Draft itinerary for Morocco
 

We (couple in our early 50s) are considering a trip to Morocco next year. We are very flexible in terms of when to go, but I think April-May would be a good time for what we have in mind. Please read below and let me know what you think. We are interested in nature, wildlife, unique experiences, good food, photography, easy short hikes
We will have about 3 weeks and here is a first draft:

Day 1, 2: Land in Casablanca and get over jet lag the next day, see the mosque
Day 3 – Rent a car and drive to Chefchaouen
Day 4, 5 – Chefchaouen + a day trip to Akchour waterfall
Day 6 – Drive to Fes with a stop in Volubilis
Day 7 – Day trip to Meknes and Azrou for monkeys (are they wild?), then drop off car
Day 8, 9 – Fes
Day 10 – Fly to Marrakesh
Day 11, 12 – Marrakesh (this way we don’t have to worry about a car in Fes and Marrakesh)
Day 13 – 19 (7 days and here I need more help) – pick up another car + drive some sort of loop to cover Ouzoud waterfalls, Erg Chebbi , Todra Gorge, Dades, Ouarzazate, Ait Ben Haddou, and if possible, end with a 2 nights stay at Kasbah Du Toubkal.
Day 20 – drive to El Jadida
Day 21 – El Jadida
Day 22 – Drive to Casablanca and fly back home

How does this all sound? Should we add a day in either Fes or Marrakesh? Based on what I read, we don’t need the extra day in Casablanca, but I think it would be nice to rest before the long drive to Chefchaouen. Let me know what you think and what you would do differently. Thanks.

When you visit Volubilis on day 6 you will be right next to Meknes, so I'd suggest you stop overnight either there or at Moulay Idriss.

Yes, the macaques at Azrou are wild, see https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel...ar.Forest.html for a map of likely places to spot them.

Day 13-17. I suggest you take the R210 via Sidi Rahal to Demnate and visit Imi n'Ifri natural bridge on the way to Ouzoud, see http://www.morocco-knowledgebase.net...read.php?t=201

After Ouzoud head east on the R306/R317 to Imilchil then south on the R703 to the Todra Gorge (the R704 isn't passable in an ordinary car).

Hi Tim,
Thanks for the suggestions. I am debating if from Fes (or Fez?) we should either:

Option 1:
Drive to Merzouga - spend the night in the desert - go to Marrakesh via Todra Gorge, Dades, Ain Ben Haddou.

Option 2:
Take the train to Marrakesh, drive to Merzouga via Ouzoud and Imilchil, then return via Ourarzazate.

As we would really want to spend a couple of nights at Kasbah Du Toubkal, option 1 seems better, with less driving. We could even have 2 nights in Dades, we are not big fans of 1 night stops.

If we do that, should we do Toubkal before or after Marrakesh? Any thoughts on the 2 options above? Thanks

The more interesting option to to go via Ouzoud and Imilchil.

Kasbah du Toubkal is a good option. Pics at post #13 of http://www.morocco-knowledgebase.net...full=1#post547

Coming towards Marrakech you could turn left at Ait Ourir on the P2010 and go via Aghmat (see previous post on above thread to explore the ancient hammam) to Tahnaout and then on to Asni and Imlil.

And I thought 3 weeks would be plenty of time...silly me...

Tim,
Wonderful writing and pics, I just skimmed it, but I need to get comfortable and really digest all the info you are sprinkling there :)
Thanks a lot for sharing your trips.

xyz,
you won't find many more helpful or knowledgeable, then tim.
I would say the day trip to meknes,after chefchaouen, you will find it disappointing , also azrou I felt was a waste of time the monkey's and the scam artist await you in the parking lot, along with lots of garbage in the woods, maybe it was just when I was there , but I would bet it's like that a lot, volubilous, is terrific and impressive, if you want a picture of a monkey spend $2 in Marrakesh at the main square and for $4 they'll even throw in a cobra. I was in el jadida in October the old cite' portugese , where the cistern is, is very small! and can be covered in a couple of hours. there is a terrific new restaurant outside the cite' that had great food look it up on trip advisor and you'll see my review. since you have three weeks, I would ask tim what to trim to fit essaouria in which I loved. I skipped the dunes because I didn't want to spend a day of travelas I only had 17 days and instead rode a camel on the beach in essaouria.either way have a great journey. also if it is in your budget instead of du toukal where I only had lunch spectacul setting, food was ok. and you have to hike to get to it though I believe they have mules to carry the bags up. there is a few miles before it Richard branson's place, the oasis? which was spectacular only had cocktails there. but it looked amazing.

wlke,
Thanks, this gives me a lot to think about. The monkeys....I would love to see them in a wild (or at least semi-wild) setting. Scam artists and garbage, no, not exactly what I'm looking for. But we'll have to drive from Fez to Merzouga, and need to plan some stops on the way, so not sure if this one is worth it or not.

No, a picture with a chained monkey is out of question. Even if THEY pay me for it :)

Richard Branson's place? Looks gorgeous, but totally out of budget. I just wish...

We will probably trim a few days from the Morocco trip as we want to also stop in Barcelona and visit friends. As of now, the places we absolutely want to see are: Chef, Fez, Volubilis, Marrakesh and the dunes (with a night in the desert). Anything else would be a welcomed extra...so I keep reading, we need to be selective and don't want to rush it.

xyz,
the restaurant in el jadida was la prive, and I recall the cistern posting odd hours so check on that. and remember to be covered for your visit to the mosque in Casablanca, which is spectacular!and the monkey's are wild but sort of just sit there waiting for handouts. and two nights in el jadida is too much.

regards

wlke

Thanks, wlke. We know about mosque dressing code - we visited Turkey a few years ago. If you haven't been there, highly recommended!
Good info about monkeys and El Jadida, we'll try to fit both in our itinerary.

