Morocco or Turkey in Oct

[onthemove]

We would like to take a trip next Oct, and have it narrowed down to Turkey or Morocco. We have about 9 days, and are looking for at least a semi-active trip, but don't necessarily want to be moving between places each day. We might be ok with driving ourselves around, but again not every day.

Anyone have any recommendations for where to go or what to see, or is October not a good idea for either place? 

[wanderlustfoodie]

I'm in the middle of a 12 day trip in morocco. When I'm back in January I will report back with details. I've also been to turkey but just Istanbul and Ephesus which were both amazing but like @sfgal530 I'd love to see cappadoccia too.

[GilliC]

We spent 10 days in Turkey, and I think it was a little short. We visited Istanbul and Cappadocia comfortably (plus one day in Ankara), but we didn't get a chance to visit Ephesus or do a Blue Cruise.

Cappadocia can get quite cold in the winter, but I think October is the tail end of fall. You'd definitely need a coat for the mornings and evenings, but it should be well above freezing during the day.

(I have yet to visit Morocco, so no comment.)

[frlcb]

I have been to both, but only Istanbul in Turkey and only Marrakech in Morocco. We really liked both, we honeymooned in Morocco so it probably holds a more special place in my heart, but I thought Istanbul was amazing. We were in Turkey in November and it was really cold, it snowed, and Morocco in January, and the weather was perfect. I would love to see Cappadocia.

[scout8]

I have only been to Turkey. I think we were there about 10 days and we went to Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus. If you only have time for two, then I would focus on Istanbul & Cappadocia. We were there in late November and had decent weather, but I think we got lucky. It was really chilly at night in Cappadocia, but nice during the day. Keep in mind that I live in Chicago where it is 1 today, so my view of cold may be skewed.

[Deleted]

We traveled to Morocco as part of a southern Spain trip a few years ago. We only saw Tangier and parts of the surrounding Atlantic and Mediterranean coast, but I LOVED it and can't wait to go back. The culture, the landscape, the food, the people. It was so lovely. We went in mid September and the weather was great. Tangier's tourist scene is still growing, which made it hospitable without being too well traveled. Cap Spartel was a fun day trip, but we spent most days exploring the souk and eating. Lol. Oh and trips to the hammam are a must.

[sicilygirl]

We were just in Istanbul in late November and early December, and the weather was pretty pleasant. Definitely not too cold. It ranged mid-forties to low-sixties.

[mam677]

We did Istanbul and the Cappadocia region late October/early November last year. The weather was great in both places. I do remember that their Republic Day occurred while we were there and it was crazy busy all over Istanbul so you may want to avoid that time period.

[Champagne Supernova]

I went to Istanbul this past October and the weather was perfect to me. It was sunny and I think the temps were in the low 60s. I thought it was going to be too hot to wear jeans but it wasn't bad at all.

Oh and it's definitely still busy around that time of the year. We had a 20 minute wait to get inside the Blue Mosque and it was packed inside.

[monpetitchou]

We went to Morocco and loved it. I'd recommend Marrakesh and/or Fez. We also did a private 4-day(?) tour through the Atlas mountains to the Sahara and back. I thought that was such an easy way to see a beautiful part of the country. I can PM you the company name if you want it.

[Mushe]

We did Tangier and Marrakech as part of a larger trip, and fell in love with the country and the people. However, we kept remarking that we were so glad we weren't driving there! It's where our (then 20-month old) son learned to say "beep beep" and that he needed to hold on to mom when we were in a cab.

That being said, I don't think you can go wrong with either place. I'd pick one, and keep the other on your bucket list!

[Deleted]

I want to go to Turkey, but out of all my travels Morocco has been my favorite place. We flew into Marrakech and stayed in Essaouira on the beach for 4 days and then went into the Atlas mountains hiking for a few days.

[Deleted]

Dec 30, 2013 17:54:19 GMT -5 Mushe said:

We did Tangier and Marrakech as part of a larger trip, and fell in love with the country and the people. However, we kept remarking that we were so glad we weren't driving there! It's where our (then 20-month old) son learned to say "beep beep" and that he needed to hold on to mom when we were in a cab.

That being said, I don't think you can go wrong with either place. I'd pick one, and keep the other on your bucket list!

I was very happy we had drivers in Morocco. Partly because they gave us lots of insight to culture and things we were seeing, but also because OMG you have to dodge donkeys while driving. 

[Deleted]

Dec 31, 2013 13:34:34 GMT -5 @septimus said:

Dec 30, 2013 17:54:19 GMT -5 Mushe said:

We did Tangier and Marrakech as part of a larger trip, and fell in love with the country and the people. However, we kept remarking that we were so glad we weren't driving there! It's where our (then 20-month old) son learned to say "beep beep" and that he needed to hold on to mom when we were in a cab.

That being said, I don't think you can go wrong with either place. I'd pick one, and keep the other on your bucket list!

I was very happy we had drivers in Morocco. Partly because they gave us lots of insight to culture and things we were seeing, but also because OMG you have to dodge donkeys while driving. 

And goats!

[wanderlustfoodie]

Hey onthemove, just wanted to follow up on this now that I'm back from 2 weeks in Morocco. We had a great time. Flew into Casablanca, then stopped by mosque en route to Rabat, saw sights in Rabat, then spent 3 days in Fes, including a day trip to Meknes/Volubilis. Fes was very interesting. The medina streets are so tiny and it's the largest urban area without electric transportation (just donkeys). Then en route to Marrakech, we did a four day trip through the desert which was amazing and diverse. A highlight was taking a camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes, stopping to watch the sunset, getting to our tent, having a delicious dinner of chicken tagine with vegetables and preserved lemon prepared by our cameleer, falling asleep under the stars, getting up for sunrise over the dunes, then camel trekking back to town. And Marrakech was a terrific way to end the trip, fantastic shopping.

We loved all our riads, particularly in Marrakech and Fes. The food was fantastic. Happy to answer any additional questions. Turkey was great, too, and we'd love to go back to explore more of the country, so I don't really think you can go wrong either way here.

[onthemove]

Thanks for all the insight ladies! I'm not sure if you have made our decision easier or harder! Either way it sounds like we can't go wrong, one the decision is made, I"m sure I will be back for more details.