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Southern Morocco: Marrakech, the Atlas Mountain & the Sahara
G Adventures•Morocco

Getting dirhams at Marrakech airport — what actually works for Canadians

Advice
Arriving into Marrakech in a few weeks and trying to sort out cash before I land. I am Canadian with an RBC card and have been reading conflicting things about ATMs at the airport — some people say the fees are terrible, others say certain machines are fine, and I have seen warnings about machines that are not trustworthy. Can anyone give me a straightforward answer on where to get dirhams when you first land? Is the airport the right place or should I wait and find a bank in the city? And is there a specific ATM network or machine type to look for or avoid? Any advice from people who have actually done this recently would be really helpful.

Answers Section

1 answer

Comment by luang_ginjinha

LG
Straightforward answer: use the ATMs inside the arrivals hall at the airport, not the ones in the car park or outside the terminal. The ones inside are generally bank-operated and more reliable. Avoid any machine that offers to do the conversion for you in your home currency — always choose to be charged in dirhams and let your own bank handle the rate. That applies everywhere in Morocco not just the airport. For Canadian cards specifically the fees are not catastrophic but they are not nothing either. If you are worried about it bring a small amount of euros from home — euros are widely accepted in Marrakech hotels and riads for the first day or two while you sort out dirhams properly. The city centre has plenty of ATMs attached to actual bank branches which are more reliable than random street machines. Attijariwafa Bank and CIH Bank are the ones I have used without issues.