At Marrakech-Menara airport (RAK), there is a counter where you pay for your taxi ride before getting in: the official booth, operated under the Kech Cab brand. One question keeps coming up among travellers planning their arrival: is it genuine, or one more trap? The clear answer: the booth is legitimate. The price is set at the counter, the ride is paid before you get in, and the ticket you are handed is your proof.
But legitimate does not mean frictionless. Between 5 June and 4 July 2026, our drivers documented 30 rides departing RAK. Two realities stand out: an average wait of 39.3 minutes at the official taxi queue (median 40 minutes, maximum 130), and, on 13 rides out of 30, the pattern “booth ticket paid, then parking supplement and extra bill demanded” at the vehicle. Here is how the booth really works — what it fixes, what it does not, and how to use it well.
The essentials in 30 seconds
The official booth (Kech Cab) is legitimate: you pay for the ride at the counter, the ticket is proof, no negotiation at that stage. Our 30 observed rides (June-July 2026) measure two frictions: a 39.3-minute average wait at the queue (median 40, max 130) and a “parking supplement” demanded after payment in 43% of cases. Nothing beyond the ticket is owed.
What exactly is the official booth?
The booth is an official counter where the price of the ride is set and paid before you get in a car. You state your destination, you are quoted the fare — around 150 to 180 MAD to the city centre, roughly €14 to €17 at the summer 2026 average rate (10.7 MAD per euro, Bank Al-Maghrib) — you pay, and you are handed a ticket. A grand taxi from the official rank then handles the ride: in Marrakech, it is these grands taxis, up to six passengers, that take airport runs, not the beige petits taxis limited to the city.
The point of the system is obvious once you know the alternative: at the arrivals exit, direct negotiation with street taxis opened, across our 30 observed rides, at a median of 300 MAD, within a range of 250 to 600 MAD. The booth removes that negotiation: the price is set by a counter, not by a power struggle on a pavement. That is real progress, and it deserves to be said plainly: if you land with nothing booked, the booth is the best option available on site.
How it works, step by step
- Find the official counter yourself. Do not follow anyone offering to “take you there”: across our 30 observed rides, touts were present at the arrivals exit in 100% of cases (30/30), and the escort is often the opening move for something else.
- State your destination at the counter. You are quoted the fare before committing to anything — this is the moment to note it down or photograph what is posted.
- Pay at the counter and keep the ticket. That ticket is your proof of payment: the entire ride is covered by what you just paid.
- Join the grand taxi queue. A vehicle is assigned to you; the driver is paid through the booth system, not by you directly.
- On arrival as at departure, nothing else is owed. If a supplement appears — parking, luggage, a bill “for the driver” — the ticket is proof, and the counter is where to report it.
One point our logs do not document
Our observations do not record which payment methods the counter accepts. To be safe, carry cash in dirhams: you will depend neither on a card terminal nor on an ATM, and you will keep control of the exact amount.
What the booth fixes — and what we observed
On paper, the booth route removes the street taxi's two unknowns: the price and the counterpart. In practice, our 30 field logs from June-July 2026 tell a story in two acts: impeccable at the counter, looser between the counter and the vehicle. The table below sums up the gap.
| Stage | In theory | What we observed |
|---|---|---|
| Price at the counter | Fare set, paid upfront | Respected: negotiation disappears at this stage |
| Wait at the queue | Orderly queue, first come first served | 39.3 min average · median 40 min · max 130 min (N=30) |
| At the vehicle | The ticket covers the ride | “Parking supplement” + extra bill demanded on 13/30 rides (43%) |
| After full payment | Nothing else is owed | Extra bill demanded on 6/30 rides (20%) |
An important reading note: these frequencies are measured across all 30 of our airport rides, not only booth transactions. And an equally important point of substance: these drifts do not happen at the counter. They happen in the car park, between the ticket and departure. The booth is not their author — it is, if anything, your recourse.
Friction #1: the wait at the queue
The wait time at the official taxi queue was recorded on our 30 rides: 39.3 minutes on average, with a median of 40 minutes and a maximum of 130 minutes. The 40-minute median is the most telling figure: one ride in two waited at least 40 minutes. And the closeness of average and median indicates this is not a number inflated by a few extreme cases — it is the queue's normal regime.
Methodological honesty: our logs carry no within-day timestamp. So we cannot say whether some slots — clustered flight arrivals, evenings — wait longer than others. What we can say is that after a flight, with luggage, children or a meeting ahead, 40 minutes of queueing is not a detail: it is the booth's real cost, far more than its fare.
Friction #2: the “parking supplement” after the ticket
It is the most frequent pattern in all our observations: on 13 rides out of 30 (43%), a “parking supplement” plus an extra bill was demanded at the vehicle even though the booth ticket was paid. On 6 rides out of 30 (20%), the undisguised variant: an additional bill demanded despite full payment at the counter. The amount is improvised, and so is the justification.
