When I decided to travel to Morocco for the very first time, I was very nervous about 3 things:
- Not getting along with my private driver during my 11-day tour of Morocco
- Having trouble to ride my camel during my sunset camel trek to my desert camp
- Suffering from traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco and not having a place “to go”
These may not be everyone’s fears, but in my defense, regarding #1 I am an introvert and was a solo female traveler, so to spend 11 days in a vehicle for long rides with someone I didn’t know seemed daunting. Turns out hiring a private English-speaking driver in Morocco was the best thing I could have done!
Regarding #2 This was easier than I thought, and a Sahara Desert tour was easily one of the most memorable experiences during my trip and regarding #3 In the US, it’s pretty easy to find a free public bathroom just about anywhere, and based on prior international trips, I knew that restrooms were often reserved for paying customers and/or a code was needed to enter a toilet in fast food places or public paid toilets were not always convenient.
I definitely played it safe and was able to completely avoid getting traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco! Win-win-and win! I’ll share with you all of the practical tips and helpful advice I used to avoid getting sick during my private tour of Morocco.
What is traveler’s diarrhea?
Traveler’s diarrhea can be caused by a virus, by parasites but most often, because of bacteria. It can be hard to pinpoint from where exactly one contracts traveler’s diarrhea, but common ways to get sick are through poor sanitation or hygiene, improper food handling, storage, or cooking method, swimming pools, rivers and lakes. While it may be unpleasant and sometimes inconvenient to deal with, it is not often serious.
Is it common to get traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco?
It is definitely possible to get traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco, but that does not mean it will happen to everyone! The most important thing in any foreign country is to take precautions to avoid getting sick. It’s also possible to get an upset stomach simply because of jetlag, travel fatigue, a change of schedule and activities, and a different type of cuisine which you may not be used to, etc.
Let’s consider it a positive sign that there is no popular slang expression for traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco, such as coined elsewhere like “Delhi Belly” or “Montezuma’s Revenge”!
Before Your Trip to Morocco: Preventative Measures to Avoid Traveler’s Diarrhea in Morocco
Before I traveled to Morocco, I visited a travel health clinic to understand what risks I may face and learn about any possible vaccines I may need to travel to Morocco. They suggested vaccines in line with recommendations from the U.S. Center for Disease Control for travel in Morocco. These days to vaccinate or not vaccinate is a hot topic so refer to these recommendations only as you see fit!
The travel health clinic did prescribe an antibiotic for me, not to be used as a preventative measure but rather, in case I may come down with persistent traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco but not able to seek medical attention until my return to the U.S.
I recommend to go shopping so that you can bring along some pocket Kleenex, in case toilet paper is not available, as well as some hand sanitizer or antibacterial / antiviral hand wipes. In case you do forget to pack these items, they are all readily available at reasonable prices in Morocco.
I also highly recommend to pack some over-the-counter medication for stomach upset like Pepto Bismol or Immodium. You don’t want to be scrambling to search for medicine when it’s the middle of the night and you have an early departure time, or if you are in a remote area away from any pharmacy, such as in the Sahara Desert.
I also had read that probiotics can boost your gut health which in turn could help you to avoid or minimize getting traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco. There are not enough studies done on this topic to say conclusively, but I figured it couldn’t hurt! I started a course of probiotics about 2 weeks prior to my trip to Morocco and continued to take them daily throughout my travel in Morocco.
During Your Trip to Morocco: How to Avoid Traveler’s Diarrhea in Morocco
Some practical advice on how to avoid getting traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco:
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Bring along hand sanitizer as well as anti-bacterial hand wipes for when soap and water aren’t available.
- Drink bottled water. Bottled water is inexpensive in Morocco, and you can find both sparkling and flat water. When you are at casual dining restaurants, it’s common for bottles of water to be brought to the table, however, these are not always unopened bottles of water. When in doubt, order sparkling water or a soft drink.
- Most drinks in Morocco are not made with ice or served over ice. One exception may be fresh juice stands, where the freshly pressed juice may be cooled quickly over a small clump of ice.
- Brush and rinse your teeth with bottled water, especially in a desert camp where they may be using large tanks of water.
- Be mindful about where you choose to eat. Street food is notorious all over the world for not always being up to hygienic standards, but that doesn’t mean ALL street food is. When in doubt, rely on your guide or your driver to recommend safe places to go. Some travelers shy away from eating at what they will call a tourist trap, but sometimes it’s better to think of it this way: the restaurant may handle a larger turnover of clients which likely means the food is fresher and/or is more careful to adhere to standards which tourists may find acceptable. Of course, you should always use your own judgment whether a restaurant seems clean, whether it’s a restaurant for locals or for tourists.
- Be mindful about what you choose to eat. Meat, especially in tagines or couscous, is cooked thoroughly until tender. Grilled meat or rotisserie chicken is usually a safe bet as well, but don’t be shy to check the inside for doneness and send it back if it’s still pink. Cooked salads should be safe to eat – you can decide whether to eat fresh salads or not. Fruit is rarely served peeled and already cut up, with the exception of a classic dessert salad of oranges, cinnamon and orange blossom water, so you can always use a knife to cut off any skin or peels.
Helpful Hint to Help Treat Traveler’s Diarrhea in Morocco
Stay hydrated!
