MOROCCO: ARRIVING IN MARRAKECH
I had an early flight out of Paris Orly, so I stayed the night at the IBIS budget hotel right at the airport. The room was small, but clean. It was only about a 10 minute walk to the airport which was extremely convenient for such an early flight.
My flight arrived into Marrakech airport. They’ll have you fill out a customs card when you land. You’ll be directed to wait in line at border check where they’ll stamp your passport and check your luggage again. Be sure that you have the address of the hotel you’re staying at. I didn’t so I had to turn on my cellular data and then I got charged 70 dollars from my carrier. So keep your phone in airplane mode (never turn it on after the flight).
After you go through that part, I was able to buy a SIM card. This way I would have service and cellular data all around Morocco. I got 20 gigs for 20 euros. Just so you know, they only take cash. They have an exchange booth right at the airport if you need to get out a little cash. However, this exchange rate will be very high. You can get more money from an ATM in the city later at a cheaper rate. But if you want to use this new sim card, your phone needs to be unlocked by your service provider. The problem is, you can only get your phone unlocked if your phone is paid off. A lot of us “lease” our phones until they’re paid off. If you have an old iPhone, you could use that. Call or go on your service provider’s website and search “international unlock.”
I decided to book a guided tour of Morocco with Travel Talk tours. I would’ve been COMPLETELY lost without it, and I’m a pretty seasoned traveler. It was the 10 day Exotic Morocco trip and it was worth every penny. This isn’t sponsored or anything, you can take whatever tour you want, but this trip went so smoothly. The guide, Abdul, has been leading this tour for years and he really knows all the ins and outs.
This tour provides transportation from the airport to the hotel, so no need to barter for a taxi. Right as you walk out the back door of the airport all of the stands are set up for the different tours, and that’s where you’ll meet up with your guide. I had to wait over an hour for another flight that was coming in which was a little annoying but still not too bad.
I checked into my hotel and hung out by the pool until my friend arrived. It was like 80 degrees in February, can’t complain about that! We had our celebratory first drink from the hotel bar and then met up with our tour guide for our welcome meeting.
After that we boarded our bus for the first time. It was a large bus with air conditioning but no bathroom. We arrived at our restaurant for dinner. It was super cool and just what you’d picture a Moroccan restaurant to look like. We walked all the way to the top of the building and sat at tables which were very low to the ground.
Quick tip: Do not drink the tap water or you could get sick. They only give you bottled water at restaurants. You can still brush your teeth with it though, so don’t worry about that. Also, they don’t serve alcohol at many restaurants in Morocco, so if you’re looking for a drink your best bet is at your hotel.
We got to know our fellow tour members over a big Moroccan feast of couscous and tagine, and we finished off our meal with a sweet mint tea. You’ll have this tea a lot over the course of your stay. After that we headed back to our hotel for the night.
The next day we had a guided tour of Marrakesh. It was a Sunday morning, so it was quiet and calm which was nice. Trust me, the center of Marrakesh can get so crowded and crazy, so this was a good way to ease us in.
We got a little history of Morocco and a peek into the markets. Unfortunately we didn’t really have time to shop today. We had more time on the last day of the trip.
After that we went to Bahia Palace. While a lot of things were included with the Travel Talk tour, for this you had to pay separately. It was 70 dirham which is about 7 us dollars. Bahia palace was built at the end of the 19th century by a chief officer of the state for his wife. This is a great place to admire architecture and take pictures.
Next… off to Essaouira!
If you have any questions feel free to email me at planetochampagne@gmail.com.