YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → YouTube transcript (7R5QxH1_79U)

YouTube transcript (7R5QxH1_79U) — Transcript

3,367 words · 499 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00We have to spent two weeks exploring the
0:03amazing, magnificent Morocco and we've
0:06learned a few things we really wish we'd
0:08known before we arrived. Some would have
0:10saved us money, some would have made
0:12traveling much easier and a few
0:15genuinely surprised us. It's [music]
0:17quite a daunting place to visit for the
0:19first time. The sights, sounds, smells,
0:22haggling, [music] it's unlike anywhere
0:24we've traveled before. So, if you're
0:26planning your first trip to Morocco from
0:28transport and money to food, safety
0:31[music] and what it's really like
0:32traveling here as a woman, here are the
0:34things we wished we'd known before
0:36traveling to Morocco.
0:40>> [music]
0:44>> There are a few things you want to have
0:46nailed down before you leave and they
0:49are obviously your flights, which city
0:51you want to enter or exit from. Do you
0:54want to do a private tour? Do you want
0:56to be on a group tour? Do you want to
0:58hire a car and drive yourself or do you
1:01want a private driver? We actually went
1:03with the fourth option. We got a private
1:05driver and incidentally it ended up
1:08being more flexible than being on a tour
1:10as well as being about half the price
1:12for the two of us. We went with a guide
1:15and a driver. He had a great reputation
1:17on Trip Advisor and Google
1:19recommendations and he turned out to be
1:21amazing, who made us feel safe, who
1:24spoke multiple languages. That's not to
1:27say that having a private driver is the
1:28best option for you. If you're a single
1:31solo traveler or you want to spend your
1:33evenings and days mixing and mingling
1:35with other people, having a bit of a
1:38laugh and other people to travel with,
1:40then you may wish to go with a group
1:42tour. In that case, I would recommend to
1:44check out the reputable companies online
1:46that offer tours in Morocco, adventure
1:48versus luxury versus budget, etc. A
1:51special note to those of you who want to
1:53drive yourself. The roads here in
1:56Morocco are not always
1:59sealed and they're not always all that
2:02drivable.
2:03>> [laughter]
2:04>> And on top of that, the traffic here can
2:05be chaotic and a bit of a nightmare.
2:08Just be prepared for
2:10full concentration and full
2:12comprehensive insurance on the car you
2:13decide to hire. Direction of travel.
2:16Okay, so where should I fly into? Should
2:19I fly out from the same place? Should I
2:20fly in from one, fly out from another?
2:22You'll decide this based on various
2:24factors. Generally, it's financial, but
2:26sometimes it's logistical. We were
2:28coming from the UK and we needed to go
2:30back to Australia. So, we decided to
2:33come in via Marrakech and do our trip
2:36and then back out through Casablanca,
2:39which had easier flights back to
2:41Australia and it meant we weren't
2:42backtracking into Marrakech.
2:54Visas. Certainly as an Australian and a
2:56UK citizen, we did not need to buy a
2:58visa on arrival. It was free of charge
3:01for 90 days and I believe that's the
3:03case for US, Canada, Schengen countries,
3:06but be sure to check online, of course.
3:09It was a very straightforward entry,
3:10just a stamp on the passport with the
3:13location of our first hotel and then we
3:15were straight through. Currency. So, the
3:17currency here is the Moroccan dirham.
3:20Everywhere accepts cash, obviously. It's
3:23usually tax free and under the table.
3:25Well, some places will accept card, but
3:27they are generally larger institutions.
3:29They're not usually the smaller vendors
3:31by the roadside. You will need to carry
3:34cash on you in Morocco. In fact, I would
3:37probably plan to pay for everything in
3:39cash and only resort to your card if
3:41needed, unless of course you plan to
3:43stay in all five-star hotels and of
3:45course you can use your card everywhere.
