Scams in Marrakech: traps to avoid and safety tips

Fake guides and "it's closed"

This is the most widespread scam in the medina. A young man approaches you, often in French or English, and explains that the street you are heading for "is closed", that the square is "this way", that the mosque cannot be visited today or that the tanneries close in ten minutes. He offers to show you the way. At the end of the walk he demands a tip, sometimes insistently, or leaves you in a shop where he earns a commission.

The best-known version involves the Marrakech tanneries, in the east of the medina. A "guide" hands you a sprig of mint against the smell, takes you up to a terrace, then leads you into a leather shop where you are pressed to buy. On the way out, he asks for money for the visit.

The right reflexes:

• A street in the medina is almost never "closed". Say thank you, keep walking and check your offline map.
• Do not follow someone who approached you in the street. If you are lost, ask a shopkeeper sitting in his shop instead.
• If you want a guide, hire an official one: they wear a badge issued by the authorities. Your riad or hotel can book one, at a price agreed in advance.
• If you have accepted someone's help, settle the amount before setting off. A small coin is enough for a few minutes of guidance.

Our guide to the Marrakech medina gives you the landmarks to find your own way through the lanes.

Jemaa el-Fna: henna, monkeys and snakes

Jemaa el-Fna square concentrates several classic traps, especially in the late afternoon as it fills up.

Forced henna

A woman takes your hand with a smile and starts a henna design before you have even answered. Once the paste is on, she demands a high price. Keep your hands close to you, say no firmly and pull your hand away at once. If you want henna, choose the artist yourself, agree on the design and price before she starts, and beware of "black" henna, which can contain dyes that cause skin reactions.

Paid photos with animals

Monkey handlers and snake charmers live off photos. Some put a snake on your shoulders or a monkey on your arm without asking, then demand money. Taking a picture from a distance is also charged: if you take a photo, expect to be asked for a coin. The monkeys on show are Barbary macaques, an endangered species whose capture is prohibited; not photographing them is also a way of not encouraging this trade.

The evening food stalls

In the evening, the numbered stalls serve grilled meat, soups and snails. The touts are very insistent and each one swears his stall is the best. The traps: bread, olives or sauces placed on the table unasked and then charged, a bill that bears no relation to the menu. Choose a stall that displays its prices, ask the price of each dish when ordering, refuse what you did not order and check the bill line by line.

The souks: inflated prices and commissions

In the souks of Marrakech, haggling is part of the sale. The first price quoted to a tourist can be several times the value of the item. That is not a scam in the strict sense, but some practices are:

• "Berber silver", "camel leather" or "pure saffron" sold at a high price when the quality does not match;
• the item swapped for a lower-quality one at the moment of wrapping: keep an eye on your purchase;
• the one-day "cooperative" or "Berber festival" where "everything is cheaper": it is an ordinary shop, and your companion takes a commission.

To learn real prices before haggling, take a look around a fixed-price shop, such as the Ensemble Artisanal, on Avenue Mohammed V, near the Koutoubia. Never offer a price for something you do not want to buy: once your price is accepted, the seller expects you to pay.

Taxis: meter or fare agreed before getting in

In town, the beige petits taxis carry up to three passengers. They have a meter, but many drivers offer tourists a flat fare, often much higher. Ask for the meter as soon as you get in; if the driver refuses, agree on the fare before setting off or get out. At night, a 50% surcharge legally applies: it should show on the meter, not be added on top of a fare you have already negotiated. Carry small notes: the "no change" excuse is common.

Another trap: the driver who claims your riad cannot be reached and drops you far from the right gate, where a "guide" is waiting. Note the exact address and the gate (bab) nearest your accommodation, and ask your riad to meet you at the access point. On arrival, prices and options are covered in our guide from the airport to the city centre, and other ways of getting around in getting around Marrakech.

Money and exchange: costly mistakes

• Change money at a bank or an authorised exchange office, which displays its rates and gives you a receipt. Turn down offers to change money in the street.
• Keep your exchange receipts: they are required to convert your remaining dirhams back before you leave.
• Use cash machines inside or in front of a bank branch, during the day, and hide your PIN.
• When a card terminal offers to charge you in your own currency rather than in dirhams, choose dirhams: the conversion offered is usually less favourable.
• Check your change: 10-dirham coins or 20-dirham notes are sometimes "forgotten".

Details on cards, exchange and usual tips are in our guide money and tipping in Marrakech.

Safety: theft, traffic and women travelling alone

Pickpocketing

Pickpockets work the crowds of Jemaa el-Fna, the souks and the areas around the bus stations. Wear your bag across your body and in front of you, do not keep your phone in a back pocket and avoid pulling out a thick wad of notes to pay. Snatch thefts from motorbikes also happen: hold your phone on the wall side.

Scooters in the medina

The most concrete danger in the medina is traffic. Scooters, handcarts and donkeys move through lanes two metres wide, often fast and without warning. Walk on the side, listen for an engine behind you and never step back without looking, especially when taking a photo.

Drugs: turn down every offer

In the medina you may be offered hashish, sometimes under a code name. Cannabis remains illegal in Morocco for recreational use, and the offer can be the start of a scam: an accomplice then turns up claiming to be a police officer and demands money to "settle the matter". Refuse without discussion and walk on.

Women travelling alone

Women on their own are often the target of remarks and insistent advances, rarely more. Clothing that covers shoulders and knees attracts less attention. Do not respond to catcalls, keep a confident pace and step into a shop or café if someone follows you. In the evening, stick to busy streets and take a taxi back if your riad is at the end of a poorly lit derb.

Emergency numbers in Morocco

The short numbers below are free and work 24 hours a day. Note them down before you leave.

In Marrakech, the brigade touristique is the police unit in charge of visitors. Its office is on Jemaa el-Fna square, near the post office, and it can also be reached on 05 24 38 46 01. Plain-clothes officers patrol the medina. Contact it for a theft, an assault or a dispute with a shopkeeper, a fake guide or a taxi: note the taxi's number or the shop's location. If your passport is lost or stolen, get a report from the police station, then contact your country's consulate. For a health problem, your riad or hotel knows the doctors who make house calls and the private clinics in the area.

Summary table: scam and right reflex

Information observed in October 2026.

Further reading

To prepare your first steps in the city, read our guide to the Marrakech medina, then plan your journeys with getting around Marrakech. To budget for shopping and tips, see money and tipping in Marrakech.