Page 364 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Morocco

362  SUR VIV AL GUIDE

Getting Around in Towns weighed down with luggage
or want to explore the
The most important historic sites in Morocco’s towns and countryside beyond the town,
cities are often located in the medinas, where, in a maze of although they won’t leave until
narrow streets and frequent dead-ends, the only practical they are full.
way of getting around is on foot. But because many hotels Grands taxis are not fitted
with meters, so the fare for
are located in the modern quarters of towns, visitors will your journey must be agreed
frequently need to takes buses or taxis. Although buses are according to mileage and the
an inexpensive means of getting around in town, visitors length of the hire. The charge
may be baffled by the way that they work and the routes that for hiring a grand taxi for
they follow. Petits taxis offer a greater degree of flexibility at a whole day will be about
relatively little cost. In some towns the services of a guide are 500 dirhams.
Grands taxis often wait outside
virtually indispensable to save spending too much time large hotels, and they should not
working out a route, but others are much more be mistaken for petits taxis,
straightforward to navigate. which are cheaper and which
are used for shorter runs.
By Bus
serves the densely populated
All large towns in Morocco are quarter known as L’Ocean in By Petit Taxi
served by a wide network of Rabat. It extends to the bus These vehicles are identifiable by
bus lines linking their various station in Salé passing through their colour, which is different in
districts. It can, however, be the Yacoub el Mansour locality every town, and by the words
difficult to find the bus that you and Bettana. “petit taxi” on the roof. They are
need since the destination is Tickets for the Rabat-Salé, prohibited by law from going
often given only in Arabic. For tramway are available from the beyond built-up areas and can
visitors, the most useful routes driver for 6 dirhams. The service only be hired for short trips.
are those running between the operates between 6am to 11pm The use of meters is becoming
new town (ville nouvelle) and daily. The tram stations have more common. You should
the medina. Bus fares are cheap been designed to be accessible always ask for the meter to be
(3 to 4 dirhams) and tickets are to disabled travellers, as well as switched on, and be prepared
purchased on board from the for pushchairs. In Casablanca, to round up the usually modest
driver. Be sure to carry some the first tramline opened in amount that is shown at the
small change. December 2012. It links the town end of your journey. The usual
centre with outlying residential fare for a short journey by petit
areas. A second tramline is taxi during the day is about
By Tram
planned for the near future. 10–20 dirhams. At night a 50 per
The Rabat-Salé tramway began cent surcharge is added to the
operating in 2011. The service By Grand Taxi amount shown on the meter.
links the towns of Rabat and Taxi fares are paid in cash, and it
Salé, which are separated by the The most frequent journeys is important to have a good
Wadi Bou Regreg. The network made by grands taxis, many of supply of small change as drivers
has two lines with a total of which are Mercedes and which are rarely able to give change for
32 sta tions and is 19.5 km seat up to six pas sengers, are a 100- or 200-dirham banknote.
(12 m) long. Line 1 connects those between towns and cities Petits taxis usually take up to
Hay Karima in Salé to the district (see p365). They are also useful three people (two in the back
of Agdal in Rabat while Line 2 if you are a large party, are and one in front). They make
frequent stops along the way
to pick up other passengers
going in the same direction.
This should reduce the cost
of the journey.
It is better to ask to be taken
to a specific restaurant, hotel
or historic building, rather
than name the relevant street.
Although most drivers have a
good knowledge of the town
in which they work, they
navigate by landmarks rather
than street names.
Taxi ranks are marked by
Local bus, a cheap but not always easy way of getting around in town white rectangular signs saying

362-363_EW_Morocco.indd 362 09/08/16 11:21 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Practical template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.7)
Date 5th March 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm