Thinking of half term in Morocco

[glitterbiscuits]

Family of 5 all vegetarian. Teenagers and adults.

We have the chance to go to Marrakesh, Atlas Mountains and Essouria.

Not been to North Africa before.
DH nervous-re: food, safety, terrorism.
He wants to go to the Lake District.

Help me persuade him it will be easy and educational!

Definitely do it!
Food is good, well good enough. You can get vegetarian cous cous and tagines fairly easily, and omelette and chips anywhere! Lovely pastries, coffee and juice, good street food (watch out for the sheeps heads in Marrakesh though)
Terrorism - no worse risk than England or France. Seriously. Morocco is not a hotbed for daesh at all.
Safety - in what sense? You could be targeted by pick pockets if you don't take reasonable precautions but things like taxis, trains, hotels all good enough.
Marrakesh, Atlas Mountains and essouaira is a perfect holiday for a family with kids. You will love it!

Morocco is amazing, as safe as anywhere in Europe and friendly. Food is delicious. And it’s cheap.
Would love to go again (been 3 times)

We are veggie and Morocco is not too difficult for food. Stay in riads in Marrakesh and Essouria. We've eaten the veggie food off the night time stalls in the big square in Marrakesh (forgotten the name) and not been ill. Amazing place to visit. The only thing challenging about it is the hassle. Essouria was more laid back from this point of view.

Thanks everyone.

I’m thinking of telling him there is a steam railway or a tea room.

He’d have been a good Victorian!

He likes a bit of history and architecture. If I can find enough for him to do we may be in with a chance. Otherwise we may leave him behind,

Essouria is beautiful. Seriously recommend it. Also between Marrakech and essouria there are loads of argan oil co-ops which are amazing and worth a visit. Not just cosmetic but the peanut butter they make with it is honestly the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten!

I’m also veggie and didn’t struggle at all for food, only holiday I’ve had loads of options.

Also the whole terrorism/problems thing is a risk anywhere. And Morocco has spent a fortune on protecting tourists, look up their king’s tourist policies he’s really done a lot.

The architecture in Morocco is amazing, he will love it.

I’ve booked it but he’s pretending I haven’t!

You will enjoy it, if you have young teenage girls just make sure they dress properly. Be careful of pickpockets ! Savoury food is great, things like pastries and croissants really good.( lots of French visitors )

There's an interesting Berber culture museum in the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech, definitely worth a trip and the garden is fabulous.

Thanks for the tip @PragmaticWench I can see it’s probably within walking distance of our hotel. Looks like less than a mile.

We have an 11 year old girl and 2 teenage boys. One of whom is 6 feet tall. Hopefully he will protect us all her.

Haggle at the markets not to be mean, but so that your are not paying a ridiculous price !

^yy
Prices at first ask are always inflated. Expect to haggle them down anywhere between 50-75% of the original price. Don't enter into haggling if you aren't serious about buying but don't feel pressured to buy if they won't budge on the price to your bottom line. Don't offer piss take prices like 25% of what they are asking, there is no need. Moroccan crafts are usually hand made and not mass produced, you can sometimes see them weaving fabrics on traditional looms for example or engraving copper, weaving bags or rugs, so don't expect the sorts of prices you might get in India.

Agree about you and your DD dressing carefully. You don't need to be wearing a tent (!) but keep skirts/shorts below the knee and cover shoulders and chests, it all helps to reduce any hassle. I was worried that we'd be physically jostled but aside from some comments we were fine and nobody touched us, and we were three women so no men with us.

We had an amazing break in Marrakech. We felt very short, the locals were huge and I'm 5'8" and dh is 6'3", a 6' teanager won't look out of place. Have an amazing time, can recommend Riad Djabel.

Also between Marrakech & Essaouira are goats in trees

We had rented a car & drove there for the day - screeched to a halt to take photos - had to pay for the privilege, but had a cuddle with a kid which was very nice.

We liked Essaouira much more than Marrakech (more human scale) but v v windy.

Also it did seem that the majority will steal/rip you off without a thought so keep your wits about you & have a guide if you can

Fyi men should cover knees and shoulders too. Shorts are ok but should be below the knee and no vests for men or women.

Thanks all. Very keen to see goats in trees!

What about camel rides? Ethical or not? I know elephant rides in the Far East are a no-no.

Any must buys?

I think camel rides are ok, camels are bred for riding like horses.

Not sure how long you'll be in Marrakech but we went on an incredible food tour of the markets one evening. We booked it before going, and the guide was fantastic. Not sure if the tour could be fully vegetarian but might be worth looking into.

The camel rides are literally a 15 minute walk, so nothing strenuous. When we were there a few she-camels had babies that tagged along too, which was lovely! Babies stayed with their mothers and drank their milk, so I felt their treatment seemed quite good.