In Morocco, you have some options to make sure you are replenishing fluids.
- Bottled mineral water is cheap in Morocco, and some brands have higher sodium content than others, which can help in rehydration and fluid retention.
- Moroccan mint tea is made with boiled water, plus mint naturally has anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-spasmodic properties, and the warmth of the tea will also help to calm your stomach. Though Moroccan mint tea is generally served very sweet, you can ask your waiter or riad to prepare a pot of unsweetened mint tea.
- If you get tired of drinking plain water and need something you can sip on as you travel, try a bottle of Aquarius. Aquarius is a lightly-sweetened, non-carbonated lemon-flavored soft drink with electrolytes. It’s not often served in restaurants, but you should be able to find it a local neighborhood convenience store, (“hanut”) – you may have to check a few, or a large grocery store like Carrefour or Marjane.
Follow the BRAT Diet … or not?
The BRAT Diet (Bananas – Rice – Apple(sauce) – Toast) had always been recommended for years to help with all sorts of stomach upset, including as an example, traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco. While this is no longer the go-to suggestion, you don’t always have an appetite or willingness to consume “normal” meals, especially when it first hits. Some bland, easy-to digest foods might just do you some good!
Luckily, fruit is often served as dessert at restaurants, and fruit stands are everywhere in Morocco, so you can always purchase some bananas or apples, which you can wash and peel yourself.
Cooked rice is often served as part of a cold salad but not necessarily warm as a side to a main meal. Consider Ebly as an alternative, a brand name for pre-cooked wheat berries which has become more common. And of course, steamed couscous is very easy to find!
If you do want some applesauce, you’ll need to head to a larger grocery store such as Marjane or Carrefour, and check in the section where they sell baby food and powdered milk.
Bread is life in Morocco, so you can always nibble on some plain fresh bread. If you do want something a bit crunchy and salty like pretzels or crackers, you can once again look in a neighborhood convenience store, and of course, larger grocery stores.
Although yogurt and other dairy products are often discouraged for bouts of traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco, Activia brand yogurt is available in Morocco and contains live cultures, which claims to help with gut health. It may be available at small neighborhood convenience stores, but if you’re unsure of how well they may be refrigerated, then buy Activia at a large grocery store.
Hit the pharmacy for some supplements or medication
It’s commonly suggested to let traveler’s diarrhea run its course, but desperate times call for desperate measures! If you are suffering from traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco, you don’t want it to ruin your whole vacation. Chances are you have a busy schedule to travel all around Morocco and won’t have the opportunity to just stay put and relax until your tummy is feeling better. That’s when it’s best to visit a pharmacy in Morocco to get some over-the-counter supplements or medication to treat your upset stomach. Over-the-counter medication and supplements are NOT sold in grocery stores or hypermarkets, like they are in the US; they are only sold in pharmacies in Morocco.
Pharmacies are pretty easy to find in Morocco – look for the bright green cross – each neighborhood will have at least one, but they do have some limited hours. Pharmacies in Morocco often close for lunch and then in the early evening. Although they are closed at night and on Sundays, in Morocco there is always at least one “pharmacie de garde”, or emergency pharmacy open in the city or larger neighborhood.
Getting traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco and wanted to buy medication in Morocco can be daunting, if you don’t speak the language and are unfamiliar with names of medicines or active ingredients. Here is some help:
- Diarit is a brand name of oral rehydration salts (ORS), to prevent and treat dehydration which is a serious side effect from traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco.
- If you simply need an antacid, try Gaviscon which is available as both a tablet and liquid.
- If you didn’t bring some with you, you can find Imodium under the same brand name at a Moroccan pharmacy.
- Smecta is a brand name for diosmectite, a natural clay used as an intestinal adsorbent to treat diarrhea and other stomach upsets.
- Some people swear by activated carbon to help bind and remove toxins from the body, including anything that may have caused your traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco. Ask the pharmacist for “charbon actif”.
- In Morocco, antibiotics can be bought without a prescription. The pharmacist may recommend a certain antibiotic to treat your traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco, but it still may be better to see a doctor, if you think you do need antibiotics to treat it.
Decide if medical attention is warranted
Most often, traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco will resolve itself, even without medication in just a few days. But if your diarrhea persists longer than that, does not respond to any OTC treatments and /or is accompanied by a fever, and / or your stool is bloody, then please make your way to a doctor or clinic for a consultation.
Depending on where you may be traveling at the time, it may not always be easy to find an English-speaking doctor in Morocco, but the doctor will be able to speak French, and Google translate can go a long way!
Luckily doctor visits, including walk-in urgent care, are reasonable-priced in Morocco, so don’t let the fear of high hospital bills deter you from seeking treatment if you are suffering from traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco!
In the end, there is no fool-proof way to 100% avoid getting sick when traveling in Morocco, but hopefully some of these tips and advice will help you to minimize the risk of traveler’s diarrhea in Morocco and help you to feel better soon, if you do get sick.
P.S. Want to know more about my recommended 11-day private tour of Morocco? Check out Mint Tea Tour’s 12-Day Definitive Morocco Tour for a similar option!
Read also: Top 10 Private Morocco Tours in 2023
DISCLAIMER: The content in this post is for informational or educational purposes only, and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals.
Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professionals with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
