anyone been to morocco?

[Sarah]

Hi all, we are off to europe for 2 months in july. We would dearly love to see morocco as we are travelling to the south of spain anyway and will have roughly 5 days to spend there. I was hoping someone could suggest the best ways to utilise the 5 days (what cities to see etc) and also would like to know the best, easiest, cheapest way to get there. Thanks in advance.
Sarah

[BigRay]

The easiest way to get to Morocco is to leave from Algeciras, Spain (near the Rock of Gibraltar) and take the ferry across to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. It's on Moroccan mainland, but is part of Spain.

When I did Morocco, I arranged bus transportation from here to go directly to Fes, which is kinda far, but I would advise you to spend as little time as possible in Tangier. Again, AS LITTLE TIME AS POSSIBLE. The place is a dump and also quite dangerous.

Morocco is a fabulous and beautiful country, but it is also extremely different than western countries, and difficult (almost impossible) to prepare for. My favorite place in Morocco is Marrakech, but it is quite far south and might be difficult to get to in five days. The Djemaa el Fna square at dusk is otherwordly, and left a wonderful impression on me.

The mosque in Casablanca is an incredible sight to see. It is a massive structure that can comfortably fit St. Peter's Basilica of Rome inside. The mosque itself was only recently completed, I think in 1997, so it is very new and it's location on the coast is stunning. Other than that, there is really not a lot to do in Casablanca.

I really enjoyed Rabat, but did not spend as much time there as I would like, but there are some wonderful sights and watching the fisherman in the river is precious.

In five days, I would recommend trying to get to Fes as the medina (old town) is the largest in the world I believe. From there you could do Rabat or Casablanca then head back to Ceuta.

Be careful, though. Morocco is a Muslim country where alcohol is forbidden and the women wear veils and don't speak to people on the street. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, will be all around you all the time trying to sell you something or take you to their relative's carpet shop, and this can make travelling very difficult and somewhat scary. But apart from this, the people can be extremely warm and friendly if given the chance and the food is recognized as some of the best in the world. Be careful of the water, be sure the bottle is properly sealed and not re-filled from a tap. And beware of ice. On my last day I accidentally had a drink that had ice in it and got sicker than I have ever been in my life upon my return to Spain.

But if you can swing a day or two more in Morocco, I would highly recommend going to Marrakech. Have a great time! I have yet to meet someone who has been to Morocco and wasn't left with great travel stories and incredibly rich impressions.

Cheers,
Ray

[me]

one can also go from Algeciras to Tangier. that's what my folks & i did in 1999. but, the prepaid guide in Tangier only wanted to take us to shopping venues!

[Sarah]

hi ray and david , thank you so much for your advice, greatly appreciated! at this stage i am thinking about maybe booking a tour .....because i have limited time there and want to see as much as possible....i've had a quick look on the net and because most of the tours seem to be american based (im from australia) it is hard to get a good idea of what tours are available. do you guys know how hard or easy it would be to book a tour in spain to go to morocco with maybe a couple of days notice? i only know i will be in spain late july/early august , so i cannot make a definite date...thanks once again
sarah

[emily]

sarah,

hey...i have to definently agree with ray on tangiers....somewhat scary......pass thru as fast as possible.....morrocco is definently a unique experience.....i'm glad i got to go.....the ferry ride is kinda neat...i got some great pictures of the rock of gibraltar from the ferry.......the merchants are horrid....i know they need money, but wow, they will go to such great lengths to sell you a carpet......i bought a coke to drink there, and i wanted to keep the bottle(i collect foreign coke bottles), and they charged me extra to be able to keep it..... yah..so go to morrocco but AVOID TANGIERS.

[BigRay]

Hi Sarah,

As for tours, I think there is a Spanish company (?) called Pullmantour or Pullmantur that organizes picking you up from your hotel somewhere on the Costa del Sol and taking you across. The tours include accommodation and transportation, and even meals sometimes.

I don't know a whole lot more about them, but I remember seeing a brochure once. Though I prefer to travel alone, I would definitely do something like this in Morocco. I tried to find a website, but couldn't find one. Perhaps your local travel agent may know about them.

Good luck, and have a great time!
Ray

[me]

Tangier wasn't all bad! just that stupid guide who would only take us to stores

The Kasbah was interesting - didn't you think so, Kim?

[Kim]

Unfortunately, never got to Morocco..maybe my next trip! I'm thinking I'm going to have to head back to Europe sometime in the near future to do some "research" for my site. Would that be tax deductible? ;D

[me]

Sure it would! ;D deductable against your income from this site but, i susspect this baby is costing you, not providing income, no?

but, i should have directed that question at emily. one of my confussed episodes.

Kim said:

Would that be tax deductible? ;D

[Ynox]

Went to morocco (tangiers) for a day trip from spain a couple of years ago- took the ferry from gibraltar over. Interesting experience although everyone is out to rip you off big time- Ended up buying some cruddy bongo drums although initially they were 1000ptas I managed to knock the guy down to 200ptas (although I had to walk for a mile telling the guy I didn't want them).

Still, definately worth a visit and is somewhere I hope to return to.