3:47The other currency that is accepted is
3:49the euro and you can almost fairly
3:52reasonably divide the dirham by 10 to
3:54get your price in euro. A point on ATMs
3:57or cash points, we found that not every
4:00cash point had a lot of money in it. So,
4:03at some cash points we'd or ATMs we'd go
4:06there and they just wouldn't have any
4:08money to give us. We'd have to go to
4:09another ATM. The other thing that
4:11happens is that you may only have access
4:14to, for example, 2,000 dirham, which is
4:16200 euro, but you may need a lot more
4:18than that. And the transaction fees in
4:21withdrawing multiple lots of 2,000, if
4:24the ATM actually has that in it, become
4:26exorbitant. So, what do you do about
4:28this? The two things to consider is what
4:30is my exchange rate? Am I getting a good
4:32exchange rate? But also, what is the
4:34commission to the bank? We found that
4:35international banks like HSBC were much
4:40better suited to withdrawing money with
4:42about a $1 withdrawal fee.
4:46There are two main languages spoken in
4:48Morocco, Arabic and French. And there
4:50are very few people who speak English.
4:53That being said, there are still people
4:55who can get you by, and that's where we
4:57really valued having our driver who
4:59spoke English to communicate, decipher,
5:03and translate for us and speak to local
5:05people, negotiate deals or prices, take
5:09us to local restaurants, interpret the
5:10menus, all those things. He was just
5:12really helpful. If you speak French or
5:14Arabic, you'll be totally fine. If you
5:16are English speaking, then I would
5:18download the Google Translate app as a
5:20bare minimum to help you get by.
5:25Morocco is a mostly Muslim country.
5:27There are pockets of Jewish people and
5:31there is 1% Christian population here.
5:34So, the majority of the people are
5:35Muslim. They will vary in how liberal
5:38they are. In general, the major cities
5:40are very liberal, much different to
5:42being in, say, a Middle Eastern country,
5:45which means you can get away with
5:46wearing probably more Western style
5:49clothes than you would expect. In
5:50mosques, it's respectable to cover below
5:53the elbows and below the knees, even if
5:56you're not asked to. However, there are
5:58only two mosques in Morocco that you can
6:01enter as a non-Muslim. So,
6:04in general day-to-day tourist
6:05activities, however, you can dress
6:08according to how your guide tells you or
6:10your driver tells you. But, if you're in
6:12a traditional area like a souk, a
6:15medina, especially in Fez, try and cover
6:18up to be respectful. If you're anywhere
6:20else, though, it's reasonably liberal.
6:22You'll find Moroccan people just walking
6:24around in T-shirt and shorts. And in
6:25fact, the Morocco government has made it
6:29understood that anyone is able to
6:31practice the religion of their choice.
6:33So, you can wear what you want to, but
6:36the majority of people are Muslim, and
6:38so you will have a certain reaction if
6:41you do choose to wear some types of
6:44clothes in certain areas. Take something
6:46warm if you're going to the desert
6:47because the temperature drops at night.
6:50And take something nice if you want to
6:51go out for a nice dinner. You'll need
6:55comfy shoes to walk around in. It's kind
6:57of a no-heels situation here. They're
6:59going to have to save those when you get
7:01home, my sisters. The old roads are
7:04cobblestoned. Do bring loose, baggy
7:07clothing just because it's more
7:08comfortable. It's freaking hot here.
7:12Having those long, loose linen cotton
7:14clothing will keep you sun-smart and
7:17sun-safe, and your skin will thank you.
7:21Climate.
7:23It's really hard to discuss climate in a
7:25country like Morocco because there are
7:26so many variations to this. They've got
7:29the coastal regions with their mild, wet
7:31winters and hot, dry summers. Then they
7:33have the Atlas Mountains with distinct
7:36climates and Alpine conditions. And they
7:38have the Sahara Desert, which of course
7:40is just plain old hot.