Let us repeat it, to be fair: the booth sets and collects the price — that is its function, and it performs it. What drifts are individual practices between the counter and the vehicle's departure. The answer takes three moves: refuse calmly, show the ticket, and offer to walk back to the counter to report the demand. In our experience, that last prospect is usually enough to close the matter — the booth remains the system's reference authority, and everyone in the car park knows it. We have published a complete guide to the airport touts and the full typology of these patterns, if you want the detail.
Get Me!
The version with no queue and no supplement
€13 one-way, €23 round-trip, up to 6 passengers. Ride paid online before you land, driver waiting with your name: there is no queue to stand in, and no supplement possible in the car park.
Book my transferBooth, street taxi, pre-paid transfer: how to choose
The booth is not the only option, and depending on your situation it is not always the best one. Here is the full picture — we have published a detailed comparison of the four ways to reach the medina and an analysis of the real price of a transfer if you want to dig deeper.
| Option | Price | Wait | Negotiation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-paid private transfer (Get Me!) | €13 fixed (€23 round-trip) | Driver already on site, sign with your name | None |
| Official Kech Cab booth | 150-180 MAD (≈€14-17) | 39.3 min average at the queue (N=30) | None at the counter; supplements sometimes demanded afterward |
| Street taxi (negotiated) | median opening quote 300 MAD, range 250-600 MAD | Immediate departure possible | Systematic, high opening quotes |
| Bus 19 | a few dirhams | Depends on the timetable | None |
The honest way to read it: if you booked nothing, go to the booth — it is the healthiest walk-up option, provided you accept the queue and remember that the ticket is proof. If your priority is time or a frictionless arrival (late flight, children, a meeting), the pre-paid transfer removes the queue and the car park in one move, at a price comparable to the counter's. And if your absolute priority is budget, bus 19 remains unbeatable — slow, but unbeatable.
Where these figures come from
Between 5 June and 4 July 2026, 3 licensed Get Me! drivers filled out an observation sheet after every airport ride, each sheet validated by a coordinator. The 30 documented rides split into 23 to the medina and 7 to Gueliz. Each entry notes the presence of touts, the prices heard, the wait at the official taxi queue and the ride's conditions. The full dataset is published in our June-July 2026 data report, with the raw file downloadable as open data. A sample of 30 is not a census — but every figure quoted here corresponds to a real, dated, verified observation.
FAQ
Is the taxi booth at Marrakech airport trustworthy?
Yes. The official booth (Kech Cab) is a legitimate system: the price is set at the counter, the ride is paid before you get in and the ticket is proof. Our 30 observed rides (June-July 2026) do, however, measure two frictions: a 39.3-minute average wait at the queue, and a “parking supplement” demanded after payment on 13 rides out of 30.
How much does a taxi cost via the official booth?
The counter charges around 150 to 180 MAD to the city centre, roughly €14 to €17. For comparison, negotiation with street taxis opened, across our 30 observed rides, at a median of 300 MAD, within a range of 250 to 600 MAD. The booth therefore roughly halves the street's opening price.
I am asked for a supplement after paying at the booth — do I have to pay?
No. The ticket paid at the counter covers the ride: neither a “parking supplement” nor an additional bill has any basis. This pattern is the most frequent in our observations — 43% of rides (13/30). Refuse calmly, show the ticket and offer to walk back to the counter to report the demand: that prospect is usually enough to close the matter.
How long is the wait at the booth's queue?
Across our 30 observed rides, the wait at the official taxi queue averaged 39.3 minutes, with a median of 40 minutes and a maximum of 130 minutes. One ride in two therefore waited at least 40 minutes. Our logs carry no within-day timestamp: we do not know whether some times of day wait longer than others.
Booth or pre-paid private transfer: which one should I choose?
With no booking, the booth is the best walk-up option: fare set at the counter, ticket as proof. If you can plan ahead, the pre-paid transfer — €13 one-way, €23 round-trip, up to six passengers — removes the queue and any possible supplement: the driver waits with your name, and the ride is already paid online.
Our view, in full transparency
We sell transfers, and we still say it without hedging: the official booth is a good thing for Marrakech, and it is the option we recommend to anyone landing without a booking. Its real cost is not its fare — reasonable — but its time: a 40-minute median queue, plus a watchfulness to keep between the counter and the vehicle, where the “parking supplement” appeared on 43% of our observed rides. Remember one sentence: the ticket is proof. Anything added to it can be refused, calmly, ticket in hand. The rest is a trade-off between your time and your budget — and that trade-off is yours to make.
Get Me!
Skip the queue, keep the fixed price
A driver assigned before you land, a sign with your name at the arrivals exit, €13 paid online. The ride starts when you walk out — not 40 minutes later.
Book my transfer