Foreigners Survival Guide to Taking Taxis in Morocco & Marrakech
Getting around in Morocco is kinda easy, kinda not. If you’re in a big city like Marrakech there will be hundreds of taxi drivers vying for your business on every street corner, but then something weird happens – Like the taxi driver says the “meter is broken”, your trip doesn’t start for an hour, or another person hops in on your ride (???). All of this is actually totally normal for Moroccan Taxis.
✔️ Using Taxis in Morocco – Key Takeaways
- Morocco’s version of Uber is Careem, but it doesn’t work in Marrakech
- Most taxis in Morocco are shared, so don’t be surprised if someone hops in on your ride!
- Petit Taxis operate within a city, Grand Taxi (shuttle vans) drive intercity
- You need to negotiate a taxi price before getting in the cab.
The Difference Between Grand and Petit Taxis in Morocco
The main difference between Petit Taxis and Grand Taxis is that Grand Taxis only go between towns and cities, and Petit Taxis operate within a city. For example, you could take a Grand Taxi from Marrakech to Casablanca, and then a Petit Taxi from the train station in Casablanca to your hotel.
Petit Taxis
Taxis in Morocco are called “Petit Taxis”. You’ll find them everywhere on the street in all cities. The taxis have different colors depending on which city you’re in, for example in Casablanca Petit Taxis are Red, in Rabat they’re blue, and in Marrakech they’re yellow. If you’re just one person a Petit Taxi in Morocco will frequently pick up other passengers along the way to fill the car, similar to Uber Pool.
Grand Taxis
Grand Taxis are the name for shared taxis in Morocco. They’re usually a minivan or an SUV, and cost a portion of what a normal trip would. The downside of shared taxis is you need to wait for the Grand Taxi to fill with passengers before the driver departs. If you’re traveling a popular route, the car could fill up quickly – and if you’re going somewhere more remote it could take hours.
For example, we took a shared taxi from Marrakech to Imlil, which is a village in the High Atlas Mountains. Our shared taxi from the large city left almost immediately because there were lots of people waiting for cabs. But, when we tried to take a shared taxi back to the city from a small village we were told it would be a two-hour wait for the cab to fill up!
🚕 Tip! If you get tired of waiting you can pay for the unfilled spots on a Grand Taxi to start your trip immediately.
There’s No Uber, But There Is Careem
There’s kinda sorta no Uber in Morocco. Instead, they have an app called Careem that is actually owned by Uber. It works similarly to Uber, but you will likely have to pay for your rides in cash.
Note! Careem operates in most big cities in Morocco, but not Marrakech.
There is no Uber in Morocco in 2024 – Instead of Uber, Morocco has other ride-hailing apps
You Have to Haggle & Negotiate a Price Before Getting In
The taxis hailed off the street in Morocco rarely have a meter running. Instead, you need to haggle the price before you get in the cab. It’s always annoying to have to haggle in Morocco for taxis, especially if you’re a foreigner. The first price quoted will usually be 2-10x the normal rate.
Taxi scams in Morocco
Morocco doesn’t have the best reputation with travelers, and that’s because there’s a higher-than-average amount of travel scams in Morocco you need to watch out for. Avoid these taxi scams on your next trip to Morocco!
I was scammed over and over again on my first trip to Marrakech, so I wrote this guide to help first-time travelers in Morocco not get scammed!
🚩 Petit Taxis That Won’t Stop for More Than One Person
This isn’t really a scam, it’s more of a cultural practice that’s very foreign to non-Moroccans. Taxis that operate within a city are called “Petit Taxis’ in Morocco. They can pick up 3 passengers at once. Petit taxis are paid for by the ride and not by the passenger, but they can pick up more than one ride at a time, similar to how “Uber Pool” operates.
This practice started so empty seats on private taxi rides wouldn’t go to waste, but it’s become a little scammy due to taxi drivers’ greed. Petit taxi drivers can make 3x the money on a ride by taking 3 single passengers doing 3 separate trips, than if they took a group of three on one trip.
Because of this, some taxi drivers refuse to pick up more than one or two passengers, even if their car has room for three or four. So, if you’re traveling in a group in Morocco and you can’t hail a cab, consider splitting up and hailing one cab per person. It’s a massive headache, but it’s how petit taxis operate in Morocco.
🚩 “The Meter is Broken” Taxi Scam
Official taxis in the major cities in Morocco all have a meter. The problem is that they never want to turn it on, especially for foreigners. A lot of taxi drivers will lie and say their meter is broken so they don’t have to turn it on. If they refuse to turn on the meter, you need to negotiate the price of the ride up-front. This is a big headache for tourists who don’t know the correct rate for a trip.
🚩 The “No Change” Taxi Scam
This one happens with taxi drivers all over the world. Basically, a taxi driver will say they don’t have any change for your large bills and expect to pocket the extra. In Morocco, it goes a step further. Sometimes taxi drivers will give your large bill to a boy on the street to go and “make change’ for you, and then say the boy ran off with it. Then they expect you to pay twice!
