Marrakesh

I'm back from my first venture to Africa! For this trip, I flew via Lisbon and spent a few days there first as it was Alex's birthday and his parents were there for a couple of months. This could be an idea for a stopover if you are trying to avail of cheaper flights or even just want to squeeze in an extra destination. The flight from Lisbon is just over an hour, and Lisbon airport is also fairly close to the city, so it's very manageable.

Find the Google Maps list here for quick access to all the spots mentioned below. I did a good bit of research before the trip and didn't get around to doing everything, so I've added in the description if I didn't personally try anything that is listed there.

TIPS & TRICKS

I definitely had some questions before travelling, around things like what can I wear and also changing money etc. I'll lay out my main tips below; 

1. Download Google Maps of the area. If your internet works there, it will be extremely expensive as you're outside of the EU. Especially in the medina which is a bit of a maze it can be easy to get lost, so make sure you download maps and then you can access the area offline and at least find your way home. 
2. Carry Dirham in cash and also a physical bank card. If you're buying in the Souks, a lot of the vendors won't accept card, and you may come across some food places that are similar. In some places they only take physical cards rather than tap. I exchanged money in the airport when we arrived but be vigilant and check your rates, there was a difference between the options I looked at there.
3. Book a taxi from the airport via your hotel. Save yourself the stress and chaos of the airport taxi situation. I had booked a transfer as my sister had warned me after having an uncomfortable experience. They can be fairly competitive at the airport and it's quite chaotic, you're better off paying a little extra and just having someone from your Riad/hotel pick you up. 
4. Be vigilant getting taxis in Marrakech. There were a couple of instances where we got taxis on the way home. You should organise the price in advance and make sure they are driving an official taxi, with the yellow car. Ask your Riad in advance if you're going somewhere what price you can expect, as there can be chancers out there. 
5. Do not accept help from people on the street, especially for directions. While most of the locals are extremely pleasant, it is very common for people to offer help or directions and then demand money for it. We got this a few times, for example "the streets are closed for prayer, let me show you the way". The best thing to do is keep walking. 
6. If you are female, bring a light shirt you can throw over your outfit. It was scorching hot when I was there, but I was wary of showing too much skin. Don't get me wrong, you will see tourists with legs/shoulders etc exposed and that is generally fine. There are a lot of tourists in the city and locals will be used to it for the most part. However for me, I found I would get more stares the more skin I showed and I felt generally more comfortable walking around with a shirt thrown over a longer dress. Bring something light that you can wear in the heat and cover up if you feel more comfortable.
7. Be wary, they don't serve drink everywhere. I'm not much of a drinker so this didn't bother me, but if you like to have a beer with dinner just check before if the places serves alcohol as a lot of them don't. We ended up having post dinner juices one night on a rooftop which felt really funny.
8. Leave space in your bag. There was so much stuff I wanted from the Souks, particularly for the house. If you can leave room in your bag you will definitely find something to fill it with!
   
   

ACCOMMODATION

You will likely come across the word "riad" fairly quickly when searching for accommodation in Morocco. Let's take Google's definition for this one "a large traditional house built around a central courtyard, often converted into a hotel."  These are more traditional venues you can stay as opposed to your typical hotel (which are also options of course). It really depends what you want, and I'll run through some of the pros and cons we experienced with ours. 

Firstly, our Riad was beautiful, clean and generally a very peaceful setting. The staff were lovely too which makes a bigger difference in a chaotic city like Marrakesh, and if you do opt to stay in a Riad I would recommend this one. It cost £475 for five nights, coming in at less than £100 per night. You can definitely find cheaper options if you're looking,  and as always I would recommend filtering by reviews on bookings.com which normally paints a pretty good picture. Ensure you get somewhere with air conditioning if you're visiting in the hotter months; trust me you will need it.

As always, location is everything. We opted to stay just north of the medina and as Marrakech is not huge we were mostly able to walk everywhere. Our Riad was about a 15 minute walk through the Souks to the main Jemaa el-Fnaa square. 

The only issues we had with this accommodation were due mainly to the combination of heat and chaos. It was 38 degrees on average while we were there as there was a heatwave in May. While the Riad did have a small pool, it was very small and in the center meaning there were people moving around the area a lot. Also, you couldn't really chill there for a few hours comfortably while dipping in and out of the water. The other thing is that you need to warn the Riad in advance if you want to eat food as they go to the market to get fresh bits and make traditional Moroccan food. This means you can't really take a break from the heat and hectic medina by having lunch casually by the pool to cool down. The sunbeds were all on another level of the Riad too. We actually ended up taking a pool day in another hotel a bit outside of the medina because we wanted to just relax for a bit on one of the hotter days and have lunch by the water.

