Is tipping customary in Morocco? | Intrepid Travel (2024)

FAQs

Is tipping customary in Morocco? | Intrepid Travel? ›

The amount is entirely a personal preference, however the equivalent of USD 2–4 per person, per day, is a commonly used guideline. Of course, you are free to tip more or less as you see fit, depending on your perception of service quality and the length of your trip.

While tipping isn't mandatory in Morocco, rounding up the bill and leaving tips at restaurants and cafes is standard practice. If you're happy with the service provided by waiters, drivers and other service workers, leaving a small tip is a good way to show your appreciation.

Plan to tip around 10-15% in Moroccan restaurants. However, the exact tip amount when eating out in Morocco depends on the place, occasion, and order size. It's customary to give your waiter or waitress a slightly higher tip than you would a bartender, as they are likely sharing their tip with the kitchen staff.

Riad/Hotel staff: We suggest 50 dirhams per day per room to cover all staff. Use the tipbox to be sure the tip gets divided equally between all staff! Local guide after a 1/2 day tour: About 50 dh (when you're 2 to 5 people) or 10 dh per person if you're more people.

Typically, the gratuity rate for guides should be around 10 to 20 percent of the total trip cost. That means if you're paying $500 for a day or two of guided rock climbing, an appropriate tip for your guide would be between $50 and $100.

The left hand is considered impure and is saved for bathroom duties and cleaning chores. All greetings, dining manners and other gestures should be done with your right hand. It is also impolite in Morocco to point at someone with your index finger to motion them towards you.

In Morocco, eating in silence is considered rude. It is also bad manners to reach across in front of anyone else. It is important to take food only from right in front of you. If you are set on a particularly juicy looking piece of chicken or vegetable, you must ask someone to pass it to you.

Toilets in Morocco

The main issue will be the lack of toilet paper, most Moroccans use their left hand for bathroom hygiene so bring a roll of toilet paper wherever you go!

Cash is widely used in Morocco, so it's worth having some with you at all times. You may want to exchange money to MAD before you leave, but it's also usually convenient to make ATM withdrawals locally once you arrive in Morocco.

Spending money in Morocco.

Card payments are usually possible in cities and tourist areas - but watch out for surcharges of up to 5%. Keep some cash on you for smaller purchases and to avoid the extra fees.

Is it better to use cash or card in Morocco? ›

We recommend that for the best rate use a bank in Morocco.

Most hotels and most reputable shops will accept major credit cards. Even when shopping in markets, some credit cards will be accepted. However beware, some souk shops may try to load another 5-10% on the price of the article when they see a credit card.

Although you can pay in euros or U.S. dollars in most shops and restaurants, merchants will always try and convince you that the exchange rate euro/dollars to dirhams is favourable to them. Thus, we recommend paying by debit or credit card whenever possible, and if it is not, to pay in dirhams.

There are usually no expectations when it comes to tipping at Moroccan hotels and riads, but it's considerate to reward good service. We suggest 100 dirhams per day per room to cover all staff (including housekeeping and kitchen staff if you've eaten meals there).

Basic tipping etiquette says, yes, you should tip your tour guide. There are exceptions if your specific tour experience includes gratuities or you simply didn't have a good time, but in general, tipping your guide at the end of the tour is customary in the U.S. and Europe, though it's much more common in the States.

Generally, it's appropriate to tip your private guide $10-$15 per day and another $5-$10 for drivers. For large group tours, you'd tip half of that.

A gratuity is an amount entirely at the service provider's discretion. At the same time, a tip is something that is typically expected.

Legally it's voluntary but if you slink out of a restaurant without leaving a gratuity of between 20 and 25 per cent, you're likely to be chased by a waiter demanding to know why. To help you avoid tipping anxiety (and disgruntled waitstaff), we explain how to tip in the United States.

In Morocco, the left hand is reserved for bathroom hygiene and dirty chores. So it is considered incredibly rude to eat, shake hands, give a gift, or leave a tip with your left hand.

Japan. Unlike Spain, Japan is a country where you should not tip at all; it's actually offensive. In the majority of Japanese restaurants a bill is not brought to the table. Instead, payment is accepted at the bar, so even trying to leave a tip for the waiter can be tricky.

For example, while servers and bartenders in the United States—the only country with a 20% recommended tip—often depend on tips to supplement wages, tipping at a restaurant could be considered an insult in Japan, China, or South Korea, where employers include higher service standards as part of wages.