Female driver or taxi in Marrakesh: what are your options?

You see the medina of Marrakesh on foot. For Gueliz, the Majorelle Garden, the airport and everything outside the city you need a ride, and as a woman on your own you want to know whose car you are getting into. There are four ways to get driven. They differ mostly in how much you have to arrange and negotiate yourself.

Petit taxi: inside the city

The small beige taxis only drive within the city limits and take up to three passengers. They are required to use the meter. When you get in, ask for the "compteur". If the driver refuses, get out and take the next one. In the evening a surcharge is added to the metered fare.

A petit taxi is allowed to pick up other passengers going the same way. That is normal and nothing to be alarmed about.

For short rides during the day, the petit taxi works well. It gets harder at tourist spots like Jemaa el-Fna and Majorelle, where drivers would rather quote a fixed price than turn on the meter. Walk one street over and flag down a moving taxi.

Grand taxi: out of the city

Grand taxis are larger cars that run between cities and to villages in the area. You can buy a seat in a shared taxi, which leaves as soon as it is full. You can also hire the whole car for a ride or a day. There is no meter, so you agree on the price before you get in.

A shared grand taxi is cheap and cramped, because you sit shoulder to shoulder with strangers. If you want room, buy two seats. A hired taxi is more comfortable. Do agree beforehand how long the driver will wait for you and whether the return ride is included in the price.

Transfer through your riad or hotel

Most riads arrange transfers to and from the airport and can also call a driver for a day trip. You pay more than for a taxi off the street. In return the price is fixed and someone is waiting with your name on a sign. If you arrive late in the evening, this is the calmest choice.

Do ask who will be driving. A riad works with regular drivers, and that is almost always a man.

A private driver

For day trips and multi-day trips you hire a driver with a car. The driver picks you up, follows the route you agreed on and stops where you want. You don't negotiate per ride and your luggage stays in the same car.

Tourist transport has its own license in Morocco. Ask about it. A driver without that license can be stopped at a checkpoint along the way, and then you are the one standing by the side of the road.

Ride-hailing apps exist in Morocco, but what is available and what is allowed changes often. Don't count on them, and check shortly before your trip what works at that moment. The guide on getting around Morocco covers buses, trains and driving yourself.

Why you almost never see a woman behind the wheel

Moroccan women drive cars all the time, but taxi driver and tourist driver have remained men's jobs. So the chance that a taxi rank, a riad or a travel agency sends you a woman is small.

Soukayna is one of the few women in Marrakesh who drives tourists herself. What that changes in practice is in the piece on why a female driver makes a difference. It comes down to small things. You ask for a break more easily, and you talk to someone who knows what it is like to travel through Morocco as a woman.

What to check before you book

You can ask any driver these questions, man or woman:

• Who is driving? Is it the person you are in contact with now, or will they send someone else?
• Does the car have a license for tourist transport and insurance for passengers?
• What is included in the price? Ask about fuel, tolls, parking and the driver's overnight stay on a multi-day trip.
• How long is the day, and what does it cost if you want to stay longer?
• What language can you speak with the driver?
• How and when do you pay?

If the answers are vague, keep looking. A driver who does the job well has these answers ready.

Which option when

For rides inside the city, take a metered petit taxi during the day. For your arrival and departure a transfer is the calmest, especially with luggage and especially in the evening. If you are going to the mountains or the coast for a day, a private driver is worth it, because you can stop along the way and don't have to negotiate.

If you are not sure you will feel at ease alone on the street and in a taxi, read the guide on safety for women first. A good first step is a day in the city with someone who knows it, like the Marrakesh city tour. After that you know how the city fits together, and taking a taxi on your own gets easier in the days that follow.

If you want to ride with Soukayna, tell us in the chat your dates, the number of people and the places you want to see.