Off to Marrakesh for 10 days tomorrow, Where and what to do?
Discussion
I know this should probably be in the holidays section but more traffic here.
As per the title, we will will staying in a Riad in the center for the first 4 days then a Hotel in Palmeraie for the remainder.
Where and what should we do and see?
ps can anyone remember the name of that amazing looking road that Topgear magazine featured a few months ago?
Would it be worth renting a car?
Justin
As per the title, we will will staying in a Riad in the center for the first 4 days then a Hotel in Palmeraie for the remainder.
Where and what should we do and see?
ps can anyone remember the name of that amazing looking road that Topgear magazine featured a few months ago?
Would it be worth renting a car?
Justin
We went late March. It was very nice apart from not much for the kids.
"must do" an evening in Djemma El Fnaa - the atmosphere is great. Souks are great for browsing/shopping but it's mainly cheap tourist tat. And if you go to Gueliz ( the new part of the town) its mostly more expensive tourist tat. Trip to the Atlas mountains was good.
If you are into culture/history there are lots of places to visit; Koutoubia mosque, Saadien Tombs, Majorelle gardens were ok (kids got bored!) . We also had a horse & carriage ride which the kids loved. And I was surprised at the number of RRSs I saw
"must do" an evening in Djemma El Fnaa - the atmosphere is great. Souks are great for browsing/shopping but it's mainly cheap tourist tat. And if you go to Gueliz ( the new part of the town) its mostly more expensive tourist tat. Trip to the Atlas mountains was good.
If you are into culture/history there are lots of places to visit; Koutoubia mosque, Saadien Tombs, Majorelle gardens were ok (kids got bored!) . We also had a horse & carriage ride which the kids loved. And I was surprised at the number of RRSs I saw
We went in September last year and a great time.
Definately recommend the Main Square during the day and then sitting in one of the roof top cafe's whilst the sun goes down and the square turns from a empty space to a bustling open air restaurant.
We ate out at one of the street restaurants one night and the food was great and really cheap, walking amongst all the restaurants whilst they jostle for your attention and business was a good laugh too.
Definately recommend the Main Square during the day and then sitting in one of the roof top cafe's whilst the sun goes down and the square turns from a empty space to a bustling open air restaurant.
We ate out at one of the street restaurants one night and the food was great and really cheap, walking amongst all the restaurants whilst they jostle for your attention and business was a good laugh too.
The souks in Marrakech are amazing - don't be afraid to dive right in.
There is a lot of tat, but sift through the tacky kaftans, haggle hard, and you can buy beautifully made leather slippers, pouffes and bags at a fraction of the cost you'd pay here.
Lanterns and mirrors are also great buys. However, approach carpets with caution: a genuinely hand-loomed Berber carpet will have fringes at one end only, no matter what the stallholder says. But, if you like it and are happy with the price, just buy it anyway.
The thing to beware of is "Can't carry it in your luggage? No problem - we'll post it to you." Fine, if you're not expecting to receive the item you paid for.
If you are planning on hiring a car and heading out, make sure you have plenty of small denomination notes - 10 and 20 Dirhams, etc for drinks and snacks en route. Out in the villages people invariably don't have change, and you'll struggle to change more than 200 Dirhams unless paying for a meal. 500 Dirhams and you can forget it.
Enjoy. I love Morocco. People are very polite and friendly. Just respect their rules and dress appropriately - ie. no bare shoulders or shorts above the knee when out and about.
There is a lot of tat, but sift through the tacky kaftans, haggle hard, and you can buy beautifully made leather slippers, pouffes and bags at a fraction of the cost you'd pay here.
Lanterns and mirrors are also great buys. However, approach carpets with caution: a genuinely hand-loomed Berber carpet will have fringes at one end only, no matter what the stallholder says. But, if you like it and are happy with the price, just buy it anyway.
The thing to beware of is "Can't carry it in your luggage? No problem - we'll post it to you." Fine, if you're not expecting to receive the item you paid for.
If you are planning on hiring a car and heading out, make sure you have plenty of small denomination notes - 10 and 20 Dirhams, etc for drinks and snacks en route. Out in the villages people invariably don't have change, and you'll struggle to change more than 200 Dirhams unless paying for a meal. 500 Dirhams and you can forget it.
Enjoy. I love Morocco. People are very polite and friendly. Just respect their rules and dress appropriately - ie. no bare shoulders or shorts above the knee when out and about.
If you have a car, drive this...
http://dangerousroads.org/africa/377-tizi-n-test-r...
or the Tizi n'Tichka Pass.
http://dangerousroads.org/africa/377-tizi-n-test-r...
or the Tizi n'Tichka Pass.
Stayed here for a week in March Club Hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie
Enjoyed it so much booked again for same time next year. A great place to visit is the markets during the day which then turn into one big mass of noise and food.
one piece of advice is look right, look left, look in front, behind you and finally at the floor to avoid the snakes
.
Also did the atlas mountain crossing in a 4x4, a day to remember travelling into the little villages along the way you get to see some amazing things never knew what a Kasbah was until we visited?
All in all a great place to go to visit.
Enjoyed it so much booked again for same time next year. A great place to visit is the markets during the day which then turn into one big mass of noise and food.
one piece of advice is look right, look left, look in front, behind you and finally at the floor to avoid the snakes
.Also did the atlas mountain crossing in a 4x4, a day to remember travelling into the little villages along the way you get to see some amazing things never knew what a Kasbah was until we visited?
All in all a great place to go to visit.
