Morocco

[brett]

Has anyone been to Morocco on either an escorted trip or an independent trip?

 

[Moemg]

A woman form my lunch group went last year with Oversea Adventure Travel and she raved about it .

 

[CardsFan]

I have been there probably a dozen times on business. Mostly staying in El Jadida, with a few nights in Casa.

Very friendly people. Great food. English is spoken most places, and French is the official language. If you drive, most signs in the bigger cities are in French, Arabic and English. Further out, mostly Arabic.

I wish I had spent more time exploring the country and culture, but never had the time to do so.

 

[folivier]

We went for 2 nights as an extension of our Europe trip. Took the Tarifa ferry over to Tangiers, then hired a driver to take us to Fez where we stayed at a riyad in the Medina. Very interesting trip, very different culture than in Europe. We hired a guide for the first day to show us around the Medina which was worth it. Next day we walked around on our own. We found the Moroccans very nice. We were actually in Fez when the Benghazi embassy was attacked.
One disappointing thing was on the train back to the ferry was the amount of trash in most of the smaller towns along the way.

 

[candrew]

We traveled about Morocco for 6 weeks this past January & February, visiting Casablanca, Féz, Chefchaouen, Asilah & Tangier. Our time in Morocco was during the off season so be aware that if you visit during warmer months, expect there to be lots of tourists.

Echoing previous posters, the food in Morocco is incredible. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Riyadhs in both Féz and Asilah. Glad that we only spent 2 nights in Casablanca. We found it to be very crowded. We enjoyed out time in Féz the most due to its history and culture. It is often referred to as the most authentically Moroccan of any city in the country. Based on the recommendations of friends (one of whom is Moroccan), we entirely skipped visiting Marrakech. During our trip, others who we spoke with that had spent time in Marrakech expressed their disappointment and stated that they felt constantly harassed by merchants in addition to the city having an overall feel of a tourist trap.

Chefchaouen - aka The Blue City - is beautiful, however, expect heavy tourism there during warmer months. Asilah - aka the White City - is located on the Atlantic coast. It is beautiful and tranquil. We stayed there for several weeks in the Medina and made a number of day trips to Tangier by train and/or taxi.

Our transportation in Morocco was entirely by train, bus and taxi - all were very affordable and convenient. We found the overall COL in Morocco to be ridiculously inexpensive. Rarely did we pay more than the equivalent of $20USD for a dinner for 2 of us.

Cash is king in Morocco. Larger stores, restaurants and merchants will take plastic. Not so in the markets. Bartering for prices in the markets is expected and welcomed. Purchasing tickets for buses and trains - unless you have a Moroccan issued bank/credit card - will have to be in cash.

Edited to add: Our travels in Morocco were entirely independent. We were not part of a tour group nor were we escorted.

 

[Sunset]

We traveled about Morocco for 6 weeks this past January & February, visiting Casablanca, Féz, Chefchaouen, Asilah & Tangier. Our time in Morocco was during the off season so be aware that if you visit during warmer months, expect there to be lots of tourists.

Echoing previous posters, the food in Morocco is incredible. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Riyadhs in both Féz and Asilah. Glad that we only spent 2 nights in Casablanca. We found it to be very crowded. We enjoyed out time in Féz the most due to its history and culture. It is often referred to as the most authentically Moroccan of any city in the country. Based on the recommendations of friends (one of whom is Moroccan), we entirely skipped visiting Marrakech. During our trip, others who we spoke with that had spent time in Marrakech expressed their disappointment and stated that they felt constantly harassed by merchants in addition to the city having an overall feel of a tourist trap.

Chefchaouen - aka The Blue City - is beautiful, however, expect heavy tourism there during warmer months. Asilah - aka the White City - is located on the Atlantic coast. It is beautiful and tranquil. We stayed there for several weeks in the Medina and made a number of day trips to Tangier by train and/or taxi.

Our transportation in Morocco was entirely by train, bus and taxi - all were very affordable and convenient. We found the overall COL in Morocco to be ridiculously inexpensive. Rarely did we pay more than the equivalent of $20USD for a dinner for 2 of us.

Cash is king in Morocco. Larger stores, restaurants and merchants will take plastic. Not so in the markets. Bartering for prices in the markets is expected and welcomed. Purchasing tickets for buses and trains - unless you have a Moroccan issued bank/credit card - will have to be in cash.

Edited to add: Our travels in Morocco were entirely independent. We were not part of a tour group nor were we escorted.

Thanks for your detailed description. It helps so much to hear of other peoples experiences in deciding whether to visit some area or exclude it as too dangerous/difficult.

