Useful information
Control of customs and passports
The passport has to be valid.
When entering Morocco you have to fill up a small white form with your personal data. During the boat trip the Moroccan police in the boat will stamp this form.
When going out of the country the form is yellow, and normally provided by the company selling the tickets. It is handed over at the police control with the passport.
It is advisable to fill it in in advance and to have it ready, as sometimes there are long queues at this control.
If you travel in your own car to Morocco, apart from the passport control, you will have to ask for the car form at the port of Tangier. All car documents has to be in order, including the Green Card, the insurance and specially that all the documents have the same name holder.
If you travel with a vehicle that is not at your name, it is ESSENTIAL, to carry a document proving that you can drive the vehicle.
About currency exchange
The currency of Morocco is the Dirham; the change is quite stable and usually to 10,8 dh/Euro.
Currency can be exchanged at the port, at the airport and in the different banks and authorized places; it is advisable to have some money from the country to pay transport and tips; although it is no problem in paying with Euros, they will charge you a Euro for 10 dh.
Credit cards
In Morocco they are not as usual as in Europe; they are accepted in places with foreigners, hotels, restaurants, but not always.
It is advisable to carry local currency or to withdraw money from the ATMs, which are easily found.
Tipping
It is a normal accepted custom to tip. On how much it depends on the will of each one, but a correct tip could be 1 or 2 dh (10 or 20 pennies of Euro).
Moroccan public transport
About 2 km from Asilah, there is the train station. This line goes to Marrakesh and has connection with other stations of important cities like, Fez, Casablanca and Rabat.
In the national highway there is the bus stop for buses going to the most important cities in Morocco and at a quite good frequency.
In the city of Asilah, taxis can be taken easily. There are “small taxis”, that although they can only drive inside the city have very reasonable prices, between 15-20 dh.
The “Big taxi”, is usually a collective one, with 6 seats and doing longer trips, to Tangier, Larache and towns around. The price by person can be 20 dh, and you can pay 2 seats if you want to be more comfortable. If you take a taxi for yourself always negotiate the price in advance
Gastronomy
The food in Asilah is a pleasure. Fruits and vegetables are fresh caught of the day from the orchards of the peasants who come down to sell them to the markets of the people
The bread is delicious, baked in firewood oven during the whole day; it is soft, crunchy and digestive.
Fish and the seafood are the star dishes of this fishermen town; its quality is unquestionable and its price unbeatable.
In the Moroccan restaurants and coffees, alcoholic drinks of any type are not allowed. In the city there are restaurants run by Spanish who have a special permission to offer this type of drinks.
The Ramadán
The aim of this brief information is to clarify rumours and pre-conceived ideas about Ramadan Islamic fasting in summer resorts like Asilah
This year Ramadan will begin on July 10 until the first week of August.
What is Ramadan? It is a month of obligatory daily fasting according to the Quoran. The goal of the fasting is to strengthen self-restraint, self-purification and deeper knowledge of Allah, compassion for those having nothing to eat, the spirit of helping others and sharing with the rest of the human beings.
Mezquita of Asilah, Morocco. Ramadan.It is a universal practice and recommended by all the religions of the world with more or less restrictions.
During this dates, the customs and urban landscape of the Moroccan villages and cities will certainly change, but only slightly; for the visitor everything will be the same, or almost.
The restaurants and bars will be open and at the entire disposal of the public; at the evening you will be able to experience and enjoy the change produced when the fasting ends, and the night becomes full of life.
In order to fully respect this holy month, it is convenient to be aware that during the day, some European habits like drinking alcohol, smoking on the streets or dressing too light can hurt the inhabitants.
Small details you might take into account, consider and eventually avoid, showing in this way respect towards the customs and traditions of the visited country; when acting in this way, the inhabitant shows very grateful.
Dar Manara will offer the same services and even some new ones. Said’s beach coffee-restaurant, at the lovely Las Palomas beach, will be open and attending our clients and friends. The Muslims are not usually going to the beach during the Ramadan period.
The coincidence of the Ramadan in August, full summer period, gives us the opportunity to experience this celebration “in life”, and to share from another point of view this very important celebration for the Islamic world.
About security
Morocco is at this moment a very safe country; the Moroccan authorities protect tourisms and citizens respect very much tourists.
The last years Morocco has become one of the most visited countries of Africa; and especially the North, that due to its proximity to Spain is regularly visited by a great number of Spanish and European tourists.
Asilah is located in a tourist route, what makes their people to be respectful with their visitors since they are used to; they almost always celebrate and are thankful.
Respecting the spaces of cultural differences and maintaining a certain sense and good taste in dressing, as well as in behaving is the key to good coexistence. In reality you could not see big differences between the streets and the people of this and any other Spanish city.
The women are very respected, and it is possible to sunbath at the beach, to take a walk and go shopping without problems. Top-less is not accepted.