Posted: 1st of May 2022
Thinking of travelling to Morocco? This blog provides you with an 8 day travel itinerary and some tales from my own trip.
There are not many countries on this planet which offer diversity like Morocco. In this underrated country you will find lush green and rocky mountains, emerald lakes, star gazing deserts, gorgeous coastlines, surf swells, modern cosmopolitan cities and the hustle of traditional Moroccan towns. Morocco has something for everyone, whether you are into relaxing on a beach with a pina colada or bombing down a slope on snowy mountains (yes Morocco has ski slopes!).
Another bonus to visiting Morocco is the cost. Hotels, food and drinks are much cheaper compared to what you pay in the UK and Europe. However, there is a small price to pay for such a dreamy escape. In the bigger cities and towns there are plenty of people in the streets who see nonlocals as a target to earn a few extra quid and although harmless, the everyday hustle and harassing can be really irritating. For more information on how to avoid and manage this see 10 Things You Should Know Before Travelling to Morocco . That said Morocco is one of my favourite places I have visited for a long time.
Day 1 – Manchester to Marrakesh
The trip started off well when I cockled over entering the airport hotel late Friday evening and fractured a metatarsal bone in my left foot. After being covid confined to our homes for almost 2 years my travel companion and friend Danielle agreed we should jump on the plane the next day as planned and not let the use of me only having one leg get in the way of our escape.
Our Moroccan trip would include a visit to cities, beaches and the mountains. Danielle and I travelled armed with clothing to suit all intended destinations, climates and cultures. Human sized suitcases prepared, we jumped on an early morning plane the next day and landed in Marrakesh.
We booked a stunningly traditional hotel from booking.com called Hotel Riadel Wiam which cost £50 a night and included breakfast. The Moroccans LOVE their breakfast, every breakfast is fit for a hobbit, expect a banquet! The hotel is based in the old town of Marrakesh and took about 20 minutes from the airport. I highly recommend this hotel, the staff were incredibly helpful on arrival, giving us tips to survive the hustle and bustle of Marrakesh.
Leaving the hotel to explore we experienced at least 5 men in the streets appearing super friendly asking where we were heading and offering directions. This of course is not a goodwill gesture, and they will demand payment upon arrival.
We walked through beautiful narrow cobbled streets between red clay buildings which were lined with textile markets and spice souks. It was all very authentic and romantic until we reached the Jemma square. In the square you will find lots of snake charmers and locals with barbary monkeys on choker chains. These animals are stolen from their natural habitat and used to make money from tourists. It is sad and disturbing to see.
We also came across a number of ladies in full niqab black outfits selling henna tattoos. One lady grabbed Danielle’s coat to stop her from walking passed and another grabbed my wrist. These ladies will start to draw on your skin and then demand payment. Give them a wide birth and a firm no! We found the market to be too chaotic and menacing so we headed to the Bahia Palace for a tour before eating and returning to the hotel. Tired from the early flight and slightly traumatised by the culture shock, we went to bed looking forward to the next day’s journey to the Atlas Mountains.
Day 2 – Marrakesh to Bin El Ouidane (Atlas Mountains)
Ok this is when things became really interesting. After a night of good sleep, we felt energised for the next part of our adventure. After a breakfast feast we were collected by a very handsome taxi driver who took us the 3.5-hour drive to the Atlas Mountains. The taxi cost us about £90 one way, you can get there by bus which would take closer to 6 hours but cost you about £15 pp.
‘Apologies, he doesn’t speak English,’ said the receptionist.
‘Not a problem’, Danielle and I smiled.
Our accommodation was a secluded two bedroomed villa booked from air bnb which had a 180-degree view of the mountains from the living room and an even more impressive 360-degree view from the roof terrace. It was absolutely beautiful, it cost £40 a night, what a bargain. There was one challenge however, the local village was 11km away, how were we going to eat?
The host confirmed before we arrived that he would drive us to the village to buy food, and that he did. After witnessing meat stalls in Marrakesh stood in the baking sun being drooled on by donkeys and walked on by cats, we were a little worried that our stomachs would not be accustomed to the local hygiene levels and opted for vegetarianism for the 4 days stay. Our host kindly drove us to the local fruit and vegetable market which upon arrival resembled a car boot sale on a rainy day. It was a deserted carpark space with a couple of tables selling no more than a dozen different battered vegetables.
Never deterred by a survival challenge ‘Ok, Danielle, we can do something with this, how about a moussaka but without the white sauce?’ I said putting a couple of beaten aubergines in a bag. ‘Fruit for breakfast?’ I said picking up something black that resembled a banana. ‘Oh, I think this clump of mud is a potato, we could have jacket potatoes!’ Out of politeness and respect for the locals we both managed to hide our need to laugh at the situation.
25 minutes later and the reality of living in the mountains with no access to supplies we both panicked bought 14 tomatoes, 6 potatoes and lots of other foraged pieces. The price of four days’ worth of fruit and vegetables Moroccan style…£2.90, plus the market man gave us 3 free pears.
Day 3 – Bin El Ouidane (Atlas Mountains)
We made it to the 2nd day in the mountains on our detox diet of tomatoes and water with a slice of lemon. Given I still had a dodgy foot we spent the day sunbathing on the terrace and talking about relationships and our views on the corporate world (Danielle and I worked together). It was a morning of relaxing and bonding.
‘Today would be perfect if we had a cold beer,’ Danielle said.
‘Ah, don’t Danielle’. I replied, salivating at the thought.
