Tipping in Morocco (2026): How Much to Tip Drivers, Guides and Riads

200 to 300 dirhams per day, per group (about US$21–31, C$29–44). For a couple, the lower half of that range is perfectly fair. For a family or two couples sharing one vehicle, aim for the top of it, or up to 400 dirhams (US$42, C$59) if the driver has gone well beyond the job. Give it at the end of the trip, in one envelope, not day by day.

For comparison, the sources we checked range from about 100 dirhams per day per party (Taste of Maroc, for multi-day drivers) to 200 dirhams daily (Culture Insider, for long transfers and multi-day trips), with Lonely Planet suggesting around 10% for guides and driver-guides. We sit a little above the floor for a reason. On a private trip your driver is not a transfer. He loads the bags every morning, waits outside the museum, knows which café does the good msemen, rebooks the restaurant when you are tired, and quietly handles the thing that went wrong on day six. He is with you for ten or twelve days.

On our tours, licensed local guides lead the medina days in cities like Fes, Marrakech and Rabat, separately from your driver. We suggest 150 to 250 dirhams per group for a half day (US$16–26, C$22–37) and 250 to 400 dirhams for a full day (US$26–42, C$37–59). Groups of five or more should go higher. That lines up closely with Culture Insider (200 dirhams for a half day and 300–400 for a full day, for two to four people) and Taste of Maroc (200–300 and 300–400 per party). Hand it to the guide directly at the end of the tour.

For the sunset camel ride into the dunes at Merzouga, 50 to 100 dirhams per group to the handler who leads you (US$5–10, C$7–15) is right. If he also walks you out at dawn, or photographs you on the dune, lean to the top. For the camp team, we suggest 50 to 100 dirhams per tent per night, given to the camp manager or left in the tip box, to be shared among the cooks, servers and the musicians around the fire.

Multi-day treks are different. On our Erg Chigaga walking itinerary, a cameleer and a cook travel with you for two days. Plan on 100 to 200 dirhams per crew member per day, per group. If you are still picturing the night itself, our guide to what to expect on your first Sahara desert night walks through it hour by hour.

In a riad, a handful of people do everything: they carry your bags up the narrow stairs, cook breakfast and clean the room. We suggest 20 to 30 dirhams per night for housekeeping (US$2–3, C$3–4.50), or 100 to 200 dirhams at the end of a stay of two or three nights, left in an envelope at reception for the staff to share. Many riads keep a communal tip box, which is the fairest way. Porters get 10 to 20 dirhams per bag. In the larger five-star hotels, tip the porter at the top of that range; housekeeping the same as a riad.

In a sit-down restaurant, leave around 10% for good service. Lonely Planet suggests 10–15% if you were happy with the meal, and upscale places in Marrakech deserve the upper end. Check the bill first: service is not usually added in Moroccan restaurants, but some upscale and hotel restaurants include it. In a café, round up or leave 5 to 10 dirhams. At a street food stall, a coin or two is plenty and entirely optional.

People find a total more useful than a list. Here is a realistic tipping budget for a couple on a ten-day private trip like our private Morocco tours, using our mid-range numbers:

That is roughly 4,000 dirhams for the two of you, about US$415 or C$590, before restaurant tips, which add about 10% of whatever you spend on meals. A family of four sharing one vehicle pays more in total but less per person, because the driver and guide tips are per group. It is worth knowing this number when you look at what a Morocco tour costs, because tips are not in it.

Here is what we tell every client, and it is the honest part of this article. Most of the small tips in Morocco are just manners. The one that matters is your driver. On a private trip he sets the tone of your days more than any hotel. A good one turns a long road through the Middle Atlas into the best day of the trip, and the tip at the end is how Moroccans and visitors alike say that mattered. Put it in an envelope, add a short note, and hand it over at the airport. It is remembered.

Three things we would skip. First, do not tip daily; it turns a relationship into a transaction and makes the last day awkward. Second, do not pay the unofficial “guides” who attach themselves to you in a medina and then ask for money. A polite la, shukran (no, thank you) and walking on is fine, and your licensed guide will deal with it. Third, a tip never obliges you to buy anything. If a guide takes you to a carpet shop you did not ask to visit, you owe nothing, and we want to know.