Marrakech

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Egan Number 6

Egan Number 6

Just A Radge
Joined
Aug 6, 2005
Myself and the missus thinking of going on holiday to Marrakech for a week. Just somewhere different. Any recommendations folks? What's the food like, can you get a beer?, things to do, places to chill out? :hmmm
 
Egan Number 6 said:
Myself and the missus thinking of going on holiday to Marrakech for a week. Just somewhere different. Any recommendations folks? What's the food like, can you get a beer?, things to do, places to chill out? :hmmm
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Myself and misses went on a cruise in 2013 and spent a day in Morocco .
Though it was tangiere.
Personally I did not like it was dirty and full of beggars / folk trying to sell you stuff on street from hats to hash.
Marakeche may be nicer holiday destination and many folk probably had a
Great time in marakeche. Though I said to myself after that visit Id never go back to Morocco again.
Only my opinion though mate
 
Egan Number 6 said:
Myself and the missus thinking of going on holiday to Marrakech for a week. Just somewhere different. Any recommendations folks? What's the food like, can you get a beer?, things to do, places to chill out? :hmmm
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Marrakech is a very interesting place, I'd recommend if you're the adventurous sort. My first ever experience in a islamic country so it couldn't be more different to spain and greece.If you go to marrakech try and arrange a day trip to the Atlas mountains. It's a 45 minute drive but well worth it, the native people live there instead of cities. Marrakech itself aint bad but be prepared for a culture shock, take it as it is and enjoy. Begging is rampant, you will be approached by them even when at a restaurant table, seemingly islam states that the poor are very much societies responsibility. Get yourself down to the market as well, especially at prayers time, that too is a experienceOh and as a rule of thumb offer 10% of what street sellers say they want! When you go to a market prepare to be harrassed, it's their way.
 
Went there a couple of years ago, partner loved it. Here is just a few things. If your looking for an alcohol experience type holiday...don't go. While there are places to drink it is not a social thing over there. I got questioned at a hotel bar if I was sure I wanted a third pint. I did get served though...they just aren't used to us drunkards ;) If you want a carry out though you can go to most local supermarkets but take your passport.

Buy water!...lots of it in the big drums or multi packs you can get from supermarket...much cheaper than hotels. I went to a pretty cheap hotel with a swimming pool...couldn't believe the complaints from some people...you would think they paid 3 times the price! It was fine for me though make sure it was air conditioning.

Tip the waiter the first day you arrive...he will be your personal waiter for the rest of the week..promise him a tip at weeks end.

Traffic is a bit mental so be ready to run across roads. I didn't see everywhere I could have. I did take a taxi tour...they will all offer you one. But they take you to all the places they obviously get paid to take you to...pharmacies and rug sellers etc. It is fine but who is going to take a carpet home on ryan air??

The trips the hotel offer can be good....I went to Sahara desert and a camel ride...was great drive through Atlas mountains but very draining and did not spend long enough at destination, just overnight stay in tent.

There is a trip to see a rodeo and I recommend that, particularly for the slap up lamb meal beforehand.

I paid for an airport transfer but the guy never came for me on return home...though I expect that it would normally be fine...however I did take a taxi back and found out a taxi is cheaper anyway as the airport is quite close.

Be mindfull of taxis...I spent a few hours with one guy who refused to give me a price. It is a cultural thing, they don't like to talk money...strange for a country with so many markets haggling with tourists. He didn't want to rip me off, he was just uncomfortable naming a price...as it was I think I vastly underpaid him and realised later when it was too late...I felt a bit bad.

Overall it was a great experience. It is much more local culture there that Casablanca..which I believe is far more western and a financial centre. It is not particularly tourist minded, in that there are not bundles of entertainment put on, but it is a great place to experience.

Notable observation was every single village we drove through had two things...a Mosque and an ash football park.

One of best bits was when coach driver going to Atlas mountains stopped off to show us the plot of land he had bought for his new house and introduced us to his neighbour who was a clay pot maker who invited us in his house to show what he does.

There was also a trip to a waterfall which was worth doing although there are guides who take some money to take you up...I recommend you pay them


As a footnote there was far less beggars than I expected and only in a couple of places did we get bothered to buy things...to be honest I think I missed the large markets. But the people were largely pleasant and hotel staff couldn't be more helpful
 
Cheers for that folks, might look at other options too then. We've got the last 2 weeks in january off so a bit sunshine, chilling out and relaxing somewhere.
 
