What do I do if I lose my passport in Morocco?

First, take a breath — this is one of the most recoverable travel mishaps there is, and we deal with it more calmly than most guests expect. Retrace the obvious places: your riad safe, the bag pocket you "never use," the reception desk where you handed it over at check-in (Moroccan hotels routinely photocopy passports and sometimes hold them briefly). I would say half the "lost" passports our guests panic about turn up at the front desk within an hour.

If it is genuinely gone, the first official step is a police report. In Marrakech, Fes, Casablanca, Agadir and other tourist cities there is a dedicated tourist police (Brigade Touristique) who handle exactly this and often speak English or French. The report — a simple stamped document — is what your embassy will want before issuing a replacement, and what your travel insurer needs for any claim. Keep it safe; it is more important than it looks.

Next, contact your embassy or consulate. Most embassies sit in Rabat, the capital, while several countries (the US, France, and others) also run consulates in Casablanca that can issue emergency travel documents. Call ahead or check their website for hours and the exact list of what to bring — usually the police report, passport photos, proof of identity, and a small fee. An emergency travel document is normally enough to get you home or to your next country.

Here is the small habit that turns a crisis into an errand: before you travel, photograph your passport photo page and email it to yourself, and keep a paper photocopy somewhere separate from the original. With that in hand, embassies can confirm your identity far faster. If you are travelling with us, tell your designer or driver immediately — we will get you to the right police station and embassy and translate where needed, so you are never doing this alone in a language you do not speak.