# Hammam in Morocco: what to know before you go URL: https://soukytours.com/blog/hammam-in-morocco-what-to-know Date: 2026-09-02 Public hammam or private spa: what happens step by step, what to bring, when women can go and how to behave on your first visit in Morocco. In Morocco the hammam is part of daily life. For many Moroccans a weekly visit to the bathhouse is as ordinary as the weekly grocery run is at home. For travelers it is one of the few places where you sit among Moroccan women and stop being a tourist for a while. Still, many women put off their first time because they don't know how it works. ## Public or private ### The public hammam Every neighborhood in Morocco has one. They are plain buildings with a changing room and two or three rooms that get hotter one after the other. You pay a few euros to get in, and a small amount extra if you have an attendant scrub you. You bring your own things. Expect it to be busy and noisy. Women and men have separate hours or separate entrances. The women's hours are usually during the day, and men come in the early morning and the evening. Ask at your riad about a hammam nearby and about the women's hours. ### The private hammam or spa Riads and spas have their own hammam, often tiled and lit by lanterns. Soap, glove, towel and flip-flops are laid out for you, and afterward you get tea. You are in the room alone or with your friends. It costs a good deal more: from a few dozen euros to over a hundred for a session with a massage. For a first time, or if you mainly want to relax, this is the easy choice. We can arrange a private hammam for you, for example on the first or last day. If you want to experience the public kind, do it with someone who knows the customs. Soukayna can take you to a neighborhood hammam and explain what goes where. ## What happens step by step The order is roughly the same in every hammam. 1. You get changed. In the public hammam you keep your underpants on and going topless is normal. At a spa you get disposable underwear. You leave your things in a locker or with the attendant. 2. You get used to the heat. You start in the lukewarm room and move on to the hottest one. The air is humid, unlike the dry air in a sauna. Sit down, pour warm water over yourself and wait ten to fifteen minutes until your skin softens. 3. You rub yourself with savon beldi, the black soap. It is a dark, paste-like soap made from olives, and you leave it on for ten minutes. 4. Then comes the scrub with the kessa, a rough glove. If you do it yourself, you scrub in long strokes. If you have it done, an attendant takes over and you see how much dead skin comes off. It is firm but not painful, and afterward your skin feels smooth. 5. You rinse off with buckets of warm water, again and again. In the public hammam you fetch that water yourself at the taps. 6. Often a mask of rhassoul follows, a clay from the Atlas Mountains, for hair and body. Sometimes there is a massage with argan oil after that. 7. You cool down. You go back to the cool room, wrap yourself in a towel and drink mint tea. Take your time for this. Allow an hour for a simple session and an hour and a half to two hours with a scrub and massage. ## What to bring For a public hammam: - A large towel and a small one to sit on. - Flip-flops, because the floor is wet and warm. - Clean underwear for afterward. - Black soap and a kessa. You can buy them cheaply at any spice shop in the medina. - A plastic bowl or small bucket, although you can often borrow one. - Shampoo, a comb and a bottle of drinking water. You don't need to bring anything to a spa, except maybe your own comb. Leave your jewelry at the riad. ## Etiquette - Taking photos is never allowed in a hammam, not even of yourself. - Talk quietly. It is not a library, but it is not a swimming pool either. - Don't look at other people's bodies. Nobody does, and that is what makes it a relaxed place. - Tip the attendant who scrubs you. A few dozen dirham is customary. Read more about tipping under [money and payments](/en/practical/money-and-payments). - Don't go right after a big meal, and drink plenty of water afterward. ## When to go and when not to A hammam is good after a long day in the car or on the day you arrive, when you want to wash the journey off. During your period you can simply go, with a tampon or cup. If you have a sunburn or a fever, or you are pregnant, check with the spa first, because the hot room is less suitable then. In summer it gets you through the afternoon heat nicely: you feel cooler afterward than you did before. ## If you are nervous about it It is normal to be a little nervous the first time, mostly about the idea of sitting half undressed among strangers. In a public hammam you don't stand out. There are mothers with children, grandmothers and teenage girls, and nobody pays attention to anyone else. If you want to build up slowly, start with a private hammam and then go to the neighborhood hammam once with someone who knows it. The second time it feels normal. ## As part of your trip At our [yoga and wellness retreat](/en/trips/yoga-and-wellness-retreat) the hammam is a fixed part of the program. With a city tour or a [tailor-made trip](/en/trips/tailor-made-trip) we are happy to plan one in too, preferably on an afternoon when it is too hot outside anyway. What else to do in Marrakesh is described under [the destination Marrakesh](/en/destinations/marrakesh). ## Frequently asked questions **What is the difference between a public and a private hammam?** A public hammam is a neighborhood bathhouse where you bring your own things and get in for a few euros. A private hammam in a spa or riad arranges everything for you, costs more and gives you more privacy. **What do you bring to a public hammam?** A towel, flip-flops, clean underwear, black soap, a scrubbing glove (kessa), a small bucket or bowl and shampoo. At a spa you are given all of this. **Do you go naked in the hammam?** In a public hammam women keep their underpants on, and going topless is normal. At a spa you usually get disposable underwear and a cloth. Nobody looks at your body, because everyone is busy with themselves. --- Source: https://soukytours.com/blog/hammam-in-morocco-what-to-know Souky Tours, contact through the chat on https://soukytours.com/contact