Currency and Cost for your Morocco holiday
The currency used in Morocco and what you can expect to pay
The currency of Morocco is the Dirham (dhs). The Dirham is a closed currency which means it can only be purchased once you arrive in Morocco. You are allowed to bring in or take out 1000 dhs (around £79), but you will need to exchange the rest when you arrive.
The Dirham is available in note form in denominations of 20, 50, 100 & 200 and in coin form in denominations of 1/2, 1, 2, 5 & 10. A Dirham is made up of 100 santim, available in 1, 5, 10 & 20 santimat coins.
You will be able to exchange pounds to darahim (plural of dirham) at the airport, ferry ports, banks and most larger hotels. It is a good idea to keep your exchange receipts as you will need them when converting you darahim back to pounds. PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CHANGE SCOTTISH OR NORTHERN IRISH BANK NOTES and will find it difficult to change travellers cheques.
The preferred payment method across most of Morocco is cash as many traders do not have card facilities. However larger hotels, restaurants and stores are more likely to accept Visa and MasterCard, often with a small additional charge. Amex is rarely accepted.
When you change darahim back to pounds it will be at a much worse rate and as you are unable to take the currency home it is worthwhile withdrawing or changing little and often and no more than you need.
You will find ATMs all over the larger towns and cities, they usually dispense 100 & 200 dirham notes.
As with travel to any other country, please inform your bank/credit card company of your travel plans. This should avoid unexpected blocks being placed on your card. Also check whether they impose a fee for withdrawing cash or making purchases abroad so you don't have a raft of surprise charges waiting for you when you come back! Keep a list of your card numbers and contact phone numbers for your bank separate to your wallet or purse, so if you do lose your cards you'll know how to get in touch with your card issuer.
|
Restaurants |
Avg. |
Range |
|
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant |
30.00 MAD |
20.00-50.00 |
|
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course |
150.00 MAD |
90.00-200.00 |
|
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) |
50.00 MAD |
48.00-60.00 |
|
Domestic Beer (0.5 litre draught) |
25.00 MAD |
20.00-45.00 |
|
Imported Beer (0.33 litre bottle) |
30.00 MAD |
20.00-50.00 |
|
Cappuccino (regular) |
13.52 MAD |
10.00-18.00 |
|
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 litre bottle) |
5.69 MAD |
4.00-8.00 |
|
Water (0.33 litre bottle) |
3.67 MAD |
3.00-5.00 |
|
Markets |
Avg. |
Range |
|
Milk (regular), (1 litre) |
7.11 MAD |
6.40-8.00 |
|
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) |
4.23 MAD |
3.00-5.00 |
|
Rice (white), (1kg) |
12.03 MAD |
10.00-15.00 |
|
Eggs (12) |
13.48 MAD |
12.00-18.00 |
|
Local Cheese (1kg) |
71.92 MAD |
40.00-100.00 |
|
Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1kg) |
38.81 MAD |
23.00-60.00 |
|
Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) |
77.54 MAD |
66.14-90.00 |
|
Apples (1kg) |
12.39 MAD |
8.00-18.00 |
|
Banana (1kg) |
10.96 MAD |
8.00-15.00 |
|
Oranges (1kg) |
5.82 MAD |
4.50-8.00 |
|
Tomato (1kg) |
4.82 MAD |
4.00-7.00 |
|
Potato (1kg) |
4.43 MAD |
3.00-6.00 |
|
Onion (1kg) |
4.85 MAD |
3.00-7.00 |
|
Lettuce (1 head) |
3.80 MAD |
2.00-5.00 |
|
Water (1.5 litre bottle) |
6.09 MAD |
5.50-7.00 |
|
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) |
60.00 MAD |
40.00-80.00 |
|
Domestic Beer (0.5 litre bottle) |
18.36 MAD |
12.00-26.00 |
|
Imported Beer (0.33 litre bottle) |
21.98 MAD |
15.00-31.00 |
|
Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro) |
33.00 MAD |
32.00-35.00 |
|
Transportation |
Avg. |
Range |
|
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) |
5.00 MAD |
3.50-6.00 |
|
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) |
190.00 MAD |
100.00-220.00 |
|
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) |
7.00 MAD |
5.00-7.50 |
|
Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) |
6.00 MAD |
4.00-8.00 |
|
Taxi 1 hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) |
40.00 MAD |
24.00-50.00 |
|
Gasoline (1 litre) |
9.49 MAD |
8.60-10.67 |
