Morocco? Who would have thought that this country would become a travellers dream?
I decided to book a trip away to Morocco with my friend for a week in January, as recently I had started to notice more people visiting and thought it might well be an unrecognised beauty. I sure was right. I cannot comprehend the emotional stamp that it has left on my heart. This place truly holds a special place in my travel experience and I would recommend it to all travellers who want to experience something completely different . I will talk you through my experience of visiting Marrakech, Sahara Desert and Atlas Mountains.
Marrakech
So we arrive at a luxurious 5* spa and resort hotel - Siriyane Boutique Hotel just on the outskirts of Marrakech city. This hotel is the perfect hideaway from all the busy-ness that is Marrakech and allows you to feel truly tranquil. We managed to get a good deal because we travelled in January which is considered off-peak in Morocco. We were welcomed with what I can only describe as the most delicious tea, which goes by the name of 'Japanese green tea' according to staff at reception whilst we waited for check-in. As we make our way to our room we are advised that we have a free upgrade due to a cancellation. I couldn't help but to think it may have been due to the off-peak time we were visiting, but we were not complaining and what a nice surprise! If you are wondering when off-peak is in Morocco, it is said to be December, January and February. These months tend to be sunny in the daytime but have colder nights . So we walked into this room with red rose petals everywhere! I see two sinks, two showers facing each other and two sofas. I couldn't figure out if I was seeing double or if I was so overwhelmed by the room . I soon came to realise we had been given the honeymoon suite. What a way to start our trip! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this hotel and received a very high quality of service so we would definitely stay again!
Dodgy deals at markets
The next day we decided to head into the city and explore the bustling Marrakech market square. We arrived in our hotel shuttle bus and were dropped off right by the entrance of the markets. Me and my friend stepped out of the shuttle and were faced with a man who greeted us, asking us where we would like to go and that he works for the hotel. He had a blue lanyard around his neck with a headshot slotted into the plastic wallet. For some reason, the lanyard gave us the impression of position of authority and so we followed. He took us to the best place to exchange currency and with our pockets full we started heading towards the markets. He advised us that he would show us around for around 15 Moroccan dirhams (~£1) so we agreed. As we are walking and chatting, I could not help but to question who this man is and why he is doing this for us. After a few stops and quite a bit of a walk we decided to confirm the price again for this private walking tour of the markets. He refused to give us a price and said "later, later". The alarm bells started ringing. An hour goes by, and we now find ourselves deep in the markets of Marrakech, I started to feel an earie vibe with little to no tourists at sight. We attempted to ask him again how much he was charging for this, because at this point we would be lost without his guidance back to the main square. He once again responded with "later, later". Half an hour passes, and we are now in an argan oil of morocco store, where we befriend the customer service assistant and soon begin to tell him the situation we are in. We asked him how much our tour guide would charge us for this private tour, and he responded with roughly £10 each. We were astounded as this is a lot for morocco, considering the average wage is considerably low. We now decided we need to be firmer as we don't want to be in trouble with the people of morocco. We persisted and once again received the same response, this time we said "We will not walk on, unless you tell us a price". We finally came to an agreement of £5 per person after much negotiation. Half an hour later and we were back in the main square. I cannot begin to explain the huge amount of relief I felt seeing tourists once again and just people in general! We ended the day on a horse carriage, discussing the stressful but insightful day that we had encountered. This day taught us just how easy it is to get put in a situation where you have no choice but to trust someone who you have known for no longer than a few minutes! So be vigilant whilst visiting the market square. Another tip we were advised on was not to stare at any of the snake charmers because they will make you pay for "enjoying" their show. Furthermore, the henna ladies are known for not using the best quality henna and causing many allergic reactions so use with precaution.
