Great experience planning and visiting Morocco

Morocco | Nov 18 - Nov 26, 2023

This was our least favorite place we stayed during our entire trip. That being said, it was just for one night and we had quiet, restful sleep in the room we were in. The hotel is listed as a luxury hotel but it was pretty run-down and the food served in the main restaurant was very average. The roof deck upstairs was a nice place to hang out for drinks, though.

Charming place in the heart of Chefchaouen. You will get dropped off in the main square and need to walk a few minutes to get to the hotel. There was someone there ready to meet us and help us with our bags. Great location near vendors and restaurants. My favorite part was the lovely rooftop with a view of the city.

A beautiful oasis within the medina. We had a lovely room with an upstairs space that was perfect for our daughter. We only got to spend one night here and I only wish we could have stayed longer. The staff was top notch. We enjoyed drinks at the end of the day in the beautiful courtyard. My only complaint was with the amount of scent used in our room. It was not a bad smell but it was overwhelming.

One of the highlights of our entire vacation in Morocco! The accommodations were extremely comfortable given we were in the desert and on the edge of the sand dunes. You are surrounded by beauty. We got to see the sunrise and sunset on the days we were there. We rode camels, sandboarded, and had the option to swim. The staff was courteous and helpful. We got to spend extra time with Ali who was a great guide around Erg Chebbi and Merzouga.

Pros: Scenic location set away from the main touristy area of Ait Benhaddou. Nice staff. Our room had an open patio with a view. Cons: Found dinner to be a little more expensive than other places with the food only being OK compared to other places we stayed throughout Morocco. Note: this area was impacted by the recent earthquake (the hotel was fine!) so the town seemed especially quiet and you could see that some repairs were underway. Hope more people are able to come visit this beautiful area!

One of the best places we stayed while we were in Morocco. It was a great way to spend our last two days in Marrakesh. Beautiful decor throughout the building, breakfast and all the options were amazing, and the staff was helpful. The location is fantastic and we walked everywhere but had the option to hail a cab when our feet were too tired. I was sad to learn on our last day that there was a roof deck which we somehow missed and would have loved to check-out.

Such a treat to be invited into a Moroccan family's home! Said and his son came to pick us up at our hotel and then helped us navigate the labyrinth in the medina to make our way to their home. We arrived to a delicious home-cooked meal of numerous vegetable side dishes and a chicken pastilla! Said's son speaks excellent English so helped with communication and kept us entertained with his conversation and musical skills - along with his younger brother and sister. Shukran to Said and his family!

A beautiful drive from Chefchaouen to Fes. We passed through many little towns and saw the scenery change quite a bit. One of my favorite stops was at a vista point where there was a pomegranate juice stand - freshly squeezed on the spot! When we got to Fes, we started in the new part of the city, got to take pictures outside of the palace, and then drove to see the views from the Marinid Tombs. We made an unplanned stop at a local pottery place that ended up being more interesting than I thought it would be. We got to watch the employees make and shape the clay, paint designs and lay down mosaic tile - not an easy task! My only complaint about this day is that we did not have enough time to explore the medina and enjoy more time at our beautiful hotel. I would suggest asking future travelers what time they want to get to their hotel and spending less time in the new part of the city, on lunch and on unplanned stops.

One of the highlights of our trip! We had time in the morning to sandboard on the dunes surrounding our camp until it was time to leave with our wonderful guide Ali. He showed us some fun driving through the desert sand where any road goes, then he took us to visit a nomadic community situated on the outskirts of Merzouga. We were served tea and snacks and got up close with their livestock (there was an especially friendly goat who photo-bombed us a few times!). From there we went to hear music and dance at the Gnawa House in Khamleya village. We stopped off at a smaller oasis and walked through the canals. After lunch, we had some time to rest back at camp before our surprisingly comfortable camel ride through the desert. We got to hike up some dunes to catch some epic views and watch the sunset. An amazing day!

The drive to Merzouga is long but incredible. You see so much change in the landscape! We drove through a town called Ifrane which is referred to as "Little Switzerland". Not only is the architecture Swiss-inspired but we were surprised to see beautiful fall foliage in November. A little bit further and we stopped to see MONKEYS (Barbary macaques) on the side of the road! As the terrain became more rocky and dry, we came upon some refreshing oases in the region of Tafilalet. We were trying to get to our camp in the desert before sunset so that we would have time to do our camel ride but we got there just a little late. Instead we took a fun 4WD drive to our desert camp and did get to watch the sunset right outside of our room.

We spent the morning exploring Aït Benhaddou with our wonderful driver/guide Ayoub. We jumped the rocks to start at "The Game of Thrones" entrance instead of crossing over the bridge and then made our way up to the top of the ksar where you could see some damage from the earthquake in September. Afterwards we started the drive towards Marrakesh and made our way through the Atlas Mountains and through more towns that had been impacted by the earthquake. Thankfully the roads were all clear. We made a stop at an argan co-op and then had lunch at a great grilled meat spot with outdoor courtyard seating. As we approached Marrakesh, Ayoub gave us a driving tour as we headed into the medina and then we were dropped off at our hotel.

This was the longest part of our journey - partially because we tried to fit in some stops that were supposed to be scheduled on our route to Merzouga on top of stops that were already planned for the day. While the drive was long, the scenery did not disappoint as we started to make our way from the sand dunes into the Atlas Mountains. Some of my favorite stops with our wonderful guide Ayoub was walking at the base of the Todra Gorge and getting views/pictures of Aït Benhaddou at sunset. Along the way, we managed to fit in stops at the fossil mining town of Erfoud, an ancient water mining site, a legitimate Berber rug shop, and a rose oil co-op. My only recommendation might be to pare down on the number of touristy spots or to give the traveler a choice on which ones to really stop and see. It was A LOT for one day!