Morocco is an incredible place which offered us a wide variety of experiences, both in terms of landscapes and culture. Our trip spanned the blue city of Fes, chaotic & colourful Marrakesh, the extreme experience of the Sahara dessert, the heights of the second highest mountain in Northern Africa and finally the laid back surfer town of Taghazout. Looking back it was one of our most exotic and wide ranging trips with a little bit of everything. It certainly sticks out as one of our top adventures.
Planning
This was one of our most packed itineraries for any trip. If we were to do it again we’re not sure if we would have packed it as tightly as we did. However, it did make for an amazing set of experiences.
We choose to fly in and out of Casablanca. Our routing took us through Paris and it was a long travel day with the overnight flight from Canada. The itinerary is listed below:
We used a variety of tour operators when in Morocco. The first week required a lot of driving and coordination of activities. We used Morocco Explored for the first week of the trip since we were visiting Fes, the Sahara and Ait Benhaddou. It was a lot of driving and we’re glad we had the guided tour. Morocco Explored services were good, our guide was friendly and knowledgeable, the vehicle was clean and relatively new and our accommodations were nice.
In the second part of the trip we got into some our favourite activities, hiking and surfing with a stop in Marrakech in the middle. The hike up Mt. Toubkal (4,167m) was our a serious climb, at least for us and and the kids and having some time afterwards in Marrakech was a good break. It was great to finish the trip with some beach and surf time.
Fes
Fes was our first experience of Morocco and it was overwhelming and incredible at the same time. Fes’ medina is a labyrinth of narrow streets has hundreds of tiny shops as well as a leather tannery. The tiny shops have an array of goods including leather and pottery. We had a guided tour of medina which was very informative. The leather tannery was part of the tour. The vats for dying the leather were in the middle of the medina and a must see, be prepared though for the strong smells coming from the tannery.
Volubilis and a Local Market
Volubilis is an ancient Roman city built as a trading doorway into Africa. It’s a very rustic set of Roman ruins compared to other sites we’ve visited (i.e. Athens, Ephesus). There wasn’t a lot of tourists and we could wander over the large grounds.
We also stopped at a local market along the road where people from the surrounding area were gathering. It was an assault on the senses in a good way and we got a glimpse into the lives of people in the area.
Sahara (Erg Chebbi)
The Sahara is one of our all time memorable vacation experiences. However, we weren’t prepared for the endless sand dunes combined with the temperature extremes. Our tour company arranged for us to take camels into the dessert to a nomad camp. While waiting for the trip to depart the kids played in the sand dunes by the hotel which was a big mistake. Our eldest daughter got overheated. She cooled down before the trek started but this would come back to bite us later. The guides recommended lots of water. We had all of our water bottles full, however we underestimated the amount of water we’d need which didn’t help the situation with Daughter #1 later on.
The camel trek into the dessert was awesome. Our guides were talkative and made the journey very enjoyable. At one point they let Daughter #2 lead the camel train. We got a picture of her leading the camel progression which is one of our top vacation photos.
Once we arrived at the dessert camp we explored the nearby dunes. This included a climb to the top of the highest dune closest to the camp. We were rewarded with a view of, what seemed like, a never ending sea of sand. The climb didn’t do Daughter #1 any help though and she started exhibiting signs of heat stroke. By this time we had consumed most of our water. Others in our group helped us with water but we were getting concerned.
Dinner was next and it was get good except for the presence of a scorpion just outside of the dinner circle. Thankfully our guide took care of the scorpion by trapping it in a jar and taking it away. Daughter #1 continued to feel sick through dinner and had to lie down afterwards. We were concerned as well as our Nomad guide. He used some dessert nomad techniques to help calm her stomach, one technique involved rubbing orange on her stomach. It seemed to help. He also left the camp in the dark to get some additional water from a neighboring camp. We were very appreciative of all that he did for us that evening as Daughter #1 did start to feel better and we were able to relax.
The night was clear and relatively warm so we slept outside with a clear view of the stars. Without all of the light pollution typical of cities we had an amazing view of the sky. We awoke early the next morning to see the sunrise. It was incredible to see the sun rising over the dunes and we got another set of amazing photos. The ride out was uneventful and we rested for the remainder of the day and the next.
The Sahara is one of our most memorable vacation experiences, both because of our mistakes with Daughter #1 and the landscape.
