Marrakesh, Chefchaouen, the Sahara Desert & Fez : Food, Art, Lifestyle & Hiking

Explore the exotic culture of Morocco!  We visit Marrakesh, Chefchaouen and Fez.  We take a camel trek in the Sahara Desert and sleep in a traditional bedouin tent (glamped up!).  We hike the Atlas Mountains with Morocco’s first female guide, Chama.  We taste the traditional dishes, enjoy countless sips of mint tea, we watch craftsmen and women create stunning wool rugs from camel, sheep and goat hair, make intricate mosaic tables and pottery, tan leather and visit with a nomadic bedouin family and several Berber Villages.  Then Kit interviews Chama about her Berber culture and hiking in Morocco.  Finally, we get Kit’s advice on what she wish she HAD done and not done on this Moroccan adventure.

Where to Go in Morocco

Morocco is a large country – about the size of California!  If you want to try to see the whole country, you will end up spending A LOT of time in a vehicle.  That was the mistake I made.  I hadn’t realized how much time I was going to be sitting in the van rather than actually experiencing Morocco.  My advice if you only have a couple of weeks is to slow down and not try to cram so much into the trip.  Below are some of the places I went and where I would recommend that you skip unless you have more time to explore Morocco.

Marrakesh – The Red City

Easily my favorite place on the trip.  Marrakesh is an assault on the senses, but in a good way!  Of course you’ll experience the smell of all the spices Morocco is famous for: the noises in the Medina (the historic traditional section that is non-Europeanized) especially in the main square, Djemaa El FNA, filled with musicians, acrobats, dancers, snake charmers, monkey trainers, henna tattoo artists and lots and lots of people out having fun.  You’ll witness the explosion of color and the hustle and bustle of the maze of shops selling all manner of food, housewares jewelry and other goods.  You’ll step to the right to avoid the donkeys carrying a wagon loaded with goods to supply the shops and dozens of scooters.  Five times a day, you will hear the hauntingly beautiful call to prayer from the mosques that appear on almost every block, you taste those colorful spices in the traditional dishes, like tangine, a hearty spicy stew often served with chicken.  Take advantage of a Night Street Food Tour to sample all sorts of intriguing snacks and dishes during the multi-hour Moroccan gastronomy.  I even tried a lamb’s head cheek, tongue and eye ball (but you don’t eat the pupil).  Wasn’t bad, although it was ugly.  Go all in and sign up for a cooking class, which was fun to make our own tangine, but also to look inside a local’s home.  Both can be found on AirBnB Experiences, one of my new favorite things to explore when I travel.

I stayed in a traditional Morocco home called a riad.  Riads have an inner courtyard, usually with a water feature to signify ‘life’.  My AirBnB was in the historic medina (pictured above) for two nights before the start of our tour.  I was glad that my host came out to meet me where the cars could no longer fit in the tiny streets, or I might still be wandering around the maze of winding streets and alleys trying to find it!  My place was enchanting and decorated in traditional Arab style.

Chefchaouen – the Blue City

This village enchants from the moment you glimpse it from above.  Many of the homes are washed in a blue paint that is utterly charming!  It is small enough that you can walk the town in a day or two, but take the time to hire a guide to take you for a hike in the Rif Mountains, a short drive away.  Be sure to catch the sunset from the Spanish Mosque, a fun hike up above the city.  But get there early to snag a good spot!

Fez – The Yellow City

Fez boasts the most complete medieval city of the Arab world.  Take time to explore the fascinating medina, the ancient souks and admire the many mosques.  

I have to say, though, if time is short, I would just go to Marrakesh.  I felt safer (our hotel hired a guard to escort us to our Hamman (the traditional steam and scrub bath) and our guide preferred that we stuck together, unlike in Marrakesh.  I did not go out after dark because these clues indicated to me that it probably wasn’t a good idea.

In any of these cities, too, there are hundreds if not thousands of curving, maze-like streets and alleys, so it’s pretty much a given that you will get lost.  Map Apps don’t seem to do well in Morocco, so you can’t always count on them.  Streets are numbered differently:  the numbering starts on the right side of the street and continues up and around and then back down the other side of the street.  This means that house #2 could be across from house #58.  Teenage boys like to give tourists mis-direction and/or tell you that attractions are closed.  Ignore them and ask a woman or shopkeeper.  If you are staying near the souks (the Arab marketplace), chances are a car can’t fit through the streets, so you can’t take a cab to get home.  Pin your accommodation on your map before you head out, and you’ll eventually be able to find your way home.  

Tipping in Morocco

There is a heavy tipping culture in Morocco.  You don’t tip a lot of dirhams, but each service person will expect a tip.  Taxis, you round up to the next 5 increment.  You would leave 2-3 dirham for a coffee or tea, about 5 dirham for a quick meal and 7-10% for a nice meal (but check your ticket as some will automatically add 10% to the bill).  A bellman would get 5-10 dirhams, depending on how much luggage and how far it needs to be carried (remember if you are staying in the medina, a vehicle may not be able to drive right up to your accommodations).  A gas attendant would get 3-5 dirhams, as would a parking attendant (more if left overnight). 

IMPORTANT!  You must leave a toilet tip, usually 1-2 dirhams.  It’s a great idea to go to a bank and get a whole roll of 1 dirham coins as you will need them.

