chgoeditor

I think hotel staff are more likely to speak English, but even then you may find some language barriers. Choosing a French hotel chain may not help. Some Moroccans also speak Spanish, but it's much more common in the north of the country.

My Mom grew up in Morocco/speaks fluent French. On our last trip, I was really surprised at how often I had to turn to her to communicate--even at hotels, in cabs, at museums and with police when asking for directions. I don't want to overplay it, but you may have some obstacles--at times--if you speak no French, Spanish or Arabic. I certainly would feel comfortable going to Morocco without a French-speaking travel companion, but I know I would have some challenges along the way.

Tips I'd give you in that respect:
* If you're taking a cab, ask the hotel to write down the name and address of where you're going so you can show it to the driver.
* Always carry something from the hotel with its name & address.
* Learn a few simple phrases in French & Arabic. "La, shook-rahn" ("No, thank you" in Arabic) is one of the handiest given that a lot of people may try to sell you stuff. "Mar-hah-ba" (hello) is another good one. I'm not great with the phonetic spellings, so you might want to listen to an audio pronunciation guide.
* There are some translation apps that are available for smart phones. I haven't tried them, but they can't hurt. That said, know that Moroccan Arabic sounds very different from Modern Standard Arabic. As I understand it, most Arabic speakers can understand MSA even if they can't speak it themselves.

stimpy

That makes no difference.

WNelson

Wow!
Again I am amazed at the helpful responses.
I am pretty lucky in that i married a wonderful and smart women who speaks 4 languages, but she will be at the conference all day.
Unfortunately, i speak 1.5. languages (English and conversational Spanish)
I will try the language apps for the iphone and see if that works.

Which brings me to another question:
What do people do about cell service over there?
How is the wifi in the city?
Should i purchase a throw away 4 band cell phone for emergencies?

Thank you again for all of the great info.

stimpy

If you have an unlocked tri or quad band phone, just grab a local pre-paid SIM like you would in any country.

I don't recall seeing much in the way of free wifi, but the hotels have paid wifi and probably some cafes.

chgoeditor

Here's how I dealt with the internet issue in Morocco:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...t-service.html

Other than that, I simply turned off my phone's data plan so I could make/receive calls and send/receive text messages, but that was it. Your alternative is to bring an unlocked multi-band cell phone and buy a throw-away SIM card, which are available at most newstands, Maroc Telecom stores, etc.

WNelson

OK.

This is an interesting one.

I am flying from Phoenix Arizona.

What are the best routes in to Morocco?

Are there any to avoid?

Thanks again for all of the great info.

stimpy

Well that is a very open-ended question. It depends on what class you are flying, and what you prefer. You could fly to New York, and then take the AT non-stop to CMN. That would probably be the cheapest. AT has the best service, but I'm not sure how good their long haul seats are.

BA is guaranteed to have flat seats in business class to London, but I think you might have to then transfer to Gatwick which is no good unless you are doing a stop-over in London. Otherwise you can take most any other Euro airline, and even if they don't connect to Morocco, you can take AT from most all Euro hubs. They have the best business class service of any airline between Morocco and Europe. And economy isn't bad either. Way better meals than any other airline, that's for sure.

chgoeditor

What are your priorities? Price? Seat comfort? Shortest travel time? Miles earned?

WNelson

Sorry about the lack of info.

Probably as economical as possible, shortest travel time. Points/Miles are not a big deal as it seems impossible to match up a good price with Continental, US airways

What is AT?

Taking a domestic flight to LAX, NY, Houston, Denver or Chicago is not a problem and then taking the longer flight is a possibility.

chgoeditor

AT=Royal Air Maroc

The only non-stop flights from the US to Morocco are on Royal Air Maroc out of JFK into Casablanca (CMN).

If you fly out of any other major city, you'll have to either fly through JFK or make a connection in Europe.

The European connections have their pros & cons.

The big cons: When I checked this spring, there weren't a lot of convenient connection options through Europe. (Iberia through Madrid and Air France through Paris were the best options.) On previous trips I'd connected in London on BA then on to Casablanca, but that wasn't an option in March.

Additionally, if you connect via Europe, you may have to lay over overnight in a European city. That's both a pro & a con in my book. On my last trip, I did the only itinerary that allowed me to get home without overnighting in Europe: CMN to CDG to JFK to ORD. Yes, I got home without having to lay over in Paris, but I was also traveling for 24 hours straight. In retrospect, I'd have preferred to spend the night in Paris and have less of a marathon travel day. (Outbound I flew ORD-JFK-CDG-CMN and total travel time was about 14 hours.)

Now, if you're willing to change airports--or put a lot of effort into travel planning--you may be able to fly into Europe and then change to a low-cost carrier directly into Marrakech. (I wasn't looking at Marrakech flights on my last trip, but I checked a couple years ago and that was an option.) Airlines such as RyanAir & EasyJet fly into a lot or Moroccan airports. Or, as stimpy mentions, AT is another connection option.

stimpy

I've flown AT to CMN via AMS, MXP, ORY, and LYS. I only went in economy once, but even on the short ORY-CMN flight, they served a nice hot chicken or fish dinner. In business class they are very good and better than all the Euro carriers in terms of food, drink and service.

Judging by the OP's info, the AT JFK flight would probably be the best option, but keep in mind, you have a bit of a layover at CNM before you connect to RAK. Still it should be by far the cheapest option.

WNelson

Thank you again for the great info!

I think we are going to fly into NY, spend a short night and then fly out the next day to Morocco.

Are there any cultural restrictions that I should be aware of?

I/we do not want to offend anyone unknowingly.

stimpy

Not really, unless you visit a mosque. Women going out and about should be a bit more modestly dressed than young girls would in the US on a hot day. But they don't have to cover up their hair or anything restrictive. And of course at the hotel pool all the fit ladies are in skimpy bikinis.

chgoeditor

Restrictions might be too strong of a word, but some cultural differences you'll notice:

• On my last trip (March-April) I only saw one Western couple wearing shorts even though we were in a few cities where the weather was fairly warm. It's just not that common, and you (or your wife, in particular) will stand out more if you do.
  
• In most cities you can't buy alcohol within the medina. If you're dining within the medina, ask if it's OK to BYOB (and carry it in a bag).
  
• You'll notice a lot of cafes/salons de thé. 99% of the clientele are men. Again, women can go in, but may feel uncomfortable. (Patisseries, on the other hand, are perfectly acceptable for women.)
  
• Bargaining is common at stores in the medina. Don't pay full price!
  
• You probably won't see much--or any--pork on menus.

UK Flyer 1

I am glad to see this post as I have similar requirements for December.
Can anyone advise if and how it is possible to secure a sensible rate at the Sofitel?