Rather than hop on on tour bus, Adrian and I rented a car and traveled through the insanely beautiful country of Morocco. We were surprised to see every kind of landscape imaginable – from coastline, to mountains, to red rock cliffs with palm tree oasis, to vineyards, to the Sahara desert. Here is a brief itinerary of what we hit! Hope it can be helpful to others. We flew from NYC to Casablanca, hopped in a rental car, and off we were to:
Oualidia
A lagoon on the Atlantic Ocean (coined “the Montauk of Morocco…”)
Essaouira
A walled city on the Ocean with historic markets, artisan goods, and beaches.
Marrakech
Ate our way through Marrakech on a food tour ( and stayed at the beautiful riad Ksar Kasbah & Spa, my favorite part of Marrakech!)
Atlas Mountains
Absolutely STUNNING drive!!! Narrow hairpin curves on rocky roads. Dilapidated Pink Berber clay homes cut into cliffs of mountains that are centuries old. Along the road you will find Maison D’hotes Achahoud – just a stop off the side of the road… stopped for mint tea and the best cous cous I’ve ever eaten!!!!
Ait Benhaddou
Like, after the Sahara desert, THIS was my favorite place. The location of several feature films like gladiator and game of thrones were shot here! Its nuts! Kasbah Tebi was an amazing airbnb that had no electricity, everything is lit by candlelight, even your dinner!
Ouarzawood
The Hollywood of Morocco!! we did the lot tour for 80DMs and it was so fun! We started off in a jail where scene for Gladiator took place… we went to Cleopatras Egypt, Tibet, old Roman sets. Ben Hur and Game of Thrones was also shot here.
Todgha Gorges
Enormous red rock cliffs with Berber homes built into the side all pointing down to a gorge filled with a jungle of palm trees !! Lots of rock climbers around here. We did a guided hike up the rocky terrain along the path. Our favorite part was meeting a local Berber family who lives in caves. An 80 year old man with a few teeth who has never left his land. They welcomed us with friendly smiles and mint tea!
Merzouga
Sahara experience! Unbelievable. We went for “Desert Luxury Camp” because they had really good reviews. When we showed up, we hopped on camels and literally rode off into the sunset. The desert sand was unreal, so soft to the touch, like velvet. This place has a restaurant tent, sand boarding, so many hammocks and loungers, and a full size POOL! Loved the live music around the campfire at night. And of course, the Stars!
Azrou
We stayed around here because we wanted to see the WILD MONKEYS! And they weren’t hard to find, in the cedar forest chilling along the roadway. They were feisty!! Loved them.
Infrane
A french town with Swiss architecture. Bizarre!
Fes
Loved Fes so much. A city of artisans. Booked a tour with a private guide, because the medina is so easy to get lost in, it was incredible and so worth it. Went to the Tanneries – bought a custom fit leather jacket. We also saw weavers- they tried to sell us scarfs, pillow cases and sheets and spices shop, argan oil, saffron….
Meknes
I love wine and wanted to stay on a vineyard… so we found Chateau Rosalie hotel and spa..our luxe hotel to end the trip. Once we arrived, there was no going back. We admired all the vines, the pools, the gardens, did a couples Hammam, did a wine tour where she showed us the winery and tasting rooms as well as the wine caves. A great way to end the trip.
Then it was back to fly out of Casablanca! We never did stay there but kind of wish we did one night.