I loved Marrakesh when we went there about 7 years ago - day one is a culture shock but after you get used to it its great fun - treat the merchants in the souk (market) as a game and have a laugh with them it takes a while to get used to but its cool once you understand the 'game'. the food was brilliant but then i love the flavours they use there - the djemma el fna (square in the centre) sets up with loads of stalls at night (amongst snake charmers, fire jugglers etc) and you can get some good scran for not much money there - there will be a wide range of price options across town though as there's plenty visitors and loads of french nationals and influence too so if you want fancier than street it'll be no probs. Agree with a trip into the Atlas mountains - i'd rent a car and go for an overnight into the mountain villages - imlil? maybe - its an adventure, magaluf it is not but i'd love to go back there. How long you going for if 10 days plus I'd rent a car for a week and take the pass over the mountains and head for Sidi Ifni on the coast....back in Marrakesh the souks are great for shopping and the fun of bartering, mint tea on roof terraces, the tanneries are amazing and get a hammam (bathhouse massage) if you're brave enough ;)
 
gun ainm said:
I loved Marrakesh when we went there about 7 years ago - day one is a culture shock but after you get used to it its great fun - treat the merchants in the souk (market) as a game and have a laugh with them it takes a while to get used to but its cool once you understand the 'game'. the food was brilliant but then i love the flavours they use there - the djemma el fna (square in the centre) sets up with loads of stalls at night (amongst snake charmers, fire jugglers etc) and you can get some good scran for not much money there - there will be a wide range of price options across town though as there's plenty visitors and loads of french nationals and influence too so if you want fancier than street it'll be no probs. Agree with a trip into the Atlas mountains - i'd rent a car and go for an overnight into the mountain villages - imlil? maybe - its an adventure, magaluf it is not but i'd love to go back there. How long you going for if 10 days plus I'd rent a car for a week and take the pass over the mountains and head for Sidi Ifni on the coast....back in Marrakesh the souks are great for shopping and the fun of bartering, mint tea on roof terraces, the tanneries are amazing and get a hammam (bathhouse massage) if you're brave enough ;)
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Thanks a million for that pal : )
 
have been a fair few places in Morocco and really enjoyed it but only spent a day or two in Marrakech, definitely a fair bit to see

as others said be worth a wee excursion elsewhere if you are going for a week

I'd considered going there this month to watch some of the African Cup of Nations until Morocco pulled out as hosts and it was moved to Equatorial Guinea.
 
Stayed in Marrakech for 4 or 5 nights 3 years ago. It was March when we went. The weather was perfect for a Scot except one day when it rained allday.

We booked a Riad just off the main square. It really is an amazing place to arrive at late in the evening. We got off the plane and were met by a driver sent by the Riad but he could only take us so far as the car couldn't fit through the crowded alleyways of the souks at night. So we hurtle through the markets and cafes with our bags behind the dude from the Riad and the place is a rainbow of colours and smells and music and talk and folk trying to get you to buy stuff and either you love that kinda thing or you hate it.

Our Riad was run by a French guy and he gave us loads of advice and obviously hooked us up with the restaurants / cafes / trips that his mates ran but I did feel a lot of it was genuine good tips about where not to get ripped off, where you could get good quality food - I loved the food there - and what was feasible in a day trip. We took 2 day trips cos really a couple days doing the sights in Marrakech is probably enough and you can do the markets in the evening when it is more fun. One trip was to the lower mountains - really an overnight trip would have been better. The other trip was to a fishing town called Essaoira which is a fairly major tourist centre. Its a cute place and has good fish to eat obviously. We took a camel ride along the beach there which after haggling we got a fairly decent price for (well its the only camel ride I've taken so I don't actually know what the going rate is).

You really do just need to get totally into the idea of haggling for things and your trip will be much more fun. The vendors all totally expect you to haggle. My mate was tired one evening and wanted to buy a couple football tops and was just gonna give the vendor the first price he asked - the guy went crazy and demanded that my pal try and negotiate a deal!!! Also get used to the 'call to prayer' cos you will hear them from very early in the morning. It didn't bother me but I guess it may bother someone who has trouble sleeping.

As far as drinking goes we found plenty places you could drink. It is frowned upon by many locals for religious and cultural reasons but if you wanted to get smashed you could. At our Riad it was almost compulsory to have a few beers and wine every evening. I think it might be advisable to do most your drinking at your Riad or hotel. Certainly ours was a great location so we could sit up on the rooftop overlooking the main square (it is massive and a sea of noises and action) so it felt cool.

The main warnings are: watch out for cars/bikes etc as you walk they fairly belt it through the tiny alleyways or across the main square; we were advised not to have big displays of affection in public - to the extent that we advised not even to hold hands in some places - my wife is LatinAmerican and I think this threw a lot of the locals as well who weren't sure if she was an Arab or not!; get a price for a cab ride before you set off and just the obvious don't flash your cash around and keep valuables close to you.
 
vasco de gama said:
Stayed in Marrakech for 4 or 5 nights 3 years ago. It was March when we went. The weather was perfect for a Scot except one day when it rained allday.

