2 week itinerary for Morocco in December. Is this good?
 

Hi everyone,

My husband & I just purchased our tickets to Morroco and I am starting to work on the itinerary. This is my first attempt at the itinerary, so please let me know what you think. By the way, we will be there from December 15 to December 29.

Marrakech
Day 01 (sat): Arrive Marrakech @ ~14:00 explore - Souks

Merzouga
Day 02 (sun): travel to Merzouga/Erg Chebbi
Day 03 (mon): camel trek
Day 04 (tue): Dades/Todra via 4x4???

Fez
Day 05 (wed): arrive in fez/explore
Day 06 (thu): Bou Inania Medersa & Medina
Day 07 (fri): Souks & Tanneries
Day 08 (sat): Meknes/Moulay Idriss/ Volubilis

Rabat (or Essaouira???)
Day 09 (sun): Kasbah des Oudayas
Day 10 (mon): Mohammed V Mausoleum

Marrakech
Day 11 (tue): travel to Marrakech
Day 12 (wed): Ali ben Youssef Medersa & Souks
Day 13 (thu): El Badi Palace
Day 14 (fri): ???
Day 15 (sat): Depart Marrakesh @ 14:00

1. Is Dades/Todra possible? Is it worth seeing?

2. Should I stay in a hotel in Merzouga and just take a camel trek in for a few hours or should we do a 2 night trip?

3. Am I devoting to much time to Marrakech?

4. Is there anthing I'm missing that I shouldn't miss or anything that I should eliminate?

5. Which is better: Rabat of Essaouira?

Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

A few comments:

The trip from Marrakech to Merzouga is pretty long. I can't remember exactly how long it will take, but I would guess between 10 and 12 hours by car. The road is through the mountains and can be really exhausting.

I would recommend staying the night in Skoura or another town along the way.

It is totally worth spending the night in the desert. It's pretty amazing taking a camel in and waking up to see the sun rise in the morning.

I don't think you are devoting too much time to Marrakech. I think that three full days there is good.

As to your question of where to go, Rabat or Essaouira, these towns are not too close to each other. Essaouira is about two hours from Marrakech, and you could stop in Rabat on the way there. I did not spend any time in Rabat, but Essaouira was great.

I was in Morocco in March of 2006 and pretty much did your itinerary in three weeks (I also did trekking in the Atlas mountains). In my opinion you may be driving too much for a two week trip. Going to the south to see the dunes of Erg Chebbi is really amazing, but it's really going to cost you in time.

Thank you Roderick! Do you know if there are other ways to get to Merzouga. I don't think we want to drive it ourselves. Do the trains go there?

I think you can take a train from Fez to Rissani, and then get picked up by a tour company from there.

Another option is for you to go to Zagora instead of Merzouga to see the desert. I have not been there, but it is closer to Marrakech.

There are no trains that from Marakkech to Merzouga. You will need to rent a car or hire a driver. We were in Morocco this past March. I have only been to Erg Chebbi not Zagora, but common wisdom seems to be that the dunes of Erg Chebbi are much more spectacular. I would spend the extra time to go to Merzouga/Erg Chebbi.

I agree with Roderick that it is worth it to spend the night in the desert - definitely the highlight of our trip. I would also recommend splitting the drive from Marakkech to Merzouga into two days. We spent the night in Ouazarzate, which was a good split for us.

I would drop at least one night in Marrakech and add it to the area of 1000 kasbahs as mentioned.

We stayed here and it was great:
http://www.soultravelers3.com/blog/5...3EA116E5D.html

Marrakech was our least fav part, Fez is fabulous and the Saraha is a once in a lifetime must do.

I can not recommend Les Nomades high enough...the best at this!!

http://www.soultravelers3.com/blog/7...E27AE1B1F.html

You will probably just do this once, so might as well pick the best...some of the sweetest people you will ever meet.

I got their name from an expert on virtual tourist who has traveled the world and spent many years in Morocco as he loves it. He said they were the best and he was right.

Good luck!!