7:43>> [laughter]
7:43>> Although, to be fair, in the evening it
7:45can get quite cool. So, if you're
7:47planning a trip, then just go online,
7:49work out where you want to go, and then
7:51look at the temperature at the time for
7:53those places. We came during early June,
7:56and we were really happy with the time
7:59of year that we came. It was warm, not
8:02going to lie, pretty hot, but it was
8:05bearable and we had an air-conditioned
8:06vehicle that we were traveling around
8:08in, which made it so much better. also
8:11meant that at the end of the trip, where
8:12we are now, in in Bousnika, at a resort,
8:15it meant we could appreciate the pool
8:17and [music] just cool off in those warm
8:18days. Resort style. One final thing to
8:21consider when choosing your travel dates
8:23is Ramadan. During this holy month for
8:25Muslims, some shops, restaurants, and
8:27attractions may have reduced daytime
8:29operating hours, although the cities
8:32really come alive after sunset. It's not
8:34necessarily something to avoid, but it's
8:36definitely worth keeping in mind when
8:38planning your trip. Particularly if you
8:40want to schedule daytime activities.
8:44Number one food and drink tip.
8:46Bottled water, folks.
8:50We lost our stomachs in Chefchaouen. I
8:53would highly recommend drinking bottled
8:55water if you want to save your stomach
8:56and yourself a few days off of a tour
8:59that you spent a lot of money on just
9:01because you decided to drink the local
9:02water. That includes brushing teeth.
9:05Don't drink the water when you brush
9:07your teeth. Food-wise, go nuts. There is
9:09so much to explore and enjoy here. We
9:12loved everything. In the end, we've
9:15realized that most menus boil down to
9:18three or four standard options. Tagine,
9:21which is a style of dish prepared in a
9:24terracotta conical-style
9:26dish that is either meat or vegetarian,
9:29chicken skewers or meat skewers. They
9:31are
9:32kebab central here. Couscous, which
9:35comes again with meat or vegetarian
9:37flavors. And then everything is served
9:39with Moroccan salad. And a Moroccan
9:42salad is typically tomato, cucumber,
9:45onion,
9:46olives. Olives comes with everything. In
9:48fact, they've stopped
9:50exporting as many olives as they used to
9:52here in Morocco because the population
9:54just eats them all day long, breakfast,
9:56lunch, and dinner. Like for breakfast,
9:58they will serve you olives.
10:00That's how many olives they eat here in
10:02Morocco, but they're delicious. The
10:04tagines are special. We had almost a
10:07tagine each day. The chicken lemon and
10:09olive oil is delicious. The meat tends
10:12to come in more of a tomato
10:15olive style Mediterranean flavor, but
10:18they're all really rich and creamy and
10:22they come with bread and a salad just to
10:24lighten it up a little.
10:28Okay, Morocco as a woman.
10:31Is that taboo? I'm not sure, but
10:35my experience has been that I've been
10:38respected.
10:39I've not felt overly ogled at.
10:44Certainly nothing like other countries
10:46I've been in.
10:47A lot of the time I've been with my
10:49partner Matthew, so
10:51I don't know that it's a fair
10:53representation of traveling as a solo
10:56female. However, there are obviously
10:58times I break away from him and I go and
11:00do separate things from him where I do
11:03get a representation of what it's like
11:04to be alone as a woman in the country
11:07where others can't see who I'm with.
11:10There were perhaps a few looks because I
11:12look different to a Moroccan person.
11:15Uh my hair color is quite different. My
11:17skin is a lot lighter.
11:19And I do look not Moroccan.
11:22So I suspect that was part of it, but
11:25no, I didn't feel uncomfortable as a
11:27female being alone in Morocco. I didn't
11:30wear a lot of flashy jewelry in Morocco.
11:34I did see other Westerners doing that,
11:37but I do think that opens you up to a
11:38certain level of risk if you're flashing
11:41about jewelry or items of wealth and
11:45you're walking alone by yourself.
