MOROCCO
DISCOVER MY 15 DAY ITINERARY
In February 2020, I went on an Intrepid tour of Morocco with my friend Carly. And after, I did a bit of solo travel on the coast. Here's my itinerary with my recommendations:
Day 1 - Casablanca
Fly to Casablanca
Carly and I flew into Madrid from JFK, spent one night, then turned around and took a small flight to Casablanca for the start of our trip. We chose the Essential Morocco trip for 18-29 year olds with Intrepid Travel—and I’m so glad we did! We hit all the hot spots in Morocco while also discovering the little villages that you can’t really do without a tour guide.
Our guide was named Mouna and she was simply the best!
Morocco is a very conservative muslim country, so the
concept of women being tour leaders is not widely accepted.
Mouna opened up to us about the harassment and sexist
issues she faces and how supportive Intrepid is of women in
leadership roles and girls’ education in northern Africa. Not
only did we have a great time, but it’s great knowing that
we’re supporting a company that uses its resources to give
back.
Recommendation: Go for it!
Check into Moroccan House Hotel
After paying a taxi 250 dirhams ($25 USD) we arrived at our hotel in Casablanca. It was a fine hotel in a not so desirable neighborhood—although… there doesn’t seem to be many desirable neighborhoods in Casablanca. Casablanca is a giant city, but there isn’t much to do tourism-wise. I would suggest flying into Casablanca and then making your way onto your next destination in the north of Morocco. Recommendation: Skip it. If I were to come back to Casablanca in need of a hotel, I would look for a less sketchy neighborhood.
Lunch at Etoile Centrale
After checking into the hotel, we got a recommendation to go to this spot for lunch. It was adorable! Like most places in Morocco, the decor was too cute and the food was delicious. Carly got the chicken cous cous and I got a spicy chicken Pastilla (kind of like shredded chicken in a crunchwrap supreme). It was A LOT of food. I would consider sharing with someone… this was a lesson we learned many times over. Recommendation: Go for it! This was right by our hotel and it was perfect.
Welcome Meeting
We met up with Mouna and our tour group for the first time! We went over so many things including go over a giant map of all the places we were going to visit. Lots of questions were asked and it was a very informative meeting!
Dinner at Restaurant La Fleur
After the Welcome Meeting, we all went to a nearby restaurant together. I ordered a Mango juice—and it was amazing. Fresh squeezed juice is very common in Morocco and not expensive at all. I’m going to miss that part of Morocco a lot! I ordered the cous cous and was given a mountain… haha. Luckily, no food goes to waste in Morocco, so don’t feel bad about not eating all your food.
Recommendation: Go for it! If you’re in the area, this was a great spot. Still thinking about that mango juice.
Day 2 - Casablanca to Moulay Idriss
Every day we ate breakfast at the hotel, they were all very simple and very similar: hard-boiled eggs and bread. Nothing too interesting, so I’m going to skip this every day because there’s not much to write about… it was simple and a bit boring and there ya go.
Breakfast at
the Hotel
Our only stop in Casablanca was at the Hassan II Mosque. It’s the only mosque in Morocco that non-muslims can visit—and it’s outstanding! It’s the 3rd largest mosque in the world… like the world. And it was built in 6 years! There were so many cool design features of this mosque that it was so worth getting the guided tour. In total it cost around $13 USD (less if you’re a student) and I enjoyed it more than other mosques I’ve visited.
Recommendation: Go for it! It’s a beautiful building with so many cool modern architectural features. If you’re in Casablanca, check it out!
Hassan II Mosque
Welcome tea at the Guesthouse
We arrived at the tiny town that is Moulay Idriss and checked into our Guesthouse. We were quick to learn that basically anywhere you go in Morocco (specifically hotels) you will always be offered mint tea with lots of sugar. The guesthouse we stayed in is similar to a B&B or a family run inn. It was delightful! We had the best view from the rooftop terrace (and also incredible wifi). Muhammad was a wonderful host and his home is lovely. If you want to stay there, it was called La Colombe Blanche.
Recommendation: Go for it! I’m not sure where to go about booking it, but a google search will surely help you. It was my favorite place we stayed the whole trip.