 

[FIYes]

Candrew, thanks for your description of your trip. Since you were there in January and February, what was the weather like? I prefer off season or shoulder season travel.

 

[brett]

Thanks! These comments are very helpful. Morocco has been on my list for some time. We spent a day in Tangiers a few years ago...just crossed from Tariffa. But...I have been reading the tour book and reviewing OAT, Gate1 offerings etc. We are very independent travelers and we travel light-carry on only. Thinking of going at the end of August and would plan for six/seven weeks, some of which would be spent in Portugal.

My thought is to go to the Atlantic coast for a week or two while the weather is still warm, then do some touring inland for a few weeks. We were first considering an escorted tour but that ties us down a little. Renting a car for part of the touring does not phase me. French is just fine since I can read it and my oral proficiency increases to mildly acceptable after a week. Public transport is not issue. We have spent the last five winters doing exactly this type of travel in SE Asia.

I thought that based on how we travel it might be better to pick up local tours, even for two days, rather than go the whole schtick with a regimented 13 or 15 day tour. Besides, if we like somewhere on the tour we would probably prefer to stay longer.

I have moved my thoughts from doing a tour and spending time on our own by the coast to just doing it ourselves and moving around to our schedule.

Thoughts, comments, or warnings/advice on this?

I really do appreciate these comments...they are right on the mark as to what I was hoping the responses would be. This was supposed to be Greece and Israel. We have been to Greece numerous times. DW wants to go back to Portugal so this combo makes sense travel wise.

 

[CaliKid]

We spent a few days in Marrakesh. It was a little too wild west for me. However, we were not with a group. The hotel arranged everything such as airport transport, tours, dinner reservations, etc.... Glad we went but have no need to go back.

 

[Sunset]

Thanks! These comments are very helpful. Morocco has been on my list for some time. We spent a day in Tangiers a few years ago...just crossed from Tariffa. But...I have been reading the tour book and reviewing OAT, Gate1 offerings etc. We are very independent travelers and we travel light-carry on only. Thinking of going at the end of August and would plan for six/seven weeks, some of which would be spent in Portugal.

.....

Have you used OAT, Gate1 offerings etc before, and how did you feel about them, any to avoid ?
I've noticed them in GroupOn offerings, but still wonder about using them, the prices seemed pretty good for tours.

 

[brett]

No, never used any of them or any other escorted tour for that matter. All of our travel has been independent, spontaneous.

Well, we did do an escorted tour to China while we on a business trip to HK in the mid eighties but it was only 6 days or so.

I mentioned those few because I have looked at their websites and reviews. Plus, we met a gentleman who was on a Gate1 tour in Thailand. I asked him about Gate1 and he was very complementary. That is as far as my/our escorted tour knowledge goes. We are not ones to get up at six, pack, breakfast on be on the bus at 7:30 or 8AM after spending only one day in a place.

 

[Scuba]

DH and I don’t take tours, but have several friends who swear by OAT. They do seem to have interesting activities with locals, as well as tour guides who are local.

 

[candrew]

Candrew, thanks for your description of your trip. Since you were there in January and February, what was the weather like? I prefer off season or shoulder season travel.

We arrived in Morocco mid-January. At times the weather was a bit chilly, sometimes rainy and then at other times we had awesome weather. As we got into February, day time temps were around 70-75F. Nighttime temps on the Asilah coast would still drop into the 40'sF. Be advised that most Moroccan homes in the medinas do not have heat, so on those chilly nights, it's a case of piling on the blankets! If one decides that warmer summer weather would be preferable, those same homes without heat also don't have AC - and according to our Moroccan friend, she says it can get stifling hot.

Like you, we prefer off season and/or shoulder season travel. Our time in Morocco was great in terms of much less tourism than one might otherwise find during late spring and summer. Less tourists also meant we had better bargaining leverage in the markets!

 

[candrew]

Thanks! These comments are very helpful. Morocco has been on my list for some time. We spent a day in Tangiers a few years ago...just crossed from Tariffa. But...I have been reading the tour book and reviewing OAT, Gate1 offerings etc. We are very independent travelers and we travel light-carry on only. Thinking of going at the end of August and would plan for six/seven weeks, some of which would be spent in Portugal.

My thought is to go to the Atlantic coast for a week or two while the weather is still warm, then do some touring inland for a few weeks. We were first considering an escorted tour but that ties us down a little. Renting a car for part of the touring does not phase me. French is just fine since I can read it and my oral proficiency increases to mildly acceptable after a week. Public transport is not issue. We have spent the last five winters doing exactly this type of travel in SE Asia.

