What do Australian travellers need to know about Morocco?

For Australians, Morocco rewards the long journey to get there, and the entry itself is easy: Australian passport holders can stay up to 90 days visa-free, with a passport valid for six months beyond arrival and blank pages for the stamp. You complete an arrival card on the plane and clear immigration on landing. Because it's a long way from home and plans change, I always point Aussie travellers to Smartraveller — the official DFAT advice — for the current entry requirements and any travel alerts before they commit.

Getting there is the real planning piece. There are no direct flights from Australia, so you'll route through one or two hubs. The most comfortable options are the Gulf carriers — Emirates via Dubai, Qatar via Doha, Etihad via Abu Dhabi — which connect smoothly into Casablanca, or a European hub like London or Paris if you're already heading that way. From the east coast it's a 24-hour-plus journey door to door, so I strongly suggest building a stopover into the itinerary; a night in Dubai or Doha on the way breaks the trip and means you arrive in Morocco ready to enjoy it rather than wrecked.

Money-wise, the dirham is a closed currency you can't get in Australia, so don't try to buy it before you leave. Arrive with a small backup of euros or US dollars and then draw dirhams from an ATM at the airport or in town. Australian cards work well in city hotels, restaurants and larger shops — bring a travel card or a Visa/Mastercard with no overseas fees, as our banks can be pricey for foreign transactions — but the desert, the mountains and the souks are cash-only territory. Always keep small dirham notes on you for taxis, tips and market stalls.

Culturally, Australians tend to find Morocco's openness and humour a natural fit, and a few pointers help you settle in. Tipping is normal but modest — a few dirhams here and there. The medina hustle is more full-on than you'll be used to; a relaxed, firm 'no thanks' handles the touts. Dress is more modest than a beach in Bali — covered shoulders and knees away from resorts earn you smoother welcomes. And don't underestimate the heat in summer; coming from an Aussie summer you'll cope, but the inland and desert temperatures are serious, so plan the big drives and dune trips around the cooler months and the early-morning hours.