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I celebrated my 21st birthday with university friends in Morocco and it was pretty awesome. We have been laughing and reminiscing about our short trip to Marrakesh, Morocco for the past few days. Marrakesh is such a vibrant city with beautiful architecture, delicious food and a recurring theme of colour, culture and community. We stayed at the stunning Blue Sea Marrakech Ryads Parc & Spa for 4 nights.




We began our holiday by exploring, shopping and walking through the busy streets of Medina while attempting our haggling skills. Wandering through the different souks as well as a spice souk tour.
Some of the landmarks we visited were Jemaa el-Fnaa and Koutoubia Mosque. Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakesh’s main square is where you experience the hustle and bustle of the city with many people stopping by to be entertained by snake charmers, storytellers and dancers. You can also purchase the best freshly squashed orange juice I have ever tasted and got some lovely henna done.





Wearing the traditional jellaba and turban while camel riding in the desert. We were also fed with lunch and Maghrebi mint tea courtesy of the friendly Berber locals.



Our last few days were spent travelling to Ourika, dangerously hiking through Ourika valley to see the Seven waterfalls of Setti Fatma while spending time with more Berber locals. We also caught a view of the famous icy Atlas mountains.



We attempted to help make some argan oil but I must say that just turning the mortar with a pestle is a workout in itself.




Highlights of our trip were experiencing a true Arabian night by enjoying a traditional 5-course meal at the spectacular Chez Ali restaurant while entertained by various folklore troupes, musicians and belly dancers. As our final evening progressed, we sat around a sand arena to watch electrifying displays of tribal horsemen and rifle shows, fire-eaters, acrobats, and fireworks displays and concluded with a breathtaking flying carpet act. I would visit Morocco again but see other cities and also experience a traditional hammam bath due to lack of time.
My Tips and Advice for First Timers Travelling to Morocco
- Always haggle for a better price! The first price is never the actual price.
- Be warned, although we travelled as a big group we were still constantly hassled and catcalled (some local men even called us Serena Williams and Rihanna lol) so just ignore and keep it moving.
- Although the official language of Morocco is Arabic, many of the locals do speak French so it may be helpful to brush up on some basic French beforehand if communicating in English fails.
- If you are travelling to Marrakesh around this season of the year in December, be sure to bring some warm clothing as it does get really cold, especially in the evenings.
- If you are prone to allergic reactions, bring your medication with you as may be allergic to henna ink and dust.
- If you are planning any excursions and tours, I would suggest booking online as this is normally relatively cheaper than booking with hotels.
- It will also be best to convert enough money at the airport and bring some extra cash to change at bureaus in the city centre as the exchange rate is normally lower in the city centre.
Thanks for reading!
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Gorgeous pictures!
Author
Thank you ?
These pics are beautiful! I would love to visit Morocco one day ?
https://alesiasaffordableadventures.wordpress.com/
Author
Aww thank you! It’s such a beautiful country, you’ll love it ?
Marrakech seems like such an interesting place to visit. How cool to get to experience such a different culture!
Author
Yes it really is an interesting place and it’s really vibrant and picturesque! Thanks for reading! ?
I’d love to visit Marrakech but my parents said how hassled they felt and I don’t think I’d be able to cope with that. How did you feel there?
Shannon x
http://www.shanylou.co.uk
Author
Hey Shannon, sorry to hear that your parents got hassled. This does tend to happen in public spaces like the markets because the locals are trying to get you to buy their produce. I went with a group of 6 girls and we still got hassled but we stuck together and would either brush it off or just respond back to locals in a funny response(which they didn’t expect) and that would stop them from hassling further. Even though this happened to us, we still all enjoyed ourselves. I still think you should visit Marrakesh, but maybe go with a group of friends instead of solo as it’s a lovely city with interesting culture ?
What a colourful trip! After my recent visit to Casablanca, I would like to head back and see another Moroccan city. Thanks for sharing about Marrakech.
Author
Omg I completely missed your message Davida! Me too! I’ve never visited Casablanca but would love to go one day! Thank you for taking the time to read x
These pics are everything ??
Author
Thank you ☺️