We booked a Riad just off the main square. It really is an amazing place to arrive at late in the evening. We got off the plane and were met by a driver sent by the Riad but he could only take us so far as the car couldn't fit through the crowded alleyways of the souks at night. So we hurtle through the markets and cafes with our bags behind the dude from the Riad and the place is a rainbow of colours and smells and music and talk and folk trying to get you to buy stuff and either you love that kinda thing or you hate it.

Our Riad was run by a French guy and he gave us loads of advice and obviously hooked us up with the restaurants / cafes / trips that his mates ran but I did feel a lot of it was genuine good tips about where not to get ripped off, where you could get good quality food - I loved the food there - and what was feasible in a day trip. We took 2 day trips cos really a couple days doing the sights in Marrakech is probably enough and you can do the markets in the evening when it is more fun. One trip was to the lower mountains - really an overnight trip would have been better. The other trip was to a fishing town called Essaoira which is a fairly major tourist centre. Its a cute place and has good fish to eat obviously. We took a camel ride along the beach there which after haggling we got a fairly decent price for (well its the only camel ride I've taken so I don't actually know what the going rate is).

You really do just need to get totally into the idea of haggling for things and your trip will be much more fun. The vendors all totally expect you to haggle. My mate was tired one evening and wanted to buy a couple football tops and was just gonna give the vendor the first price he asked - the guy went crazy and demanded that my pal try and negotiate a deal!!! Also get used to the 'call to prayer' cos you will hear them from very early in the morning. It didn't bother me but I guess it may bother someone who has trouble sleeping.

As far as drinking goes we found plenty places you could drink. It is frowned upon by many locals for religious and cultural reasons but if you wanted to get smashed you could. At our Riad it was almost compulsory to have a few beers and wine every evening. I think it might be advisable to do most your drinking at your Riad or hotel. Certainly ours was a great location so we could sit up on the rooftop overlooking the main square (it is massive and a sea of noises and action) so it felt cool.

The main warnings are: watch out for cars/bikes etc as you walk they fairly belt it through the tiny alleyways or across the main square; we were advised not to have big displays of affection in public - to the extent that we advised not even to hold hands in some places - my wife is LatinAmerican and I think this threw a lot of the locals as well who weren't sure if she was an Arab or not!; get a price for a cab ride before you set off and just the obvious don't flash your cash around and keep valuables close to you.
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all good tips i'd agree with - Essaoira was awesome and another day trip i'd recommend from Marrakesh - we passed through and spent a night (november) and it was pretty cool - much more chilled than the buzz of the city with a bit of surf and beach and great fish tajines. Further afield (and way beyond day trip range) Sidi ifni and the hotel suerte loca is the place i still dream abut but Essaoira is a good close-ish compromise if you're looking for that vibe.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco/sidi-ifni
 
gun ainm said:
all good tips i'd agree with - Essaoira was awesome and another day trip i'd recommend from Marrakesh - we passed through and spent a night (november) and it was pretty cool - much more chilled than the buzz of the city with a bit of surf and beach and great fish tajines. Further afield (and way beyond day trip range) Sidi ifni and the hotel suerte loca is the place i still dream abut but Essaoira is a good close-ish compromise if you're looking for that vibe.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco/sidi-ifni
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If i recall from previous posts you have kids? Would you feel comfortable taking them there? I would be fine with it but the mrs is a bit more reticent.
 
Me and the missus now thinking about Agadir and maybe one or 2 nights in Marrakech. We don't have kids ourselves
 
baggageandfibs said:
If i recall from previous posts you have kids? Would you feel comfortable taking them there? I would be fine with it but the mrs is a bit more reticent.
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my kids are a bit too wee to get the most out of a road trip to Morocco but I'd have no worries talking them when older - say 10 or over? half of that is the type of holiday we'd want to have there though - could easily take them on a beach, villa type thing at any age if the longish flight wasnt too much of an ordeal

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Egan Number 6 said:
Me and the missus now thinking about Agadir and maybe one or 2 nights in Marrakech. We don't have kids ourselves
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Agadir isnt 'real' Morocco its a bit like a Spanish beach resort town in many ways and totally different to the rest of the country - we arrived there by bus from essaoira and left in a hired car the next day for sidi ifni and then back over the mountains to Marrakesh where we dropped the car off - wasn't my cup of mint tea but it does attract a lot of people so i guess it depends on your taste and what you want from a holiday there? my vote - avoid other than as a good airport to arrive at and pick up a hire car?
 
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