Casablanca – The White City

Casablanca, home to the movie’s famous “Rick’s Cafe” (or at least a replica of it), is a tourist stop.  The massive mosque, Hassan II, allows tours for men and women.  It boasts the tallest minaret in the world!  You need to buy tickets to enter and tip the guide afterwards.  Shoes are removed and dress appropriately as discussed above.  

Casablanca is rather like any typical city and is the commercial center of Morocco.  I was able to get a plane to Casablanca for $500 less than to Marrakesh, so I chose to do that and then take the local to the main train to Marrakesh.  It was inexpensive and you can go ‘First Class’ for a small amount more.  The second train has assigned seats.

If you are short on time, skip Casablanca.

Can You Drink Alcohol in Morocco?

Muslims are not supposed to drink (although some do).  Most places will NOT serve alcohol.  That being said, there are some places that do and others that will allow you to bring your own wine or beer down to dinner.  You will have to ask before you book.  A local can tell you where to purchase alcohol.

Do not be flagrant about drinking and do not get intoxicated or overly loud. 

There is nothing wrong with having a quiet drink in your room. 

Just be respectful of the culture.

Camel Trekking in Morocco

Be sure to do a camel trek in Morocco!  Ideally, do one where you spend the night in a traditional Berber bedouin camp.  The boxy tents are wrapped in woven goat and sheep hair.  Our tent was more glamping than camping:  we had comfortable cots with a small solar electric light at night.  The floor is covered with an ornatmental rug to keep the sand out of your sheets.  Near your tent will be a tented latrine.

Every meal is cooked over fire.  We toasted our pitas on the coals and relaxed with mint tea after every meal.  There was always a nice variety at our meals, but with one main dish that was always tasty.  The company or holiday dish is called Maklouba, a satisfying layered dish of rice, almonds, spices, vegetables and chicken, that is brought to the table in the large bowl and then flipped upside down for the presentation.

We were able to camp amongst the huge, rolling Erg Chebbi dunes in the Sahara desert.  Gorgeous – of course!  The night sky was amazing due to zero light pollution.  That being said, we spent a whole day driving down to Merzouga, gateway village to the Sahara.  And then another driving back to civilization.  My advice, unless you have ample time to slow travel Morocco, would be to instead do a camel trek based out of Marrakesh.  There are day trips or overnight ones to the nearby Zagora Desert.  It may not be the Sahara, but you’ll spend more time on experiencing Morocco than looking at Morocco from the window of you van.

What to Buy in Morocco

My sister’s neighbor visits Morocco several times a year to buy stunning homegoods that she imports for her local boutique.  You can pick up some amazing high quality, colorful handmade goods in Morroco, including wool rugs from sheep, camel and goat hair, mosaic tile tables, fountains and accessories, ceramic home goods, leather and silver goods are favorite purchases.  Be sure to bring back some saffron and other spices!  I bought a tub  of saffron for about $12 that I would pay $50 for in the States.  If you want to go local, pick up some colorful Moroccan slippers.

Be sure to visit a rug making shop, a tannery and a mosaic shop while in a city so that you can see how things are made.  Always negotiate, politely, but appreciate the skill and hard work required to produce these quality goods and don’t feel you must squeeze every last dirham from the craftsman.  That little difference won’t mean much to you, but it can mean a difference in how well that family eats tonight.

How to Buy Silver in Morocco

When buying silver, look for the purity stamp underneath.  Sterling must be at least 92.5% silver, so it will read 925.

Shipping Large Items Home

If you buy something like a table or fountain, be sure to SIGN the piece you select underneath so that you are sure that you are actually getting the piece you inspected and purchased.  This will help prevent you from receiving an inferior substitute.

Hiking and Cycling the Atlas Mountains

The Atlas Mountains are a series of mountain ranges separated by plateaus that stretch east from the Moroccan Atlantic Coast all the way over to the Algerian border and the Sahara Desert.  There are several passes that you can traverse.  The highest mountain, which Chama has climbed, is called Toubkal at 13,671′ (4167m).  Morocco also offers some great long distance cycling tours.  Chama’s favorite hiking areas is her own ‘Happy Valley’ area called Ait Bougheremez, about five hours from marrakesh.  Long multi-day hiking adventures can be done here.  Click the FREE Travel Planner box for recommended adventure tour companies and other helpful links to make it easy to plan your Morocco adventures.  Most tours also allow time to explore Marrakesh and take about 8 days.  Our recommended adventure tour company is Explore!  out of the UK.  Please use my links and at no cost to you, I might make a small commission which helps to defray the costs of the podcast and this website – Thanks!  Explore! Hiking Morocco Adventure Tour          Explore! Cycling Morocco Adventure Tour

Make sure that you match your tour to your expectations.  I am sorry that I didn’t use Explore! for my tour as they offer a much more active tour that doesn’t try to cram so much into a a short period of time.  I used them for my Jordan adventure and was very happy with that trip.  When I returned, I did a lot of research on how to choose the right tour company for you.  You can access it HERE.  It can help you avoid the mistake I made.

When to Visit Morocco

Unless you are just sticking to the coast, the best time to go to Morocco is March – May, and then again September through October.