I have always wanted to visit Morocco now it is happening with my 3 dear friends. We are 2 Turkish, 1 Chinese and 1 Saudi Arabian (we were lucky to have a native Arabic speaker because in some places it is difficult to communicate in English). Our itinerary is Fez-Chefchauen-Marrakech-Merzouga-Fez. After landing on Fez airport we rented a car throughout our journey (we payed 240€ for 7 days and full coverage from Avis). Our car was a Dacia Dokker and it was enough to pass through the desert starting from Merzouga. Morocco is a very different destination for me therefore, I have checked the private tours and the blogs that the people done similar trips privately before the trip. We mostly decided to stay in Riads,  that are the local guesthouses. They also offer local breakfasts, so it is a good opportunity to experience the local lifestyles rather than staying in the hotels.

Here is the details of our journey. I will explain everything day by day.

1st night: We landed on Fez (Fès–Saïs Airport) at 10 pm after 3 hours flight from Bremen. We spent the night in “maison famille tazi”  hotel in Fez (we payed 44 € for 2 rooms incl. breakfast). It was a nice family operated local guesthouse.

2nd day: We started to our day with a great breakfast in the terrace of the guesthouse. Then, we left early because we had an unknown way to drive towards to the desert. After leaving the guesthouse we directly headed to Chefchauen (blue pearl of Morocco) by leaving Fez on behind of us for visiting on the last day of our journey . It took 3.5 hrs to reach Chefchauen (200 km), because of the mountain roads. At first we followed the navigation of iPhone but we realized that it is not functioning properly. This was the first lesson we took in Morocco, after getting so many times confused on the roads. Then we used Google maps or even common sense to find out our way which worked out. The road was very twisted but  it was a very nice journey though. We managed to reach Chefchauen at 2 pm. We only had that afternoon and the other day morning. This is a very beautiful picturesque small town painted in all kinds of blue. It has been thought that this blue color tradition comes from the Jews that settled in the town. In the Jewish tradition they think it blue color reminds the skies and God.  That’s why they like blue color this much, after them the Muslim territory also painted in blue. There are several theories about this like to keep mosquitos away, keep the places cool and attract the tourists. Everybody tells a different story about this. The main attraction in Chefchauen is taking photos, enjoying the local culinary and artisan shops. I suggest buying presents here because the quality and the way of behavior of people here is better than the other places in Morocco. In this town we stayed in a very cozy Riad  called “dar Touijar” for 43 € included breakfast for 4 people. The rooms were very nice and the staff was really helpful.

3rd day (20th): We spend the entire morning enjoying Chefchauen and relax. In the afternoon we headed From Chefchauen to Marrakech: It is 570 km highway and it took around 6 hours including a couple of small pauses. The highway is quite good. With respect to the drivers within the cities, drivers in the highway are mostly respectful to the rules. We reached Marrakech at around 9 pm. And we got another lesson here. In this place it is hard to find some address with GPS . One kid offered help to us. We knew that when he help we need to give him money of course. But when we reached our riad many other kids came to take money from us and we did not give money to the others and our place was just near to the palace so we went to the police and complained about them and they just escaped. It’s the other lesson we learned from this visit is that do not accept help offers, try to find your way on your own. We stayed 2 nights in Marrakech. We stayed in ‘Riad Quarter des Palais’. The place and the rooms are very nice. But after experiencing Marrakech unless you are a crowded group, it is better to stay inside the walls of the city in Marrakech.

4th day (21st) : Today we enjoyed Marrakesh and it’s main highlights. This city  has been one of the major centers in the country for centuries. The city was founded by Berberis in 11 th century. It has gone through Andalusian influence in 13th century. City is known as the “red city”. In this city most amazing attractions are the narrow souks, night market, bazaars and squares. You will experience distinct lifestyles in the city. I bet you have not seen this colorful artisan shops before unless you have been to south America or India. I personally experienced one of the most interesting things in my life in the squares; snake charmer. I was always afraid to see this and I did it. Still I don’t like it. Both due to the animal rights and my frightening of snakes. In general everybody says that ‘one either fall in love with Morocco or absolutely hate it, there is not any in between’. As I am considering to visit the country again, I assume I like it. This country is still very authentic in parallel to this it is harder to be there compared with visiting European countries of course. This is what I expected.

It is also a nice attraction to enjoy a horse carriage ride in the city, it takes around 1 hour and you would see the city walls and gate.

Marrakesh and its main highlights:

Djemaa el-Fna: it is the main square of the city. The meaning of the name of the place is assembly place of nobodies. This is one of the most chaotic places I have seen. There are many acrobats, snake charmer, storytellers, fortune tellers and musicians. The rooftop restaurant and cafes surrounding the square offers a nice view of the square, drink a mint tea is always a good choice here, be careful about the sugar, order it without sugar.

Koutoubia mosque : This is one of the most important landmarks of Marrakech. Its 70 meters minaret dominates the silhouette of the city. It is also one of the oldest buildings in the city. Non Muslims are not allowed to visit the mosque.

Medersa Ben Youssef : it is originally built under non-Muslim reign but in 16 th century it has been renovated and served as a Islamic school for centuries.

Bahia Palace : it was built-in 19 th century and served as the residence for grand vizier (assistant of sultan).

Majorelle gardens : Marrakech’s most famous garden dates back to the French painter Jacques Majorelle, who described himself as a garden artist. One part of the garden contains a bamboo forest and an arid garden with cactus from all over the world. Especially the colorful Bougainvilleas are very nice.

Saadian Tombs

5th day (22nd): Today we have to drive 350 km. It will approximately take six hours. We left the city early in the morning to enjoy the desert region. Our itinerary for this day is ; marrakesh-Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – skoura – Dades Gorge Valley.

