In February, I booked a 2-for-1 flight deal on SecretFlying that I couldn’t resist: NYC to Casablanca, Casablanca to Lisbon, and Lisbon to NYC for $474 (including trip insurance)! I planned a 7-day Morocco itinerary and tried to do as much Morocco travel as possible. While Morocco and Portugal were high on my travel bucket list, Morocco has fascinated me for years. Morocco is a North African Muslim country, a melting pot of Arab, Berber, European, and African people/cultures. This blend of influences created some of the most beautiful architecture, from earth-colored buildings to colorful tiled palaces. Most of Morocco’s landscape is mountainous, with slopes slowly turning into plateaus and valleys. The people were warm and welcoming. My Morocco trip was like a good dream that I didn’t want to wake up from!

Here is my 7-day Morocco itinerary filled with practical tips to help you plan your own Morocco trip:

Day 1: Casablanca to Marrakech 

Money Conversion

My friend Fi and I caught a red-eye flight from JFK and arrived in Casablanca in the morning. Once we got through customs and freshened up, we converted our USD to Moroccan Dirham (MAD) at the airport, which had no commission fee. I converted $300 (2,900 Dirhams), and that was sufficient for the week.

Pro Morocco travel tip:

I suggest withdrawing money before you arrive in Morocco. Most ATMs allow you to take out 2,000 Dirhams (or $200) max, and they will only allow you to do that twice before they block your debit/credit card. It would help if you had Dirhams because most places don’t accept debit/credit cards. I found that places were willing to accept Euros.

How to Get Around Morocco and Local Transportation

Getting around Morocco is easy since the Country has an excellent train network that will take you to most of the major cities. Getting from Casablanca Mohammad V Airport (CMN) to Marrakech was simple. The train station is located at level 1 of the arrival area of Terminal 1. Trains depart every hour between 03:00 and 22:00. We caught a train from CMN to L’Oasis. The ride was about 30 minutes and cost 43 Dirhams ($4.45).

From L’Oasis, we bought our tickets to Marrakech. They sell two types of tickets – first class and second class – and the trains are arranged into compartments. In the first class, there are six people in a compartment, as opposed to 8 people per compartment in the second class. We decided to go with first class because it was a 3-hour ride, and we wanted optimal comfort. We paid 148 Dirhams ($15.32) for the ticket. We were comfortable and felt safe. All of the cabins were air-conditioned. Fortunately, our compartment wasn’t fully booked. We shared with two lovely college students from Mali. There was decent Wi-Fi in the airport and train stations, but not on the train.

Before arriving in Marrakech, I contacted the riad (a traditional Moroccan house) we were staying in to arrange a taxi pickup from the train station. After our long commute, we did not want to figure out how to get to the riad and instead opted to have someone take us directly there. A 15-minute ride costs 100 Dirhams or $10. Our riad was in the medina, an old part of the city with many narrow maze-like streets.

Pro tip:

If you plan on booking your taxi pick-up beforehand, always overestimate your time. While it does take roughly 4 hours to get from Casablanca airport to Marrakech, that doesn’t include getting through customs and multiple security checks (~1 hour), freshening up, baggage pick-up, money conversion (~40 min), and most importantly train times. When we got to the Casablanca train station, we had to wait an hour before the next train to Marrakech arrived. This threw us off our schedule and our driver wasn’t there when we arrived. We went to the information office in the train station and asked if we could use their phone to call our riad. Our riad sent the driver back out to us. They didn’t read the email I sent with the updated pick-up time, and the poor driver was waiting for us at the train station for 2 hours before he left.

Moroccan Food

We had most meals at our riads because breakfast and dinner were always included in our Morocco tour package. The meals in our riads did not disappoint! Generally, be prepared to eat a ton of delicious food in Morocco. Most meals are at least three courses (first course of bread and olives or salad, second main course (don’t leave without trying Tajine and couscous), and then a fruit platter for dessert). Also, be prepared to drink a lot of mint tea loaded with sugar and fresh fruit juice. Most lunches range between 77 to 115 Dirhams ($8 to $12).

Our first meal in Morocco was chicken Tangine with lemon and olives. Tangine is a North African stew consisting of spiced meat and vegetables. It is slow-cooked in a shallow clay dish with a tall, conical lid.