‘And an ice cream’.
‘Stop it!’
Day 4 – Bin El Ouidane (Atlas Mountains)
In season there are plenty of activities to do in the area, kayaking, jet skiing, water rafting, wakeboarding, hiking. Due to covid and the time of the year it was very quiet, and most places were shut. We took a small hike about 5-6 miles up into the mountains and on the route back to our villa we spotted a hotel. After spending quite some time googling ‘bars and hotels nearby’ in search of a cold beer, we were very surprised to see it. It was a lovely hotel with a pool and mountain views. We both felt like we have stepped into a parallel universe and back into civilisation. We immediately asked for a beer.
‘One moment’ the waiter said, walking away.
Full of anticipation at the prospect of supping a cold beer in the sun after a morning hike we waited.
The waiter returned about 10 minutes later and shook his head to signal a ‘no’.
‘A round of cokes it is then,’ said Danielle.
Day 5 – Bin El Ouidane (Atlas Mountains) & Rabat
The previous day our host had text Danielle to tell us his mother had offered to make us breakfast. I thought that was a lovely gesture and encouraged Danielle to accept.
Arriving at the lower terrace was a huge display of dishes, I couldn’t believe it. There were hours of work on that table, homemade breads, soup, jam, omelettes, the list goes on. I felt very privileged to be eating such authentic Moroccan food made from a gesture of welcome.
‘Are you married? Mo asked us both in English.
‘Yes’, said Danielle.
‘No’, I said.
Our host spoke little English, and we spoke little French, but we did manage to have a number of conversations with the words we did know, hand signals and the use of a translating app.
‘Soup Emma?’ he asked getting up and picking up the soup bowl.
‘Sure’ I replied.
‘Tea Emma’
‘No thank you Mo’
It was becoming apparent that due to Danielle’s marriage hand being off the menu so was her breakfast. Our host continued to text me days after we left. Perhaps this goodwill gesture was not as wholesome as I thought.
The taxi cost £100 and took us about 4 hours to get to Rabat. Again there is a cheaper option via bus which would cost about £10 but take you about 7 hours.
Rabat is a coastal imperial city hugging the vast Atlantic Ocean. It is clean and easy going with several attractions you can visit in one or two days.
Danielle and I had pre booked another apartment from air bnb in the Kasbah, it cost us £80 a night. The apartment was another traditional Moroccan style place with roof top views of the city. We didn’t hang around the apartment for long, the detox diet was over.
After over an hour of walking through the town we finally found a bar but when we arrived it was closed for a private party. I called our surf instructor who I met on previous travel trips for some advice on where to go and as luck would have it Ilyas (our surf instructor) was free to meet us and guide us to his recommendation restaurant which was on a wooden ship alongside the river.
Arriving back to our apartment about 10pm after a few classes of wine we was hit with the realisation that somehow our front door lock had broken, and we were locked out of the apartment. The host was in France, and we were on the streets stranded late at night in Morocco. We did have a key to the roof terrace door, so in an attempt to gain entry into our apartment we walked through the neighbour’s house (with their permission of course) and climbed over their roof terrace onto ours. We put the key in the door and the handle fell off. 6 people, one locksmith and 2.5 hours later we were back in the apartment. It had been an eventful day.
Day 6 – Rabat
The next day was surf day and lesson from Ilyas’s surf house, we decided to stay at the surf hostel given the security issues we had at the apartment the previous evening. It was a great day in the ocean getting our arses kicked by the swell. The surf house was previously owned by Ilyas’s uncle Abdel who is a world pro surfer. We were lucky enough to watch Abdel catch some big waves the next morning. If you would like to try surfing or would like to improve existing surf skills check out Illyas’s Surf House. They are in a great location, have lovely clean facilities and are best instructors in town.
In the evening Danielle and I return to the pirate ship for food and drinks. On route we noticed a man chasing us, he was getting closer and closer. Danielle refused to give him eye contact and continued to look ahead.
‘Excuse me, you are English, yes?’
‘Yes’, I replied.
‘I know your friend is scared of me’ he said gesturing to Danielle, ‘but I saw you in the city and I think you are really cute’.
‘WHAT DO YOU WANT?’ said Danielle glaring at him straight in the eyes.
The mans shoulders slumped back and eyes widened. He had mistaken Danielle’s avoidance for fear, but she was actually furious. He thought we were scared and yet he still chased us to know doubt lure us into some scam. He walked away instantly like a wild animal who had just being kicked in the head by his prey. Danielle and I continued to laugh about his reaction over dinner.
Day 7 – Rabat & Marrakesh
After another Moroccan breakfast, minus the marriage inquisition, Danielle and I headed off to Marrakesh by train which took 3.5 hours. We spent our last night in Guiliez, the cosmopolitan side of Marrakesh. We had tapas and Mexican beer to finish off the trip.
The next day we flew back to Manchester and returned home in once piece (minus the broken foot).
Conclusion
The variance from the western culture can be quite daunting initially but after a couple of days you can’t help but fall in love with the uniqueness of Morocco. Our main hiccup was the food and beer (or lack of) during our Atlas Mountain stay, all could have been avoided if we were more organized or had a blog like this to inform us of the restrictions.
If you are visiting Morocco or thinking of visiting, please do and embrace the culture, you will have no regrets only stories to tell!
If you liked this blog on Morocco check out 10 Things You Must Know Before Travelling to Morocco for practical information on your travels to and around Morocco.
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