Morocco trip October 2017

We booked early and spent two nights in Marrakech - right in the heart of the Medina in a typical Moroccan Ryadh, which was beautiful a calm of serenity within the Medina madness! Traditional Moroccan cuisine was served, and we stayed on a half board basis. They do not speak much English, more French and mostly Arabic, but you can get by and the owners (a French family) spoke pretty good English. They do not serve alcohol but didn't mind us having a glass of wine bought in the Medina with our meals. A few facts about Morocco: October is still hot so you will need some kind of pool to cool down in after a hard day walking the Medina's and visiting the beautiful palaces in Marrakech. You can drive in Morocco - but I would recommend picking a car up from the airport to avoid Marrakech madness, and only drive during the day. There are no streetlamps in the country and you will not see potholes if driving at night, otherwise we found driving great! They also expect you to clean the car in a garage before returning the vehicle. You can buy alcohol in Morocco but not on a Friday. All liqueur stores are closed on their holy day. Fair enough, you have to live by the rules! The Medina's like any city market - you need to watch out snake charmers and anyone local will charge you if you take a photo and will be offended if you don't give them a euro or 10 dirhams. Be very careful of scooters in the Medina. They do ride very fast through the Medina and will knock you over if you don't move out of the way. Incredible – I’d never seen this before! You are safe as long as you hide your valuables and take the minimum personal belongings out with you in the Medinas. Of course, there is a lot of poverty and pick pockets etc exist like in any city! You can barter to your hearts content and normally take the price down to about half of original price as a guide. Any guide will take you to their favourite shops where they will be paid back handers but you don't have to buy within these shops. Moroccans, contrary to popular belief, are wonderful, friendly and most of all very kind, courteous people and they will love you because tourism is important to them. You will have no qualms about this lovely calm race of people. After two days trekking around Marrakech with a guide (I think two days is ample to get a taste of Marrakech) we drove to Essaouira. We picked up a hire car from RAK airport. The drive out of the airport was a bit chaotic but after that it was an easy three hours through the desert and through many small towns which were like going back into the dark ages. How they fitted 8/9 people in a clapped out 50 year old Renault which was literally tied together with string and tape was hilarious. If you have a horse and cart there you are top dog and get priority over cars, some even have donkeys and cart and are still dress in traditional costume. It’s fantastic to see - it was like going back in time! Essaouira - the jewel of the Moroccan coast. The beach goes for miles and miles and is empty and beautiful. The resort is generally known as a windy resort but spring and autumn are a fabulous time to go – it’s not so hot and not as windy. It’s known for its surf in July and August and it is a laid back town resort with some great beach activities such as camel rides, horse riding on the beach and quad bikes. They are all situated at the east end and it’s easy to park with some lovely beach bars/restaurants right next door. You can hire a board if you fancy some surfing/windsurfing. We stayed in a typical Moroccan villa which was beautiful and great value but there are some lovely hotels in the resort too if preferred. The Medina in Essaouira is a little less stressful and very pleasant to walk around - I would say less stressful than the one in Marrakech. The fishing port is a must to visit but be careful, stench is not the word and you will see some unbelievable images here. You will only visit once and you will never forget it! All in all, I can highly recommend Morocco for all kinds of trips and would love to chat to you further about whether you would also like to visit this wonderful diverse country! We loved it so much we have booked to go back and do some more exploring in October 2018. 10 nights this time as it offers wonderful temperatures and is great value for us as UK visitors!