What currency does Morocco use, and can I bring it in or out of the country?

Morocco's currency is the dirham, written as MAD or "dh" on price tags, and it's divided into 100 centimes (which you'll rarely think about). One thing that genuinely catches people out is that the dirham is a "closed" or non-convertible currency. In plain terms, that means it isn't freely traded on world markets, so you usually can't walk into your bank back home and buy dirhams before you travel — and if you can, the rate will be poor. Don't waste time hunting for it abroad; you sort your money out on arrival.

The practical, stress-free approach I give every guest is this: travel with a modest amount of a hard currency — euros are the easiest in Morocco, but US dollars and British pounds are equally welcome — as a backstop, then withdraw dirhams from a cash machine the moment you land. Every Moroccan airport (Casablanca, Marrakech, Fes, Tangier and the rest) has ATMs in the arrivals hall, and they give you the real, fair interbank exchange rate, far better than any "currency for sale" you'd find at home.

Because it's a closed currency, there are official limits on taking dirhams across the border — you're not supposed to carry large sums of cash in or out, and at the higher end it's genuinely against the rules. In reality, a handful of leftover notes in your pocket is no drama, and many people keep a couple of small ones as a souvenir. But you should never try to leave with a serious quantity of dirhams, both because it's not allowed and because you simply can't spend or change them easily once you're home.

So the golden rule, and I cannot stress it enough, is to convert any leftover dirhams back into euros or your home currency before you leave Morocco. The airport bureaux will happily change unspent dirhams back, usually if you can show your original exchange or ATM receipt, so don't lose those slips. The classic rookie error is standing at your home airport with a thick wad of dirhams nobody will touch. Spend down to a sensible buffer in your final day or two, and reconvert the rest before security.

My honest summary: don't overthink it, but do respect the closed-currency quirk. Bring some euros as a cushion, draw dirhams from ATMs as you go rather than in one giant lump, keep your receipts, and zero out your dirhams before flying home. Do that and the money side of your trip is completely painless.