Morocco

[turbo]

Okay, I think we're taking our kids (ages 8 and a lost 6) to Morocco next April for 10-12 days. I have a phone call with a travel agent to discuss on Tuesday morning. 

Any advice / tips on Morocco would be much appreciated.

Tagging wildrice since I think I saw you mention you just went to Morocco? 

[wildrice]

Yes! I was just there the week before last. We loved it! I'd be happy to share my itinerary in a PM if you want (it's a google doc).

We went to Marrakesh, Fez, and did a trip to the Sahara desert. I would not do our specific desert trip with kids - it was a lot of time in the car and I think they would have been bored while out there. But there are a lot of other options for getting into the desert that are closer than we went and would be fun for kids.

Marrakesh and Fez were both very worth visiting. We were not with children so I'm not sure if our specific activities would be useful to you or not, but I recommend a walking tour in each city (which I generally do anywhere in the world anyway) to get your bearings - they are kind of overwhelming at first with tons of people and narrow streets, so it's helpful to see them with a local and kind of figure out where you are and what's what. Definitely stay at a Riad - we did not and I regretted that, and since they typically have a pool I think that would be best for children.

Morocco is a great place and there are several other cities I would have loved to visit if we had time. You really could do a totally different trip than we did! If we go back someday I'd love to visit the coast and the blue city (which I won't attempt to spell here).

[turbo]

wildrice I’d love to peek your itinerary if you don’t mind PMing me.

I am so excited about Morocco from the little research I’ve done. I definitely have Fes and Marrakech on my short list and the desert as well but hopefully we can find something that isn’t two full days in the car. Will be very interested to hear what the travel agent I am speaking with tomorrow ends up recommending… but glad to hear you loved it!

[majesty318]

wildrice, I would love to see your itinerary also! We are going in December with our son who will be 4. Flying into Marrakesh and out of Casablanca, planning to spend 3 1/2 days in each place. Casablanca mostly for day trips.

[turbo]

Jun 12, 2024 8:38:49 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

wildrice, I would love to see your itinerary also! We are going in December with our son who will be 4. Flying into Marrakesh and out of Casablanca, planning to spend 3 1/2 days in each place. Casablanca mostly for day trips.

Would love to hear what you’re planning to do in both areas, as when we go next April my kids will be 5 and 8. I think I’m doing pretty good in the kid-friendly-plans department but if you’ve got any cool suggestions I am all ears.

[majesty318]

Jun 26, 2024 13:07:17 GMT -5 turbo said:

Jun 12, 2024 8:38:49 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

wildrice , I would love to see your itinerary also! We are going in December with our son who will be 4. Flying into Marrakesh and out of Casablanca, planning to spend 3 1/2 days in each place. Casablanca mostly for day trips.

Would love to hear what you’re planning to do in both areas, as when we go next April my kids will be 5 and 8. I think I’m doing pretty good in the kid-friendly-plans department but if you’ve got any cool suggestions I am all ears.

I would love to see your plans, too!

I am only just starting to work on this trip, so not too much set yet. I know we will go to a donkey sanctuary near Marrakech and to one of the markets near the Atlas Mountains (not sure which yet). And also a family hammam at Isis Spa (apparently allows even young kids - it's a package with hammam and massages for all).

In Casablanca, we are going to do day trips to Rabat and El Jadida.

I wanted to do a camel ride but now I am reading the camels are often mistreated so I don't want to support that.

[turbo]

Jul 3, 2024 8:41:21 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

Jun 26, 2024 13:07:17 GMT -5 turbo said:

Would love to hear what you’re planning to do in both areas, as when we go next April my kids will be 5 and 8. I think I’m doing pretty good in the kid-friendly-plans department but if you’ve got any cool suggestions I am all ears.

I would love to see your plans, too!

I am only just starting to work on this trip, so not too much set yet. I know we will go to a donkey sanctuary near Marrakech and to one of the markets near the Atlas Mountains (not sure which yet). And also a family hammam at Isis Spa (apparently allows even young kids - it's a package with hammam and massages for all).

In Casablanca, we are going to do day trips to Rabat and El Jadida.

I wanted to do a camel ride but now I am reading the camels are often mistreated so I don't want to support that.

These are some great suggestions - thank you!

We're planning a two week trip throughout Morocco so not sure how helpful this will be, but here's what we have:

Day 1 - arrive Casablanca in the afternoon - go straight to hotel and deal with jet lag
Day 2 - Transfer Casablanca to Fes after touring Hassan II Mosque. Stops at Meknes for wine tasting and lunch and then a tour of Volubilis en route. 
Day 3 - Fes - tour medina (visit tanneries) and do a drum-making workshop during the day. See other Fes sights. Do a meal with a local Moroccan family in their home in the evening to break the fast (we will be there over the tail end of Ramadan)
Day 4 - Transfer from Fes to the desert - long driving day out to Sahara
Day 5 - Sahara desert - ride a camel (supposedly these are ethically treated by the camp), sandboard, visit a local village to learn about Gnawa music, stargaze at night (timed it over a new moon period)
Day 6 - Transfer from Sahara to Skoura, stopping to look for fossils along the way and check out a few other things
Day 7 - Transfer from Skoura to the Atlas Mountains, with stops along the way
Day 8 - Atlas Mountains - do a trek (kids ride donkeys), visit a local Berber village 
Day 9 - Transfer from Atlas Mountains to Marrakech (may try to throw the donkey sanctuary in there - thank you for the suggestion!) - evening street food tour of the square 
Day 10 - Hot Air balloon ride over Marrakech in the morning; afternoon at leisure; evening tour of Marrakech by sidecar 
Day 11 - Tour medina and do an artisan activity there (like mosaic making or something my kids will enjoy); evening family photoshoot 
Day 12 - Tour Jardin Majorelle and YSL Museum and Berber Museum; afternoon free; evening cooking class or at leisure (TBD)
Day 13 - morning at leisure at hotel, transfer to airport for flight out of Morocco that afternoon

My kids will be 8 and almost 6 at the time of travel, so I'm hoping that a lot of the activities will appeal to them. Medina tours we will change up to make interesting and I think a lot of the other stuff should be neat... or it'll be a disaster. We will see.

[majesty318]

turbo, that all sounds awesome! I wanted to do Fes, but we only have a week, and it was going to be too much transport time.

I think we are going to do a guided tour to the Ourika Valley & Berber village. I am still trying to pick one that includes everything I want but doesn't cost an arm & a leg.

What food tour company are you going to use in Marrakech? I am considering that too

[sonrisa]

Late to the party but we did a one week trip in April or March a decade ago that we loved: marakesh, Fes and Meknes, traveling by rail between and staying in the medina in each. (And rail to/from the airport.) it was very easy to navigate on our own (no tour company), especially fes and Meknes. Marakesh was a bit more exhausting. I recommend a headscarf. It made a huge difference in how people interacted with me.