When I researched intra-country flights on Royal Air Maroc, I found that all flights went through Casablanca. So I'd expect you'd fly from Fes to Casa and then Casa to Marrakech. With all the time wasted at airports, I'd recommend taking the train. While Morocco's trains are nowhere near at the efficiency level of Europe's, the train from Fes to Marrakech, factoring in it being 30m late was 8 hours. You probably won't spend much less time, start to finish flying. And that type of flying is way more of a hassle.

Have you considered Essaouria? That was the last stop on my trip last month and I really enjoyed it. Nice, seaside vibe, a few good restaurants and lots of photo ops. 1 1/2 to 2 days on the ground is plenty for it.

MinBeef,
After lots of changes (as mentioned before, we will shorten the stay in Morocco to be able to spend a few days in Barcelona with friends), the itinerary looks something light this (all by car):
1 - land in Casa
2 - Casa
3 - drive to Chef
4 - Chef
5 - To Fez via Volubilis
6,7 - Fez
8,9 - drive to Merzouga with a night stop in Midlet
10,11 - Merzouga/Desert
12, 13 - drive to Marrakesh with night stop somewhere - where?
14,15 - Marrakesh
16 - flight to Barcelona

I don't think we have time for Essaouria...there is a direct flight from Marrakesh to Barcelona. I considered the same itinerary in reverse, just to include it or El Jadida, but there is no direct flight from Fez to Barcelona...and having to go back to Casa would add at least 1 extra day...

How does the above itinerary look like? Sad to skip the Atlas mountains, but our vacation time is limited :(

I recommend flying into Rabat, which (with adjacent Sale) is more interesting than Casablanca. And from there, it is relatively easy to travel to Fez, Meknes & Volubilis. In Fez, certainly you'll want a guide or you'll miss a lot (or get very lost). Keep traveling the loop route to desert, oases, etc (places on your list) and back through the High Atlas to Marrakech. I also recommmend Essaouira, for its history as well as its location. Chefchaoun is of course delightful, a nearly perfect Photo Opportunity and enjoyable as a small town experience (escaping the hype of Marrakesh), but it is very touristy. One of my favorite small towns is Asilah (spelling?), on the coast.

One more note: Generally, mosque rules are much more relaxed in Turkey than in Morocco. I've spent a lot of time in both countries. You will not be allowed into the Grand Mosque except during scheduled tours, unless you are Muslim. But it is very impressive from the outside, as well.

I don't feel you need a full day for Casa. While the mosque is gorgeous and well worth a 1/2 day visit, the rest of it is an ugly city. I would spend your morning of day 2 visiting the Hassan 2 mosque and then drive to Chefchaouen that afternoon. That allows you all of day 3 to see Chef. which has now bought you an extra day on your itinerary.

RTtravelstories,
Interesting suggestion, but from the US East Coast, we only have direct flights into Casa. Flying into Rabat would mean a long layover somewhere in Europe, a more expensive flight, and a lost day...not practical.

MinnBeef,
I know we don't need a full day in Casa, my concern was the jet lag and the long drive. But I think I like your idea of spending the morning in Casa, then drive in the afternoon. This will give us an extra day to play with :)
Thanks!

@xyz99:

My pleasure.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Morocco#
https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...KvrpeoxMr2uwE#
https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Maroc3#
xyz..hope these will give you a feel for exotique Maroc....spring is good...drive to visit the remote village of Fintt, close to Ouarzazate. See pix, it was one of highlight stops, as was Ait Benhadou and of course Erg Chebbi..all are found in these pics. We drove to all in an illuminating month. Roads are OK, traffic light, plenty of petrol and acceptable signage. Hotel Riad Salam in Erfoud provided a driver for our rental car because we had to leave in the dark to catch the sunrise...pitch black but of course the excellent day-guide knew the way with out ANY lights. Cost $14. Enjoy!!
stu

Hi Stu,
Thanks a lot, great pics, and some very good suggestions. I'm sure we'll love Morocco :)

xyz...it was one of the leading places my late wife was eager to do again. Alas, it wasn't to be. Hence my vicarious nature is satisfied by helping others enjoy this and many other magnificent destinations.

Just a word about "touristy" as mentioned somewhere above. It is perhaps the most repeated word on Fodors in the twelve years I've "resided" here.

To repeat one more **&*%^%# time...a place is touristy because there is something that draws tourists and travelers as well. That's why we go there ***&^%^&^$(!!!!)
My rant for today. Sheeeeshh!
Stu

Stu provoked me to throw my 5 cents in.

Take Marrakech and Meknes.

Meknes has probably the most interesting souk in Morocco - still authentic and traditional. There is the alley where the garments are sewed, the alley where metalworkers are welding and of course the alleys where food is sold.

In Marrakech, many of the traditional businesses are gone, instead you have a high concentration of souvenir stores where the prices (even after heavy bargaining) are still twice as high as in Meknes.

Meknes hat a market square where snake charmers and people with monkeys perform to entertain the local children.

In Marrakech, you find busloads of tourists grouping around the snake charmers and jugglers and thus spoiling the atmosphere.

Marrakech is also crowded with "faux guides" and aggressive vendors. I would not say that these do not exist in Meknes, but to a much lesser extent.