To expand on the food situation, this is something to be aware of if you plan to eat in your Riad, especially upon arrival. I had asked the Riad if we could eat there when we arrived but then our flight was cancelled and we didn't arrive until the morning after. I had messaged them on bookings.com letting them know, but they must have not been checking. When we got there the next morning they told us that as they had prepared the food we would need to eat in the hotel that night, which meant our plans were less flexible the day we arrived. On top of that they didn't ask for any dietary requirements, so just be mindful if you're veggie or have any allergies to be very clear about it. We also were told that the taxi driver was waiting in the airport all night for us, which made us feel pretty guilty. Upon further reflection, it was a bit unfair to put that on us, as we had messaged immediately when the flight was cancelled and had also provided our flight details well in advance. We put it down to a misunderstanding and in fairness the staff were amazing, so that was just a small blip along the way. The food was also gorgeous and we ended up really enjoying the traditional tagine.

If I was to go again for five days, I would probably do three nights in a Riad and then the last two in a hotel with a bigger pool/relax area. It's great being in the center of the hustle and bustle, but it is definitely hectic and that combined with the intense weather if you're going in a hotter season means you will want downtime in between. As soon as you leave the Riad door, it is go go go. I'm talking dodging motorbikes, donkeys and the rest as you are navigating through the small streets of the Medina. Staying in a combo of these places means you are still getting the traditional experience but also giving yourself a chance for some downtime. The other option is finding a Riad with a larger pool area, although the more "modernized" ones tend to be a good bit pricier.

THINGS TO DO 

There are so many cool things to do in this city, so depending on how long you have you will probably need to make a few choices. Recently I have started using GetYourGuide, which shows different tours and experiences in the area. If you download the app you get 10% off too. 

1. Quad biking in the desert 

We opted for this experience which was €22.50 a head including a transfer from your hotel, so very reasonable. There were options for camels but this is generally considered unethical and we weren't confident on the treatment of the camels. It's definitely worth heading out to the desert to have a look. On the one we did, there was a break where they served traditional tea in a tented area in the desert. If you have a longer period of time, you can also do overnight desert treks, have a look on GetYourGuide if you're interested where I saw a few.

2.  Le Jardin Secret

This is a quaint botanical garden right in the centre of the medina which we came across on our first day. It really is just a mini oasis and I would definitely recommend going in. The gardens are really nicely kept and it's a peaceful setting to enjoy a juice or a beer, which they do serve here. The entrance fee was 80dhm so not too steep. If you want to go up to the tower you can pay extra but we didn't bother, there is a terrace you can go up to free and overlook the garden which we were happy with. You will only spend around 1-2 hours here so it's a light afternoon activity. It was my favourite garden we went to during our stay.

3. Moroccan Cooking Class

This was my favourite activity! I adore cooking and was really excited for this one. Alex was less so but ended up being very pleasantly surprised, and we had such a fun afternoon. First we hit up market and selected the fresh produce. The really cool thing about this experience was that we got to go into the house of one of the local women and cook with her. It was amazing even to see the inside of a local house, which had the traditional courtyard and open roof. Again I used GetYourGuide for this (link here) and it cost a very reasonable €38 per head. At the end you sit down and eat everything you have made, so that is including your dinner for the night too. We met some pretty cool people too who were also visiting Morocco and swapped some travel tips, and it was really nice to do something different for an evening. They also gave the opportunity to purchase spices at the end for quite cheap, plus provided the recipes free of charge via Whatsapp after.

3. Yves Saint Laurent Museum

This is the place everyone seems to go. I'll start off by saying the gardens are no doubt absolutely spectacular. They are incredibly well kept and some of the structures are really beautiful. We bought the combined ticket which gives you access to the mini museums they have throughout the garden. It was 300 dirhams for the combined ticket we got, but you can get general entry without the museum access for 150. If we were to do it again, we would only get general entry.  It may have been the time/season we went, but the amount of people there really took away from the experience. It was hard to move around in the museum rooms as there were people everywhere you turned, and it was similar to the gardens. The 38 degree heat only made this worse especially as the gardens are quite open with direct sun. We also had to queue for quite a while, around 40 minutes, even though we had pre booked tickets. While it was really pretty, if I was to leave out one activity we did it would be this one. It was pricey enough and I found Le Jardin Secret much more peaceful.

