Marrakech as a whole

As mentioned, A LOT in the last few days blog, we loved Marrakech. I don’t know if it was a mix of low expectations to begin with and the fear or feeling unsafe all the time but upon completely changed our mind set based off how friendly everyone is.

Here are our tips, loves and not some much loves from Marrakech:

​LOVES

• The people. Mt god they make the country what it is, warm friendly, smiley and welcoming
• The Riad’s. If coming to Marrakech, book yourself into a Riad. There are plenty that can be found both on Air B n B and booking.com, but some advice I would give, is make sure they have A/C and spend a little extra on a nice one. You would be surprised how much it makes your holiday if you are staying somewhere you feel comfortable. We opted for cheap as 12 months traveling is EXPENSIVE AF but if choosing again, I would have spent more.
• The souks! Getting lost in the mayhem and organised chaos of these markets which spread for miles is what Marrakech is all about. You can haggle with every seller and make sure to taste some of their traditional pastries.
• The Mint Tea! I love tea, but the traditional mint tea made with honey and fresh mint is next level fantastic.
• The Spice market – we bought 2 different holistic healing spices/plants from this market to help with headaches and migraines and the staff there know their stuff. Definitely add it to your list
• The Atlas mountains. Escape for a day away from the city and explore the Atlas mountains for cooler temperatures and a wicked day out with amazing food. We used http://moroccoinspiringtours.com and cannot say good enough things about them.
• How safe we felt! Really, at not one point did I feel like I did in Colombia. Apart from the warnings from speaking to teenage boys on the street as they will scam you, we felt perfectly safe the entire time!

​Now, for the things we didn’t like much:

• The food. Some was amazing but some was very average and not as traditional as expected, and we found it expensive to eat out when on a budget.
• The heat. It was between 38-42 degrees when we were there (September) so we recommend going in their Winter time when temps are more pleasant.
• Our Riad – Riad Elite. It definitely needs some work, but the people are beyond nice, so it made up for it.
• To be honest, we didn’t have many dislikes at all.

Travel tips:

• Always buy bottled water, don’t drink ice, generally stay away from salads and don’t eat any fish from the market
• Taxi’s in the Medina should be a max 40 Dirham, do not pay any more and negotiate before entering
• Don’t speak to the street boys as they WILL scam you while pretending to be tour guides
• Download Google offline maps or MAP.ME to help you navigate the city…you will get lost but it’s all part of the fun.
• Eat Tagine, mint tea and cous cous …it’s delicious when done well.
• Visit La Momoulia…but don’t stay for a drink unless you can really afford it!
• Don’t worry too much about covering up… it’s so overrun by tourists here that in the heat the locals do not mind if showing legs and arms.
• Don’t get a Henna tattoo…90% of the ink isn’t safety regulated and many tourists end up in hospital with skin irritation and ink poisoning.
• Visit the Jardin Majorelle at 8am to avoid the crowds… in fact do this will all tourist attraction as they get so busy and expect to pay 70 Dirham pp for each one.

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ENJOY THE CHAOS – it’s super exciting and live in the moment when in Marrakech. Let the city immerse you in it’s charm!