TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO FEZ AND WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO

TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO FEZ AND WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO

Are you going to travel to Fez and you have doubts about what you will find? Do you want to make the most of your trip? Well you’re in luck, I’ll tell you what we learned on our trip to Fez to enjoy yours to the fullest and do not screw up like us. Write down these tips to travel to Fez and have an experience of 10! Morocco tours 8 days

THE BEST TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO FEZ

1) The official currency in Morocco is the Moroccan dirham (at the time of writing this article 1 euro = 10,6068 Dh). Exchange dirhams at Fez airport or better at the official exchange offices. Don’t forget to ask for your ticket at the exchange houses so that they apply the same exchange rate if you have to change back to euros at the airport.

In hotels/riads, large restaurants and some stores you can pay by card. In any case, if you do not have enough dirhams to make your purchases, they usually accept euros without any problem. Remember that 1 euro is equivalent to about 10 dirhams approximately.

2) Avoid shopping where tourists shop. Look where the locals shop, it must be for a reason…

3) ALWAYS haggle. If you are like me and the art of haggling is as good as piloting a spaceship, remember that in Morocco it is considered a game and it is frowned upon not to do so. Some tips that will help you are not to show too much interest in the product in question, and start by offering half the initial price.

Even so, no matter how clever you are, don’t think that your purchase has been a bargain: Moroccans are smarter and will always make a profit. They have been practicing the ritual of bargaining for hundreds of years….

Ah! It is considered bad manners to bargain a lot for a product and then not buy it.

4) Be curious in all stores and ask questions without fear. Contrary to what we have been told about other cities like Marrakech, in Fez they are not at all heavy. Everyone goes about their business and you will generally be greeted with a smile.

5) Do not go out in the medina at dusk. Strolling through the souks of Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira streets is safe, but it is not advisable to do so when the merchants close or after the last prayer of the day. This is one of the best tips for traveling to Fez that I can give you. Fes desert tours

Fez is a safe city as long as logical precautions are taken.

TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO FEZ AND WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO

Are you going to travel to Fez and you have doubts about what you will find? Do you want to make the most of your trip? Well you’re in luck, I’ll tell you what we learned on our trip to Fez to enjoy yours to the fullest and do not screw up like us. Write down these tips to travel to Fez and have an experience of 10!

THE BEST TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO FEZ

1) The official currency in Morocco is the Moroccan dirham (at the time of writing this article 1 euro = 10,6068 Dh). Exchange dirhams at Fez airport or better at the official exchange offices. Don’t forget to ask for your ticket at the exchange houses so that they apply the same exchange rate if you have to change back to euros at the airport.

In hotels/riads, large restaurants and some stores you can pay by card. In any case, if you do not have enough dirhams to make your purchases, they usually accept euros without any problem. Remember that 1 euro is equivalent to about 10 dirhams approximately.

2) Avoid shopping where tourists shop. Look where the locals shop, it must be for a reason….

3) ALWAYS haggle. If you are like me and the art of haggling is as good as piloting a spaceship, remember that in Morocco it is considered a game and it is frowned upon not to do so. Some tips that will help you are not to show too much interest in the product in question, and start by offering half the initial price. Viajes a Marrakech

Even so, no matter how clever you are, don’t think that your purchase has been a bargain: Moroccans are smarter and will always make a profit. They have been practicing the ritual of bargaining for hundreds of years….

Ah! It is considered bad manners to bargain a lot for a product and then not buy it.

4) Be curious in all stores and ask questions without fear. Contrary to what we have been told about other cities like Marrakech, in Fez they are not at all heavy. Everyone goes about their business and you will generally be greeted with a smile.

5) Do not go out in the medina at dusk. Strolling through the souks of Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira streets is safe, but it is not advisable to do so when the merchants close or after the last prayer of the day. This is one of the best tips for traveling to Fez that I can give you. Tours a Marruecos

Fez is a safe city as long as logical precautions are taken.

6) Always ask permission before photographing people. Usually they will say yes or ask for some money in exchange.

