The Lowdown On My Epic Trip To Morocco – Marrakesh to Agadir

jardin majorelle marrakesh gardens

 

I’m super sorry it has taken me over a week to put this article together. It turns out June is a busy month travelling wise for me, because tomorrow I’m off to Pollensa, Majorca for a wedding. But I’m not moaning, busy is good! Plus, I’m pretty stoked to go to two countries in a month.

My travelling profile has been on a bit of a lull lately due to wedding planning and saving, but I cracked. I booked a rather last minute trip to Morocco, and it only happened because my sister called telling me she’d booked flights, and I thought, I can’t bloody miss out on this, I’ve got to go. YOLO and all. Oh and this trip would not have been possible without The Holiday Place, so thanks a bunch guys.

My sister accompanied me on a work/leisure trip as my photographer. Because, well, I can’t just take selfies all the time now can I? Our trip consisted of three days in Marrakesh and four days in Agadir. It’s pretty easy to get from one to the other, we just caught a Supratours Bus which took around three hours, and it was air conditioned and rather nice, thankfully. I also quite enjoyed the bus journey because you get to see more of the country and admire the scenery.

If you want the lowdown on Morocco, particularly Marrakesh, here’s my take. It’s full on, but that’s definitely not a bad thing. Would I want to spend weeks on end there? No. I’d say a week was the perfect amount of time to fully explore this intriguing country.

There’s never a dull moment in Marrakesh, that’s for sure. There’s always something going on, whether it’s a street performer, someone haggling away for a good deal or music playing in the distance. Your senses literally explode, and your brain goes into overdrive. It’s actually quite hard to process everything going on around you, but after a few days you get used to the hustle and bustle, and just go with it.

Whilst there were times where I felt uncomfortable, and the hassling did occasionally get the better of me, it’s all part of the experience. You might have heard less than positive things about what it’s like in Morocco, but I think these assumptions are somewhat unfair. When you go, you know what sort of vibe you will be faced with.

In fact, I thrived on the buzz of Marrakesh city, and loved the contrast between the madness of the souks, and the quiet and calm of our hotel, some of the palaces and also the gardens. It’s a mix of peaceful and hectic, and the atmosphere varies hugely from place to place.

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Now you know my overall thoughts, you may be wondering what there is to do. So what did we get up to? Find out the highlights of our trip below.

Marrakesh adventures…

Jardin Majorelle

jardin majorelle marrakesh gardens

jardin majorelle marrakesh gardens

jardin majorelle marrakesh gardens

jardin majorelle marrakesh gardens

jardin majorelle marrakesh gardens

A refreshing escape from the busy hot city, these gardens are where Yves Saint Laurent’s ashes were spread, and the gardens were designed  by French painter Jacques Majorelle and they took over forty years to finish. There are some excellent photo ops here, beautiful bright buildings with intricate designs, plenty of greenery, cactuses and vibrant flowers.

The tannery

tannery leather making marrakesh tannery leather making marrakesh

Prepare to have your nostrils invaded with the worst smell on earth (death combined with bird poop and ammonia, yum). However, if you can brave the smell it’s worth a visit to learn exactly how leather is made. I was slightly concerned about the animal welfare behind all the leather making but I still thought it was necessary to go to educate myself about.

Apparently, they use pigeon poop which turns into ammonia, which they use to remove stains and intensify the colours of the dyes. They give you mint to mask the smell, do not turn it down or you might not make it through without heaving. I’ve never had mint so close to my nostrils in my entire life.

Bahia Palace

bahia palace marrakech

bahia palace marrakech

bahia palace marrakech courtyard fountain

bahia palace marrakech

bahia palace marrakech

This place was oh so peaceful and pretty. We were there for ages because we just couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the delicate patterns, interesting rooms and picturesque fountains. The courtyard is pretty cool with palm trees in the background and bright blue skies hovering above you. It’s a 19th century Palace which means ‘brilliance’ and I can see why.

The souks

souks marrakesh souks marrakesh souks marrakesh souks marrakesh souks marrakesh

Imagine a never ending market full of the most unusual and brightly coloured stalls on earth, this is what you will find in the souks. It’s easy to completely lose yourself in the long streets and get drawn into some of the impressive shops. You could easily spend an afternoon or longer shopping here, especially if you are after some quirky gifts, souvenirs and bargains. There’s loads of leather bags and purses, jewellery, rugs and carpets and stalls selling herbs and spices.

Jemaa el Fna

Jamaa el Fna square marrakesh at night DSC00614 Jamaa el Fna square marrakesh Jamaa el Fna square marrakesh day

Arrive here late morning or lunch time and there’s not a huge amount going on. It’s not until late afternoon that the square starts to fill. The best time to be here is at dusk and later into the evening. It’s transformed into an open-air dining area with a myriad of food stalls and places to dine al fresco.

The street performers also take centre stage in the evening. I assumed they would be tailored to the tourist, when in reality, crowds of locals gather round to grab a piece of the fun. There are jugglers and acrobats, musicians and dancers as well as fortune tellers and women selling henna tattoos. And if you’re parched, which, in the summer you probably will be, you’ll want to refresh yourself with a glass of freshly squeezed juice. It seemed as though there were stalls selling orange juice on every corner.

