Halal Guide to Morocco: Marrakech, Fes and Casablanca for UK Muslim Travellers

Morocco is the easy-win destination for British Muslim families who want somewhere exotic, affordable and almost entirely halal. The food is famous, the architecture is stunning, the people are welcoming, and direct flights from the UK take three to four hours. Morocco is generally safe, but be aware of your surroundings due to a high threat of terrorism and occasional violent crime.

Do UK travellers need a visa for Morocco?

No. UK passport holders can visit Morocco without a visa for up to 90 days as a tourist. Your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your arrival date and undamaged — Moroccan border officials have been known to refuse entry to travellers with damaged passports, so check before you fly.

Make sure your passport is stamped on entry. Some travellers have had problems leaving Morocco because the entry stamp was missed at a busy border post, so glance at your passport before walking away from the desk.

Halal food in Morocco

Morocco is a Muslim-majority country and food is halal by default essentially everywhere. The few exceptions are some restaurants in the upmarket French-influenced areas of Casablanca and Rabat that serve alcohol or pork to international clientele — they make this obvious on the menu, and they're easy to avoid.

What to actually eat

Tagine is the headline dish — slow-cooked stew named after the conical clay pot it's cooked in. Lamb with prunes, chicken with preserved lemon and olives, and beef with vegetables are the three classics. Couscous is traditionally the Friday meal — eat it on a Friday for the proper experience.

Pastilla (or bastilla) is the special-occasion dish — a savoury pie of pigeon or chicken wrapped in thin pastry and dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar. Tries it once even if it sounds strange. Harira is the soup eaten to break fast in Ramadan but available year-round. For street food, msemen (square pancakes) and maakouda (potato fritters) are everywhere and brilliant.

Mint tea

Drink mint tea constantly. It's offered everywhere — in restaurants, in shops you're browsing, in hotels. It's hot, sweet and the social glue of the country. Refusing it is mildly rude. Don't be shy.

The cities — which to visit and why

Marrakech — the headline city

The Red City is the entry point for most first-timers. Jemaa el-Fnaa is the main square — a UNESCO-listed cultural space that transforms from juice stalls and snake charmers by day to an open-air food market and storyteller circles by night. The Koutoubia Mosque (12th century, the city's main mosque) anchors the skyline. The souks radiate north from Jemaa el-Fnaa — leather, spices, ceramics, lamps. Haggle politely but firmly.

Stay in a riad in the medina — traditional courtyard houses converted to small boutique hotels. Far more atmospheric than the modern hotels in the new town.

Fes — for serious history

If Marrakech is the showpiece, Fes is the soul. The Fes el-Bali medina is the largest car-free urban area in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Al-Qarawiyyin University, founded in 859 by a Muslim woman, Fatima al-Fihri, is the oldest continuously operating university in the world. The library is open to the public for short visits.

Fes is harder work than Marrakech — the medina is genuinely confusing, and tourist-hassle can be more intense — but the rewards are deeper. Two or three nights is enough.

Casablanca — for the mosque

Casablanca is the business capital and gets mixed reviews from tourists, but it has one essential sight: the Hassan II Mosque, the second-largest mosque in Africa and one of the largest in the world. Built partly over the Atlantic Ocean, with a 210-metre minaret. Non-Muslims can tour the interior — most mosques in Morocco don't allow this. A day trip from Marrakech is enough.

Chefchaouen — the blue city

The famous blue-painted mountain town in the north. Spectacularly photogenic but a long drive from anywhere else (4 hours from Fes, 5 from Marrakech). If your trip includes Fes, add Chefchaouen as a two-night extension. Otherwise skip — it's a long detour.

Best time to visit

March to May and September to November. Inland Morocco gets brutally hot in summer — 45°C is not unusual in Marrakech in July. Coastal cities (Casablanca, Rabat, Essaouira) stay milder. Winter in Marrakech is pleasant in the day but cold at night. December and January can be wet in the north.

Flights from the UK

Direct flights operate to Marrakech (RAK), Casablanca (CMN), Fes (FEZ), Agadir (AGA) and Tangier (TNG). British Airways, Royal Air Maroc, easyJet and Ryanair all serve various routes. Manchester has direct flights to Marrakech and Casablanca. Flight time is 3-4 hours.

For a multi-city trip (Marrakech and Fes, for example), the in-country option is to fly in to Marrakech and out from Fes, with internal travel by train — Morocco's rail network is excellent and the Casablanca-Marrakech-Fes axis is well covered.

Practical tips

• Carry small denominations of dirham — most market transactions are cash.
• Use official taxis (red or beige depending on city) and insist on the meter, or agree the fare before you set off. Tourist surcharges are common.
• Friday afternoon is when most working Moroccans take their long lunch and pray — many smaller shops close from around 12-3pm.
• Be aware that people posing as official tourist guides may harass tourists in the souks of Marrakech and Fes. A firm "la, shukran" (no, thank you) and walking on is enough.
• Dress modestly. Morocco is more conservative than parts of Europe but less than the Gulf — long trousers/skirts and covered shoulders is sensible, particularly outside the resort areas.

Planning your trip

A standard first Morocco trip is 5-7 nights, usually focused on Marrakech with a day trip or two. A fuller two-week trip covers Marrakech, Fes and Chefchaouen with internal rail.

Thinking about Morocco? WhatsApp Bhatti Travel on 0161 620 9352 or get in touch through our contact page. We can arrange your travel from Manchester or London.