Can I change or refund a Moroccan train or bus ticket?

Changes and refunds in Morocco are possible more often than people assume, but the rules are looser and less spelled-out than the airline-style fine print you might be used to, so it pays to know how it actually works on the ground. For ONCF trains, a standard flexible fare can typically be exchanged for a different service or partly refunded if you sort it out at a staffed station ticket counter before your train departs. The golden rule is timing: do it before the train leaves. Turn up after your booked train has gone and your options shrink dramatically.

The catch is fare type. Cheaper, discounted, or promotional train tickets — and tightly-tied Al Boraq or reserved-seat fares — often carry more restriction and may be non-refundable or changeable only for a fee, whereas a plain full-price ticket is the most flexible. Because the terms aren't always loudly advertised, my practical move is to ask at the moment of buying if I think plans might shift: a quick 'is this refundable or changeable?' at the counter saves confusion later. For online purchases, check the operator's conditions before you pay.

CTM and Supratours, the reliable coach lines, do allow changes and cancellations, but within their own policies — generally meaning you must act before a cut-off ahead of departure and usually accept a cancellation fee or forfeit a percentage. The earlier you cancel relative to the departure, the better you'll do; leave it to the last hour and you may get little back. As with trains, the staffed counter (or the operator's app/website for online bookings) is where you handle it, and having your booking reference and ID ready speeds things up.

My honest advice is to plan around the friction rather than fight it. Fares here are cheap enough that a lost ticket on a missed plan is rarely a big financial hit, so I don't over-insure cheap hops. But if a plan is genuinely uncertain, I either buy the most flexible fare available, buy later once things firm up, or — for anything important — use a private transfer I can reschedule with a phone call. For most travellers, knowing that changes are possible at the counter before departure, with a fee and within the fare's rules, is all the reassurance the question really needs.