Travel Articles: Morocco

Morocco is a country made legendary by such cities as the fabled Casablanca, and by a fluid movement of cultures across the centuries.

When planning your Mediterranean cruise along the coast of North Africa, keep in mind the changing weather patterns, which vary significantly from the west to the east. Find the best time to cruise North Africa, from the great pyramids of Egypt to vibrant Morocco.

Ian and I took our first trip without Daphne. We whisked ourselves away to Morocco for two weeks to explore Marrakesh, Essaouira, the High Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert. We enjoyed the powerful flavors of the food and the local wines. The culture was very evident through the medina's markets and vibrant colors and the riads we stayed in …

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit Morocco for a travel tradeshow and for a fast and furious extra couple of days, see what I could! This was the first time I ever flew out of the country from the east coast and I was really blown away by the amount of time it took to actually get from New York to Morocco. Six hours only! Being a …

I’ve touched on Souks a bit in other posts, but wanted to address shopping in a separate post as it’s often an integral part of the travel experience in Morocco. Souks are small stalls within medinas that sell any number of items. Morocco is famous for rugs, lamps, silver jewelry, leather goods, slippers, argan oil, perfumes, olives, …

Easily the highlight of our trip, Essaouira has just the right amount of tourism without losing its soul or its cool. Located about a two hour drive west of Marrakesh, Essaouira is a beach town with a slight surf vibe. It's famous for being the town of Astapor in Game of Thrones and you can see why from the ancient ramparts and gorgeous …

I had heard varying things about Marrakesh from friends and clients who had been there before. People either hated it or loved it. Those that hated it commented that it was touristy, and they felt harassed by souk owners to buy things, also that the medina is overwhelming, loud and exhausting. Those that loved it, stated that it’s an …

When Ian and I travel, we tend to find ourselves trekking for at least a few days out of it, if not the entire time. We both love backpacking and get to do it frequently since we live in Montana. I have always been intrigued by the Atlas Mountains. The idea of having mountains in Africa high enough to ski on floors me. Unfortunately, we …

The Sahara Desert plays a major role in Morocco. When people think of the Sahara, they think of vast orange sand dunes as far as the eye can see. The reality in Morocco is that there are only a few smaller seas of sand dunes, Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga that are found within the greater desert area, which is semi-arid. Technically, the dunes …

One part of the trip I was especially excited for was to ride a camel through the red dunes of the Sahara Desert. There are a few sand dunes in Morocco – we chose Erg Chebbi near Merzouga. It’s a long 10 hour drive from Marrakesh through the Sahara. I wouldn’t suggest adding the dunes to your itinerary unless you really want to …

Medinas in Morocco vary from city to city, but share a few of the same characteristics. Chiefly, they are the oldest parts of the city encircled by stone walls. Built prior to colonization, they feature narrow winding streets great at getting tourists hopelessly lost. During the day, their streets are primarily wandered by tourists. Come 6 …

Before we left on our trip, one of my travelers told me that Morocco was easily the most photogenic place he had ever been. In fact, about two weeks before we left, I heard this multiple times from multiple people. The weird thing is that when we got there, I didn’t feel that way at all. I was expecting everything to be pristine and …

When I first started planning our trip to Morocco, naturally I began with accommodations. I LOVE a good four or five star boutique hotel and utilize TripAdvisor heavily when researching new destinations for Adventure Life. Sure, reviews tend to trend either super positive or super negative, but if you see a bunch of negative reviews, so you bet …

One of the greatest surprises of our trip was our affinity for the cuisine of Morocco. Upon arrival, we had dinner at our riad in Marrakesh and were floored by the flavors we encountered. Morocco is probably best known for its tagine. Tagine technically is a ceramic dish used to slow cook a stew over open fire (historically). While the two-piece …

When I arrived in Casablanca Morocco around noon, I had to go through immigration and transfer to my flight to Marrakesh. I was quite stressed due to the 45 minutes I had to achieve all of this (we all know how this process goes) and certainly got my exercise running from one line to the next. When I finally got to my ‘gate’, I had to …

In the morning I enjoyed Moroccan tea and a light breakfast and bid farewell to my desert friends. A new driver was there to collect me and take me to Marrakesh. After about an hour, we arrived at the hotel, a lovely 3/4-star option that offered a rooftop pool and bar and was within walking distance of shops and restaurants.

After dropping my …

Probably one of my favorite aspects of this (very) short trip to Morocco was the Atlas Mountains. I am no stranger to mountains so it was the people that really stole my heart here. As expected, when you leave the city and find yourself in a rural community that depends on each other, you tend to find big love and a warm embrace.

After a windy …