firenz

We are heading to Morocco for 10 days from Barcelona in May. Then we head back to the United States. We're trying to decide on the logistics of this trip. A few questions:
Should we fly into Casablance? It seems like we will be flying out of there to return home so does it make sense for us to leave that city til the end?
We are not keen on using public transportation and toting lugggage so a driver might be necessary between cities. We're not sure about driving ourselves from place to place. We'd like your thoughts on that. We are not hikers and we don't need to ride a camel in the dessert (did that in Egypt). We prefer to in nice hotels/riads, travel on our own with a guide in each locale... but without a tour group. For some reason, this trip seems to be difficult for me to organize. Any help on the itinerary would be so helpful. Thanks in advance for your help.

tripplanner001

To fly direct from the U.S. to Morocco, Casablanca is the only option. From Casablanca there are flights to other cities but depending on where you are going a train may be easier. You can also transit through a major European hub if you prefer.

Other than the desert, highlights in Morocco, in my mind, are Fez and Marrakesh as well as the Atlas Mountains. What are your interests? As always this would influence what we suggest.

Riads are the way to go in Morocco. You won’t have that anywhere else, well almost. Riads range in prices from affordable to expensive just as you would find hotels.

Hiring a car with driver is common in Morocco. You can arrange it with an agency or as a hotel where you’re staying.

Michael

We spent about 10 days in Morocco in 1993. Some things do not change, others surely do. Coming from France, we landed in Marrakesh and travel by train to Meknès and Fez, returning to Marrakesh to fly back to Paris by long distance bus. The train was a little old and still had compartments, the bus was new and travel was similar to first class bus between cites in Mexico. We had a guide during our stay in Meknès who took us to Roman ruins and Moulay Idriss. Our other outings were on our own (Azrou and Sefrou) but I am sure that guides are available for these outings. We did not do the coast or the desert. You probably could hire a car to take you from city to city, and the tourist agency or your hotel could probably help you find a car and driver.

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suzyg

Karaoui Salam of Moroccan Family Tours was the BEST driver/guide one could possibly have. You can fly into Marrakech and depart from Casablanca. Karaoui can arrange to pick you up and tailor a personal tour exactly for your needs.

TimCullis

May is a great time to visit Morocco as the countryside and mountains are so green at that time of year. Seeing as you are NOT flying from the US, but from Barcelona, then I would definitely plan to fly into Marrakech or Fez.

There's not a great deal of internal flights, largely because the distances don't make sense (by the time you've allowed for airport security and check-in). The train network is rather limited with Casablanca as the hub, so to travel, for example, from either Fez or Tanger to Marrakech entails going via Casablanca.

Riads are traditional Moroccan houses built around an atrium that's open to the sky, with a tiny courtyard at ground level with fruit trees and fountain (riad means garden). These traditional houses are only found in the medina parts of cities.

As for an itinerary, I'd advise against Chefchaouen as it's so difficult to get to (unless you are already nearby). Marrakech is definitely worth three days, you could have a couple of days with an overnight at Imlil in the High Atlas 90 minutes to the south of Marrakech, then perhaps three days (two overnights) at Essaouira, then off to view Casablanca before flying home.

firenz

Thank you so much for all your answers and advice. I am planning with Moroccan Family Tours. It all sounds wonderful!

progol

firenz, I don’t know if you had a chance to look at my trip report, but we also had Salem Karaoui as our driver and guide. You might enjoy looking at my report as it might give you an idea of many of the regions.

Morocco, A Visual Journey