Looks like Morocco is winning at the moment

[Twodogsonthecouch]

i have had endless threads on here in the past couple of weeks. Initially looking for advice around the holiday I had booked for my 60th birthday adventure, and then for advice on where to go instead since we have had to cancel the initial holiday to Jordan for Mount Sinai.

Morocco has been mentioned instead. A few days in Marrakesh with a few days hiking in the Atlas Mountains, a trip to the Sahara and the the Atlantic coast.
has anyone been? Any opinions. Advice regarding accommodation or self driving.
our weeks are set to the dates on the original holiday so we would be flying out this day 3 weeks for 2 weeks so I haven’t much time to get organised

Oh, dreamy! Have a fabulous time. I love Morocco, but it’s been nine years since I last went, which means my recommendations will be out of date. It’s a magical country though.

@ElizabethVonArnim where would you say is not to be missed though. Just starting to put it together now

I'd love to go so following!

DH loved Morocco. He went on a group holiday with Much Better Adventures, taking in the Atlas Mountains, Sahara desert, kasbahs and Marrakech. He managed to dislocate his knee sand surfing but otherwise loved all of it. Here's the trip if you need itinerary ideas: https://www.muchbetteradventures.com/products/10148-adventures-climb-mount-toubkal-4167m-and-camp-in-the-sahara/

He says definitely don't drive yourself unless you're confident with hairpin bends up mountains, desert tracks and Middle Eastern driving standards.

Places I loved - pretty standard list, I think:
the Djemma el Fnar - incredible atmosphere and lovely both day and night
b’stilla (pigeon, almond and icing sugar pastries, just the most delicious and surprising thing)
the souk in the Medina
the photography museum is incredible
https://maisondelaphotographie.ma/?lang=en
Jardin Majorelle
the bar in La Mammounia (went there in 2002 when it went over 51°C in August and we were staying in a hovel with no aircon - blessed relief but hugely expensive for even a soft drink; amazingly OTT decor and full of much richer people so fabulous for people watching in the garden bar)
We stayed in a lovely riad (a group of seven of us booked the whole place out and it was wonderful, but that was in 2015), Riad Azzouna 13 - owned at the time by French interior designers. It’s still on Airbnb and still looks great but not as cheap now as it was back in the day. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/48880510?unique_share_id=62a99d9b-06b7-4497-a1d6-58a6207089be&viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76
Essaouira - grilled fish on the walls of the Medina overlooking the sea, the thuja workshops in the Medina, the Villa Maroc for dinner (this was 2002, so no idea whether it is still lovely)

Love Morocco. Your itinerary sounds perfect - I'd definitely include Marrakech, the Atlas Mountains, a night in the Sahara, and Essaouira. Was a bit underwhelmed with Fez, though that's maybe as I had really high expectations. If you want to buy handmade goods like leather, pottery etc, then it's also a must do. Though you can buy it anywhere. Chefchaouen's gorgeous, but it's a long way from anywhere and is just a nice town, albeit a very pretty blue one. There's not much to do and it's obviously pretty touristy. I thought Ait Benhaddou was stunning, though again it's quite small and there's not much to do. Not too hard to get to though. And make sure you always keep your eyes peeled for goats perched in trees...

Have spent a lot of time in Agadir and it's a great city. Personally I wouldn't drive there but some amazing hotels and restaurants. Favourite cuisine!

For the record Jordan is also a fab country if you have the chance to re - book. Some lovely places to stay on the Dead Sea and amazing food yet again.

@ElizabethVonArnim had covered everything I was going to recommend. I loved Marrakech. I stayed in a riad in the Medina, and was out in the square until late every night, just captivated by the buzz. The food was wonderful, the hospitality amazing, and since the tourist police presence has been increased, the touts have disappeared and there's way less hassle. I took taxis with no problem at all, and the buses to places like Essaouira reliable and comfortable.

The Jardin Majorelle is just amazing.

Make sure you pack plenty of diarrhoea tablets and rehydration sachets. Personally I would never return, thought the food was awful and people superficial. We only went to Marrakesh though.

I love Morocco, particularly marrakech. Please don’t worry about driving - we’ve always hired cars in Morocco and Tunisia and roads are surprisingly good. Driving standards aren’t as bad as you might expect. . It’s a lovely drive from Marrakech to Essouira, with lots of goats in trees on the way.

Thanks so much for the advice. Lots of good information here and great to see it’s all mostly positive.
we have driven camper vans through the picos de europa in northern Spain and also through rural Portugal so think we might risk the driving. We’re gutted we had to cancel Jordan and now trying to do this on very short notice so advice makes it a lot easier

We went to Morocco last September, absolutely hated it!
The weather was awful, so misty/foggy, hardly any sunshine, not very warm, we stayed in Agidar, never again!

We go regularly to Morocco. I’m not a massive fan of Marrakech itself, although the museum of photography is good, nd it’s worth going to one of the rooftop bars for the sunset. Accommodation wise, in Marrakech itself we stay at the Mandarin Oriental (go for a villa with a private pool), they’ll send a chef to do a special meal and serve it in the outside dining room.
our favourite villa outside town is this one https://true.travel/africa/morocco/accommodation/villa-dar-tamazerte/. Which has a chef, housekeeper and gardener but they’re in a separate building so it’s very private. They’ll organise a
hike into the mountains and there’s also an excellent sculpture garden nearby. If you don’t want to blow the budget, I can also recommend the Hotel,Capaldi near lalla takerkoust. It’s very laid back, lovely cottage type accommodation in a big garden. Some also have their own pools. The food at the Capaldi is outstanding.

Morocco is great. I think your itinerary is pretty solid and PP have some good suggestions.

Marrakech is very busy and you will need to book in advance for stuff like the majorelle garden. Long gone are the days when you could just rock up somewhere.

But there's no open sewers these days and it feels safe and visitors are well catered for. I think djemaa el fna has lost a lot of its charm however and it's not a place I spend time in now.

Swings and roundabouts! I hope you have a great time. The Atlas mountains are absolutely fantastic, there's one or two really really nice hotels now.

The tree-climbing goats are magical. I had read about them, but couldn’t believe it until I saw them.

If you happen to be going that way, I loved Tangier - it doesn't get many tourists compared to Marrakech. Not sure why, I thought it was very atmospheric. In Imlil, in the Atlas Mountains I went to this incredible place for lunch https://www.kasbahdutoubkal.com/home.html You can also stay there and they organise trekking. I didn't have the budget for that and stayed at the Riad Atlas Prestige nearby, a lovely and very cheap guesthouse where donkeys took your luggage up the hill

I have I flew into Marrakech had 2 nights there then a week in the Atlas Mountains hiking
then a week in Agadir on the beach
I stayed at the intercontinental hotel which had just opened and it was very nice right on the beach

I actually got the bus from Marrakech to Agadir on my own and it was fine
and I flew home from Agadir

I haven’t been back as I didn’t really like it and didn’t feel particularly safe as a woman on my own although I was fine and had no issues just felt an undercurrent of tensions

and I don’t mind traveling on my own as a woman
I have been to Turkey Egypt & the Middle East many manyb times but Morocco I just didn’t like it

Marrakech, mountains, Essouaira would be lovely. Driving fine, roads decent, it is a beautiful interesting country with so much to love about it.

I like to stay in the medina in both Marrakech and Essouaira, there are some beautiful options depending on your budget, even at the reasonable end, you'll have a ball!