Language

While many people speak English in Morocco, Arabic, Berber, and French are the main languages spoken. I recommend learning a few basic Arabic phrases. My go-to phrases were As-Salaam-Alaikum (“Peace be unto you”), to which people would respond Wa-Alaikum-Salaam (“And unto you Peace”). Another important word is shukraan (“thank you”).

Morocco Safety Tips

In preparation for my Morocco vacation, I read a lot of blogs about safety and scams in Morocco, and while I was excited about my Morocco trip, I was also a little on edge. Many articles spoke about how aggressive the men were, or people who would come up to you trying to help you with directions and demand money, or the women who would grab your hand and do henna and demand money. While I appreciated having that Morocco information, that was not my experience in Morocco. I felt much safer walking around the medina than in many Western cities.

Growing up in NYC, I developed tough skin quickly. Street harassment is real. I’ve been cursed out multiple times for ignoring catcalls and sometimes even had bottles thrown at me. Sad to say, my tolerance for catcalls is high, and on a scale of 1 to NYC, street harassment in Morocco was a 4. Both my friend and I received a few sexually advanced catcalls, loads of compliments, and a few pseudo-marriage proposals.

We spoke to a German couple staying in our riad who was exploring Marrakech for several days, one of the best places to visit in Morocco. They recommended this rooftop called Le Jardin, which was about a 12-minute walk. We screenshot the directions (which looked relatively simple), spoke to the riad manager about which way to exit our riad, and confidently ventured out around 9 pm! It took us all but 5 minutes before we were lost. Our riad manager recommended that if we were ever lost, we go into a shop and ask for directions or ask a woman. We went into a shop where the owner spoke little English but drew us a map and used his hands to indicate our direction. We probably repeated this process 3 times with different people, and right when we were going to pick a random place to go, we found it! Along the way, some people came up to us to “help us,” but we just firmly said no, and they left us alone.

Our night at Le Jardin was perfect! Because it was Ramadan (the holy month of fasting), they weren’t selling alcoholic drinks so we had tasty fruit juice and dessert instead. If you are someone whose idea of a fun time involves alcohol, be mindful that, while alcohol isn’t hard to find in general, most restaurants don’t sell alcohol during Ramadan.

By the time we finished, we didn’t want to test our geographic skills to return to our riad. Instead, we asked the restaurant to order a tuk-tuk to take us back. It was a meaningful experience because my friend Fi and I took our first trip together to Southeast Asia, where we always took tuk-tuks!

Pro-tip: 

Use common sense, avoid things you wouldn’t do at home, and be mindful of your surroundings. For instance, I would never go down a dark alleyway in the States, so why would I do it in a medina in Morocco? Also, it’s good to read and be aware of the scams in Morocco, but don’t let that block you from interacting with the locals. My best memories from my Morocco vacation are connected with Moroccans I met.

Morocco Excursions and Morocco Tour Packages

I’m all about maximizing my vacation time. So, when deciding where to go in Morocco, I figured doing an organized Morocco tour would be the most effective use of our 7 days in Morocco. I wanted the comfort of having a Morocco tour guide show us around. I chose Morocco Easy Tours because a college friend highly recommended them. We booked the following Morocco tour two months ahead of our trip:

• a 3-day tour from Marrakech tour to Fes via the Sahara Desert, including a camel ride and overnight in a Berber tent,

• a guided tour in Fes,

• an overnight stay in Chefchaouen,

• airport transport to Casablanca Airport.

This included an English-speaking driver, a private 4×4 car, dinner and breakfast, and accommodations. It didn’t include lunches and drinks. This was the biggest expense of our trip ($558 per person), but it was more than worth it.

Mohammad was our driver, and he truly made our Morocco trip memorable! He was so kind and accommodating and looked after us well. He knew the roads like the back of his hand. While Fi and I didn’t last 10 minutes without getting lost in the Marrakech medina, Mohammad drove us throughout Morocco without using a GPS once! Booking with Morocco Easy Tours was the best decision for our Morocco vacation. The Morocco accommodations they set us up with were high quality, and the restaurants we visited for lunch were all great local choices and places we wouldn’t have found on our own.

