Best eSIM for Morocco: medinas, Sahara and 5G

Morocco rewards a connected phone more than most destinations. The medinas of Marrakech and Fes are mazes where a live blue dot beats any self-appointed guide, riads hide down lanes with no street sign, and taxis are easier to judge when you can follow the route yourself. Then the trip leaves the cities: over the High Atlas, out to the dunes at Merzouga, up to blue-washed Chefchaouen, or across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain, where EU roaming quietly ends. Here's which network you'll ride, where the signal holds, what changed when 5G arrived in November 2025, and how much data to buy.

In short: Your eSIM rides Orange Morocco, with 5G in the 135 cities Orange lists and 4G elsewhere.

Morocco has three national mobile networks, and Zwitchy's Morocco eSIM connects on one of them: Orange Morocco. There's nothing to pick by hand. Turn on Data Roaming for the eSIM and your phone joins Orange when you land, while your home SIM stays in place for calls and texts with its own data roaming switched off. The eSIM is data-only, so there's no Moroccan number; WhatsApp, FaceTime and other app calls run over the data, as our guide to data-only eSIMs explains.

5G is brand new in Morocco. The regulator, ANRT, awarded 5G licences on 25 July 2025, with a target of 45% of the population covered by the end of 2026 and 85% by 2030, and commercial 5G went live on 7 November 2025, starting with Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Marrakech, Agadir and Fes. Orange now lists 5G in 135 cities, including the big cities and their outskirts, and says the rollout is continuing. Away from those areas your phone runs on 4G, which is plenty for maps, messaging and photos.

In short: Signal is fine in the main souks and weakest in covered lanes and inside riads; carry an offline map.

The old medinas are where a working phone matters most and where signal is least predictable. Fes el-Bali and Marrakech's medina, both UNESCO World Heritage sites (Fes, Marrakech), are mazes of narrow, high-walled lanes, and some of them are roofed over. Out in the main souks you'll usually have a signal; deep in a covered passage or inside a riad's thick walls it can fade to a bar or drop out. The UK government also warns that people posing as official guides commonly harass tourists, and a map showing your own position is the easiest answer to "that road is closed". A few habits help:

• Download an offline map of the medina before you go in. Google Maps offline areas keep your blue dot working on GPS alone, with no signal at all.
• Save your riad's location as a pin, ideally the one the riad sends you, because entrances down unmarked lanes are easy to walk past.
• If a message won't send, walk to a square or a wider street. Open sky helps more than waiting under a covered passage.
• Use the riad's Wi-Fi for big photo uploads and keep the eSIM for maps and messages on the move.

In short: Signal follows roads and towns; ask your desert camp about signal and send messages before you set off.

Outside the cities, signal follows the roads and towns. On the drive over the High Atlas from Marrakech towards Ouarzazate, expect coverage around towns and villages and gaps on the emptier mountain stretches between them. Treks up from Imlil towards Toubkal can be out of range for long periods, and the UK government advises hiring a professional guide for Atlas hikes, so your guide, not your phone, is the plan.

In the Sahara, Merzouga is the base for the Erg Chebbi dunes, and desert camps are deliberately set away from town. Don't assume signal or Wi-Fi at a camp: ask when you book, send your messages before the camel or 4x4 leaves, and download maps, playlists and anything you need for the night. The same goes for the long drive across the south through the Dadès and Todra gorges.

Chefchaouen, in the Rif mountains, is easier. The blue-washed medina is compact and behaves like a small version of Fes: fine outdoors, weaker in the narrowest lanes and indoors. The road in winds through the mountains, so load your route before you set off.

In short: Morocco is outside EU roaming and a Spain plan stops at Tangier; switch off home data roaming before the coast.

