Marrakesh, Morocco
Morocco is probably one of the coolest, most unique countries I have ever been to, so this might be a long one. Back in September 2022, right at the end of my trip to Lagos, Portugal, I flew from Lisbon to Marrakech, Morocco with 3 friends. None of us had ever been to Morocco so we had absolutely no idea what to expect.
When we arrived at the airport, we had a driver from our accommodation, Riad Karmela (linked here and booked through Hotels.com), waiting to take us to our hotel. Riad Karmela is located in Old Medina about 10 minute walk from the big square (Jemaa el-Fnaa). To ensure this post isn’t a million words long, I made a separate post about Riad Karmela (linked here) and I promise it’s worth reading because this place was stunning, and very affordable.
And now for the fun part! When planning this trip, GetYourGuide.com was basically my best friend and when I say our schedule was PACKED, I mean it. Our first full day started with Jardin Majorelle (pictured below, to learn more click here), I’d definitely recommend buying tickets in advance! It’s very easy to do so on their website and you get to skip the line and walk right in. As someone who loves art and nature, this was a very cool experience you don’t want to miss!
The second part of our day consisted of a night food tour at Marrakech’s famous souks (souk is an arab market/bazaar) that we of course, booked through GetYourGuide.com (linked here). For ~$44 per person you get about 3.5 hours with a guide who walks you through the souks and explains the history of the place as well as stops at various shops for samples! The samples as well as a traditional Moroccan dinner at the end are all included in the price. We got to try freshly made bread, olives, snails (for those who were brave enough), and a bunch more! This was a great opportunity to learn more about the food culture in Marrakech and would recommend this to anyone.
Our second day was a full-day desert and mountain tour where we got to ride a camel and visit a local Berber village. At the time we visited, this experience (linked here) was ONLY $29 for a 9 hour day with lunch and hotel pickup included!! This genuinely blew my mind. This day was absolutely incredible! Once we got picked up from our hotel, we drove through the desert to our first destination - the camel ride through the Agafay Desert. Getting on and off that camel was a lot scarier than you’d think but it was such a fun experience! After that we stopped by an argan oil production facility and learned all about the production and significance or argan oil in the Moroccan culture; we even got to try samples of it with some fresh bread! We later got back in the car and headed to a stopping point where we got out and hiked up to a beautiful waterfall and ended up at Tinirt Village where we had a delicious tagine lunch at a traditional Berber house. To learn about this experience in greater detail, check out my post about Marrakesh recommendations (will be linked here soon).
Day three consisted of two separate activities. The first was a tour of the Bahia Palace. Bahia Palace a mid to late 19th-century palace in Marrakesh that beautifully captures the Islamic and Moroccan style of the time and was even used as a royal residence in the early 1900s. At the time, this experience (linked here) cost about $30 per person and it lasted about 4 hours. Our guide was very kind and gave us a tour of some of the nearby souks at no extra cost.
The second part of the day was probably one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had in my life. We went quad biking in the Jbilets Desert! This experience (linked here and at the time cost just $30 per person) is located just outside of Marrakesh and includes hotel pickup and drop-off. It took about 30 minutes to get to the desert and once we got there we were given simple instructions and safety precautions and then we headed out to get our helmets and bikes. Our group of 4 got our own guide which made the whole experience feel very private. With stops to see an ancient structure, palmeraie, and a quick tea and snack break, this whole thing lasted about two hours.
It felt like one of situations in which you are very aware you are creating core memories, especially with that absolutely UNREAL sunset we got to witness. And it was even more intense in real life. I genuinely cannot recommend this enough and we would have done it again if we had some extra time on our trip.
Last but not least, for our fourth full day which was unfortunately our last day, we booked an experience called Ouzoud Waterfalls Guided Hike and Boat Trip (linked here). This was another tour that I just do not understand how it was so CHEAP. For a full 10 hour day with snacks and tea included we only paid $20 per person!!. Unreal. Lunch was not included but was only an additional $10 in cash.
After about a 3 hours drive with a short break in the middle, we arrived at the top of the Ouzoud Waterfalls. The view looking down was absolutely stunning, and it got even better once we started walking and saw the actual waterfalls. We started hiking down the path with our guide and saw tons of monkeys (including a baby monkey) on the way! We made it about 3/4 of the way down to a gorgeous viewpoint where we got to take a break and admire the breathtaking views. Once we got to the bottom we got on these boats that you can see in some of the pictures below and they took us almost to the waterfall itself!
At the end of the boat ride we got dropped off at the opposite end of the river and had to climb up some stairs to our lunch spot that overlooked the waterfalls, and once again, the view was unreal. We had some tajine while admiring our surroundings and then we headed back to the buses to take us back to our Riad.
Needless to say, our schedule was PACKED for this trip to Marrakesh, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. It was one of the most incredible trips I’ve been on and I couldn’t recommend it enough. I’ll slowly but surely be posting more lengthy, individual posts for each activity but until then, check out my other destination articles!
Much love,
Maya.