Tell me about Morocco

[NCTDN]

Considering it as a place for October half term. What is there to do ? Is it safe to venture away from hotels ? Are there particular resorts that are better ?
Thanks

I went to Marrakesh in November 2006. Perfect weather. We stayed in a riad in the medina which was fantastic. We ate out every night and walked everywhere. We were there 4 nights but could have done three. Lots to see in the medina and it felt v v safe. Take Imodium. My mum got sick on the last day. Good luck

Yes! The constantly being taken to places you didn’t ask to be taken to and then having to pay to be allowed to leave really wound me up.

Visited there earlier this year and would highly recommend it for a reasonably inexpensive break. Personally it was nice to stay at a large hotel on the outskirts, although appreciate you are not getting the full cultural experience. Marrakech city was fabulous to visit for a short while, incredibly vibrant, lots of beautiful sights, but we also appreciated returning to the serenity and luxury of the hotel after a few hours as it was hot, busy and noisy. I would also recommend you do a free walking tour to orientate yourself upon your arrival in the city, you will feel safer with a guide to show you around. I believe there are lots of undercover tourist police in the centre nowadays to keep an eye on the sellers. They are naturally persistent but if you say no nicely and keep walking they don't harass you further. We had no problems with taxis, we just agreed a price at the start and we were happy to pay a fair price that we could afford. The hotels usually have shuttles too which are useful.

We were in Marrakesh for 10 days in January and I don't recognise most of these horror stories!

Nobody laid a finger on me without consent - we had two visits to a hammam which were fantastic, body scrubs and massages both excellent. No touching or inappropriate behaviour whatsoever in the streets.

It may be an issue with expectations - if you think it is going to be like a regular European tourist destination you'll be sorely mistaken. It felt more like India or the Middle East, so you did have to be careful, and wary about who you engaged with and how. Don't expect anything for free - you will have to pay for it eventually, whether it's a guide or 'free' food, henna tattoo etc etc. You never get owt for nowt!

Having said that, we learnt a bit of basic Moroccan Arabic, took good advice from the local staff in our riad and had a marvellous time. People were friendly and funny and we loved the street food - cooked in front of you and safe to eat. The tourist restaurants we tried were a bit mediocre, but the little hole in the wall pizza places were cheap and very good.

They treat their animals appallingly. I really couldn't enjoy a holiday there.

I went to Marrakesh earlier this year, with a group of women, and we had a bloody fantastic time. Just one issue when our transfer dropped us off and someone tried to ‘show’ us to our hotel, but to be honest we should have been better prepared for that and sorted ourself out. There’s a fantastic map app you can download which means you have access to an accurate map offline, which is brilliant for the medina (you don’t get reception and it’s designed to be confusing to walk around).

Get yourself a couple of Arabic words or brush up your French, a firm ‘La shokran’ worked totally fine for us. I would say it was gearing up to be really hot and the busyness of the medina means I wouldn’t do it in their summer, but October should be really nice. Lots of side trips you can do too.

Actually the thing that gripped my gears most was the influencers fannying around with their tripods and bikini tops. No bother about or from the locals at all.

Been to Agadir a couple of times , honestly we loved it . Beautiful beaches , lovely hotels and food and we found friendly people . We found it very chilled and had no issues at all . We dressed slightly more conservatively away from the hotel , but mainly because we wanted to explore the Souks etc and didn’t want to offend anyone . We did book 5 star hotels . The hotels had armed security guards at the perimeters . Make sure you only book official taxis , which are cheap anyway . Also we always followed the standard advice to turn all inclusive wristbands inside out when away from the hotel . Haggling was fun and we got some good bargains , although the fixed price shops weren’t expensive, if that’s not your thing .

Myself and 13 year old son wanted an adventure last October, so chose Marrakech. We went for 3days but packed a lot in and had the time of our lives.
I booked a hotel just on the outskirts of town, rather than a riad only because I was on my own. Hotel was fantastic and nice to have a relaxing pool day. We did a guided tour around the souks and medina as I didn’t fancy wondering around aimlessly, which was fantastic and so glad we did it. No hassle, skipped the queues to the Secret Garden, museums etc and got to see things we never would have found ourselves. Only thing I would say is don’t go near the snake charmers unless you want to pay. My son was taking a pic from afar of the whole medina and one of the guys thought he was taking a picture of the snake and demanded money/ when we said no he started to follow us and the look he gave was something else!
Another day was to the Atlas Mountains, water falls and Berber villages. Food was amazing, people friendly, chaotic in areas, but a culture shock that hits you between the eyes which is what we wanted and my son still says it was one of his best holidays.
Would like to try another part of Morocco next visit.