From Marrakesh to Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou: 185 km. Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou is a UNESCO heritage Site and an open movie studio. This is one of the places that influenced me most. Several most recent movies filmed here are; The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Alexander (2004), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Babel (2006), One Night with the King (2006), Prince of Persia (2010), Son of God (film) (2014).

From Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou to Ouarzazate: 30 km. It is known as the door of the desert, desert starts from the south of the town.

From Ouarzazate to Skoura: 40 km. Skoura is one of Morocco’s beautiful oases and it offers weary travellers a chance to rest their weary feet and enjoy the abundance of nature.

From Skoura to Dades Gorge: 90 km. Accommodation in Dades Gorge Valley in a Kasbah ait Kassi.  This place is once a small summer palace. The food they served and the atmosphere was amazing. We stayed in a big room with a campfire and enjoyed it very much. In warmer seasons it would be even nicer. But in our season it was cold. Especially in the desert region the difference in temperatures between day and night-time is too high. It is 25-27 Celsius degrees in daytime under the sun while it drops to 0 -5 degrees at night.

6th day (23rd): Start the day in the Kasbah with a good breakfast. We left the kasbah for Merzouga.

From Dades Gorge to Merzouga: 275 km, four hours of driving. The village Merzouga is known for its proximity to Erg Chebbi, a Saharan erg, and it is for this reason a part of the itineraries of many tourists visiting Morocco. There are two Dunes in Moroccan part of Sahara and Erg Chebbi is the easiest to reach and that’s why we visited Merzouga. We did not arrange our camel tour and accommodation before coming here. When we finally reach the place first we went to Beriberi tents to make a deal for camel tour and accommodation. We managed to make a deal after some negotiations. We made a sunset camel tour, we stayed in a tent camp in erg Chebbi and we came back to Merzouga by 4×4, we ate a good dinner and nice breakfast in our camp and we payed 60 € per person. If you negotiate more you may find better price but we did not have energy and time for that. After a good lunch, they pick up us and we went to the place that our camels were waiting for us.  It was 1 hour camel ride in the sunset to our camp. For me it was not so comfortable riding the camel because I had the tallest one. Our camp consists of several berberi tents. There is light till 11 pm then they cut the electricity. We bought wine for this dinner, because we are celebrating our birthdays. After the dinner we meet around the campfire and our hosts started to play some instruments and sing. They also tell some stories about the region. It was a very interesting night, one of the nights I will remember forever. Afterwards we went into the desert, we laid down and watch the stars. Before visiting Morocco I had seen the pictures of the sky and I thought they would have done some photoshop on it. Eventually that night I discovered they did not. There is no word to describe that sky. In the middle of desert without any light, you see all the galaxy, every each star like they are very close. It is just amazing. It is freezing cold there at night but still I was very thankful on having that experience. After coming back to the camp we directly went our tents and even we have 3 heavy blankets, we still got cold all night.

7th day (24th): After an early breakfast, we turned back to Merzouga with 4×4. From Merzouga we headed back to Fez and we drove for 8 hours  and 470 km. This was the hardest day in terms of driving hours. At least the scenery was good. After that long hours on the way and stay in the tent camp we agreed to stay in a good hotel. We stayed in ibis Fez for a total of 80 €.

8th day (25th): today we had only the morning to discover Fez, because our return ticket is at 14:05. Fez is the third biggest city in Morocco. It lies between the fertile Saïs plain and the woods of the middle Atlas. İt is the oldest of the royal cities, is considered the spiritual and religious capital of the country and was declared a world heritage by UNESCO. the city was founded in late 8th century. The most popular attractions in the city are walking through souks, visiting the tannery, walking through the jewish quarter, taking the photos in the golden gates of the palace. Be careful about the smell while visiting the tannery. Main Highlights;

Madrasa Bou Inania : this is one of the few buildings that non Muslims can also visit. It was built-in 1350 by Sultan Abu Inan and is the only Quran school that has both minbar and minarets.

Karaouine Mosque : it was the first university in Morocco, now functions as a mosque. If you are non-Muslim, you cannot visit all.

Madrasa Al Attarine : this is an admiring sample of Moorish architecture. This was the home for the university students once. It offers a spectacular view of Karaouine Mosque from rooftop.

We managed to these in half day, it is much or less the most of the city. We all were very satisfied from th trip. We glad we made it by car, otherwise we could not done the half of the trip in 7 days. If you have limited time and travelling within a group, I suggest you renting a car.

What to buy from morocco?

From Morocco you could buy argan oil, rose oil, spice and natural soaps.

What to eat?

Brioutte, couscous, pastille, harira, tajine, lamb

what to do in general?

Enjoy food, walk through old city and labyrinth like bazaars, enjoy hammams and baths, take photos.

Stay in camps located in the sand dunes. At night go outside of the camp and watch the sky, this is a very exceptional experience, do not miss it.

Ride camels in the sunrise or sunset.

Tips:

• To drive in the desert, you don’t need a 4×4.
• Do not accept help when they offer.
• Do not interact too much with insistent sellers.
• Keep in mind, it is better to stay in the center.
• Keep in mind from November to March, it is very cold in the desert at nights. Bring some thermal staff.
• Desert is not what you see in the movies like sand dunes are spread over the entire desert region. However, desert is the name of the entire arid and non-green territory including a small portion of sand dunes
• If you visit the tannery, be careful about the smell.

How much did we spend?

We did very much of everything, we ate a lot and for 8 days 7 nights trip we spend around 360 € including flight tickets, car rental, gas and everything.

Enjoy Morocco and your holiday! Keep travelling and keep exploring..