I first visited Morocco as a child, with my parents and two sisters, though sadly I don’t seem to remember a great deal about it. My primary recollection seems to be that we stayed in the same hotel as the Egyptian national football team – and for some reason related to this we were briefly held hostage overnight. It all sounds rather more exciting than it was in reality. However, it pleases me that I had experience of this fabulous country at a young age.
I next visited in 2013. It was February, we had some OK weather (which was a mixed blessing, as had to do a bloody camel ride), but there was one particularly bad day that kind of overshadowed the trip (though it did give us the opportunity to hole up at La Mamounia for the day, which resulted in having lunch next to Paul McCartney, so there was a bonus). We got lost every time we left or tried to find our Riad, and we basically had no idea what we were doing. It probably wasn’t the best of holidays, in hindsight.
But still I fell in love.
I’ve now honestly lost count of exactly how many times I’ve been (about 17 or 18, I think?) but I don’t seem to be slowing down. I’ve mainly spent time in Marrakech, with a few trips to Essaouira thrown in, and one whistlestop trip to Ouarzazate (and Ait Ben Haddou and Skoura).
Each time I return I think to myself ‘enough now’, but once home for a few weeks I start checking flights and getting out the credit card to book them.
I’m asked all the time what it is that I love about it, what keeps taking me back, and really the answer is this: I just love it, I feel like a different person when I’m there. I relax in a way that I don’t anywhere else (which is, in itself, a bit nuts, as Marrakech is mayhem!) It’s also pretty much the shortest flight from the UK, on an easy and regular route, where the moment you step off the plane you know that you’re somewhere different. It smells different, it feels different, it looks different and – immediately – I’m calm.
Also…the weather is bloody amazing!
Unfortunately, over the years, I did develop something of a routine – the same Riad, the same restaurants (visited in the same order!), the same meals – but I’m now valiantly starting to break away from that. So, whilst I’ve been a great number of times (generally only for a few days at a time), I’ve still a huge amount to explore! It’s a vast and beautiful country and I’ve still got a LOT of Moroccoing to do…
Disclaimer:
I’m not a professional writer (travel or otherwise) or reviewer, and I’m by no means an expert on the country. I haven’t been to any of these places with a view to writing them up for a website. I’m just asked by a lot of people what I recommend and for general advice, so it seemed like a good idea to put everything in one place. If you’ve stumbled across it, I hope that it’s useful, but please bear in mind that it’s been written as a quick guide for friends…any maybe friends of friends.
Marion in Morocco 