Day 2: Marrakech Tour to Dades Valley

Mohammad picked us up from our riad around 9 a.m. and drove us to Dades Valley. Along the way, we drove through the Atlas Mountains and made many pit stops to admire the gorgeous scenery.

Ksar ait Ben Haddou

Our first landmark and one of the best places to visit in Morocco was Ksar ait Ben Haddou, where Game of Thrones, Gladiator, the Mummy, and many other movies were filmed. Sometimes, I like to think I’m Khalessi, the Mother of Dragons, so I was definitely in my element!

While we were at Ksar ait Ben Haddou, a torrential downpour caused major road flooding. But that was nothing our four-wheel drive and Mohammad’s driving skills couldn’t handle!

Day 3: Dades Valley to the Sahara Desert

Todra Valley

While driving, we were captivated by the view of the Todra Valley and decided to get out and take some pictures. At most of the scenic stops during our Morocco excursion, people were stationed selling their goods. This guy approached us with the biggest smile and said, “Africa! Look, we have the same skin. We welcome you!”. We talked for a few minutes, and then, in the blink of an eye, they dressed us in traditional Berber clothes and accessories. We laughed, took selfies, and laughed some more. I asked Mohammad if we had to pay them for this, and he assured me that we didn’t have to pay them anything and that he’s known that guy for years and loves to make people happy. However, we did end up tipping them because it was such a special moment for us. It felt like we met long-lost family members.

Todra Gorge

Our next stop was the eye-catching Todra Gorge, located on the east side of the High Atlas Mountains. It results from the Todra and Dades Rivers forming cliff-side canyons on their final stretch through the mountains. It’s about 33 feet long yet 500 feet tall on both sides.

Tinejdad- Melaab

Our last stop before our trek was a Tinejdad—Melaab store, where we purchased some Kaftan dresses. While shopping in the store, they also dressed us in traditional Berber clothes, typically worn on a special occasion.

Sahara Desert Experience

We arrived at the Merzouga Erg Chebbi desert early in the evening and began our 2-hour camel trek to our luxury campsite in the Sahara. This was my most unique glamping experience. At our campsite, we had a fantastic dinner and live Berber music. Toward the show’s end, Fi and I did the electric slide to the music (because it goes with everything), and we learned some traditional dance moves. We also learned to play the drums.

Day 4: Sahara Desert to Fes

Azrou

From the Sahara to Fes, we stopped by Azrou, a small town in the Middle Atlas Mountain region. We drove through the cedar forests to see the barbary apes (which, contrary to their name, are really monkeys).

Ifrane

We took a quick stroll through Ifrane, located at an altitude of ~5,000 feet above sea level in the Middle Atlas Mountain region. Ifrane has a different feel than other towns in Morocco. It is known as “Little Switzerland” because of its Swiss-like alpine houses and popular ski resorts.

Day 5: Fes

We took a half-day tour of the Fes medina and surrounding areas. Our fantastic guide, Hassan, was a Fes local whose claim to fame was that he once escorted Usher around the medina. I’m so happy that we did a tour. The medina was beautiful, but it could be overwhelming to navigate alone as there are more than 10,000 turns and over 20 entrances and exits. It was nice to be with someone who could educate us on the history of the medina rather than blindly exploring. We also visited the Fes Palace, a leather tannery, and the shop where ceramic goods are made.

Day 6: Fes to Chefchaouen (Blue City)

We left Fes early to drive 3.5 hours to Chefchaouen, or “Blue Pearl City.” Chefchaouen is known for its blue-washed buildings. This practice goes back to the 15th century when Jewish refugees fled the Spanish Inquisition and settled in large numbers in Chefchaouen. They brought their tradition of painting things blue to mimic the sky and remind them of God. We took about four hours to wander around the medina independently, which was manageable because it’s smaller than the medinas in Marrakech and Fes.

Day 7: Chefchaouen to CMN

Casablanca Airport is ~4.5 hours from Chefchaouen. We left at 4 a.m. to make it in time for our late-morning flight to Lisbon.

It was a whirlwind week, but it gave me a great appreciation for the country’s diverse landscapes and people. Morocco won my heart, and I’m already considering my next visit. If you want to go on a more extended trip to Morocco, check out this four-week itinerary.

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