Sahara Desert dreams, towns that are mazes of blue, palaces filled from floor to ceiling with majestic mosaics, enchanting music filling the air and wafts of spices thrilling your senses ... welcome to Morocco.
In October 2021, I spent two exhilarating weeks in Morocco with friends and other travel advisers. I always had known that Morocco looked magical, but little did I know just how much the country would captivate me. As they say, “Morocco is a feeling.” Between the architecture, the food, the history and most importantly the people, Morocco is a country that I believe everybody should visit to experience the very best of what travel has to offer.
You can’t help but fall in love with every aspect of this beautiful land and its many faces. Morocco, which is slightly smaller than Spain or France, has several different landscapes. You can visit the ocean, the mountains, the oasis and the desert all in one day!
We started our journey in Marrakech, where I had never seen grander hotels. The luxury I experienced at several of Marrakech’s 5-star properties was new to me. I felt like a queen in my two-bedroom ryad, with a private courtyard and fountains and a staff that uses secret alleyways to clean so as not to disturb the guests.
Yes, I am talking about the famous Royal Mansour, which lived up to the hype. This spectacular masterpiece of a “hotel” reflects the true essence of Moroccan tradition while exceeding all expectations of today’s luxury traveler. The craftsmanship in the tile on the walls and artwork in the cedarwood in the ceilings down to the smallest detail literally took my breath away.
During our week in Marrakech, we toured the medina and made friends with local craftsmen, shopped, took fashion tours and met designers, took a cooking class, rode camels in the Agafay Desert, visited the palaces and learned history, shopped some more, toured Majorelle Garden, took a day trip to Essaouira and played with goats in trees. Yes, goats in trees!
We also went into the Atlas Mountains for a night and stayed at Richard Branson’s Kasbah Tamadot, which is pure beauty to behold. From there, we hiked into a local Berber village and were invited into a family’s home to drink tea with them. (Our guides translated.) The schoolchildren were excited to see us, as we were the first visitors since the beginning of the pandemic. Apparently, not one Berber got sick from COVID-19, and we took all precautions to make sure it would stay that way.
At the time we went to Morocco, it was one of the only countries that hadn't shut its borders to American tourists. While we were there, we ran into many Americans who were happy to have made the decision to visit, as they may not have done so in “normal” times. I had a colleague who visited Morocco in March 2020, and she took pictures of a virtually empty medina. However, in October, it was packed and full of action. Since my visit, however, Morocco closed its borders and won’t open until Jan. 31.
Our group left Marrakech and made our way back into the Atlas Mountains to see the most dramatic landscapes and learn about Arab and Berber culture. We stopped at Ksar Ait Ben Haddou, which is the backdrop for many movies and TV shows, including "Game of Thrones."
The next day we made it to the Sahara Desert, my personal crown jewel of the trip. We drove ATVs, rode camels and watched the sun set and then rise over the sand dunes. It was a sight unlike anything I’d ever seen. I feel lucky to be a travel adviser, and in Morocco I was overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to experience the world like this.
After we left the Sahara, we drove north to Fez. We fed monkeys on the side of the road, explored the tanneries and medina in Fez, bought ceramics and wore the famous silly red hats, discovered ancient Roman ruins in Meknes, took a million pictures in the blue city of Chefchaouen and ate at Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca. Many times along the way, we saw large clusters of locals along the road and wondered if they were waiting in line to be tested for COVID-19. It turns out they were all waiting to get vaccinated.
No number of articles or pictures can do this country justice. Morocco has the perfect amount of culture shock, with its cuisine, art and culture, balanced with the familiarities of home that make it a safe and clean destination. The people are warm and welcoming and will talk honestly about the best and worst parts of their current political and cultural climate. If you love to travel, Morocco absolutely must be on your bucket list.
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