TRAVELWITHZOE

I recently spent a month travelling around Morocco and I didn’t really plan it out too much before going there, which meant I was often quickly/spontaneously deciding my next move every few days while I was out there. There were some apps and websites that made this a lot easier for me, so I thought I’d share them.

• HOSTELWORLD (app and website) and BOOKING.COM (app and website). These were the two places I went when I was looking to reserve accommodation. Morocco has a lot of backpacker/tourist accommodation, so I found it was fine to leave this until the last minute (e.g. a day before or two days before) and there were usually still plenty of beds available. I personally like to search in order of price (lowest to highest), and I check on both apps because sometimes one has a certain promo going on at the time meaning the bed would be cheaper on there.
• COUCHSURFING (app and website). On the Couchsurfing app/site, you can create a profile and then browse for hosts all over the world who will either host travellers on their couch or spare bed, or meet up with travellers to show them around their hometown. If they are unavailable to do either of those things, they can usually still offer you advice about their hometown/country. Morocco has loads of Couchsurfing hosts and I stayed with 5 different ones.
• MY INWI (app), or the app for whichever local sim card you get. I got an INWI sim card at the airport, and the MY INWI app was very helpful for me to top up my credit and see how much data I had left etc. I’d definitely recommend making sure you always have data, because I found the wifi to be quite unreliable or non-existent in lots of places.
• GOOGLE TRANSLATE (app and website), or whichever translation tool you prefer. I speak some French which was helpful in Morocco as it’s pretty much their second language, but unfortunately I can only speak a few words of Arabic. Not everyone there spoke French, and lots of people didn’t speak English, so I often relied on Google Translate, especially when asking for certain products in shops etc. I also used it in social situations (e.g. with my Couchsurfing host families) to ask about their lives etc.
• INDRIVE (app). This is a taxi app, a bit like Uber. It’s limited in terms of where you can use it (it’s mostly available in the bigger cities like Rabat and Marrakesh) and it often has the option of a motorbike taxi as well as a car taxi. The motorbike option is cheaper but would probably be considered a bit less safe. I used it a few times when I couldn’t find any other transport and/or when I was feeling lazy.
• SUPRATOURS.MA and CTM.MA (websites). Supratours and CTM are the two main bus/coach companies that travel from city to city (a bit like National Express in England). They are popular amongst backpackers/tourists but they’re also used by local people. The good thing about them is that you can see the schedules on the website and buy your ticket in advance (including choosing your seat), so it gives you a sense of security. Sometimes they sell out but you can usually still book up until the day of the journey. It isn’t always the cheapest way to travel (sometimes a shared/collective taxi or a different bus will be cheaper), but it can be nice to have a pre-booked ticket for peace of mind.
• GOOGLE MAPS OFFLINE (app). On your Google Maps app, you have the option to download offline maps of certain areas (go to your profile picture on the top right, click on it and then click on “offline maps”). I’d recommend downloading the offline map for whatever area you’re about to be travelling in, so that if you lose phone service you’ll still be able to use the map. This is especially helpful in the confusing medinas where there are loads of small winding pedestrian streets near each other and it’s easy to get lost. Usually I’m happy to ask people for directions, but honestly in Morocco I was sometimes hesitant to do this because I found lots of people were looking for a way to be your “guide” for the day, so I didn’t really want to encourage this by asking them for directions.
• HAPPY COW (app). This is an app which shows vegan food options near you, and it’s used all over the world. The listings have descriptions, photos and reviews so it can be helpful for finding somewhere to eat.