MOROCCO
Basic Info
An African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean & Mediterranean Sea is unique because of its Berber, Arabian & European cultural influences. With its coastline, mountains and desert it's an incredibly diverse country.
Getting there: You could fly into Casablanca or Marrakech - the bigger airports but many of the smaller cities have airports as well.
Major currency is the moroccan dirham.
1 Week Itinerary
DAY 1: Marrakech
Stay at Es Saadi Marrakech Resort : fabulous hotel featured in ‘The Night Manager’ with the only Dior Institute outside of France. Other options close to Jamaa el Fna would be The Mamounia
Eat at Les Jardins de Bala: Fabulous food and outstanding views from the terrace.
Explore Marrakech: We walked around the Jemaa el Fna. It is super crowded with aggressive vendors so if you don’t like crowds I would suggest staying away
DAY 2: Explore Marrakech
Explore the Jardins de Majorelle & YSL museum (both fabulous places for pictures). Visit the Saadian Tombs and the Bahia Palace.
We dined at the Al Fassia which was written up by on every travel guide out there and frankly were a little disappointed. However make sure you drink freshly squeezed orange juice which is available on all streets (I’ve had a year’s fill).
DAY 3: Drive to Casablanca
After breakfast we were picked up by our car and driver for the drive to Casablanca (about 240 kms). IF you are looking for a car and driver I contacted Bouregreg Travels &tours
We stayed at the Sheraton. I was not too impressed with this hotel although it looks fabulous in pictures. My choice would be the Four Seasons. It is close to the Hassan II mosque and right on the water.
Dine at Rick’s café – after all it was featured in the movie ‘Casablanca’. Make sure to get reservations before you come.
DAY 4: Drive to Rabat
Visit the Hassan II mosque constructed in the 20th century. It is beautifully situated and very Instagram-able.
After lunch drive to Rabat (90 kms). Stay at La Tour Hassan (highly recommend). Eat at Dar Naji.
DAY 5: Visit Rabat
Visit Le Tour Hassan and the Kasbah of the Udayas – an ancient citadel with a garden & museum
DAY 6: Drive to Fes
En route stop at Meknes – ruins of Heri es-Souani a vast structure once used as stables and for food. You can also stop to see the Bab Mansur – a monumental gate in the city of Meknes. Continue to Fes and stay at the beautiful Riad Fes.
DAY 7: Visit Fes
Fes is a confusing city and one can get easily lost. It might be worthwhile to get a guide to navigate the streets. One can get easily annoyed by all the constant locals who want to assist you or sell you something. Just learn to say no and go on. Having a guide helps in this regard too. But they all have certain places they will patronize so beware.
Visit the Bou Inania Madrasa, the tanneries and its just fun walking the streets of Fes. I highly recommend the restaurant in Riad Fes – one of the finest meals we had in Morocco. For our last night in Morocco we dined at the Nur restaurant – a good contender for the Michelin 1 star I would say. Beautiful riad and wonderful settings for a night to remember.
DAY 8: Drive from Fes to Tangier
Tangier is a port on the Strait of Gibraltar and has served as the gateway to Europe from Africa. We wanted to take a boat to Spain and chose to do this route. En route stop at Chefchaouen to catch a glimpse of the striking blue washed buildings of its old town. It is a tiny little town with lots of instagrammable places