Baby_Bear

Hi, we are starting to tentatively plan a Morocco trip for next year. After consulting a couple of guidebooks, we have come up with an itinerary, which I would love your comments on:

Day 1 - fly into Casa and fly on to Marrakech
Day 2 and 3 - full day sightseeing of Marrakech
Day 4 - transfer to Fez (either drive or fly)
Day 5 and 6 - full day sightseeing of Fez
Day 7 - fly to Casa in the morning. Afternoon half-day sightseeing of Casa
Day 8 - drive to Rabat. Full day sightseeing. Return to Casa in the pm.
Day 9 - fly home.

Does this itinerary look reasonable? We are primarily interested in cultural experiences (as opposed to seeing the desert or mountains) which is why I've stuck to the Imperial Cities. But are we missing anything really amazing? And have we allocated sufficient time in each place?

Regarding time of year - we were thinking about going in early 2011. The latest we could go would be in late May/first week in June. Is the weather tolerable at that time (I know if it will pretty hot in Marrakech) but will it still be OK for sightseeing? If not, we can consider going in March or April.

Also, we would prefer to fly everywhere to save time. But is it possible to fly directly (non-stop) from Marrakech to Fez? The guidebook says that most direct interenal flights are to and from Casa. If we have tro change planes at Casa en route, would that be the same amount of time as driving?

Lastly - some advice on where to stay would be appreciated. We would have loved to stay at a nice riad, but we will be in a group of family (6-8 of us). My parents are coming, and my mom is in her early 60's, physically fit but has difficulty climbing steps due to the early onset of arthritis. So we thought we should stay in hotels where elevators are available. We narrowed it down to the Sofitel Palais in Marrakech and Fez and the Hyatt or Le Meridian in Casa. If people have stayed in these or other hotels and have recommendations, that would be great - or if you know of riads with elevators (not easy to find, I understand).

Thanks!

Leslie_S

Hi Baby-Bear --
I think it's a shame to miss the desert but I understand it's not at the top of your list. The night we spent in a tent was a definite high point of our trip for me.

We're just back from 12 days in Morocco and a good bit of our time was spent in a car being driven around the country - so I do see that flying will save time (and the tedium of being cooped up in a car all day). BUT there was so much beautiful scenery along the way - every other minute we were oohing and ahhing at the rolling hills, the fields of wildflowers, the winding mountain roads -and also stopping at different kasbahs, villages, gorges, etc. along the way. There's a lot to see beyond the major cities. And if you're into culture you might want to try to get to Volubilis - we loved spending the day climbing around the ruins (well, several hours there after a few hours in Meknes). FWIW.

The weather when we were there May 8 -21 was actually chilly at times - in Fez they had a cold spell -- I was kicking myself for not packing warmer clothes. As we drove through the mountains it was cold enough that we could see our breath and I was running around like an idiot in sandals. When we got to Marrakesh towards the end of our trip it was hot during the day but cool in the evenings.

We stayed in riads not hotels so I can't help there. I will agree the stairs would be challenging - some of them were almost double-height steps - but I think some or maybe all of our riads had rooms on the first floor around the courtyard. Altho' you'd still need to climb to visit the rooftop terrace which was a great place to have breakfast or dinner.

I haven't done a trip report yet but have just finished with my pictures so in case you're bored or want to look for any kind of inspiration here is a link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jamison.leslie/Morocco2010#

Hope your trip is as fabulous as ours was - Morocco was amazing.

jgg

Welcome back Leslie! Can't wait for the TR and I will look at your pictures when I have more time.

Baby Bear - I have to 2nd Leslie's reco. for the desert - highlight of ALL our traveling around the world - but may not work with your Mom.

I would suggest, rather than flying from Fez to Casa and then driving to Rabat and back, that you consider driving from Fez to Rabat (about 120 miles), stay there for the night then drive to Casablanca the next day. Should make your last day in Morocco a bit more relaxing.

I was going to say the same thing Leslie did about the riads - many of them have rooms on the first floor, so there would be no stairs for your mom.

We went in late March early April and the weather was ideal - though we did hit some light snow in the mid-Atlas from the desert to Fez.

Baby_Bear

Thanks to both of you - always good to hear from people who have recently been! I am relieved to hear the weather should be OK for April/May as that's the time frame that will work for us. I hear you about the desert - but we were in Egypt last year and got a nice taste of the desert, so this time it'll be just the cities I think.

Leslie- I looked at your pix, they were amazing! Can't wait to read your TR.

A question - which travel agency did you use? We are looking for a good agency that can provide us with a custom tour. I contacted Anatolia Travels but they can only do a custom tour for 10 people and up, so our family group will be too small. If you have recommendations, that would be great. Thanks again!

heislik

Hi Baby Bear --

My husband and I were in Morocco for 10 days last year in August. After emailing a number of travel agents, we found Abe with Morocco Tailormade (http://www.morocco-tailormade.com/ and [email protected]).

I sent him a proposed itinerary and he modified it based on his knowledge of the country. We was very helpful -- he made all of the arrangements for us and was able to get some great discounts for us. It was just the two of us and we had our own driver and guides in each city (Fez, Marrakech, and a few other cities). Our trip was not much more expensive than the larger group tours we had looked into. We skipped the desert and did not regret it...

We would highly recommend Monim as a driver -- he was AMAZING and took great care of us.

Have a great trip -- just do not eat at any of the food stalls in the Marrakech market, even if someone tells you one is ok!

Leslie_S

We used Journey Beyond Travel and I highly recommend them. It's a small outfit and everything is customized just the way you want it. Our trip was just my husband & myself so your group would definitely not be too small.

If you have any questions let me know.

I have to get busy on that TR before I start forgetting but it feels so daunting - there are some really good writers on fodors!