Plenty of Morocco trips start in Spain, on a ferry from Tarifa or Algeciras to Tangier; Baleària says the Tarifa to Tanger Ville crossing takes about an hour. Once you're across, your EU plan's "roam like at home" is over. Morocco isn't on the list of countries covered by EU roaming rules, so carriers charge their own rates: Movistar puts Morocco in its Zone 2 at €12.10 per MB with no day pass, and Vodafone Spain charged €6.05 per MB in October 2026, according to Selectra.

Morocco isn't in the EU roaming zone: "roam like at home" ends at the ferry ramp in Tangier.

A Spain plan doesn't cover Morocco either, so a trip that does both needs a Spain plan for the Spanish leg and a Morocco plan for the rest, or a Global plan that covers both on one eSIM. Install both before you leave home and switch the data line when you land in Tangier. Our Spain guide covers the first half of the trip, and what Europe's big carriers charge outside the EU compares more carriers.

In short: A local SIM needs your passport, WhatsApp calls work, and Uber runs only in Casablanca and Marrakech.

You can buy a local SIM instead. Maroc Telecom, Orange and inwi all sell them, and operators must link every number to the buyer's identity, so bring your passport to the shop. It's cheap per gigabyte, but it means a new number and a counter visit on arrival day. A travel eSIM skips the paperwork and keeps your own number live beside it.

WhatsApp calls work. Morocco blocked internet calls on mobile data in early 2016, then lifted the ban that November, and Freedom House's 2025 report found no blocked websites or social media. WhatsApp voice and video, FaceTime and other app calls run over your eSIM data as they would anywhere else; our WhatsApp calling guide tracks the countries where that isn't true.

Getting around is where data earns its keep. Uber returned to Morocco in November 2025, in Casablanca and Marrakech only and with licensed transport companies only. Other ride apps operate in a legal grey zone, and the UK government warns that many taxis booked through them may be unlicensed. Petit taxis are the everyday option in town: agree the fare or check the meter is on, and follow the route on your map.

In short: Install at home on Wi-Fi, then switch on the eSIM and Data Roaming after landing at RAK or CMN.

Most international flights land at Marrakech Menara (RAK) or Casablanca Mohammed V (CMN), with Fes, Tangier and Agadir taking many of the rest. Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi first; installing doesn't start the plan. After landing, turn off airplane mode, set Zwitchy as your data line and switch on Data Roaming for the eSIM, and you'll be online on Orange by the arrivals hall, ready to message your riad or driver. Your phone needs to be carrier-unlocked and eSIM-capable. Save the emergency numbers too: the UK government lists 190 for police, 150 for ambulance and fire, and 177 for the Gendarmerie.

In short: Most weeks need 4 to 6 GB; photos and video, not maps, are what use it up.

Maps and messaging are light. What pushes a Morocco trip up is photos and video from the souks, the dunes and the riad rooftops, plus the odd video call home. A rough guide for one week:

In short: Take 5 GB for a week, 10 GB for two, and unlimited if you stream a lot.

Every Morocco plan runs for 30 days and comes in 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30 or 50 GB, and there are unlimited plans for 3 to 30 days with 1 GB a day at full speed, then slower. All of them are data-only, so pick by how much you'll use:

• Just the airport transfer and a first evening: the 100 MB plan is a one-day lifeline for maps and messages.
• A long weekend in Marrakech: the 3 GB plan.
• A week on a classic loop, Marrakech, the Atlas and Merzouga, or Fes and Chefchaouen: the 5 GB plan.
• Two weeks, or a week with lots of video: the 10 GB plan.
• Streaming, a laptop on hotspot or a month-long stay: 20 GB or more, or unlimited if you'd rather not count.

Want one pick? Take 5 GB for a week and 10 GB for two. If you run low, a top-up takes seconds.

Is Morocco your second trip abroad? Our guide to countries to save for your second trip covers the medina hustle in more detail. Carrying on to Tunisia or Egypt? Each runs on its own networks, so each needs its own plan, unless an Africa plan covers your whole route; check its country list before you buy.

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