La Mer, le Canal & les Pyrénées

[kpc]

I have been to Morocco once....we won't be rushing back!

Thread 'Morocco: Casablanca, Fes & Marrakesh'

Feb 6, 2010

Ever since I first went to Europe 20 odd years ago, I have always wanted to cross the Mediterranean Sea, and visit Morocco in North Africa. Last November, I attended a conference in Barcelona, and decided to take some leave and I visited Morocco with my partner. After a lot of research on the web and indecision, I finally decided to spend 1 night in Casablanca, 2 nights in Fes, and 3 nights in Marrakesh. As there are not many trip reports on Morocco, I have decided to post a short (that was my initial intention!!) pictorial report here.

We flew Royal Air Maroc for the 2 hour flight...

• kpc
• Replies: 18
• Forum: Trip Reports

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[Jacques Vert]

I received an email from RAM inviting me to complete a survey about our flight from BOD to CMN. Oh yeah Baby! What perfect timing.

Let's just say I was exceedingly generous with my feedback and advice.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Casablanca

Like every city in Morocco there are many mosques, including the grand mosque...








and a medina where you can buy anything and everything...














We found a nice restaurant along the corniche for lunch...






we had a pleasant afternoon watching the waves roll in:

 

[Jacques Vert]

After dropping our main bags off at the Onomo Hotel we headed to the airport for our flight to Marrakech.

As noted above I had booked J seats mainly for the extra luggage allowance which we now didn't need but what the heck. At check-in we asked if there was a lounge; yes there is one for international but not domestic was the answer. As it turned out there is a small lounge at the domestic departures area but apart from more comfortable chairs and free tea or soft drinks it wouldn't be worth visiting.




Departing the lounge we saw there was an economy bus and a business class bus. So we hoped on the business bus and off we went following the economy bus out to our aircraft, an ATR72, where the economy pax received priority boarding and those on the business bus boarded last. As most members would know, the ATRs load from the rear so we had to fight our way through the fully loaded Y cabin to reach our seats at the front of the plane. It's hard to imagine how you could get it more wrong.

Our seats:




We did get a small drink and 3 small pastry things and then it was time to land.

 

[FlyingFiona]

Is that an abandoned sea pool complex? Left over from the French colonial days?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Is that an abandoned sea pool complex? Left over from the French colonial days?

Yes; looks like it was possibly part of a small resort or similar. Only the restaurant is still trading from what I could see.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Arriving in Marrakech was a strange experience as, although we had arrived on a domestic flight from Casablanca, we had to pass through immigration again along with everyone who had arrived from another country! As we entered the terminal we were asked three times whether we had come from Casablanca but were still directed to join the immigration queue.

There was no fast track and the queue I was in moved very slowly, especially when the girl in front of me couldn't find her boarding pass, accommodation booking or pretty much anything the agent asked her for. Eventually I got to the desk and he asked me where I had come from, what was my previous flight, how long I was staying, etc. Strange situation considering I had been in Morocco for a week and a half already.

So finally we left the airport and caught the shuttle bus into town (30 MAD one-way, 50 return). Took about 40 minutes into Jemaa el-Fna; overall a pretty good service.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Riad Mabrouk

We had made a booking at another riad some months ago but when QF Hotels put out a 9 points per $ promotion I decided to review our accommodation, cancelled our previous booking and booked a room for 5 nights at Riad Mabrouk instead.

What attracted me to Riad Mabrouk is that it is only a couple of minutes walk from Jemaa el-Fna. It also has a rooftop bar and restaurant. Our room was small but adequate; only downside was that the hot water was lukewarm at best. The place is a bit of a rabbit warren but overall it was OK, if not great. I was surprised at the cost of accommodation in Marrakech; I guess as a 2nd/3rd world country I was expecting things would be cheaper










The rooftop bar:






and the view from the roof:




Snow on the Atlas moountains:

 

[FlyingFiona]

I stayed in a small boutique riad (which was EXCELLENT) in the medina when I was in Marrakesh this time seven years ago. I was surprised at how cheap the accommodation was, so I wonder if the events of the past 5 years have had a big impact on prices.

(The riad has since undergone extensive renovations to make it ultra lux and so its pricing now will have no baring on what it was in 2017 so I can't offer a comparison.)

 

[Jacques Vert]

Marrakech

We had 5 nights/4 days in Marrakech; unfortunately I had picked up a heavy cold and spent a good part of the first two days resting on the bed. However, you will be pleased to know that I did make it to aperitivo each afternoon:




Jemaa el-Fna

As noted previously, our accommodation was only a couple of minutes walk from the main square: Jemaa el-Fna...










On the other side of Jemaa el-Fna is the medina...






The motorbikes are a real PITA:






I found the medinas in Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech to be very similar in that they all had the same types of shops/stalls, selling the same stuff, although the one in Marrakech is probably the biggest of the four we visited. (The medina in Fez, which we missed after cancelling our visit so we could retrieve our missing bag, is the world's largest.) The medina in Tangier has a different feel as it is built on a hillside overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar.