01: 24 Hour Journey – and recommended flights!

At the moment there are no direct flights to Morocco from Brunei. However, you have the following options:

Via Kuala Lumpur

There are no direct flights from Kuala Lumpur either. These are the options to get to Casablanca (Morocco’s largest airport)

• Saudia Airlines (Transit in Jeddah/Madinah for 4 hours)
• Emirates (Transit in Dubai)
• Etihad Airways (Transit in Abu Dhabi Airport)
• Turkish Airlines (Transit in Istanbul)

For my trip, I went using Saudia Airlines (this is the cheapest option). On the first leg to Jeddah, the flight was very full, as this is a popular time also for umrah.

Fortunately, the Dreamliner was very comfortable and had a lot of space and leg room. Be warned though that the toilet floors can get wet because umrah pilgrims (I assume) doing ablution.

For those choosing Saudia, I’d like to add that transit was quite challenging as Jeddah Airport was extremely packed and there may be very limited places to rest. Our gate number was also not published until about 1 hour before the flight.

To be honest, if you don’t mind the price difference, I recommend Emirates or Etihad Airways for a journey this long – only because both Dubai and Abu Dhabi Airports are much more comfortable for long layovers (plus you may even get a chance to shower/clean up).

Via Singapore

Slightly more expensive option going through Singapore (everything is expensive in Singapore haha) but some prefer it. From Singapore to Casablanca:

• Qatar Airways (Transit in Doha, Qatar)
• Emirates (Transit in Dubai)
• Turkish Airlines (Transit in Istanbul)
• Air France (Transit in Paris)

Via Bangkok

Not my preferred country for transit as flights leaving Bangkok usually serve non-halal meals, I was just curious to see. Surprisingly quite a few options for flights leaving to Casablanca – much cheaper than from Singapore:

• Gulf Air (Transit in Bahrain)
• Egypt Air (Transit in Cairo)
• Emirates (Transit in Dubai)
• Qatar Airways (Transit in Doha, Qatar)
• Etihad Airways (Transit in Abu Dhabi Airport)

02: Apply for Visa

Brunei has the 17th most powerful passport in the world allowing visa-free access to most countries. However Morocco ain’t one of these countries so please kamu jangan confident ke sana without Visa ok!!!!

You need this:

To apply for a Visa to enter Morocco, you have 2 options:

1. Fly to Kuala Lumpur (where the nearest Moroccan Embassy is), and personally apply for a visa yourself.
2. If you don’t have time to fly to KL, apply for a visa via any travel agency in Brunei. I asked Pan Bright Travel Services who quoted BND250 per person.

There is no online application option at this moment for Bruneians.

They do not give out visa upon arrival in most cases – so please make sure you get this sorted before coming into Morocco.

How much is the Visa?

• Single Entry: RM91
• Double Entry: RM137

What documents are needed to apply for a Visa?

• Visa Application Form, duly filled in and signed
• 2x Passport Sized Photo (white background)
• Original Passport
• Photocopy of Passport
• Copy of Flight Tickets
• Copy of Hotel Bookings

Where to submit the documents?

If you Google the address for Embassy of Morocco in Kuala Lumpur, you will see the old address. DO NOT GO TO THIS OLD ADDRESS. The new address is:

42-3A, 42 Floor, K Residence, Avenue K, 156 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +60321610701/05

Address of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia since 2017

Just use the LRT and stop at KLCC – the KLCC station is actually located in Avenue K Shopping Mall (FYI there is a Sephora here).

Kindly note submission for visa application is between 10am to 1pm only.

How long does it take to complete?

2-3 business days

03: Start Learning French

Seriously!

If you are an independent traveller like me (meaning you are not joining any tour packages or anything of the sort) you have to make your way yourself, and seriously, in Morocco, English use is quite limited. Signs, directions, and the universal language used is French, followed by Moroccan Arabic (Darija) and Berber.

Bye Arabic nya pun lain – aku faham syukran saja!

French is taught universally and serves as Morocco’s primary language of commerce and economics, culture, sciences and medicine; it is also widely used in education and government.

Learn some French!

04: Leave Your BND at Home

Morocco’s money is Dirham, and it is what we call a closed currency. It can only be bought at a Bureau de Change once u land in Morocco and only using several currencies which you can get at any local banks in Brunei:

• USD
• Euro
• GBP

If you don’t have time to change money at the bank, you can of course withdraw from the ATM once you get there. Credit Cards are thankfully widely accepted in most outlets.

Please don’t bring BND or SGD as they will not accept it in the whole of Morocco.

05: Stay Connected and Download These Apps

FYI, free simcards are given out at the Casablanca Airport by Maroc Telecoms. All you need to do is approach the booth and provide your passport. Coverage is for the whole of Morocco. Once you go out of the baggage claim area, just buy top up as u need at the kedai runcit. Kalau habis, just buy more!

And apps yang wajib di download adalah: Maps.Me! For Marrakech, Casablanca and Fes, you will need this map to manoeuvre around the Medina – there are a million alley ways and small streets so Google Maps and Apple Maps are not useful to find your way. Maps.me has more information and additionally it can be used while offline!

NEXT POST: Budget & Itinerary for My Trip to Morocco