Marrakesh, Morocco

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Our trip to marrakesh

The first impression

This was our first time in Marrakesh, and we didn’t know more about the city than what we had seen on social media. Let’s just say that there were a lot of surprises! We took a flight to Marrakesh from Stockholm and then a taxi to our hotel. When we showed our driver the hotel’s address he shock his head and said something in i language we didn’t understand, put our bags in the trunk and showed us to get in the car. 

It was a fairly short drive, we had booked a hotel that was right next to the old town, the medina. The closer to the hotel we got, the smaller and more crowded the streets got. All of a sudden he stopped, jumped out of the car, took our bags and started to walk away with them, fast. We quickly jumped out of the car and followed the driver. He went in to smaller and smaller streets and after a while the streets were so narrow we could reach the houses on both sides with our hands and it felt like we were in a maze. There was just walls and small, simple doors that looked like something that was a back door of a store. 

The hotel we had booked had pictures of a beautiful garden, a pool, and views, we kept thinking that there was no way our hotel could be in this maze. After a while the driver stopped and in a very bad English told us that the hotel should be here somewhere, and left us there alone (I must admit that the fact that he took us and our bags that far was surprising!). We started to look for the street and number where the hotel was supposed to be located, we were on the verge of giving up when we finally found a door with the right number on it. 

After a while a man opened the door and let us in, we had found the hotel! When we entered the hotel we couldn’t believe our eyes, it was so beautiful! The hotel had a small garden with a huge lemon tree right in the middle of it. It smelled SO good we almost thought this was a dream. We got served the classic Moroccan sweet mint tea and it might have been the best thing we had tasted so far that year and we couldn’t wait to explore the rest of the city.

Find a place to stay

Finding the right
hotel for you

Where should you live and what should you look for in a hotel?

When we booked this trip we were on a pretty tight budget, and finding the best hotel possible within our budget but still in a good area made me spend quite some time looking.

As I mentioned earlier you shouldn't judge a book by its cover (or hotel by its walls), that being said, there are a few really iconic five-star hotels in Marrakesh that I'm sure you've seen in social media.

When you search for a hotel in Marrakesh the word riad will probably catch your eye sooner or later. A riad is a home with multiples stories that centers around an open-air courtyard that contains a fountain. Like the one where we stayed. They are often very beautifully decorated and we highly recommend to stay at a riad.

What about the food and the drinks?

When visiting Marrakesh one of the first drinks you'll have is probably the iconic sweet mint tea. You can get it at pretty much every restaurant and hotel in the city and you'll see people drinking it all day, every day.

If you like vegetables the food is absolutely amazing! There are a great variety of both vegetarian and vegan dishes at most restaurants.

If your looking for a place to party Marrakesh isn't for you. Very few places sell alcohol, and during our time in Marrakesh we didn't se a single nightclub (not that we looked for one)

create your dream vacation

Our best tips when
visiting marrakesh

01.

Explore the medina

The medina is a wonderful place full of life. Here you'll find everything from spices and ceramics to clothes and restaurants. Marrakesh is especially known for it's beautiful mosaic and ceramics, and there are more to choose from than you could ever imagine!

Disclaimer: since there are a lot of tourists here and often very crowded it's a great place for pickpockets. Keep your belongings close and don't bring too much cash!

02.

Enjoy the sunset on a rooftop

During the evenings the medina lights up and people of all ages are outside spending time together. There are tones of restaurants with a view over one of the busiest places, Jemaa el-Fna. If you prefer a calmer sunset, most Riads have a great view over the city where you can find the most beautiful sunsets.

03.

Support the women cooperatives that produces argan oil

Another thing that puts Marrakesh on the map is Argan Oil. Argan Oil has been made for hundreds of years by the native inhabitants of Morocco, the Berbers. Argan Oil cooperatives have rapidly increased women's income by 10 times in a few years, which has lead to a decrease in extreme poverty and even more importantly, it has emancipated the women by offering them a real, sustainable living wage and independence.

The Argan Oil has some amazing effects on the skin such as treating acne, moisturizes, it has anti-aging effects, prevents and reduces stretch marks and heals skin infections to mention some of the benefits.

04.

Visit a hammam

A hammam is similar to a Turkish bath, and there are both public hammams that the locals often use and privet hammams where you pay a bit more, but also get a bit more service. The treatments vary from different places, but the most common is that you first soak in a pool or a steam room, then get a full body scrub, get rinsed, cleaned and rinsed again. Most places also offer a massage after, which we gladly booked. The prices vary from $40-$100 depending on if you book the hammam at a hotel or a riad.

05.

Take a day trip to the mountains

Even though there are a lot of things to see and do in Marrakesh I highly recommend taking a day trip to the mountains. You can book them online and sometimes right at Jemaa el-Fna, which also is a popular pick-up point for the tours.

All tours are different. We booked a tour and got picked up along with another couple in the early morning, on the way to the mountains we stopped to for a short camel ride, a huge market and a women's cooperative that produces argan oil.

We walked in the mountains for a few hours and stopped for dinner in the small village where our tour guide lived. The whole group were invited to his house where we had a classic homecooked Moroccan meal.

A pretty calm day on
Jemaa el-fna

One of the most known places of Marrakesh is Jemaa el-Fna, which is located in the medina. Here you'll find restaurants, vegetables, spices, bowls and mugs, cloths, tour bookings and much more.

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