Beth Anderson

Hi all, <BR> <BR>I am starting to think about some winter travels. I think I might look into Morocco. I have never been anywhere in Africa or the Middle East, and I am in my early thirties, traveling alone. <BR> <BR>any general tips? I bought a Lonely Planet book last night. Do you think January is a good time to go? (cost v. weather) any tips for a woman traveling alone? things to NOT MISS? favorite hotels, beaches (I don't sunbathe but I would love to just walk along the shore - or ride a horse/camel) <BR> <BR>what were you favorite things about this country? or least favorite... <BR> <BR>I will only take 9-10 days for this trip. <BR> <BR>another option, and if you have thoughts about this: I could visit Spain, and take a ferry to Morocco - I wouldn't see that much of the country, probably only one city actually. which one should it be, if I do that? <BR> <BR>last but not least, are there any good tours you would recommend? Since this is my first time there and I would be traveling alone, maybe a tour would be a good idea? <BR> <BR>thanks for your time. <BR> <BR>Beth

Tom

Beth, I'm interested in your question as well. Right now, my family is planning to go to Israel around Feb 1, after visiting Egypt, we are now thinking we may have to skip Israel and are looking at Morocco. <BR> <BR>Tom

Gina

Hi Beth, <BR> <BR>Excited to report that I officially bought the Tunisia ticket on Thursday! Six full days in Rome, eight full days in Tunisia, from 20 January to 5 February. I'm hoping to have time to get down to the south at least for a couple of days (Douz and/or the Matmata area), but it may be difficult because there's so much to see in north central Tunisia. Does anybody here have any Tunisian perspectives? I know to skip touristy Hammamet, and I'm not particularly interested in the beach resorts anyway. How about the best way to get at least some sense of southern Tunisia with a minimum of time? <BR> <BR>Beth, good luck with Morocco. We should get together and compare planning notes!

jbrooks

Beth, January is one of the colder months in morocco, and can make land travel over the atlas mountains more difficult (although I hear they are very good about clearing roads after snow storms) but it is low tourist time and rates are better. I would not recommend ferrying over from spain since your likely destination will be tangiers. Instead, the heart of Morocco is Marrakesh or Fez. These are both inland but most people agree are "must sees" in Morocco. For 9 - 10 days, I would split my time in three ways, Fez for 3 nights, Marrekesh for 3 nights and end in Agadir, which is right on the beach and is suppose to have nice weather all year long for walking on the beach. Agadir is very touristy and not what many consider the "real" morocco. So you may want to do this first and then continue on into the heart of the country. I personally like ending on a beach. If you do not have to go to a beach, then start in Fez, and stay 3 nights visiting the oasis valley, the desert and gorges on route to marrakesh, ending there for another 3 or 4 nights. This will really give you a grand feel for morocco! You can rent a car with a driver from Fez to Marrakesh so you don't have to worry about where you are going and can look at the beautiful scenery! <BR> <BR>Good Luck!

ikram

Beth, you are a woman travelling alone? Do NOT go to Morocco. Women never, ever, "go it alone" there, whethter you are a tourist or not. Trust me, I've lived there and have family there. Unless you have a travelling mate (preferrably male) stay out of the Maghreb. If you MUST go, remember to dress very modestly, and that's whether you're alone or with someone as well.

ikram

Beth, by all means don't not go if you must go alone, I only want you to be aware of Moroccan men. It's very unlikely you will be physically harmed in any way, Moroccans are very much against any sort of physical contact with the opposite sex outside of marriage, and you shouldn't worry about any violence at all, Moroccans have a pretty defined "boundary zone". It 's that you may get a lot of marriage proposals! And try to keep your gaze downward, eye to eye contact is considered really vulgar. And be prepared for a grand culture shock! Yet you'll be very pleasantly surprised at how well you'll be treated by strangers. By all means e mail me if you have questions.

Kayla

I *really* wanted to go to Morocco. I am planning to travel alone. I'm currently dating a guy who is from Israel and he told me he thought I was being stupid. I ended up meeting a travel writer who recommended Egypt instead. Morocco is very pricy in comparison. I bought a ticket and with great trepidation, told the guy I'm dating that I was going to Egypt. I thought he'd have a negative reaction, but he said, "great". Moral of the story -- he thinks Morocco is a very dangerous place for a single female. He thinks Egypt is relatively safe, though not without its hassles. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps.

Kelly

I am a single female who has recently returned from traveling in Morocco by myself. I flew in and out of Marrakech and also traveled to Essaouria on the coast and then down to Taroudannt, to Ouarzazate and back to Marrakech. i had a great time and did not have any problems at all. Yes, the men can be persistant, but I also wore a wedding ring and told everyone I was married. Many many men will want to talk to you. Sometimes I chatted a bit, and if I didnt feel like it, or was done chatting I would politely tell them I was going to walk alone now and goodbye, and that worked just fine. It was a wonderful experience, and actually the first time I had traveled on my own. Yes, you need to be careful and have some common sense, but I always felt very safe. Please email me if you have any questions, and I also have photos and a travelogue for anyone that is interested at: <BR> <BR>http://www.advweb.com/kelly/morocco <BR> <BR>Go and have a great time! <BR>Kelly

Laura

Hi Beth! I took the ferry from Spain to Morocco back in February 1996 with my then husband. The ferry ride over was absolutely beautiful and very calm. We landed in Tangiers and then took an overnight train to Marrakech. For the most part people were very friendly but the first couple days we really had a lot of problems with people (men) approaching us asking us to pay them to be their tour guides. They were very, very persistent. I'm not sure why---we were relatively young, like 23 and 24, and we looked like foreigners which was a mistake on our part. We didn't dress scantily or anything like that, but we definitely didn't fit in dress-wise. If I went again, I would be sure to dress more like the locals. The constant harassment persisted for a couple days. We stayed in a nice hotel right by the big market in Marrakech and we ended up getting a guide through the hotel. We weren't bothered at all then. But then the next day, after they told us not to go out there alone without a guide, we decided to anyway. We just decided to look like we knew what we were doing and absolutely noone bothered us at all! We could'nt believe it! I guess it was mostly at Tangiers where they saw us getting off the ferry and then initially in Marrakech. But that last day there was very pleasant. Now the ferry ride back though was probably the scariest time in my life! I had heard it could get bad in there, but the waves were so high, higher than I've ever seen and I've been on boats my whole life, our huge ferry was getting thrown around like it was tiny! Chairs, glasses, people, trash cans--everything was getting thrown around everywhere. The bathroom stall doors were coming off their hinges, part of the top of the ship came off and a couple buses on the bottom of the ship actually tipped over and were sliding back and forth. <BR>An American group apparently had been using those buses and a couple went down there afterwards to videotape the damage for insurance purposes. I didn't think I was going to survive. Anyway, my point I guess is, is that I would be aware of weather conditions if you decide to do the ferry thing during January and also I would be weary of going alone as a female. I never felt as though any male would hurt me there, it was just quite an experience. If you have any questions, you can email me privately or on here if you would like. Laura

Beth Anderson

HI all, <BR> <BR>How surprised I am to see my old post come up - as it turns out, I was not able to get tickets for the dates I needed - now, I am heading to VENICE. woohooo! can't wait. <BR> <BR>please add info, help out others headed that way - and I do hope to get to Morocco in 2001. Thank you for all your help... <BR> <BR>Beth <BR> <BR>ps. Fodor's you are GREAT!! You have made several addicts out of your website I must say... <BR> <BR