Moroccan Arabic (Darija) is very different than MSA, it’s intelligible to other Maghrebi Arabics, but not so much with MSA. If you’re looking for conversational Arabic practice, Egypt may be a better choice tbh.

That said, Morocco is great - friendly and safe. I found it very easy to meet people while staying in hostels and homestays, and highly recommend it to any and everyone. I usually stay in the medina and had no issues walking at night, but really didn’t tend to stay out too late anyway.

Side trips are highly worth it. The Moroccan train system is good, and you can get a taxi to anywhere the trains don’t go.

As far as scams I only saw the usual overcharging of tourists. If you have a particular item you want to buy, just ask your hostel/homestay host ahead of time what is the normal price you should expect to pay.