11:49Tipping in Morocco is standard and
11:52expected. 10% is recommended and what
11:56most of your waiters and guides will be
11:59looking for. If you don't tip, they will
12:02think they've done a bad job. And not
12:04only that, the government does not
12:07bump up their wage to account for it.
12:09So, your tips are actually going into
12:11their salary. So, when you look at the
12:13price of an activity that you're booking
12:15on, say, Viator or GetYourGuide, you
12:18should budget in an additional amount
12:20for tips. Be thankful and show your
12:22thanks.
12:24Get used to keeping that small change in
12:25your pocket. The smallest note is 20
12:27dirham, which is equivalent of 2 euro.
12:30But, you do want to carry on you 5 and
12:3210 dirham coins because if you stop
12:34roadside for a bathroom, there's going
12:36to be a little old lady or a little old
12:37man wanting money from you for your
12:40toilet paper to use the roadside
12:42bathroom. Unless you want to go bankrupt
12:45going to the bathroom. You'll also need
12:47it for porters, for people carrying your
12:49bags. If you have a man carrying your 25
12:53kg suitcase through an old town, up
12:56rickety steps, and he's holding it on
12:58your back. He's carried it up three
13:00flights of steps to your apartment where
13:02there's no lift, you'll feel dreadful if
13:05you don't have something to recompensate
13:07him for. So, please show your thanks in
13:10that way.
13:13Haggling. This has its own section in
13:16this video
13:18because haggling is such a part of the
13:20culture here. Now, all right, there are
13:22certain places you can't haggle. You
13:24can't go into the local Carrefour and
13:25haggle for your groceries. But if you're
13:28in any almost any other place, if you're
13:30in a souk or a Medina, an old town,
13:33you're on the side of the road, you're
13:35at a market stall, the local custom is
13:38to haggle. It's not offensive. People
13:39won't look down on you. They'll be
13:41expecting it. They want you to haggle.
13:43Our driver told us today that some of
13:45the local people won't shop at Carrefour
13:47because they love the nature of haggling
13:49in an old town traditional market.
13:52So, be prepared to do it. But have
13:55confidence and know that you can do it
13:57because it's very daunting coming to a
13:59new country and having someone almost
14:01yelling at you in Arabic. It is normal.
14:04It's normal in their culture and they
14:05want you to yell back or to haggle back.
14:09Now, I've done it both ways. I've gone
14:12too low and I've gone too high and
14:15what I think seems to work is to perhaps
14:20go down to 50 to 60% of the price as
14:22advertised and then
14:25you won't get that price, but they will
14:27haggle up and then you will haggle up,
14:29they will haggle down and then you will
14:30kind of go in this lovely Moroccan dance
14:33until you reach an intermediary that
14:35you're both happy with and that's how
14:37haggling works. If you don't like the
14:39final price, walk away. If they don't
14:42like the final price, they're probably
14:44going to walk away. If you walk away and
14:46they actually want your price, they're
14:48going to chase you down and call you
14:49down the street to come back and accept
14:52that price.
14:53So, it's a very lovely and strange
14:56activity.
14:58One I have not mastered, but it was
15:00quite entertaining and fun and
15:03it's meant to be that way. You're not
15:05embarrassing them or shaming them unless
15:08of course you go way too low. Within
15:11reason, they're going to love a bit of
15:12to and fro. So, just join in, have some
15:15fun. If it's not for you, walk away.
15:17That's it. There's no harm done there.
15:21Photography of other people
15:24or other people's things can sometimes
15:26land you in big trouble in Morocco. So,
15:28if you take a photograph of someone or
15:30an object in their shop front, some of
15:32these people will chase you down to pay
15:35money for that experience. They will ask
15:37you for 50 dirham for the photo you just
15:39took. Now, this is quite a confronting
15:42thing to happen because these are
15:44generally men who are following you and
15:46chasing you and they are really forceful
15:48and angry and if you're unused to this,
15:52then it can be very frightening and you
15:54can just want to give off the money to
15:56get away. It's not legal for them to do
15:59that, but at the same time, if you don't
16:00want to go through that experience, then
16:02just be very careful who you are
16:03photographing and what you are
16:05photographing. Just be respectful of
16:07people. It's just the humanity aspect.
