Morocco

[KenAdams]

I've booked Marrakesh, Casablanca and Tangier for Feb half term.

It will also be Ramadan at this time.

Any tips greatly appreciated but don't tell me not to go, because its booked! Decided against staying in a riad as they can be quite cold in February apparently.

Really not sure what to pack as we're hand luggage only but the temps will vary in each destination.

We were in Tunisia years ago in Ramadan. going into cafes was difficult and the hotel asked us to be patient with the staff if they got a bit grumpy. also at sunset there would only be a skeleton staff on because they all wanted to eat. We had hired a car and driving when they were all rushing home to eat was a nightmare.
As for packing, layers is always the rule. I never travel without a fleece. You can wear t-shirts more than once.

For Marrakesh I agree don’t stay in a Riad, it’s the one place where I wished we had stayed in a nice international resort hotel a few km from the centre. That way you won’t need to worry about getting food or anything else.

Yep we chose to be outside the medina for this reason as well as being able to escape the chaos!

I wasn't cold in a riad in marrakech in February.

its the one place I really regret staying in a nice international resort a few Km form the city.

The weather was cold last week - but travelling HL only shouldn't be an issue - found Marrakesh to be very relaxed in terms of prayer time - but then I'm used to Saudi Arabia in the 80's, where everything stopped and shut - so would assume it's more relaxed around Ramadan as long as you don't take the piss

Tangier Marrakesh and Casablanca in one week??
where are you flying to?
any flexibility on itinerary- tangier is a waste of time and honestly I would not bother with Casablanca either. Marrakesh will be lovely and warm during the day but wear layers on the flight and take socks so you've got something warm to sleep in.
Ramadan is an interesting time - you'll be fine eating during the day inside modern restaurants and hotels but not on street seating. Once the sun goes down everyone is out and about enjoying the evening and having a lovely atmosphere.

Yep, flying into and 3 nights Marrakesh, one in Casablanca and 2 in Tangier (flying out of).

Largely to see the differences in architecture etc really, visit a few different cities and see where we'd like to come back to. There are day trips we can take if we get bored anywhere. We just like to walk, look around, try some decent food so we're easily pleased.

Tangier might be damp, was when we went several years ago in Feb....we travelled all over....essaouria was the nicest and not full of really agressive hustlers...my friend was in tears due to the hassle in Tangier...blond hair...it was relentless.

This is what I'm most worried about. DD hair has gone a bit darker now luckily and we've chosen to go during Ramadan as it's less hectic in the day. We've been to Cairo though and had no hassle there funnily enough. Dubai gold souks too. DH is tall though so perhaps it's that!

We stayed in a riad in Marrakech in January and we weren’t cold - our room had nice duvets and a plug in heater that we could use if needed. The courtyard seating areas had those big heater things you have in pub gardens if you wanted some more warmth, take layers as it can be warm in the day and drop quite a lot in the evening.

like a pp I would recommend essaouira. Lovely beach town, much more relaxed than the cities but still very Moroccan with a medina etc.

I highly recommend Essaouira as well - been twice including in December and it wasn't cold at night in a riad (chilly first thing if you want breakfast outside). One of my visits was during Ramadan and it's fine - as PP said, lovely atmosphere after sunset. You might find fewer places serving alcohol (lots of places don't serve it anyway so check ahead if that's important to you). Marrakesh - I've stayed centrally and it was lovely (the mayhem of the city is locked away when you get inside) and have also stayed outside the city - both are lovely. Not been to Casablanca or Tangier. I expect Tangier will be windy and cooler.