First of all, Morocco wasn’t on my ‘list’ but when I saw a friend post pictures of her trip here, I immediately decided this country will be my 2018 birthday trip and boy was I very happy to pick this country! For reference, this trip was early January 2018 (winter).
From the onset, I was told I can skip Casablanca not because it doesn’t have much to offer but because what I was looking for (the medina, the beautiful mosques, the views) are really in Marrakesh. As a Philippine passport holder, a visa is not required to enter Morocco so I wasn’t in a rush to book a flight. I had the option to fly to Casablanca and then take the train to Marrakesh or fly straight to Marrakesh. If you have the money and pressed for time, I suggest flying straight to Marrakesh. The cost of flying to Marrakesh vs. Casablanca could be significant though. In my case, it was about $150 so I decided to fly to Casablanca and take the train (only cost around $50).
There are 2 direct flights from Washington (IAD) via Royal Air Maroc. The one I took arrived in Casablanca around 9:30am. From there, I found a currency exchange to get dirhams (Note: you cannot get this outside of Morocco unless you order from your bank in advance). Keep the envelope and receipt so you can change back your dirhams to USD on your way back (although I saw some tourist just provide their boarding pass and passport). You can also use the ATM which I was told provides better rates.
When you buy a train ticket, buy 2 tickets – one to Casa Voyageurs and from the Casa to Marrakesh. You can get a second class ticket to the first one since its a short trip and get a first class ticket to Marrakesh. If you are pressed for time, buy the first ticket to L’Oasis which is the 2nd stop from the airport and then board the train to Marrakesh from there. It should save you an extra 20 minutes ;).
From Marrakesh station, it should be around 20-30 minutes to get to the heart of the city. I scheduled a pick-up from my Airbnb host (70dh or $20) because I didn’t want to deal with negotiating with taxi drivers after a long, exhausting trip.
The place I stayed with is called Cecile’s place which I found in Airbnb. Cecile was not only very responsive (important for us Airbnb guests!) leading to the trip but she also answered any questions I had from logistics to tips in the city etc. At 5:30pm, she prepared mint tea (always does) and shared it with us guests. The room itself was well worth the price for me but the main take away is her location.
From her place, you can literally walk to the Bahia Palace, Saadian Tombs, Jemaa El Fnaa square, the Souks, and the Koutoubia mosque and that’s exactly what I did.
I arrived around 4pm to her place and at that point, it was too late to visit the palace, tombs and other gardens I was planning to explore so I headed to Jemaa El Fnaa square for dinner.
The square was filled with henna tattoo artists, snake charmers, juice and date stalls etc! It was very lively — and very touristy. A real tourist trap. Be careful not to take your phone out and snap a pic of the snake – they will come for you, they will find you and they will make you pay (lol). At dusk, various ‘magicians’, storytellers and musicians arrive at the square and most importantly — FOOD STALLS! The aroma of all those kebab, yummy and cheap!
Afterwards, I headed to the Souk which is only a few minutes walk from the square. The souk is where bargain hunters thrive. A good starting bid price for ANYTHING I would say is about 10% of the price they give you. You can go up as you negotiate but I’d say pay for no more than 50-70% of the price. They will offer you mint tea for free while they negotiate hard, other products you don’t need or want etc. like any bargain market so when you go, I suggest knowing exactly what you want to buy and how much you are willing to spend and stick to it otherwise you will end up with several rugs, silver teapots, knives and oil.
It was raining so hard that day so I head home and started early the next day.
Bahia Palace opens at 9am. If you can get there exactly at 9am, you will have the whole palace for yourself for at least a few minutes and take pics like this!
By 9:20, the Palace was full with tourist groups and tour guides. Thankfully, I was out the door by 9:30. The next stop was the Saadian tombs. The entrance to the tomb is behind the mosque and there will be people in the entrance who will offer to tour you inside. There really isn’t much to see (its small) but you may want to hire a tour guide to explain to you the history of the tombs (I didn’t – I researched it myself ahead of time).
This was a very tight trip so we had to head to Kalaat M’Gouna (valley of the roses) right after lunch. We stopped by Jardin Majorelle on our way out of Marrakesh. This was definitely one place you cannot miss while you are in Marrakesh. I only explored the gardens (70dh entrance fee, $20) but if you have time, I recommend going to the Yves Saint Laurent Museum right beside it (additional fee). This place is in every tourist’ itinerary so its almost always full of people. It was very hard to take photos of the ‘villa’ alone.
From Marrakesh to Kalaat M’Gouna through the High Atlas mountains was approximately 5 hours. The drive was smooth and I definitely enjoyed the views! We stopped for coffee once and then another stop for a late lunch.
The accommodation I booked at Kalaat M’Gouna through Airbnb is at Dar Timitar Kasbah. This is definitely one of the best finds I’ve ever had through Airbnb. The place was secluded, and very high up the mountain which provides amazing views of the valley. It was winter so I didn’t get to see the valley bloom but I assume it would be very beautiful around April – May (the Rose festival in this valley is celebrated every May)!
After breakfast, it was finally time to drive to the Sahara Desert. I will post that separately because there’s just a lot to talk about there. On the way, we drove to see Dades Gorge and Todra Gorge. We did a quick stopover at a cafe on top of the road (you’ll know it when you see it!) which shows a very amazing view of the winding roads of Dades Gorge.
A short drive further gave us this view!
We proceeded to Todra Gorge and while the view was also good, I think if you are in a rush, you can skip this.
From here, we drove for another 3 hours to reach the town of Merzouga where the Sahara tour starts. Here’s a preview picture of that tour:
After a night in the desert, the next morning we drove to Fes through the Mid-Atlas mountains. The plan was to stay the night at Fes and then drive the next morning to Casablanca for my flight back. This was definitely the longest drive we did. The first good view out of Merzouga was Azrou. It was a quick stop on the road and I cannot believe how much different the landscape here is only 6 hours away from the desert! There’s horse rides (for a fee), but you can always take pictures with monkeys for free! Just watch out because the monkeys are known for snatching phones and cameras!
Right after Azrou is a town called Ifrane. It’s a tiny town known for its alpine-style architecture and nearby ski slopes and forests. We did a quick stop for coffee. It’s a nice, little town but I wasn’t impressed much. Apparently, the Ifrane National Park is beautiful with its Atlas Cedar trees but it was closed because of the weather.
We finally arrived at Fes around 7pm. I was so tired from the drive that I went to sleep right after I put my bags down. Some tourists actually start their trip at Fes (to the desert) instead of Marrakesh. I can understand that. In the morning, we drove by the medina and it was beautiful (the blue gate is pictured below).
There is actually a place you can stop over that would give you a view of the whole medina. We stopped but I didn’t dare walk out in the rain (heavy downpour) with my camera.
After 3 hours, we finally arrived at Casablanca for my trip back, exchanged my dirhams to USD and started the check-in process. You better watch out here – they ask for your passport more than 5 times up to the departure gate, and they check your hand carry 3 times – the one right before the departure gate was very extensive.
All in all, I realized this trip couldve been better if I spent 8 days, instead of 5 which would give me an extra day to explore Fes, another one for a private hammam bath and tour the secret garden in Marrakech and maybe another one at the desert. Add 2 more days if you want to go to the bright blue city of Chefchaouen.
I normally don’t repeat trips in countries I’ve been in but Morocco, so far, is the exception. I will not be opposed to going back to this beautiful country!
The Travelling Accountant 