Morocco advice / recommendations

[23window]

I've been thinking about going to Morocco in February or March. I'm not sure why it is intriguing to me, but it is. I'd like to hear about anyone's personal experience in traveling there. Where to go, where to avoid, what to expect, etc. Thanks!

 

[OldConch]

We joined a 12 day tour of Morocco in February 2023 and felt the value added by our tour guides and driver was well worth it. Weather was great and temperatures about perfect - except for the overnights in the desert and High Atlas Mountains. Our water bottles froze solid overnight in the desert and it snowed pretty heavily in the mountains. Almost everyone wished they had brought an extra warm layer. We did not visit Chefchaouen, Essaouira, or Tangier on that trip but I did on a 2nd visit in April 2025. The weather was much nicer - not too hot or too cold. I'd skip Tangier. Interesting to note that there was a lot of Spanish spoken north of Fes.

DW agrees that Morocco was one of our favorite trips.

BTW, our 12 passenger tour van was pulled over 3 times by police in 3 different areas of the country. Driver went with police to the back of the bus for a conversation that although it wasn't confirmed, we all suspected cash changed hands. I wouldn't rent a car in Morocco .

 

[anethum]

I spent 2 weeks in Morocco in late January this year. independant travel. I flew into Marrakesh (via Casablanca) and flew home from Casablanca. I traveled within the country by train, which was easy, reliable, and cheap. Besides those two towns, I visited Rabat, Meknes, & Fez. I stayed in a lovely riad in both Fez & Marrakesh, and a dar in Meknes. Modern hotels in Rabat & Casablanca. I reserved the riad in advance for Marrakesh. I called via WhatsApp the day before to reserve in Fez. The others I just showed up and had no problem getting a room. I had to pay cash in Fez & Casablanca. I knew that beforehand for Fez, though I suspect I could have paid by credit card for a bit more. All of my accommodations came with breakfast.

Two years ago I spent 48 hours in northern Morocco in early February, arriving by ferry from Spain. I visited Tangier & Tetouan. I traveled between the two via shared taxi, and from Tetouan to the border with Ceuta (a Spanish enclave surrounded by Morocco & the Mediterranean).

I have mixed feelings about Marrakesh, which even in January had thousands of European tourists who arrive directly via low cost flights from throughout Europe. Walking in the medina is sometimes unpleasant due to the huge number of motorbikes, motorcycles, & bicycles, which are allowed to roam freely in the narrow passages, and the sheer number of pedestrians. Tourists are hassled by shopkeepers to some degree in the medina in Marrakesh, but it wasn't too annoying. Nevertheless, there are several very worthwhile sights in Marrakesh, inside and outside of the medina. There is also every type of cuisine available. Elsewhere in Morocco, there isn't as much variety. Tagine & couscous are ubiquitous. Moroccan pastries are delicious.

The medina of Fez is much more pleasant to walk around in because they don't allow 2-wheel vehicles, though Marrakesh has more to see. There were few tourists elsewhere in Morocco outside of Marrakesh & Tangier. While I didn't stay in the medina in Rabat, it's incredibly quiet and peaceful, even compared to the medina in Fez.

People were friendly everywhere. English is becoming the 2nd language of Marrakesh because the city now receives so many non-French-speaking European tourists, virtually all of whom can speak English. Elsewhere, French was the 2nd language, except for Tetouan where Spanish was the 2nd language. I speak French and I never met a Moroccan who couldn't speak French. I had some very interesting conversations with Moroccans. I met some travelers who couldn't speak French and they seemed to get around fine. Signage in Museums was in Arabic & French in older museums, in Arabic & English in newer museums, and sometimes in all 3 languages. Interestingly, in 2 wonderful gardens in Marrakesh (Jardin Majorelle & Jardin Secret), the plants' geographic origin was given only in English. The announcements on the trains were in Arabic & French, though I read that on the newer TGV (high-speed trains) service between Casablanca & Tangier, announcement are in English, as well. Eventually the TGV should expand from Casablanca to Marrakesh.

I had cool but not frigid weather in late January, and there had just been a massive amount of much-needed rain (and snow in the Atlas mountains) which ended just before I arrived. While I was there, northern Morocco continued to get deluged, so I didn't attempt to visit Chefchaouen, which I had missed when I visited Tangier & Tetouan. I had some rain while in Rabat but it was dry though cooler than average the rest of my trip. During my 48 hours in northern Morocco in February, I had sunny & warmer than average weather. My rooms had either a portable electric heater or sometimes a wall-mounted heater. I needed the heaters at night in Marrakesh & Meknes.

I didn't attempt to explore the Atlas mountains because it would have been frigid. The peaks were all covered with snow which was visible from Marrakesh.

I liked all of the places I visited, though Meknes interested me the least. However, if you want to visit Volubilis (Roman ruins), it's not far, though you can do an excursion from Fez, too.

 

[anethum]

Interesting to note that there was a lot of Spanish spoken north of Fes.