7) Try the local cuisine, mint tea and juices from street stalls (the pomegranate, sugar cane and ginger is spectacular). Although it is not recommended to drink tap water, I know of one who took a good drink and is still alive! 😂😂

8) Wear comfortable shoes to walk through the narrow streets of the medina.

9) Although in most mosques non-Muslims are not allowed to enter, do not hesitate to peek in the door They will leave you with your mouth open!

10) The best (and only) way to get around the medina or Fez-el-Bali is on foot, but to get to the Ville Nouvelle or Fez-el-Jedid (area of the Jewish quarter and Royal Palace) take a petit cab. You will recognize them immediately because they are small and red.

11) Take a pen (or two) with you to fill out the immigration forms on your way to and from the airport. Long lines often form because no one has a pen!

12) When walking through the medina pay attention to passing donkeys and carts with merchandise and move to the side. I don’t know of any accidents but it’s better to be alert!

13) Take enough space in your suitcase or check an empty suitcase… You will want to buy half of Morocco!

14) Don’t forget to take out medical insurance. The quality of public hospitals varies a lot and the private ones are quite expensive.

15) AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST…HIRE AN OFFICIAL GUIDE!

We rarely do guided tours, but after our experience in Fez we would recommend it without hesitation.

The story of Carlos and Cristina, the “pick-ups” of Fez

Before traveling to Fez we had read in several forums that the medina is a complete labyrinth, but that you could go “on your own” without problems. So we went out very confident, but despite being born with a built-in GPS it didn’t take us even 15 minutes of clockwork to get lost.

As we wandered through the medina we were “mugged” by a guide who offered to take us to the Chouwara tannery. He didn’t look like much of a guide, all said and done, but since he was friendly and we were lost we agreed with him to take us to the tannery for 5 euros.

And he took us to the tannery, and to the Andalusian quarter and even to a slippers workshop. Everything was going well until two guys appeared in a small street and grabbed our guide by the scruff of the neck, cornering him in a corner. They told us they were policemen and to get out of there, but we didn’t know what to do: on the one hand I was convinced they were going to beat him up, but on the other hand we were more lost than at the beginning and there was no one to ask.

That’s when a guy came out of nowhere, he told us that he was the brother of the other one and that we should follow him because he was going to get us out of there. I was getting more and more suspicious, but we had no other options, so we decided to follow him with the umbrella tightly clutched to hand out slaps in case things got ugly.

And just when we were feeling the most insecure… who did we meet? Well, Lola and Maria, two ladies we had met the previous evening in the boarding queue and who were like a divine apparition. What are the odds of meeting two people you know in a medina with more than 9,000 narrow streets?

Best of all, they were not alone; they were accompanied by Marian, their official guide, who welcomed us into the group and did not leave us alone for the two days we were in Fez.

Since then we have been the “taken” of Fez and we believe even more in destiny.

NOTE: The two husbands were real policemen and our fake guide probably spent a couple of nights in the dungeon….

MORE REASONS TO HIRE AN OFFICIAL GUIDE?

They are accredited by the Ministry and have extensive knowledge about the history of Fez and its monuments, while the unofficial ones tell you what they think they can.

They do not take you to their friends’ stores to collect a commission. They only take you to a store if you ask them to: they will recommend you the most authentic and quality products.

They speak Spanish and are trustworthy people, while with the unofficial ones you risk it.

The fake guides are chased by incognito tourist police (now I understand why they were running us everywhere…).

The medina can be perfectly explored on your own, but I recognize that without a guide we would not have seen half of the things (and I’m not only talking about monuments) and we would have taken a rather superficial view of Fez.

HOW TO HIRE AN OFFICIAL GUIDE IN FEZ?

They can be hired through the consulate or directly at your hotel or riad.

They have an official price rate: 180 dirhams (about 18 euros) for 3 hours / 400 dirhams (about 40 euros) for the whole day (2017 prices).

We couldn’t have been happier with our guide Marian, she took us to amazing sites and we learned so much with her. It was a trip of 10. (To contact her send me an email or leave me a comment and I’ll tell you her phone number).