Nomads, Ait Benhaddo & Glaoui kasbah
The next part of our tour would bring us back to Marrakech and featured a number of stops. All of these stops would stand out in a normal trip but Morocco was a trip filled with highlights so these didn’t stand out as much as they should.
- Nomad Family Visit – Our guide took us 10km off the main road along a dusty trail to visit a family of Nomads who were living out of a cave. The family moves around and had been sheltering in this cave for about 3 months and letting their sheep graze. The family consisted of a Mom, Dad, 2 daughters, a son and a baby. The father had gone off to market for the day so we didn’t see him. The market was a 10km walk each way so it was a full day to walk there and back. The mother made tea for us while the baby slept on the cave floor in a blanket. The daughters were out gathering water while we were there, we passed them while driving in. The son, was tending to the sheep, but came back for lunch while we were visiting. The visit was quite the reality check for us as this families way of living differed so much from ours.
- Ait Benhaddo – Ait Benhaddo is a UNESCO World Hertitage site and is visually impressive. It is a ksar which is a group of earthen buildings surrounded by high walls. The ksar is a traditional pre-Saharan habitat and an example of Moroccan earthen clay architecture. It is situated along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in present-day Morocco.
- Glauoi Kasbah – This Kasbah is along the former caravan route from the Sahara to Marrakech. This once beautiful palace now stands crumbling to ruins because no one wants to remember “the vulture” sultan and his son “Thami” who lived here until the 1950’s. A nice stop along our journey but not a site to see unless it’s on your route.
Jebel Toubkal
Mt. Toubkal (4,167m) was the start of the second part of our trip. We had finished our tour with Morocco Explored and now were heading into the mountains, this time to hike. Jebel Toubkal is highest peak in the Atlas mountain range and in Northern Africa. It’s a popular trekking destination and one that we thought the kids could handle. We choose Aztat Treks to guide us up and down the mountain on a three day itinerary. The first day would take us to base camp, in the second we would summit and return to base camp and on the third we would trek out.
We had an english speaking guide as well as two muleteers which carried our food and tents. The trekking the first day was moderate. The trail was well marked and our guide paced us well. The food provided by the Muleteers was excellent and our base camp was quite comfortable. The camp was close to a refuge where we had access to facilities which was nice.
The next day was summit day, up to the summit from base camp and then back down. The climb was much harder than the day before as we had to climb through several challenging areas at altitude including:
- Boulder Field – Not sure of the right term for this but the initial part of the ascent was through a boulder field. Some of the rocks in this area were massive and required some scrambling.
- Scree Field – After the boulder field we climbed through a valley which included some scree fields. The scree fields were all about 2 steps forward and 1 step back. For us it was challenging in this area due to altitude and the kids. The kids could handle physically but mentally it was challenging to keep our younger daughter on a positive mindset. The scree field was actually harder on the way down.
- Final Ascent – The final ascent was some of the easier climbing, we were just tired for the final stage.
The view from the top of Jebel Toubkal was incredible and re-enforced our love of the mountains. The descent to our base camp took just as long as the ascent due to challenges in the scree field. The final day was the trek out which was the easiest part of the trek.
Marrakesh
Marrakesh is one of the wildest places that we’ve ever visited, it was a shock to all of us even after being in Morocco for over a week. It has an old fortified city at it’s center, or medina, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. At the center of the medina is the world famous square – Jamaa El Fna. The Medina and square are a must see or must experience. The medina, similar to Fes, was a labyrinth of narrow streets and shops. It’s fun just to wander and experience the sights and smells. Jamaa El Fna was like a circus of activities, there were performers including snake charmers, food stalls and shops. We highly recommend spending time there soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the street food.
In addition to the Medina we’d recommend checking out the Mellah and the Palacio da Bahia. The Mellah is an area which was once home to the Jewish population. The palace is a museum that is nice to wander through.
Taghazout/Tamraght
Our final stop on this trip was Taghazout for some beach time and surfing. We wanted to end the trip with a few days on the beach and had never surfed before. Little did we know before booking the trip how well known Morocco was for surfing and there are some great breaks around Taghazout. There weren’t as many accommodations in Taghazout so we stayed in the nearby village of Tamraght. We used Surf Maroc to guide us for the surfing. They were great and we took 2 full days of instruction. It was a great few days on some very sandy beaches.
Magic Moment
This was one of our most action packed trips and there were so many moments to choose from. However, the Sahara stands out. The morning after spending the night under the open sky we watched the sun rise over the dunes. It was a moment that was hard to describe and certainly a magical experience.
