Morocco

Hello all,

Have benefited from the travel suggestions on this forum immensely, thought I would contribute something back. Was in Morocco last two weeks and here are some highlights/thoughts for anyone going.

Overall
Excellent place to visit: people, sights, food, shopping, and of course, wine (the reds are kind of ‘meh’ but the whites were crisp, fruity, and all around tasty). I visited Essaouira and Marrakech, including the nearby Agafay desert, and the Atlas Mountains. Driving is super easy, easy to get around and roads are in good condition. The traffic cops aren’t really here to enforce traffic, think of them as unofficial toll booths [whistle.gif] if renting a car, I suggest peeling off the rental company decals. Drivers on the other side of the road will flash their lights at you if there’s a speedtrap coming up. If you aren’t obviously English speaking (e.g. you look Mediterranean, Asian, or Latino), it can work to pretend you don’t speak English or French: cops only know how to ask for bribes in these two languages. Lastly, like any other cost in this country, you can negotiate the ‘toll’ [wink.gif]

I would love to come back and do Fes, Meknes, Ourzazate, the Erg(s), and Tangier. One day…

Essaouira
I went primarily to get some kitesurfing lessons. There’s pretty good windsurf and regular surf as well. I really liked it and would come back. Local produce is also cool: thuya woodworking, raffia shoes were stuff I bought home. Watch out for the horrendous sandflies on the beach!!! I cannot stress this enough. These suckers are vicious, and their bites are still with me 2 weeks on.

Accomodations: Stayed at Casa Lila, a reasonably-priced riad. Probably a 3-star (or an aged 4-star) if translated to the usual hotel rating system. I chose this place because (1) I booked way too late and most everything else was booked [oops.gif] , (2) it is close to the beach but still in the medina. Rasheed at the front desk was super helpful. I’d generally describe Essaouira as rustic, in a good way. People are super chill, no one is very pushy or constantly trying to scam you or look for a quick buck, etc. There’s some cool old castle walls and a seafort but really nothing to write home about. Some friends stayed at Madada, and it was really nice, nicer than Lila… they used HotelTonight. The medina is not particularly large, so nothing is more than 10-15 minutes walk.

Food: seafood obviously the draw here. Fresh, excellent, cheap. Probably could have been cheaper if I bargained harder. The seafood stalls near the docks are a great lunch spot: US$10 got me a small bream, 4 sardines, and 2 king prawns; US$30 got me a large lobster, tuna filet, 2 mantis shrimp, and 2 king prawns. For the more adventurous, there are plenty of ‘oyster bars’ in the fish market by the docks… I wasn’t taking the risk but others were. Dinner was Le Patio (excellent seafood in Moroccan and ‘tapas’ style, with a reasonable wine selection) and Le Sirocco (excellent seafood tajine, may need to reserve on weekends). Other places: Taros, for a sunset drink (food was so-so), Caravane Cafe (booked out the one night I tried to go)

Marrakech
Here to attend a wedding, with a day-and-a-half free. I didn’t have a lot of problems with random street guys harassing me for tips, but my buddy with his pregnant wife did. Be ready to tell people a hard ‘no’ and then get cussed out. For me, the most unpleasant thing about Marrakech (and apparently Fes as well).

Accomodations: was here for a wedding so I stayed at the Amanjena. Super nice, as expected. Out of the city though so not great for exploring, unless you want a luxe getaway. After the wedding, I stayed at Riad UP. Very cool, boutiquey, ‘design’ riad, with a helpful proprietor, and well-located close to Jemaa El-fnaa BUT the actual entrance is through some very quiet back streets. You probably want to have a good sense of direction to stay here. That said, there are myriad excellent riads you could choose from: the ones I considered included the Richard Branson ones (he’s got one, and his daughter has another called El-Fenn). Toured La Mamounia and Royal Mansour. For those with the $, Royal Mansour has my vote. It’s just next-level, stunningly beautiful.

Food: Le Salama (excellent selection of salads, solid chicken), Al-Fassia (went on rec from another person on this forum, excellent lamb). Some friends went to Nomad for lunch and loved it, while my group went to Terraces des Epices and was also very good. Unfortunately I mostly had wedding-food the rest of the trip, nothing much to add here. I didn’t have the balls to try the street food in the souks and at Jemaa el-Fnaa but maybe some of you do. Tea or lunch at the Royal Mansour is amazingly good value, and highly recommended if you’re not staying here.

Shopping: Obviously there’s a ton of stuff in the souks, but here are some of the nicer places. Au Fils d’Or (caftans, shirts, babouches), Aya’s (high end caftans, shirts, scarves), Chabi Chic (ceramic homewares and nicely bottled teas/spices [no doubt overpriced but makes for more presentable gifts], note that they use really crap bubble wrap for the ceramics…). I wanted to go to Ahram Cuir for leather goods but couldn’t make it in time.

Others
Agafay: not super impressive. Frankly I would have liked to visit one of the two ergs but no time. I guess if you’ve never seen a desert before it’s something, but otherwise… meh.
Atlas Mountains: stayed at Kasbah Bab Ourika. Cost EUR 200, arguably worth it. Starting to show it’s age but a great getaway, beautiful environs, and a good base to explore the mountains. Probably the nicest place you can find in the mountains near Marrakech. I would come back. Food wasn’t exhorbitant, which is good because you’re more or less stuck here.
Ourzazate: I didn’t go but some friends did. They absolutely LOVED it and said it was worth the drive - you can day trip or overnight from Marrakech.

1 Like

Two years on…thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. We are headed to Marrakesh for 6-days in February. I’ve been before and wasn’t too impressed, but my partner hasn’t been and we are in the Canary Islands the week prior, so its a simple flight over…so why not…

Right now I’m trying to figure out how to split up the time and where to stay. My prior trip tells me I wouldn’t enjoy 6 days in Marrakesh, So we are considering a couple of diversions; first a day trip/tour to the Atlas Mountains and Berber village, and second a trip over to Essaouira for 1 or 2 nights. We aren’t beach people and won’t surf or kite surf and markets don’t interest us much beyond having a look and feeling the energy. Does Essaouira have enough otherwise (culture, architecture) to warrant 2 days/2 nights?

I’m also really struggling with finding a suitable place to stay in Marrakesh. Their star system and the tripadvisor reviews are absurdly skewed. A so-called 4/5-star Riad is really a 2/3-star family BnB for the most part. The big resorts are certainly nice, but also certainly expensive. I can’t find the sweet spot of value

Settled on splitting the Morocco trip into 4 days in Marrakesh and 2 days in Essaouira. Staying at the OP’s suggested Madada in Essaouira. Still looking for where to stay in Marrakesh…

You could visit a wine making friend of mine:

http://domainedebaccari.com/the-domain/?lang=en

can mention me

quite good South of France type wines which I do not think are sold in USA.
The Cab franc is quite unique

I think the winemaker/owner, Nahia speaks pretty good English. Stephane Derenoncourt consults

1+ for Royal Mansour a remarkable place with level of service/pride I have never experienced before.