Marrakech

[notacooldad]

Can anyone tell me about Marakech for a holiday?
My friend spotted a good deal for 10 days away in two weeks time. I've never thought about going there but will give it a go if there's lots to do. We normally hire a car so can go to different towns and cities.
We would be grateful for trip ideas.

We’ve been twice with the children and stayed in a lovely hotel both times as well as seeing some of the sites.
MN is quite anti Marrakech (and of course there are places you need to be cautious like in the main square) but we found it friendly, interesting and fun. There are some beautiful gardens in the centre and of course trips out to the mountains and waterfalls.

Women travelling alone or in pairs may have a different experience of course, although I did go to a couple of places by myself and didn’t have any issues.

I was there on my own for the first 3 days of my trip and found myself being careful when out but then joined with a group and really enjoyed it.

I found it dirty, tiring, and overrated, the constant pestering was the worst. Ten days there would be too long for me.

Also, I'd be wary of driving there - the roads are very dangerous

I absolutely loved it and would recommend it as long as you are prepared to be blunt when people try to sell you things. Just look ahead and firmly say, 'no thank you' and you'll be fine. It's when you get flustered and try to be polite that it becomes an issue.

There's loads to do in Marrakesh, the food is incredible and it's a shopper's paradise. If you get a chance to do a cookery course there are some incredibly reasonable options that are great fun. The Majorelle gardens are great for taking photos. It used to be quite a mission to buy a bottle of wine in Marrakesh, but now loads of cafes and restaurants sell alcohol.

If you hire a car then be warned that the roads in the Atlas mountains are quite hairy, but as long as you drive carefully you'll be fine and the views are spectacular. I'd really recommend having a camel ride in the Sahara, and staying overnight in a tent. The stars are unforgettable.

Stay in a riad and a kasbah if you can, there's nothing like Moroccan architecture. I've never been to Casablanca but DH (who has spent many months in Morocco) says it's not all that. Chefchaoen (painted every shade of blue you can imagine) is well worth a visit.

I went years ago with an ex. He's quite adventurous so we went to places I wouldn't have gone alone, and met some great people as a result. Echo the suggestion to stay in a riad - they are amazing buildings, however it's quite easy to get lost in the Medina so make sure you have a map of where your accommodation is. We found that people would offer to show you the way and then demand money, so be aware of that. Taxis will never put the meter on for tourists, so negotiate the price before you get in. Haggling is expected but don't take the piss, don't insult people.

The pestering does get rather tedious but I just said no thanks/non merci and kept walking. My ex was more gullible so got us into various scrapes including some absolutely terrible accommodation up in the mountains. Looking back it's a wonder we came back in one piece but I still enjoyed it.

Final tip: don't rely on the Rough Guide or whatever for transport info. We made this mistake and found ourselves somewhere in the south where nobody spoke French or English and it transpired that the bus back to Marrakech mentioned in the guide didn't run any more, leaving us trying to negotiate via hand gestures with the driver of a 'grand taxi'. We got back eventually but it was a hair-raising drive over snowy mountain passes with unforgettable scenes of casbahs and Berber villages. Just don't look down 😬

Thanks for the replies, I have to say my friend is keener than me. The flight t length is putting me off. I only tend to visit mainland Europe.