We went to Agadir last October. i didn’t really like it. Very dirty, lots of rubbish and women with disabled adult children begging by the beach. We stayed in a private villa about 40 mins drive from Agadir and the driving by the locals is appalling. I would not like to go again.

visited Marrakesh in March this year and had a brilliant time. We stayed in a riad in the medina so most places we visited were in walking distance. Food was excellent and weather lovely. It’s quite useful if you can speak some French. I was prepared for people to hassle us, but I lived in China for 12 years so just have my not engaging with you face ready.

We went two years ago. Hated it. The hotel was nice but everywhere else was horrible. The poor horses were skin and bones. The driving was horrendous- our driver in the Atlas Mountains almost got us killed by over taking three cars and we ended up in a ditch on the wrong side of the road. Never again!

Do you get the same cultural mix in agadir and essouria (spelt wrong I know) as marrakech? Think I like the sound of a coastal place but want to see the markets and medinas.

Essaouira has a beautiful long beach and lovely markets in the Medina. There's a whole corridor of local artists in studios where you can buy their work.

Not sure exactly what you mean by cultural mix, but Agadir has quite a large market https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293731-d4228498-Reviews-Souk_El_Had_d_Agadir-Agadir_Souss_Massa.html

There's a kasbah and medina too, but bear in mind a lot of Agadir was destroyed in an earthquake so much of it has been restored (authentically to my untrained eye!).

Agadir is nice. Me and my friends didn't get hassled, only the beach men trying to sell tat, but you get that nearly every tourist destination.
Marrakech, I will never go back. It's interesting and vibrant but I don't want to be on high alert every second when I'm in public. I read up about the common scams and they were tried out on me, eg a guy walking near me and when we arrived at a restaurant he wanted money 'for being my guide', someone offering to take a picture if me using my phone. I said no and they weren't happy as the scam is to make you pay.
I didn't feel unsafe just that my head got blagged with the hassle.

Essaouira was lovely although I only had a day there. No issues.
Tangiers was alright.

Love Morocco. I went twice last year - Marrakech and essouiria . I’m planning to go back in November.
no harassment, kept a sense of humour in the souks. Have stayed in both a hotel and a Riad.
I love that it’s culturally so different and vibrant.
no problem with snakes, henna or monkeys as I knew to give them a very wide berth.
love the hamnams.
Morocco is dependent on tourism hence the tourist police.
like I said I’m planning my next visit!

I went a few years ago to Tangier and Rabat. Wouldn’t go back. Felt so uncomfortable out in public even though I was covered up. Haven’t been to Marrakesh but wouldn’t fancy trying it.

Where are you thinking? An introductory trip to Marrakech is great, I would not stay in a resort but instead a riad. You'll get hassled but I wouldn't call it unsafe to wander, I have done so a few times as a solo female and it's been fine. The food is great. You could venture into the mountains on a hike too if you fancy.

I agree 100%. We’ve been to Marrakech, Essaouira, Sidi kaouki recently, and Agadir many years ago. I’ve always felt incredibly safe - the people, food, and culture are all lovely.

We went last year ( October half term) . The weather was absolutely bloody terrible and the airport is a living nightmare. Otherwise, was pretty cool. Wouldn’t rush back.

What is a riad?

A traditional house , very popular accommodation

I’d love that but dh would hate it. Can’t even convince him to use Airbnb in this country!

I really enjoyed our trip there earlier this year. We had Agadir as a base, it was nice, clean and really friendly. The market was average but an hour down the road Taroudant was an amazing walled city and souk. We travelled through mountains and villages and everyone was friendly and kind, and I felt very safe. The food was great too. We’re now planning a second visit next year

But big usually. We have stayed in some where you rent the whole place and can sleep a large family, and we have stayed in some that have several rooms, more like a hotel, with a bar / dining room and sometimes even a full sized swimming pool.