How do I find my riad in the medina?

The thing nobody warns first-timers about is that your riad almost certainly has no road to its door. Medinas are pedestrian labyrinths, so a taxi or transfer drops you at the nearest vehicle point — usually a gate or a small square — and the last few minutes are on foot through alleys that a GPS pin struggles to resolve. This is completely normal and every riad has a system for it. The trick is to use that system rather than wandering in cold with a suitcase.

So the single best move is to arrange the arrival before you travel. When you book, message the riad with your arrival time and ask two questions: "what is the nearest landmark or gate a taxi can reach?" and "can someone meet me there?" Almost every riad will happily send a porter — often a young man with a cart for your bags — to wait for you at that landmark and walk you the rest of the way. We arrange exactly this for our guests, and a private transfer can hand you directly to the riad's porter so there is no gap at all. It transforms a stressful arrival into a five-minute stroll.

If you are arriving independently, the recipe is simple. Get the riad's phone number and the name of the meeting landmark before you set off. Take a petit taxi and tell the driver the gate, not the riad ("Bab Doukkala," "Riad Zitoun," whichever they gave you) — drivers know the gates, not the hundreds of tiny riads. When you reach the gate, call the riad; they will either talk you in or send the porter to your exact spot. Have a screenshot of the riad's name in Arabic and its location on your offline map as backup. Keep small notes for the porter's tip — 20–30 dirhams for carrying your bags through the maze is well earned.

One reassurance: do not panic if your phone map shows you "off" the alley or the blue dot jumps around between the high walls — that is the medina, not you. Stand still, call the riad, and let them guide you. I have watched countless guests arrive convinced they were hopelessly lost, only to be three turns from a beautiful courtyard and a glass of mint tea. Arrange the meet-up, aim for the landmark, and the last hundred metres takes care of itself.