My Morocco Travel Guide

All the tips from my recent trip.

You may have been following along on the amazing trip to Morocco I took with John, my mom and my aunt Barbara. I won’t bury the lede: this trip was EVERYTHING I could have hoped for and more. And don’t worry, MORE to come- I especially want to write about traveling with older family members, and will save that one for another day.

Now back to the trip:

I will start by saying that there are versions of this trip that are much less local and probably cater more to people that want to stay on the road more traveled by.

You can easily head to an expensive hotel and park yourself there (I mean who wouldn’t love the Royal Mansour). But then you would really miss out on so much of the magic of Morocco. I am SO beyond glad I experienced a range of activities, met so many people, and saw multiple cities in the country. It was pure magic.

I put together some takeaways for you:

Do pre book your guide. Often times locals will offer you guidance but it is better to book before you go to have it all set. You can use Elsewhere to book guides like we did!

Do leave your passport in your room in the safe. No need to lose it and you don’t need it on you when you shop like you do in some other countries!

Do have cash everywhere you go because tipping is customary and an important part of people’s income. I mean it. There are bathroom attendants in every bathroom. Tip well and often when you can.

Do go walk through the medina but do not engage unless you are ready to be hassled. A lot of what is made in the medina comes from China so make sure you are shopping at authentic places. This is where a trusted guide is helpful.

Do stock up on authentic Moroccan oil. It is amazing. I am on my second bottle!!

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Do not go eat wherever you want. It is easy to get an upset stomach if you are not careful. Thankfully, our guide only took us to places she knew would be delicious and safe for us so we had no stomach trouble at all.

Do not just wander around. As a woman, I did not feel like I could just take off alone and explore. I definitely felt like I wanted the knowledge of our guide and the comfort of our group.

Do not buy a carpet at any random carpet place as there can be scams. Be wary of stories you hear over and over again that try to drive the price up. Also, beware of rugs made on machines. This is the BEST place to to go and you can order from there too. They will make you whatever you want and it’s more than fair trade! It is important to support the local women who make these rugs and shopping from a place like Anou means they get a living wage for their incredible work. This is not the common practice so beware!

Do not worry about being hungry. I found the portions to be huge which was awesome and the people of Morocco always want to keep you fed which I appreciate.

Do not pack all the caftans. I was ready to have a caftan queen vacay but I quickly saw that this would be like wearing a prom dress everywhere, lol. Caftans are worn at weddings, not for walking in the medina. I also realized I would have felt really self conscious in short skirts or low cut tops because the women in Morocco dress conservatively.

I’d also be remiss not to share that…

The seating was so plus friendly in most places we went. Super open and wide!

These were major highlights for me:

-Buying a rug from Anou

-The Royal Mansour Casablanca. It is a new hotel, incredible service. We were only in Casablanca for a night but this was such a soft landing.

-Hammams. Omg. Do the hamamm spa treatment. Its like being washed as a baby. And your skin is incredible afterwards.

-Hot Air Ballon Ride. We did a private one with breakfast in the sky but I was too nervous to eat anything. It was so cool to see everything from that view though! I felt like a Royal though being driven in a land rover to the desert at sunrise!

-Take a cooking class at Marrakesh's oldest cooking school. I will never be able to recreate the dishes because their produce is so fresh but it was amazing to see how simple and delicious it is.

This was the most adventurous trip I have ever taken! I am still processing everything we did and saw and I certainly will never forget it. I crave the food still. I will not lie, it was sensory overload at times and I had to find ways to center myself so I didnt get overwhelmed. There is some culture shock, but I think that seeing new things and being in a new situation and seeing how people across the world live life is invaluable.

Thank you to the team who planned it at Elsewhere. I appreciate their focus on using local owned and woman-founded businesses. My full itinerary is here. Elsewhere is incredible and I looking forward to my next trip with them! I think I will travel like this once a year. It has been so amazing for my brain :)

Have you been?

xo

Katie