morocco help please

Old Nov 8th, 2015, 10:13 AM
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morocco help please

I have had a flight booked to Madrid for a little while now, but suddenly i want to go to Morocco!
I arrive on dec 1st around 830 am,thinking of just jumping on a flight to Morocco that same day and spend the last 3 or 4 nights in Madrid before flying out on the 13th of dec
This is pretty last min planning for me and would like some help if possible
Im single male traveler, mid fiftys and a professional chef, heres the places i would love to see if possible, and in no given order:

Marrakesh
chefchaouen
fez
Essaouira

Im just not sure what city to fly into or where i should start, I'm thinking of flying into one city and out of another
also would like to know how to get to and from each city, I'm willing to hire drivers and guides
thanks in advance for any of your thoughts
Steve0
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Old Nov 11th, 2015, 07:02 AM
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The Morocco forum tends to be less active than some of the other forums. I'm sure you'll hear shortly from Morocco experts such as Mme. Perdu and Daren Humprhies.

For what it's worth,on my upcoming trip, I'm flying into and out of Casablanca. Since I'm coming from the U.S., I believe Casa is the only inbound option and it is also where I've planned to end my vacation. Coming from Madrid, I would think you should have plenty of inbound/outbound options.

All of the Morocco destinations you have listed are on my itinerary. I have 4 nights in Marrakech, 1 night in Chaouen, 3 nights in Fez and 2 nights is Essaouria. Have you done any research on these locations so that you know what about each of them appeals to you? What the relative priorities of each are? With 8 or 9 days for Morocco, I would think you might have to consider dropping one of those as it would otherwise be a very rushed itinerary. I'll leave it to the experts however to confirm or contradict that.
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Old Nov 12th, 2015, 10:11 AM
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Sallam 'lekum steveo and bravo on making an impulsive decision to visit magical Morocco. Pardon my late response, as I'm currently guiding on the road. Well done also MinnBeef on contributing some very knowledgeable and relevant advice.
steveo, the destinations you have chosen are good ones and I'm glad you're not trying to squeeze in too much (e.g. the Moroccan Sahara). What is worth considering is that it may be a bit cold at the beginning of December, especially in Fès and Chefchaouen...make sure your accommodations have some form of room heating.
As MinnBeef presumes, you have a number of flight options from/to Madrid, and I suggest you look at the following gastro-influenced itinerary, if at all possible with regards to flight timings/connections:
Day 1: Fly Madrid to Fès (Fez) - Ryanair flies Tuesday and Saturday, departing at 12h25 and arriving at 13h15 local time;

Day 2: Explore the mystical world of Fès el Bali; Arrange a meeting/encounter with chef extraordinaire Lahcen Beqqi.

Day 3: Travel by road (bus or private driver) to Chefchaouen;

Day 4: Soak up the unique vibe inside Chefchaouen's medina and perhaps take a hike in the surrounding mountainside;

Day 5: Travel by road (bus or private driver) to Tanger Morora rail station, take overnight sleeper to Marrakech;

Day 6: Welcome to the wonderful world of Marrakech...dive in and enjoy;

Day 7: More time in Marrakech - perhaps consider a gastro experience with Gemma at Souk Cuisine...feel free to use my name. Also consider meeting the good women at Amal Women's Training Centre & Restaurant, who also offer a wonderful cooking experience;

Day 8: Travel by road (bus or private driver) to Essaouira - enjoy the fish grills between the old port and the big square...choose your seafood, sit down, and onto a plate it goes straight from the charcoal grills.

Day 9: Depart Essaouira - Transavia flies Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to Paris Orly via Fès. ***Should the flight not work out, then I suggest continuing straight on to Essaouira when you arrive in Marrakech, and then return to Marrakech and end your journey there with one of many flight options.

Granted, it's a bustling itinerary with plenty of travel but it also offers plenty of magical moments and will let you get a great 'taste' (pun intended) of Morocco to perhaps return again.

Your fellow traveler,
Darren Humphrys
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Old Nov 13th, 2015, 09:12 AM
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Thank you so much Darren and minnbeef, great info

Is there any way to fly from Marrakesh to fez?or essaouira to fez?

trying to avoid the long train ride

So I'm thinking, Marrakesh and essaouira the first 4 or 5 days
Fly to fez, stay 4 nights and get transport to tangier with a stop in chefchaouen on my way there, then fly out of tangier to madrid?
any thoughts?
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 08:24 AM
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I'll defer to Darren but all of the domestic flights I researched on Royal Air Maroc go through Casa. With layover time there, it takes as long to fly as it does to train.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 10:19 AM
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You're correct MinnBeef, in that the only domestic carrier (Royal Air Maroc) routes all of its domestic flights through Casablanca. That's also why I mentioned Transavia, as perhaps they allow a stopover in Fès on their flight from Essaouira to Paris Orly.
Other than that steveo, your new plan (Essaouira, Marrakech, Fès, Chefchaouen, Tangier) looks good but yes, you may need to sit back and enjoy the (train) ride.
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