Morocco is an amazing place!!

Morocco | Sep 29 - Oct 8, 2023

This quaint hotel has a ton of character and situated within the non-motorized part of the city. Pack light as you have to walk a few blocks over cobblestone and may be situated a few floors up. Not so fun to drag a heavy suitcase over.

Very beautiful riad. Amazing mosaics and carved cedar (on par with some of the palaces and museums.) Very friendly staff and close to the Medina.

Such a special experience to stay out in the Saharan desert. The camp is clean, good food, lovely staff, and the camel ride out there is unforgettable.

Wish we had more time here because it was a small oasis. The food was delicious (but note- it’s not included in the stay.) They also only take cash- so be prepared if you have dinner/drinks/spa treatments. Very cool spot to stay.

A modern hotel in a nice part of town, maybe 10minutes drive from the medina. Clean and comfortable with a nice restaurant and multiple pools.

This hotel was actually quite unpleasant. We were only there one night before catching an early morning flight. So not worth raising a stink about. But it was kind of dingy, the elevator was suspiciously creaky, and our floor had a slight Seager smell in the hallway. The grout in the bathroom was dirty with missing tiles. Permanent water stains on the counters. All light fixtures and wall hangings were crooked. Definitely not five stars. After seeing the state of our floor and room we did not really want to eat at the hotel. Close enough to walk to restaurants, a park, and cathedral, and large square but the cathedral and square were both closed off.

We actually opted to only visit one of the gardens because four to five seemed like overkill. We were told to avoid the YSL gardens because of long lines and very overcrowded. We instead went to the Bahia Palace and the secret garden which were both on the quieter side. Easily self guided and less people especially in the morning.

Really interesting experience to do a couples hammam spa experience! The scrub was lovely and the massage was a nice way to wrap up our trip.

The cooking class was very insightful into cooking techniques, uses of spices, and Moroccan culture. The women teaching us were joyful and interactive. We had a great time and our food was yummy. Each of us were given a tagine too!

The Hassan II Mosque is beautiful! I feel very luckily to have had the chance to tour it. The guide was knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor. There are options for many different languages throughout the day.

This is an incredible experience worth getting up early! As our balloon operator said “it’s like being in a dream” as you float upward. The sunrise was very beautiful over the mountains, we were lucky to be in a small balloon with only a few people.

This was such a fun experience. Our guide Hanan was fantastic. She took us to try things I would’ve never on my own. Berber “pizza”, olives, tangia, sardine burgers, mango smoothies, snails, and doughnuts. We were stuffed!

The long drive was totally worth riding a camel into the desert at sunset. Likely a once in a lifetime opportunity for most people and we took the option to ride two hours to camp. After sunset the ride continued under a clear night sky filled with stars!

There is not a ton to see in Casablanca in our opinion. The Hassan II Mosque is incredible, but then we were happy to be on our way. Our driver stopped at a few places in Rabat. Which was also interesting, but again I think you will see similar if not better examples of medinas, kasbahs, riads, etc… if you also plan to stop in Fez and Marrakech.

Volubilis was really interesting! The ruins and mosaics are in good condition and it’s worth paying a guide to explain in more detail. We only stopped in Meknes for a late lunch and to visit the Mausoleum of Ismail. The mausoleum was actually very quiet and beautiful.

We felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie- navigating the old Medina. It was interesting to have a guide who grew up there. He knew so much about the city and also knew so many of the people who have shops throughout the medina. It was so interesting to see people making pottery, zellige tile work, working leather in the tannery, and weaving textiles.

I was unsure of what to expect, having dinner in a local family’s home- they were so welcoming and a few of the family members were fluent in English. It was interesting to actually experience entering their home through the narrow medina alley and stairs. The family had recent gathered for a wedding so it was a bit of a reunion of sorts. They sang and played musical instruments. The food was also delicious and plentiful.

This was a very interesting set of cultural experiences. We started the day having tea at a nomad camp. Kind of odd because the family was just living their life as our guide poured us tea in one of their tents. Then we drove by some of the old buildings and villages near an old mine and into Merzouga to listen to live music and learn about how the people in down utilize water in their community garden. We then relaxed by the pool for a couple hours before returning to camp.

It’s a beautiful drive with scenic variety from the desert up into the high atlas mountains.

It was really fun to explore the medina with our guide Hanan. She was very knowledgable and shared a ton of cultural, religious, and historic information with us. It was great to hear her stories, experiences, suggestions for places to adventure on our own later.