16:09You don't want to make someone feel
16:11uncomfortable. So, then of course, feel
16:13free to take photos, but either ask or
16:15take a moment that's not too intrusive
16:17or just use some general common sense
16:20to know when is the right time.
16:24Security in hotel rooms varies
16:26considerably. There will be some hotels
16:29where you don't receive a safe, so you
16:31can't lock anything up. There will be
16:32some hotels where the safe is movable,
16:35which kind of
16:36defies the whole purpose of it. You can
16:38just pick up the safe and move it along.
16:40So, unless it's bolted in, it doesn't
16:42count as a safe. Our preference is
16:44actually to lock our valuables in our
16:47suitcases, which have combination locks,
16:49because it's going to then be very
16:51obvious if someone has tampered with our
16:53bag. Other safety tips, if you're
16:55walking in an isolated area at night,
16:58put away your valuables. Stick to
17:00well-lit areas. Give your trip details
17:02to a valid friend or family member back
17:04home. Send them your entire itinerary
17:07with your accommodation each night and
17:09your insurance, your comprehensive
17:11travel insurance details and buy a local
17:15SIM. It's your number one safety get out
17:17of jail free card. If you ever find
17:20yourself in trouble and you've got a
17:21SIM, it means you can contact someone.
17:23Matthew and I bought one SIM for Morocco
17:26and we've done kind of a hotspot
17:27situation because most of the time we've
17:29been in hotels which have free Wi-Fi,
17:31which means we're only using the SIM
17:33outside of the hotel when we're out and
17:35about exploring for the day.
17:39Accommodation ranges from budget,
17:41backpackery to high-end luxury resorts.
17:45I'm making a separate video on that and
17:46I'll put a link here when it's ready.
17:49It'll show you our journey through
17:51Morocco and the various accommodation
17:52choices we made and why and what they
17:55look like from both budget to high-end
17:58luxury resort living.
18:02Flexibility.
18:04This is something that you will need to
18:07prepare for. You need to be flexible in
18:09your trip multiple time points. We had
18:12our flights canceled at the end. We've
18:14had various changes in our schedule
18:16throughout. We've had Eid in our
18:18holidays, the Muslim public holidays
18:20which meant everything shut down.
18:22>> How can I get a beer in Marrakech?
18:25>> There'll be times when the restaurants
18:27aren't open or the hotel gives you a
18:29different room or you walk in and
18:32realize something is not what you
18:34thought. These things happen. This is
18:35tourism and Morocco sometimes falls into
18:39the trap of over promising
18:42and under delivering. So, you do need to
18:44learn to roll with the punches somewhat
18:46and not get too emotional or too upset
18:49and just relax a little but also be firm
18:52when it's something meaningful to you
18:54and you know it should be different.
18:58Above all, my final tip is enjoy
19:00yourself. Morocco is a country full of
19:04different colors, flavors, cultures,
19:07religions. There is so much to be
19:09explored here and it is so much fun and
19:12there is so much beauty and variation in
19:15the landscape. It's culturally rich,
19:18there's a lot to learn and the people
19:20here are friendly and they want you to
19:22learn. So, have an amazing time. I
19:25really hope this video has helped you to
19:27plan or at least be aware of some of the
19:30pitfalls and my recommendations in
19:33Morocco. Let me know your favorite parts
19:35of Morocco when you traveled here. I'd
19:38love [music] to hear them in the
19:39comments below. I'll catch you in the
19:41next video. Thanks so much for watching.
19:43Bye for now.
19:46>> [music]

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of YouTube transcript (7R5QxH1_79U) , generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 3,367 words across 499 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.