La’ghla 3la Mskine: A Moroccan Traveler’s Guide to London
Disclaimer: If you can’t relate to the first part of the title of this blog, this blog is not for you.
As Mgharba we are known to love our country so much that we sometimes just want to experience what it is like to be on the other side of Ajmal Balad f’l3alam.
So we pay 500 drhm for one of the world’s most powerful (^-1) passports and df3 l visa d fransa (another 660 drhm + 500 hakak dyal l’assurance) and a 300 drhm Ryanair flight to Paris and feel on top of the world.
But for those of us who want to feel a bit more 3ay9in, we pay 1200 drhm for a UK visa and go to London. Dear 3ay9in like me, this article is for you.
Awalan Kabira: The decision to visit the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
0 — Background
The UK is a kingdom of 4 countries: England (capital London), Wales (capital Cardiff), Scotland (capital Edinburgh), and Northern Ireland (capital Belfast).
England, Wales, and Scotland (together) are also called Great Britain (Britania, or GB). GB and Northern Ireland form The United Kingdom (UK, capital London).
Some Wikipedia statistics:
Population: 66 Million
Currency: Pound Sterling (GBP, £)
Minimum wage: ~1400 GBP per month (hakkak)
Dialing code: +44
Capital: London
Exchange Rate: 1 GBP = ~12 Moroccan DH (hakkak)
When you decide on visiting the UK there are few factors to consider, I will attempt to detail them starting from the basics.
1 — UK Visa
UK visa is a bit tough to get for us Moroccans. But it requires more or less the same set of documents as a standard Schengen visa. Pretty much the only difference is a very long online application form.
Fees: A standard visitor short-stay (tourist) visa for UK costs around 90 GBP or chi 1200 DHS hakak. The issued UK tourist visa is usually valid for 6 months. You will also need valid travel insurance before you apply.
UK visa allows us to visit all 4 countries forming the UK i.e. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
P.S. UK Visa does NOT permit to visit the Republic of Ireland (capital Dublin).
2 — Flights
Airports
Unless you know how to teleport, you will need a flight to visit UK. You can pretty much fly anywhere in UK, but I will assume you want to fly to London.
There are 5 major airports in London, but you only need to know about 3: Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted.
Heathrow: Biggest airport in UK and one of the biggest in Europe, transport between Heathrow and Central London is always available, through London Underground, Buses, Coaches, Taxis, Uber, and more...
Gatwick: Second major airport in UK. Trains and Coaches are always available between Gatwick and Central London for decent prices, and take about half an hour.
Stansted: the hub of Ryanair in UK, transport from and to central London is available via trains and coaches, coaches run every 30 minutes for less than 15 GBP one way. The downside is that Stansted is 2 hours away by Coach from Central London and about an hour by train.
Flight options
There are many options, Google search will tell you. These are the two main ones:
1- La RAM: Direct flights from Rabat and Casablanca to both Gatwick and Heathrow.
Perks: Decent comfort, food on-board, above average legroom, new aircraft, USB chargers.
2- Ryanair: Direct flights from Rabat, Fes, Marrakech and many other national airports to London Stansted.
Perks: Lowcost, wa rkhis had l3jb. You can get a return flight for as low as 40 GBP when booked in advance.
Tanyan Kabira: Planning your London Trip Financially
1 — Transport within London
Just like Rabat our beloved capital, London too has many options for public transport. There are Buses, London Underground, London Overground, Tram Links, Docklands Light Railway, River Boats, Cabs, Private Taxis, and Uber. In other words, you will ALWAYS find a way to get to your destination.
The London Fare Zones:
Without getting into weird Londonery details, Fare Zones are simply a way to calculate the journey prices depending on which area of Greater London you are using public transport in. There are 6 main zones in London (9 in total), with central London being Zone 1 and outer London being Zone 6. The prices you pay vary depending on which zones you are traveling from and to. The farther from the center you go, the more you have to pay.
Why is this important?
This is important because when you book a hotel in London before going, you may book a hotel that is FAR from the center but CHEAP instead of a hotel in the center but a bit more expensive. Booking a hotel FAR from the center will increase the prices you pay for public transport. The farther you are from central London, the more you will have to pay to get to central London by public transport. so dakchi li rb7ti f l’hotel mcha f transport.
The Oyster Card
When you arrive in London, among the first things you do are buying a SIM card, and buying and Oyster card.
Oyster cards are your way to pay for public transport in London, you can buy one at almost every Underground station, or vendors around the city. it costs 5£ and you charge it daily or weekly or however you want.
Daily Fare Caps
When using Oyster cards, daily fare caps apply. This means, when you take a certain number of trips in a day, you are NOT charged for the rest of the day.
Notice how the daily maximum price changes with the zones.
Example: If you only use Oyster card in Zones 1–4 (Where MOST of London attractions are) then you are charged £10.10 for unlimited rides that day.
Note: Contactless credit cards work in the same way as Oyster cards. But Moroccan banks will charge you for exchanging Drhm to Pound and you will end up paying more. Better buy an Oyster w thna(y).
Istintaj:
Public Transport within London will usually cost you £10–13 per day. Generally.
Helpful Links:
Transport for London website: https://tfl.gov.uk/
Oyster card website: https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do
Useful maps: https://tfl.gov.uk/maps
Helpful Apps:
- Google Maps work perfectly in London. It can suggest bus, tram, train, tube, taxi, and walking routes to destination accurately.
- CityMapper is another app that works really well for transport.