4. Stroll through the Souks

Going through the Souks was such a cool experience. My sister did a tour which she recommended, as they bring you through places that you may not have the confidence to venture alone. I had my eye on a "Souks by night" tour, but we unfortunately didn't have time to do this. We did spend some time in between bookings and activities strolling around ourselves. The main square Jemaa el-Fnaa is worth a visit for sure, and if you want some great fake Ray Bans it's the place for you. We were warned by the Riad staff to have your wits about you in these cases, I know it's sad to have to say this, but don't accept help for anything and remember nothing is free. I'm including some places to eat/drink throughout the Souks below, I would recommend taking a day to stroll through and observe, stopping for a nice coffee or bite to eat. 

I will mention, it is chaotic, and you can have anything from a motorbike or donkey in your path so you do need to have your whits about you. Remember to be careful of folks trying to scam you, we got the classic "hey the street is closed for prayer, let me show you a better way" line a few times. That said, we had mostly great experiences with the locals and those selling to us who were really lovely. Be sure to leave space in your bag, there is an amazing range of ceramics, paintings and similar bits that you will likely want to bring home!

5. Dar el Bacha 

This is an old historic palace surrounded by gardens, with a famous coffee shop inside. We went for breakfast which I would highly recommend. Be aware that this gets extremely busy. We went just as it was opening at 10.30 and there was a huge queue already. We ended up having to wait over an hour and a half for a table (we didn't realise it would be this long or we would have left). Try to go for about 10/20 minutes before it opens as ideally you want to be in the first take of customers into the coffee shop. Otherwise, you need to wait for other tables to rotate. That said, we were happy we waited in the end as it is a great experience. Definitely a must see. 

PLACES TO EAT OR DRINK

One of my favourite things about Morocco was the food. All of the ingredients felt so fresh and the dishes had such flavour. We had a traditional Moroccan breakfast in our Riad each morning which set us up nicely for the day. We didn't get to go to all the places we had on our list, but I have added some we had planned to try to the Google Maps list too. I'll add it into the description if I can't personally vouch for any of them. 

Be sure to try the local tagine, which we had in our Riad, it was so flavoursome and made with wholesome ingredients. Often it's served with couscous on the side. You can get tagine in pretty much any of the local restaurants so try it at least once. I'll list some of our favourite food/drinks picks from the few days below.

1. Le Jardin 

We went back to this particular place multiple times as it was really consistent. Be careful finding this as there are a few places with a similar name, so click into the one in the linked Google Maps above. Handily located in the center of the medina. Alex would definitely recommend the chicken sambo, while I can say the lentil salad was one of the nicest I've had. The chips were so tasty, I have no clue what they even did to them to make them that crispy. 

2. Plus 61 

All I can say about this place is WOW. This was our priciest but tastiest meal, honestly the best I have had in a long time. It came to around €90 and we got a few plates, a couple of drinks and a dessert to share. This is definitely a pretty outrageous price for Morocco but it came highly recommend which is why we decided to splash out. This is also in the newer part of Marrakesh so it was nice to get out of the craziness of the medina for a night. I still dream about the charred octopus.

3. Yazel

Gorgeous little cafe with a cute terrace overlooking the street. Cheap and cheerful, really fresh dishes. We got the houmous, baba ganoush and pita sandwich. 

4. Kesh Coffee

We found this little gem tucked on one of the street corners on our first day. We came back nearly every day as there was such a nice vibe and the coffee was good. Also the lad running it was really friendly which does make a difference. Grab one and then stroll through the souks.

5. Rooftop bars 

We tried to go to El Fenn which has great reviews, but they were too busy and sent us to a place around the corner called ROOFTOP MK. The food was overpriced and below average but I would still recommend for a drink as it was a really nice setting. Unfortunately we didn't get to try El Fenn, although I have heard good reviews (again on the pricier side so be mindful). There are a good few similar spots around which you'll see on TikTok or Instagram or the likes, they tend to have good photo ops with the view. We didn't want to spend too much time in these places, but it's absolutely worth going once or twice for evening drinks if your budget can stretch, especially for sun down.