I thought that based on how we travel it might be better to pick up local tours, even for two days, rather than go the whole schtick with a regimented 13 or 15 day tour. Besides, if we like somewhere on the tour we would probably prefer to stay longer.

I have moved my thoughts from doing a tour and spending time on our own by the coast to just doing it ourselves and moving around to our schedule.

Thoughts, comments, or warnings/advice on this?

I really do appreciate these comments...they are right on the mark as to what I was hoping the responses would be. This was supposed to be Greece and Israel. We have been to Greece numerous times. DW wants to go back to Portugal so this combo makes sense travel wise.

You mentioned renting a car for part of your travel in Morocco. After witnessing the driving habits of Moroccans in places like Casablanca and Tangier, there is no way that I'd venture into cities driving a vehicle. Besides, public transport in Morocco is really inexpensive and was convenient enough for our needs. Morocco now has a high speed train that runs from Tangier to Casa and stops at Sidi Kacem.

Enough English is spoken in Morocco that one can get by without much difficulty. Although I don't speak French, I am conversational in Spanish and that was helpful in places like Chefchaouen, Asilah and Tangier. A number of merchants in the Asilah marketplace only speak Arabic. In those cases Google translate worked well.

We typically travel independently and did so for the duration of our time in Morocco. The entirety of our transportation around the country involved using public transit (trains and buses), taxis and walking. In spite of the horror stories one might read about online in terms of Morocco being a dangerous place, we found our experiences there to be quite different. Taking the same common sense precautions one always should regardless of destination suited us just fine.

 

[Jolleyjohn]

Thanks! These comments are very helpful. Morocco has been on my list for some time. We spent a day in Tangiers a few years ago...just crossed from Tariffa. But...I have been reading the tour book and reviewing OAT, Gate1 offerings etc. We are very independent travelers and we travel light-carry on only. Thinking of going at the end of August and would plan for six/seven weeks, some of which would be spent in Portugal.

My thought is to go to the Atlantic coast for a week or two while the weather is still warm, then do some touring inland for a few weeks. We were first considering an escorted tour but that ties us down a little. Renting a car for part of the touring does not phase me. French is just fine since I can read it and my oral proficiency increases to mildly acceptable after a week. Public transport is not issue. We have spent the last five winters doing exactly this type of travel in SE Asia.

I thought that based on how we travel it might be better to pick up local tours, even for two days, rather than go the whole schtick with a regimented 13 or 15 day tour. Besides, if we like somewhere on the tour we would probably prefer to stay longer.

I have moved my thoughts from doing a tour and spending time on our own by the coast to just doing it ourselves and moving around to our schedule.

Thoughts, comments, or warnings/advice on this?

I really do appreciate these comments...they are right on the mark as to what I was hoping the responses would be. This was supposed to be Greece and Israel. We have been to Greece numerous times. DW wants to go back to Portugal so this combo makes sense travel wise.

I'm with DW. Portugal is better than the lot of them IMHO. Morocco is cool but just for a quick visit.

 

[brett]

Starting to do some serious research. If we do it, we will do an open jaw. Fly into Lisbon, fly out of Paris six or seven weeks later. Then do relatively inexpensive flights into and from Morocco. We are spontaneous travelers so we can leave Morocco any time as long as we get to Paris a few days or more prior to our flight home. This is typically how we arrange many of our trips. It gives us a lot of flexibility to change our plans as we go along.

 

[Jolleyjohn]

Starting to do some serious research. If we do it, we will do an open jaw. Fly into Lisbon, fly out of Paris six or seven weeks later. Then do relatively inexpensive flights into and from Morocco. We are spontaneous travelers so we can leave Morocco any time as long as we get to Paris a few days or more prior to our flight home. This is typically how we arrange many of our trips.

You can get to morocco by boat from The Algarve (Portugal)

 

[brett]

Thanks. Yes, I know. We have been to the Algarve on previous trips. Not sure that we want to loose a day doing this.

 

[Jolleyjohn]

Thanks. Yes, I know. We have been to the Algarve on previous trips. Not sure that we want to loose a day doing this.

Understood.

Please post back and let us know how it goes!

 

[deserat]

I am looking into a Moroccan trip this October, but it is a 'tour-like' situation set up for crocheting and crafting. It is run by a woman who is Dutch but lives in Morocco part-time. I have been to Tangier on a day trip from Tarifa. it was interesting, although we picked the wrong day to go. I do want to go back and go further into the interior.

@candrew - thank you for your great trip recap and tips. Really appreciate it!

 

[Nick12]

My parents several years ago did the Spain/Portugal/Morocco circuit. Liked all experiences but when visiting Tangiers, many places were closed during the day because of Ramadan.