Edited by dillenger on Wednesday 16th May 11:31
Countdown said:
We went late March. It was very nice apart from not much for the kids.
"must do" an evening in Djemma El Fnaa - the atmosphere is great. Souks are great for browsing/shopping but it's mainly cheap tourist tat. And if you go to Gueliz ( the new part of the town) its mostly more expensive tourist tat. Trip to the Atlas mountains was good.
If you are into culture/history there are lots of places to visit; Koutoubia mosque, Saadien Tombs, Majorelle gardens were ok (kids got bored!) . We also had a horse & carriage ride which the kids loved. And I was surprised at the number of RRSs I saw
^All good suggestions."must do" an evening in Djemma El Fnaa - the atmosphere is great. Souks are great for browsing/shopping but it's mainly cheap tourist tat. And if you go to Gueliz ( the new part of the town) its mostly more expensive tourist tat. Trip to the Atlas mountains was good.
If you are into culture/history there are lots of places to visit; Koutoubia mosque, Saadien Tombs, Majorelle gardens were ok (kids got bored!) . We also had a horse & carriage ride which the kids loved. And I was surprised at the number of RRSs I saw
Be wary of pick pockets and people generally causing a nuisance to scam money out of you.
If you're looking at other places in Morocco I can recommend Fez and Chefchaouen.
Tbh, I didn't really ever become enamoured with Morocco. Found it too much like hard work. Good for photos though.
Some good advice above, although I wouldn't be overly concerned about hassle, clothing, or indeed pick-pockets, been there multple times now, personally never had an issue with any of them. Biggest issue for me was finding cold beer in mid-sumer heat - it's there, and for sale, even in Ramadam, just need to know where to find it!
It's all been discussed on a number of previous threads, although you'ld never know with the mess that is the PH 'Search'... They are all linked off this thread here...
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
It's all been discussed on a number of previous threads, although you'ld never know with the mess that is the PH 'Search'... They are all linked off this thread here...
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...
We got back last night.
Had a great time they had a heat wave so the temp was pretty much high 30's/early 40's the whole time, I am a rather lovely shade of saddle brown.
It was great, we went Horse riding, hired a Landcruiser and went up into the Atlas Mountains including the Tizi pass (not sure what all the fuss is to be honest) went to all the waterfalls and passed through quite a few Berber villages.
However, we would not go again, it was nice, it scratched an itch but if we were to have stayed much longer I would have got very bored.
The first half of the holiday we stayed in a Luxuery Ruad in the Medine (The city iit self) that was great craic, there were plenty of beggers but they were respectful enough to keep there distance, the traders on the other hand could be a royal pain in the backside at times, it was great fun haggling with them, I like a deal and they kept calling me a berber?! what ever that is supposed to mean. we also visited all the palaces etc, a little underwhelming IMO.
The second half of the holiday we stayed in one of the RIU hotels, that was easily the best hotel i have stayed in, I was pretty amazed by the level of service, just a bit boring lounging around the pool drinking Whiskey Sours all day
A couple of pics to follow as soon as I charge my phone
J
Had a great time they had a heat wave so the temp was pretty much high 30's/early 40's the whole time, I am a rather lovely shade of saddle brown.
It was great, we went Horse riding, hired a Landcruiser and went up into the Atlas Mountains including the Tizi pass (not sure what all the fuss is to be honest) went to all the waterfalls and passed through quite a few Berber villages.
However, we would not go again, it was nice, it scratched an itch but if we were to have stayed much longer I would have got very bored.
The first half of the holiday we stayed in a Luxuery Ruad in the Medine (The city iit self) that was great craic, there were plenty of beggers but they were respectful enough to keep there distance, the traders on the other hand could be a royal pain in the backside at times, it was great fun haggling with them, I like a deal and they kept calling me a berber?! what ever that is supposed to mean. we also visited all the palaces etc, a little underwhelming IMO.
The second half of the holiday we stayed in one of the RIU hotels, that was easily the best hotel i have stayed in, I was pretty amazed by the level of service, just a bit boring lounging around the pool drinking Whiskey Sours all day
A couple of pics to follow as soon as I charge my phone
J
Glad you enjoyed it.
By calling you a 'berber', they are paying you a compliment. Something like 80% of Moroccans are of Berber descent, and they're saying you're 'one of them'.
The Berber people pride themselves on their skill in business and their independent spirit. Something you did evidently struck a chord
By calling you a 'berber', they are paying you a compliment. Something like 80% of Moroccans are of Berber descent, and they're saying you're 'one of them'.
The Berber people pride themselves on their skill in business and their independent spirit. Something you did evidently struck a chord
A little more info for Hora:
We split the holiday with 4days in a Riad called Riad Mur Akush in the center then 6 in Riu de Palmeria (not the correct spelling I'm sure!)
Link for Riad: http://www.riadmurakush.com/
The Riad was lovely AC in all rooms, VERY quiet and the staff were very good. It was cheap too, don't bother with the suite though, not worth the extra money IMO. It was in a great location as it was 10mins from the square and near all the better restaurants.
We split the holiday with 4days in a Riad called Riad Mur Akush in the center then 6 in Riu de Palmeria (not the correct spelling I'm sure!)
Link for Riad: http://www.riadmurakush.com/
The Riad was lovely AC in all rooms, VERY quiet and the staff were very good. It was cheap too, don't bother with the suite though, not worth the extra money IMO. It was in a great location as it was 10mins from the square and near all the better restaurants.
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