Should we hire a guide to get us around Morocco

My boyfriend and I are thinking of taking a 2 week vacation in Morocco in late November. We are from the US and neither of us speaks anything but English. We've heard mixed reports from several people..some saying we should hire a guide and others saying there is no need for that. Can some of you weigh in on the subject? We are in our early 30's and have travelled throughout Europe, Argentina, Costa Rica, etc and never had a problem...but we are concerned with aggressive panhandlers, bus drivers, guides, etc who sound like they may not only rip us off but put us in danger as well. Also, what is the weather in November? is it worth us going to the coastal beach towns at that time of year? thanks

I would not worry about it being dangerous the police are pretty active and do not tolerate a lot. You will be overcharged some wheather you have a guide or not.You can get by with just english life just gets easier if you speak at least a few words of french or arabic and your prices for items tend to be less. More than anything you are going to get a large culture shock after you arrive in the country. It is just a lot different than what you have experienced in the countries that you have mentioned. I would not bother with a guide.

No you don't need a guide. And you also will be just fine speaking only English. You may run into some aggressive would-be guides and shop keepers but just ignore them and walk away...they are no danger whatsoever. Taxi drivers are a mixed bag--some are fine, others are a pain. Just settle the price of your journey before you get into the cab and if you don't like the driver's attitude, again, just walk away.
For weather info., go to yahoo.com, weather, Africa, Morocco and check record and average temps and rainfall for various cities. It may well be cool in some areas but I still would recommend visiting Essaouira.

You sound pretty well-travelled - I don't think you'll have any problems with Morocco. You certainly don't need a guide. Tourists have been coming here since the 50s and most routes are well-worn and easy.

Personally, I've found it a pretty laid-back kind of place with no real hassle (apart from a handful of persistant faux guides in Marrakech). I've lived here a year and never encountered any aggression.

Enjoy your trip.

I would say Morocco is far from hassle free, but never had any trouble with taxi drivers. I only spaek English too, and found this a disadvantage but not a catestrophic disability.

In fact it's a positive advantage sometimes as you can more easily ignore the people you should ignore who usually presume you're French or Spanish, and you won't understand the obscenaties shouted at you after you've passed them.

If your loaded, why not hire a guide. I guess they would want 500D a day. It would save you some time and effort, that is if he's honest. On the other hand he could shield you from experiencing a more genuine Morocco. I guess you could just get there and play it by ear. Guides are easy to find, but chose careully.

I forgot to mention: if you hire a guide, he will take you only to shops where he gets a commission on anything you buy...and you will of course pay more for whatever you buy.

Tipsy, many Moroccans ARE fantastic linguists...they speak French, English, Arabic, a Berber dialect, maybe Spanish and German. And they do it with minimal accents! So that is why English will suffice in nearly all cases, except maybe in small villages. But even in those, if someone has something to sell he (always a he) will speak (often flawless) English.
Once in Zagora my daughter and I were negotiating the price of a bracelet with a guy in his 20s. He spoke perfect English. We asked him where he studied English. He said he had no formal schooling but had just learned it on his own. Maybe it in the genes?

I've met elderly women who only speak Tachelhit, not even Arabic except for rote prayers, greetings, etc. I desperately wish I could really talk to them.

The only two words you need to know are shukran (thank you) and, if you are a guy, zweena (beautiful, very helpful when flirting lol).

the only place I would consider a guide is if you go to fes and then for your first day only. The medina is a little more complicated to navigate and there is some great historical information that only a good guide will share with you. We hired a woman guide (official) who speaks great english and she was 150.00DH for the day. I told her up front we did not want a shopping guide....if we saw places we wanted to shop we would let her know but I did not want her taking us in and out of shops....I told her I understood that was how she earned some of her money but that we wanted a historical tour and any shopping would be done on our terms and that we would pay her double for that. It worked out great....we did end up stopping and buying some things and I feel certain she went back for her commision which was fine with me and she gave us a great tour. In the past I had hired an official guide who spoke barely enough english to just lead us through the medina and point to things but could not give us any real information. I still have her cell if you want it, let me know.

In any other city, I never use a guide and I don't think you need to.

Have a great trip.