Hammam massage

The hotel we were staying at (Opera Plaza Hotel Marrakech) booked us a Hammam massage, which was perfect after a long day exploring the city. Be warned, you have to wear a paper thong and that’s it, so don’t have a hammam with anyone you wouldn’t want to be pretty much naked around. For the first time in my life I had a massage therapist massage over my boobs, that was a bit of a shock, but you relax into it after a while.

A hammam massage consists of getting rubbed down with a fragrant massage oil, then an intensive all over body scrub and time in a steam room and a massage afterwards.  Going through this process kind of makes you feel as though you’ve washed away the day’s worries, and you feel so fresh, relaxed and clean.

Marrakesh video:

Agadir

The vibe in Agadir is totally different to Marrakesh. The pace is much slower, the weather isn’t as scorching hot and it’s lovely and breezy. It’s more of a place where you would chill out in your hotel and then go out on a few excursions, which is exactly what we did.

City tour

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We went on a ‘city tour’ which turned out to be more of a taxi ride. They just took us to the main points of interest and pointed at them, rather than giving us useful and interesting information which was disappointing. However, it was probably easier than getting taxis to all the places we wanted to go including the souks/market and a viewpoint at the top of a mountain overlooking the city and beach.

The souks in Agadir are very different to Marrakesh, they seem a bit more authentic and aimed at the locals rather than tourists. You still get hassled to buy stuff, but not as much, and the sellers here aren’t as open to negotiation on prices.

Camel ride

bee flying from flower camel ride agadir excursion horse riding club agadir camel ride agadir excursion camel ride agadir excursion

On our first day in Agadir we went on a camel ride at what looked like a riding school and ranch. I’ve never been on a camel ride before so I was intrigued to see what it would be like. We went on a two hour ride through sand dunes and we ended up at an estuary.

Riding a camel requires you to use your core a lot, it’s actually quite a good workout. The next day I had a bruise on my bum! I think two hours was the perfect amount of time. At one point a group of goats wandered by climbing trees looking for food, and some horses passed by too. We got some great pics and really enjoyed the experience.

Taghazout

taghazout surfing village agadir

boats taghazhout agadir surfing village taghazout agadir morocco

taghazout beach near agadir

If you are staying in Agadir make sure you visit Taghazout, a local surfing village which feels a world away from the rest of Morocco. It was quaint, quiet and welcoming. You don’t get hassled, the men don’t seem to stare like they do elsewhere, because everyone here is used to people rocking up in their surf gear.

The beach below the city is lovely, it’s got blue fishing boats lining the shore, soft white sand and colourful houses in the background. We loved it, and we wished we had more time to go back here. It’s easy to get to Taghazout from Agadir, you just catch a bus which takes about half an hour, and the buses run every hour.

Paradise Valley

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We booked this trip for my sister’s birthday, and it turned out to be a great decision. We got to visit a place where they make argan oil, where we had a go at cracking some nuts ourselves (I wasn’t very good!). We also stopped off at beautiful gardens growing fresh herbs, and finally, made our way to Paradise Valley.

They had tables and chairs in the river, this is apparently where the locals come with their family for picnics in the holidays. The scenery here felt a bit like something out of a Jurassic Park film. The views from above were rather impressive, looking down on rows of palm trees, a river meandering through the mountains and lush greenery filled the hills. We took a dip in the rock pools where my sister, being the absolute nutter that she is, decided to do a backflip off the rocks. I really loved this trip and would highly recommend it.

Hotel show

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At the second hotel we stayed in (Hotel Kenzi Europa), we were treated to a show one evening. It included Moroccan dancing, belly dancing, acrobatics and snake charmers. This is the kind of thing I expected to be performed on the streets of Marrakesh, but the hotel show was on a different level. We had so much fun joining in with the dancing and watching the colourful and upbeat show.

Agadir video:

The hotels

During our trip we stayed in three different hotels, The Opera Plaza Marrakesh, The Kenzi Europa in Agadir and the Anezi Towers Hotel Agadir. I would actually recommend all three hotels for different reasons. I will be doing a review of each of them in an upcoming post, so watch out for this if you want more info.

Tips for travelling in Morocco

  • Walk away from taxis until they agree to the price you want, and point where you want to go on a map and write down the name, as often they misunderstand.
  • It’s tough to get hold of Moroccan Dirhams in the UK (I’m not even sure you can), so get some at the airport or from a cash machine when you get out there.The dirham is a closed currency, which means it can only be bought once you arrive in Morocco. You’re allowed to bring in or take out 1000Dh (around £65) but the rest needs to be taken out on arrival.
  • Marrakesh really comes alive at night, it’s quieter during the day and very hot.
  • I’d highly recommend covering up when out and about in Morocco, cover your chest, arms shoulders and legs. You will get hassled less and it’s more respectful to the local culture. People do wear less clothing, but these are often women who are with a man. It seems to be personal preference but we found it much easier to cover up.
  • Take a sensible bag with you where you can keep all your valuables tucked away.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to The Holiday Place for making this wonderful trip a possibility.

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