly stranger who leads you to a workshop where prices are invented, and the man at the gate who says the attraction is closed today and offers to show you something better.

The British advice covers two of them. People posing as official tourist guides and harassing tourists is common, so if you use a guide in a medina, check the official badge and the local authority’s permission. On taxis: ride-hailing cars may be unregulated and uninsured, and you should agree a fare in advance or insist on the meter.

None of this is dangerous. It is expensive, and it is most of what people mean when they come home and say Morocco was hard work.

Terrorism, in proportion

The threat is real and it is small. Morocco has suffered attacks, and the security services disrupt plots regularly; the last attack that killed foreign tourists was in December 2018, when two Scandinavian hikers were murdered on a trail above Imlil in the High Atlas, an attack treated as terrorism.

The sensible response is the same as anywhere: avoid obviously symbolic targets, keep up with the news, and do not let a low-probability risk stop you travelling. Hiking alone in the mountains is the activity both governments single out, and the reason is not only crime but injury, weather and exposure.

Where you should not go

Two areas are worth avoiding, both at the edges of the country rather than on any normal itinerary.

The land and sea borders with Algeria are closed and closely patrolled, and crossing without authorisation is illegal. On the coast this catches people on jet skis and in small boats: know where the line is, stay in Moroccan waters, and carry enough fuel to get back.

The other is the militarised boundary in Western Sahara, known as the Berm. Australia advises against all travel within 30 kilometres of its northern or western side, and south and east of it, because of the risk of armed conflict; the FCDO treats Western Sahara as disputed territory with its own advice page. Organised trips to Dakhla are a different matter from wandering near the boundary, but it is worth knowing where it is.

Laws that catch visitors out

Most of the legal trouble tourists meet in Morocco is avoidable and comes from not knowing the rules rather than from intending to break them.

It is illegal to attempt to convert a Muslim to another faith, or to distribute evangelical literature, and the penalty can be a fine or up to three years in prison. Public criticism of Islam, including online, can bring a heavy fine or up to two years. Same-sex sexual relations are illegal, and public affection can lead to prosecution. Sexual activity between unmarried people is illegal for Moroccan nationals, which in practice affects sharing a hotel room; the law is generally not applied to visiting foreigners in tourist areas, but affection in public is worth avoiding, especially near religious sites.

Alcohol is available in licensed venues and illegal everywhere else: drinking in the street can lead to arrest. Drugs are a zero-tolerance matter, with the British advice warning of long jail sentences and heavy fines for possession, use or trafficking, including in transit, and telling travellers never to carry a bag for a stranger. Photographing sensitive political or military sites is illegal, and people should be asked before you photograph them, particularly children. Pornography is illegal, and drones need permission from the civil aviation authority before you fly one.

Australia adds one that visitors rarely consider: Morocco has the death penalty for the most serious crimes, and dual nationals are treated as Moroccan citizens.

Health, water and one drink to be careful with

Water and food are the ordinary risks. Waterborne and foodborne illness is common, so drink bottled or boiled water and be careful with salads and ice. Insect-borne diseases including leishmaniasis and typhus occur, so use repellent and keep rooms screened. Animals can carry rabies, so do not touch them, and get urgent help if you are bitten or scratched. Black henna can burn the skin.

The specific warning worth repeating is methanol. The British advice reports deaths and serious illness from alcoholic drinks containing methanol, which cannot be detected by taste or smell, and says to seek urgent medical attention if you or someone with you shows the signs after drinking. Buying alcohol from a licensed bar or shop, rather than from an unlicensed source, is the practical precaution.

Earthquakes, floods and swimming

Morocco is seismically active. On 8 September 2023 an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck Al Haouz province in the High Atlas, killing 2,960 people and injuring 5,674, the strongest ever recorded in the country. Rebuilding is still under way in the mountain villages, and the FCDO advises learning what to do during a quake and checking your hotel’s instructions.

Heavy rain can cause flash flooding, especially in the mountains and near rivers in winter, and the summer brings a risk of wildfires. On the coast, many beaches have little or no lifeguard cover and no warning signs, so currents and unexpected waves catch people out; swimming in dams and rivers is dangerous because of deep mud and steep underwater slopes.

Solo travellers, and women travelling alone

Solo travel is common in Morocco and works well if you decide in advance how you will handle attention. Both governments note harassment of women, particularly for those travelling alone, and recommend loose clothing that covers arms, legs and chest.

The habits that make the difference are simple: walk in lit streets rather than cutting through empty lanes at night, sit in the back of the taxi, keep conversations short and in public, decline offers of a private tour or a drink, and treat being followed as a reason to walk into a shop or cafe rather than an argument to be won. In the mountains, do not hike alone.

Staying online, and why it matters here

A working phone is a safety tool here as much as a convenience: the map that keeps you out of the wrong lane, the app that books a licensed car rather than an unlicensed one, the number to call your riad, and help when you need it, on 190 for the police and 15 for an ambulance.

The choice is the usual three: your own operator’s roaming, a local SIM bought in the city with a registration process, or a travel eSIM installed before you fly. Whichever you pick, keep the phone out of sight at kerbs and in crowds, and put the emergency numbers in your notes rather than relying on a search at the moment you need them.

Morocco rewards travellers who do the ordinary things: read the advice, insure the activities you actually plan to do, keep your valuables dull and distributed, agree prices before you agree to anything else, and be careful about water, ice and unlicensed alcohol. The risk you are then most likely to meet is a taxi driver with an opinion about the meter, which is a good problem to have.