Is it easy to get from the airport to my riad?

This is a question worth asking before you fly, because the answer hinges on one quirk of Moroccan medinas: they are largely car-free. Riads — the traditional courtyard houses most visitors stay in — are tucked down narrow pedestrian derbs (alleys) that no taxi can drive into. So "airport to riad" almost never means door to door by car; it means car to the nearest gate, then a short walk.

That is precisely why I push pre-booked transfers so hard for the first night. A driver arranged through your riad or a transfer service knows your specific address, parks at the right gate, and either walks you in or hands you to a porter who carries your bags through the lanes to the door. After a long-haul flight, arriving to a sign with your name and a guided final stretch removes the single most stressful part of arriving in Morocco.

Go it alone and it is still manageable, just bumpier. An airport taxi will drop you at the edge of the medina nearest your riad, but you then navigate on foot with luggage, possibly in the dark, in a genuinely labyrinthine old town where Google Maps gets confused and street signs are sparse. Many riads will, if you message ahead, send someone to meet you at a recognisable landmark — always ask them in advance.

My practical checklist: before you travel, send your riad your flight details and ask if they offer an airport pickup (most do, for a modest fee). Have the riad’s name, phone number and a photo of the entrance saved offline. Carry small dirham notes. Do that, and getting from the airport to your riad is genuinely easy — it is only hard for people who assume a taxi can deliver them to the front door, which in the medina it cannot.