OUTraveling

I was planning a trip to Morroco from Los Angeles, CA and wanted some advice about my itinerary. I would be over a total of nine days and cover three cities: Fez, Casablanca,and Marrakech. My plan is to fly into Spain from the States and take a cheaper plane to Fez. I have budgeted three days for every city but feel that I am not doing each city justice and just crossing places off a map. Further, I would enjoy a couple days by to pool to relax. Planning on guided tours as I can only speak English and Mandarin.

Should I cut back on the locations or just increase my vacation?

stimpy

First of all, search this forum as there are many, many posts similar to your about Morocco.

My second point is what is enough time to discover a city? A year might not be enough. And you are not going to truly learn about the local culture if you can't speak either French or Arabic. So as a tourist I think 3 days is enough for each city. You will see the sights and get the flavor of each.

I would however lean more heavy on Fes instead of Casa. There isn't much for a tourist in Casablanca, but there is a lot to see and do in Fes. The Sofitel Marrakech has a great pool to enjoy for a day or two.

StartinSanDiego

We went to Marrakesh over the Christmas holiday with our family. All in all, it was a great and memorable family trip.

We stayed in a 3 bedroom house with full kitchen for about $40 a night, near town but not in the thick of it. The home owner, Abdul, ran a taxi and would take us and pick us up, plus would cook meals if you chose. We did a day trip to Essaouira and an overnight to the Sahara for the very touristy camel ride/Bedouin tent thing. That was fun in spite of the very long ride and being very kitschy. There are plenty of people selling day trips or the overnights, and they are easy to book and will pick you up at your hotel. One Italian guy was picked up by the tour company in Marrakesh, did the Sahara trip, and was dropped off in Fez. I know it took him a long time to get to Fez, but the travel was arranged by the tour company and he didn't have to double back.

crispmuncher

Visit Marrakesh if youre visiting Morocco.

Youll probably be able to see everything in 3 days.

Maximilian Thodeus

So you are lucky. Morocco it's amazing county where you will find sea, ocean and sahara. Country of Rainbow colors and nice people. Picy food and burn sun. So really Enjoy!

DesertNomad

I would not spend 3 days in Casa. I was in Morocco for about 11 days this month and liked Fes the best. We were also in Marrakech, Rabat, Tangier, Casa, Meknes and Moulay Idriss.

ezreach

I would totally agree that you do not need 3 days in Casablanca! It is a large metropolitan city with constant congestion and not lot of attractions that are worth the entire 3 days. Use the time you save either for leisure or to increase your stay in Fez

beachfan

I did 5 nights/4 days in Fez, with a day trip to Meknes and the Roman ruins, and 4nights/4days in Marrakech with a day trip to the Atlas mountains.

Felt like I saw a lot. Had no desire to see Casablanca. Skip Casablanca and 9 nights will be perfect.

There is a hard to find airline Air Arabia, that flies between Fez and Marrakech. I don't think it flies daily, but plan accordingly. It was delayed but decent enough and a huge time saver.

Nizar

Guys can anyone recommend a driver/guide that could take me and my family (wife and 18 month old son) from Casablanca to Fes, whilst stopping at Volubilis and Moulay Idriss along the way ?
Feel free to PM if you prefer that.
Cheers.

stimpy

The simple answer is to stay at one of the finer hotels in Casa and ask the concierge to sort out a driver for you.

Nizar

Any other options besides FS ? I would like something more traditional/authentic and with a sense of place if possible but there don't seem to be many highly rated riads in Casa ?
Probably because it's a newer city without the history of say a fes or a marrakech ?

stimpy

Yes the Royal Mansour is a historic luxury hotel in Casa. It used to be Le Meridien and I stayed there often. Real old world Maghreb luxury. I hope and expect it is still good.

Nizar

Oh wow I didn't realise that they have a Royal Mansour in Casablanca as well !
But yeah seems to be closed for renovations at the moment and can't see a reopening date.

WonderWanderer

I am with you on wanting to explore and discover the culture, but my drive is for nature through the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert.

stimpy

Sorry I thought that was done a while ago. I guess the nearby Sheraton would be 2nd best. It has good reviews and Sheratons in Africa are generally very good, but I've not tried it.