Plan trip to Morocco need recommendations
 

My husband and I are going on a trip with a group to visit schools in Rabat. We would like to go a few days earlier and visit other cities in Morocco. Can anyone recommend one other city to visit that would be visitable in 2 days? thanks

From Rabat it would be best to do Fez, which is an incredible city, particularly the Old Medina.

i would recommend to visit the Erg chebbi with its Golden sand dunefield, spent the night in Berber tent and share the meal with nomads....

Thank you for your suggestions. Can you recommend a guide or travel agency to obtain a guide?

I would recommend Chefchauoen. In my humble opinion, Fes is not a nice place, I would not go back there but to each their own. Meknes and Volubilis is also a good option (30mins or so from Fes).

I second Chefchaouen--a lovely place in the mountains. Great restaurant there called the Magic something. I got great photos there of the doors. Of course Marrakech is not to be missed, but you would have to fly there and back for the time. But Chef is more relaxing and you can wander the streets.

P.S. Erg Chebbi is unforgettable so that also is a great choice--again the problem is distance. The night in the desert was unforgettable for my husband and myself.

Thank you for the suggestions. I think we would like to go to Erg Chebbi to view the desert. I am still trying to look for a guide. I did get a response from Rachid Ouarg. He was recommended on someone else's post a few months ago. I wonder if anyone else had used him. I am also wondering if I should fly into Marrakech, go to the desert and then travel up to Rabat. Does anyone have thoughts on that?

From RABAT, you can visit Fez and Meknes

I'm just planning my own trip, and haven't been there yet, but with only two days I don't think you can make it to the desert. It is a long drive from Fes -- and you're in Rabat.

From what I've learned from my research, if I were in your shoes I'd go to Fes, which, contrary to the post above, is usually described as the most interesting city in Morocco, or at worst second only to Marrakech.

<<I'm just planning my own trip, and haven't been there yet, but with only two days I don't think you can make it to the desert. It is a long drive from Fes -- and you're in Rabat.>>

He's correct. Erg Chebbi is beautiful but it is a very long way from Rabat. It's a nine-hour drive over mountain roads from Fes so you would not have time to get there, spend a night in the desert and get back to Rabat.

Fes is fascinating; I don't know why another poster writes that it is "not nice." I have not been to Chefchauoen but have heard good things about it and I think it's doable from Rabat.

<<Fes is fascinating; I don't know why another poster writes that it is "not nice.

Is there a reason why you have to undermine someone's comment that is clearly a personal opinion/experience?

We're all not going to find it "fascinating" just because you do.

Oceania,
I don't think the previous poster meant any personal offense, rather curiousity as to what you didn't like. Fes is perhaps the most recommended city in Morocco, so adding more information about what you did or didn't like about Fes would be helpful to the person planning a trip. Some travelers prefer a city to remoteness, others can stand touristy areas, and yet others don't mind putting up with some touts if there are other things in the area they find interesting. By being specifc, a traveler can interpret your likes and dislikes in the context of their own. Just a little effort to restore harmony!

Oceania, sorry if I offended you, it wasn't my intention.

I know that not everyone will find Fez fascinating, but when someone writes it's "not nice" with no explanation I wonder why that person didn't like it. And I don't consider asking why "undermining" a comment.

Sorry for being so defensive.

To be honest, I didn't like Fes at all, I liked Marrakech a bit better even then I was soo ready to leave after the 3rd day.

My 2 main issue with Fes are:

Fes is the only place I've been where the locals have actually told tourists to leave if they are not given the response they desired (i.e. if they were ignored). That comment wasn't made just to me, but by others who were in the same riad as me. It also wasn't used just once or twice but numerous times.

I remember someone telling me that Fes don't like tourists...I think that's fairly true...perhaps with good reason.

It's also the only place where I've been where the locals make you feel like crap when you are negotiating/haggling a price (which is highly over inflated). Normally, I enjoy the haggling ritual but here, they way spoke and the tactics they used left me feeling horrible.

Others who I met found the same thing.

Most only go to Marrakech and Fes but there's many other parts of Morocco that are so much better...I guess I just don't see what the appeal is.

Based on everyone's suggestion, we have decided to leave on Monday and arrive on Tuesday in Morocco. This will give us more days to get to the desert. We were going to land in Rabat, but it seems that the cheapest flights go to Casablanca. I have looked into tour guides, based on previous postings. Has anyone used rachid ourag? A post from the spring mentioned his name. Someone else used blue men of morocco, but did not say if all their travel was handled by blue men. Anyone use Blue men or any other tour organizations? Thanks for all the comments.

We used Blue Men of Morocco for our 8 day Morocco trip last March. I had already booked my riad in Marakkesh before I contacted them so didn't use them until we were leaving Marakkesh - but did use them for everything else. Our trip to the desert, our camel ride and night in the berber tent and on to Fez for two nights. We really loved our driver/guide Zaid and our time in the desert was a highlight of our trip. I am happy to answer any other specific questions about blue men.

I am leaving next month and I am using Hassan from

http://www.anaam-tours-maroc.com/en,1,3640.html

He has been incredible at a time when every other agent was doubling their rates for holiday season. It is a small start-up agency . Hasaam worked relentlessly to find accomodations for the desert portion of my trip. We are a couple and are hiring a private driver for 5 days through the desert from Fez to Marrakech. He arranged for the guide/driver and the accomodations for us to be picked up in Fez.
The rest of our trip we are in cities, so a full time guide is not needed.

We will most likely hire a 1/2 day guide locally.

His email is on the site if you are interested. He will customize anything you want and work with your budget.

I also contacted Blue Men of Morocco but found their rates to be very high for what was offered. Once again, peak travel time may have played a part in some of the exhorbitant quotes.

Loretta

Of course, you have yet to experience this particular guides' services. Let's hear from you when you get back to find out what your experience was!

Loretta
Did you find this guy surfing or was it a recommendation from someone who knows him/them?
Tahnks