Atlas Mountains
Day 3 was here and it was time to start our next adventure to explore the Atlas Mountains. We decided to join a tour company for this trip as we felt it was best to have a local with us. The tour company we decided to use was "Morocco Joy Travel". We were greeted at the hotel by our tour guide named Ali who turned out to be a local Berber of the Sahara desert. Berbers are the native people of Morocco and date back centuries. It was great to have someone on our tour who would be able to give us the real talk about Morocco. We paid £250pp for a 3-day tour! We received so much more than anticipated for this tour as well! We start driving up to the Atlas Mountains which took around 4-5 hours and saw the most beautiful scenes. I highly recommend you check out Morocco Joy Travel or check them out on Tour Radar because I can genuinely say it was one of the best tours I have ever been on.
Ouarzazate
We drive on and head towards Ouarzazate, nicknamed "the door to the desert" which is a UNESCO world heritage site. We are presented with caramel-coloured oasis, with a backdrop of Morocco's blue skies. I can only describe this place as something out of a movie scene and ironically enough it is. Ouarzazate is famously known to be the movie set of films such as Game of Thrones and Prince of Persia plus many more. I highly recommend you visit this place if you find yourself on route to the Atlas Mountains or Sahara Desert.
Sahara Desert
Day 4 of our trip and day 2 of our tour and we were entering the gateway of the Sahara desert. The landscape was slowly changing colour from dark browns to light brown. The houses were soon replaced with miles and miles of derelict land and tumble weeds. We were heading into the desert. I thought it was appropriate at this point to play the song "Waka Waka-This is Africa" by Shakira, to celebrate our first time entering any desert! It wasn't long until the sand dunes became noticeable from a distance and you felt more alone than ever. But, the truth is that there are over a million people living in the Sahara desert! I loved the feeling of going into the desert! At this point, I was reminded of what it means to travel; to explore the beauty of this planet by pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. We hopped out the minibus and onto the top of a jeep, where we held on for dear life as our tour guide decided it was funny to drive up and down sand dunes at ridiculous miles an hour. We arrived at our first destination, where we were greeted by our hosts, the wonderful camels of the Sahara desert. This was my first time ever seeing a camel and it was absolutely amazing. The Berber people match you up with a camel who fits your body size appropriately and off you go. No training, no safety warnings or contracts to fill out, just a blissful journey on a camel. After a rather relaxing ride on the camels we arrive at basecamp where we will be staying for the next night. We were given the option of going sandboarding, which looked totally terrifying! I refused to participate as I hated the idea of skiing down a sand dune at 20mph on a piece of wood. Yet, one by one people started volunteering themselves to ski down this hill. The moment I realised I would have to do this was when my friend decided to do it. I knew I wanted to share that experience with her and if she was brave enough to do it then so should I. I did it. It was amazing.
Night at the Sahara Desert
So the time had come to go to sleep....or so I had thought. The night was only just beginning according to the Berber's who started bringing out the drinks, shisha and music. This was no DJ booth, it was pure authentic Berber style, drums and some other arbitrary instruments to add to the music. Everybody was dancing and singing, no one was on their phones. These are the moments I live for. I got involved and even learnt some basic drumming skills. I think the local Berber boy was so ashamed of my lack of rhythm as he is shaking his head at me whilst I look at him for approval of a 2-step beat I was asked to play. I thoroughly enjoyed getting involved and hearing the local music of the Berber's and dancing along all night long. It was 12am and we knew it was close to bed time but we had been advised to stay up and stargaze as well as see the milky way. We set up some blankets on the cold sand as we huddled close together to watch the stars and take in the moment that is here & now.
Morning in the Sahara Desert
Cold. If I could sum up a morning at the Sahara Desert, it would be freezing, icy and cold. I think it was about 1 degrees Celsius and we had just got out of our make-shift bed layered with exactly 7 blankets on top of each other. I genuinely refused to get out of the bed, but breakfast was at 7:30 am and I knew this would be our only meal for a while. Of course we travelled out of the Saharan in desert style with our camels and my not so desert style boots bag! A 12 hour drive back to Marrakech was ahead of us.
I can genuinely say that this was such an enriching experience for me and I am so glad I chose to use Morocco Joy Travels. If you are considering visiting the Marrakech, Saharan desert, Atlas Mountains and Ouarzazate then you should check them out! By no means was this post sponsored but based simply on my own opinion and experience.
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