Morocco is Amazing!
Morocco
|
Jun 22 - Jun 28, 2026
Our trip to Morocco was amazing! We loved that we had the same driver, Mustapha, for the entire week. We were picked up on time from all starting points and enjoyed taking to about all things Morocco. Mustapha was very careful to give accurate information and often would follow up with questions we had after he researched it. We appreciated his attention to detail. Our first hotel was not ready for us so rather than drop us early to store our luggage, Mustapha took us to Akchour, popular hiking area. He even borrowed clothing from a guide so he could hike with us. We did not yet get cash but he arranged for us to have a tagine lunch (we felt like the locals!) and KimKim included this lunch with our tour. It was a very nice treat and welcome to Morocco.
We loved Chefchouen! I was expecting it to be crowded with Instagram posers but streets were very quiet when we headed out for our morning walk there. The houses were so blue! We learned they paint the walls 4x per year! Our guide was so amazing. He was patient with our pictures and even invited us in to see his family home. Our hotel, Lina Ryad was beautiful. They were able to get two of us in for a hammam when we arrived. Breakfast was excellent. Our dinner was just okay. We especially love the rooftop terrace where you could get spectacular views of the blue city below. We had the rooftop to ourselves and enjoyed day, evening and night views. Rooms were spacious. They provided robes and had an extra bed for our daughter made up.
Next we moved to Fes. We loved that the tour that took us to the top of the city so we could see down into the areas we would explore. We also really enjoyed the tour of the ceramics shop. It was informative and interesting to see how the crafts are still made by hand. We each bought something in the gift shop after. The streets were a bit overwhelming, evne for seasoned travelers. We saw the tanneries, and the wool dying. Our guide took us to get carpets but they were way out of our budget. We also explored the world's oldest University. We were not able to see the school but could walk through the now abandoned dorms. Our hotel, Riad Braya was tucked away but so beautiful. We felt like we were the only guests there. We had personal service. The riad was beautiful, comfortable beds and another amazing rooftop. We had to leave super early to catch our train to Marrakech and they packed a breakfast for us to take with.
Our last stop was Marrakech. Our hotel, Riad Atrium was one of our favorites. It was quiet and intimate. We ate dinner and breakfast on the rooftop and enjoyed more views. Food was very good, especially the breakfast. We also enjoyed a tagine chicken our first night that was lovely. We really enjoyed the markets in Marrakech but our guide moved very fast through them. We had to stop him several times to make purchases. We also struggled to keep up with him as we had 5 of us and maneuvering through the crowds is a bit challenging! We did a day tour of the market, toured the gardens, a palace, and did a night food tour. All were informative and engaging. Most of our group tried escargot and sampled other foods we may not have had we not had a guide. We felt safe at all times and even managed to got out on our own a couple times after doing it with our guide. We found the people at the markets (and all of Morocco) to be friendly and helpful. For example, we were trying to cross a busy street and a local man said follow me and helped us to just walk around some cars. While bartering is a big part of buying, we didn't find the merchants to be overly pushy. We did try to buy a carpet here too and again, found them to be way out of our budget ($1000 for even a small rug).
Our last day we hiked the High Atlas mountains and had dinner with a Berber family. This was one of my favorite days in Morocco. The scenery was so beautiful and it was a nice change from the crowded cities. We ended up buying rugs from locals here and found the prices much more reasonable and felt better about the money going directly to the women who make the rugs. I also bought a leather ottoman for a good price. The meal with the family was so good and appreciated after hiking a few miles.
Overall, we were very impressed by Morocco. From the time we were picked up from the airport to the time were dropped off, Mustapha took very good care of us. People were welcoming, food was amazing, the riads are unsuspecting from the outside but inside they are grand, intricate, but also cozy and welcoming. We felt safe at all times and
Hotel Reviews
Our hotel, Lina Ryad was beautiful. They were able to get two of us in for a hammam when we arrived. Breakfast was excellent. Our dinner was just okay. We especially love the rooftop terrace where you could get spectacular views of the blue city below. We had the rooftop to ourselves and enjoyed day, evening and night views. Rooms were spacious. They provided robes and had an extra bed for our daughter made up. They stored our luggage for us while we did a tour of the city.
Our hotel, Riad Braya was tucked away but so beautiful. We felt like we were the only guests there. We had personal service. The riad was beautiful, comfortable beds and another amazing rooftop. We had to leave super early to catch our train to Marrakech and they packed a breakfast for us to take with.
Our hotel, Riad Atrium was one of our favorites. It was quiet and intimate. We ate dinner and breakfast on the rooftop and enjoyed more views. Food was very good, especially the breakfast. We also enjoyed a tagine chicken our first night that was lovely. Staff was helpful and again, we saw one other guest our entire time here so it felt like we had the place to ourself.
Activity Reviews
We loved Chefchouen! I was expecting it to be crowded with Instagram posers but streets were very quiet when we headed out for our morning walk there. The houses were so blue! We learned they paint the walls 4x per year! Our guide was so amazing. He was patient with our pictures and even invited us in to see his family home.
We loved that the tour that took us to the top of the city so we could see down into the areas we would explore. We also really enjoyed the tour of the ceramics shop. It was informative and interesting to see how the crafts are still made by hand. We each bought something in the gift shop after. The streets were a bit overwhelming, even for seasoned travelers. We saw the tanneries, and the wool dying. Our guide took us to get carpets but they were way out of our budget. We also explored the world's oldest University. We were not able to see the school but could walk through the now abandoned dorms.
We really enjoyed the markets in Marrakech but our guide moved very fast through them. We had to stop him several times to make purchases. We also struggled to keep up with him as we had 5 of us and maneuvering through the crowds is a bit challenging! We toured a palace and the markets. We did try to buy a carpet here too and again, found them to be way out of our budget ($1000 for even a small rug). We also went to a Argon oil store. We were given a briefing on Argon oil. I had no idea the oil is made from seeds only grown in a small region of Morocco. The prices seemed reasonable and we purchased argon oil and some spices.
Our last day we hiked the High Atlas mountains and had dinner with a Berber family. This was one of my favorite days in Morocco. The scenery was so beautiful and it was a nice change from the crowded cities. We ended up buying rugs from locals here and found the prices much more reasonable and felt better about the money going directly to the women who make the rugs. I also bought a leather ottoman for a good price. The meal with the family was so good and appreciated after hiking a few miles.
We enjoyed Volubilis but by the time we got there, it was mid day and very hot! We explored with a guide and enjoyed the sights of the ancient Roman city. We could have skipped Meknes. It was busy and we were not allowed in the mosque because we had on shorts.
Gardens were nice but for us it was tucked in between a half day tour of Marrakech and a night food tour of Marrakech markets. It was hot, crowded and so many Instagram posers! Very well maintained. Loved the ponds, cacti, and various flowers.
So much food! We definitely left full. We stopped for prickly pear as we were walking to the market. Next, we sampled Harira, and a street sandwich with tomatoes and onions grilled in a pita. We also got to sample escargot which most in our group tried for the first time. It was interesting and salty. Not the worst I have eaten! We also went to a restaurant and tried beef tagine. We ended with sugar donuts and smoothies. It was fun to have someone point us to safe eating places. We ended up getting smoothies and donuts on our own from the same vendors. Markets at night are very busy and it was hard to keep up with our guide. We wanted to do some last minute shopping but that was stressful with so many people everywhere and trying to keep our group together.