Walking Tour of Moulay Idriss
After we settled in (and took a lot of pictures of the pet turtles) we had a walking tour guided by Mijad. Moulay Idriss is a beautiful white-washed town that has some small Santorini vibes because of its situation on a mountain. We walked too many stairs to count, but it was so nice to hear about this town’s history. It’s a popular site for pilgrimage because of the tomb of the city founder—Moulay Idriss; he is a descendent of the prophet, Muhammed. It’s only been open to tourists since 2005, and boy does it feel like it. Morocco is a conservative Muslim country, and it was very jarring for me to walk around the main square of the town and only see men eating and hanging out. It affected me more than I expected and it was probably most obvious here in Moulay Idriss. No matter how I felt, it was a fascinating glimpse into the average Moroccan life.
Recommendation: Go for it! Mijad loved to tell Dad jokes and he was lovely guide. We also got to see the public baker and try some of his bread, which was probably a highlight. Haha.
View Point
At the end of our tour, we made up to this amazing view point overlooking the town. It’s such a beautiful place… all the stairs were worth it. =)
Recommendation: Go for it. Gotta get that photo op.
Tea Making Demonstration
Once we returned from our tour, Muhammed our host, gave us a tea making demonstration. Making tea is very important in Morocco and they have a very specific way to do it We also learned a lot about Morocco’s affection for sugar. I usually never take sugar in my tea… but boy did I get used to it and probably a little addicted. Haha. Sugar is so important to Moroccan culture, do as the people do! Take your tea with sugar. Historically, when a man wants to marry a woman, he’ll bring over a large cone of sugar. She then will prepare the tea… he will know her answer by tasting it. If there’s sugar in the tea, she says yes. If it’s bitter… he has his answer. Haha. The entire demonstration was so wonderful to watch and learn about, and we all horribly tried to pour the tea as they do. Twas funny.
Recommendation: Go for it. I’m not sure if this is something Muhammed regularly offers… but I would ask about if you stay here.
Dinner at the Guesthouse
After tea, we ate dinner at the guest house. We had the traditional tagine as well as lamb meatballs with egg. I particularly enjoyed the harissa olives—which are basically just really spicy olives. =) Not the best meal I had on my trip… but that’s mostly because I’m picky and don’t like meatballs. Haha.
Recommendation: Eh, depends on what you like!
Lunch on
the Train
We all went to the grocery store the night before to buy some picnic food for lunch on the train to Meknes. I actually love this kind of lunch—you buy a baguette, meat, and cheese, bag of chips. Delicious! The train was only an hour and a half long, and we hopped into cabs right after to get to Moulay Idriss. Everything was organized of course, I think it’s just the easiest way to get there without private bus (which we used later in our trip).
Recommendation: Go for it!
Day 3 - Volubilis & Meknes
Tour of Volubilis
We left Moulay Idriss and took a short cab ride to the ruins of Volubilis—an ancient roman city. We met our guide Mijad again and he showed us around. We even got to see some original olive oil presses and a “vomitorium” which is weirdly exactly what you think it is. Volubilis was beautiful, surrounded by nature, and engulfed in the strong Moroccan sun. Recommendation: Go for it! We had too much fun with our pictures.
Walking Tour of Meknes
After our tour, we drove to the city of Meknes—which is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco. As a tourist, I don’t think Meknes has much to offer but it was good to stop by for a few hours and check it out. The large pool was lovely and people actually swim in it during the summer! Crazy. Recommendation: Eh, if you have time.
Berber Craft Exhibition
We stopped by a Berber Craft Exhibition in town—Meknes is known for their tin pottery and linen embroidery. We got to see how every thing gets made and check out all the cool crafts.
Recommendation: Go for it! Just in case you didn’t know, the Berber (or Amazigh) are the indigenous people of Northern Africa—they are not arabs; they even have their own flag.
Meknes Medina
We walked through the medina, tried a few treats and I found a puppy! The owner let me hold it, and it was the best part of my day. Other than that, the Medina was okay… quite smelly, not as picturesque as some of the other we will visit. Recommendation: Eh, if you have time.
Lunch at a House for Camel Burgers
Our last stop in Meknes was for lunch. We ate at a local man’s home where he served camel burgers. Carly and myself were kind against the idea of eating an animal I was about to ride in the desert… (you wouldn’t eat a horse, right?) So, we opted for the vegetarian plate which was quite good.
Recommendation: Go for it! Everyone else said that camel tasted like chicken… I guess we didn’t miss out on much.