During part of the 20th century, there was a Spanish protectorate in parts of far northern Morocco, with Tetouan as its capital. Tangier was not within the Spanish protectorate. I found that most people in Tetouan spoke Spanish better than French. I ended up speaking more Spanish than French in Tetouan, though my French is better than my Spanish.

eta: I enjoyed Tangier, though I only spent 24 hours there. That was sufficient for me to see virtually everything which interested me. Like Marrakesh, there are lots of traditional homes (riad & dar) which have been converted to small hotels. I stayed in a lovely dar in the northern part of the Tangier medina, and a very pretty riad in Tetouan. (A riad has a central courtyard, often covered, whereas a dar does not have a courtyard.)

Accommodations are quite reasonable everywhere, though I saw some riad prices online for Marrakesh which were a lot more expensive than the one where I stayed, which I thought was lovely. The breakfasts everywhere were usually excellent.

 

[rodi]

Following this thread. We're looking at Morocco for 2027.

 

[KonaTom]

We went to Morocco in May of '24. Weather was very nice, not too hot and not cold or hot in the desert. Started in Casablanca as it was easy to get there, but really didn't spend any time as there's not a lot there IMO. Visited Rabat on our way the Fez. Fez is very interesting especially the "old quarter". Palais Faraj Suites was a beautiful place to stay overlooking Fez el-Bali. From Fez is an easy hop to Volubilis. Onward to Efroud and forward into the Sahara via camels (a hoot) and stayed in tents overnight. Then on to Marrakech to explore the souks, mosques, etc.. Finally went over the Atlas Mountains and ended up in Essaouria, a costal town that was truly a fun visit. The Medina was much easier to navigate than Fez so we got a better understanding over these very old places. Seafood there was amazing.

The highlights were Fez, the desert, and Essaouria. Marrakech is a great location for a foodie. March would be too cold for some of the locations we visited. Fez & Essaouria, for example, have an avg high of 68F and the desert would dip pretty low. For us, May was perfect although Essaouria was unseasonably nippy.

 

[Dgalmore30]

My husband and I took an early retirement August 2025, sold almost everything, and have plans to travel the world for the next 7 years or so - until we get closer to 65. As part of our Schengen shuffle, we spent over 100 days in Africa, most of it in Morocco; and we left on April 22, 2026.

We post trip reports and planning guides on my website Touchpointwines.com. (I still do some corporate retreats for my wine business, which you will see on the site, but it's all winding down, and I have not earned anything since February) You can see our trip reports/guides for Marrakech, Fez, Ouarzarate, the desert safari we did, and Tangier. We did some day trips as well, which were the highlights- like hiking in the Atlas Mountains. We plan to go back to Agadir and Essaouria but the weather criteria we set says it has to be at least 65 degrees F for us to go to a place. Maybe our experience will help you plan. You will see some of the same comments posted here on things like the motorbikes in the medina, so that won't be new information. It's a place worth visiting, but we found each city to be quite unique.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

I spent 2 weeks in Morocco in late January this year. independant travel. I flew into Marrakesh (via Casablanca) and flew home from Casablanca. I traveled within the country by train, which was easy, reliable...<snipped here>

Thanks so much, anethum, for this excellent report!

BTW, a friend was transiting from airport arrival to a ship departure in Rabat about 2 months ago and had her phone ripped from her hands on a sidewalk by a passing motorcylist. She had to leave the next day and the police said they had an idea of who it might have been; but I haven't gotten an update from her. :-(

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

An interesting story: Before retirement I worked for a university here in Switzerland. My office had some part-time student workers. One Friday, early in my tenure there, I came in and asked if "Katherine" was coming in that day. The answer: "No, she flew down to Morocco for the weekend." It helped that this very internationally focused university didn't schedule Friday classes so that students could do independent travel on weekends.

Very different environment from my student days!

 

[CaliKid]

Went to Marrakesh in summer of 2017. Stayed at a Riad in the medina which was very nice with incredible service. It was a little too rush-rush/hectic for me walking around the Medina area though - even hard to cross the street at times. I also ended up with a snake around my neck and the guy wouldn't remove it until I gave him money so that wasn't great. That was in the main center area of the medina. So have some negative memories but did love our day trip into the Atlas mountains. Was very interesting. Overall it was memorable weekend.

 

[FIYes]

We were on a Collette tour in Morocco in early April of 2025. We enjoyed it. The food was delicious. However, it was a good trip, not a great trip.

Ha,ha I ended up with a snake on my head. The snake handler was not happy with the amount of money that I gave him, but it all worked out fine.

 

[donethat]

My wife and I went to Morrocco for about 2 weeks shortly after 9/11. We spent most of our time in Marrakesh, which we really enjoyed. But it was really weird in that it seemed we were literally the only Americans there. When we told people we were American they couldn't process what we were saying. After a while we gave up and just pretended we were English or Canadian. It was very strange but we had a great time.