Holiday in Morocco (or further afield) – recommendations please

My girlfriend and I are thinking about taking a holiday in Morocco this year. We would like to go somewhere we haven’t been before, either North Africa or South-East Asia but we really don’t want to spend any more than £2000 between us for everything(flights to spending money). Therefore Morocco is looking like the best option so far, SE Asia would be nice but realistically I think it’s out of our budget for this year.

I realise these regions are pretty big! But if anyone’s got any recommendations or advice, especially on Morocco (as I know nothing) it would much appreciated. Thanks in advance

Been to Marrakesh, which is nice for a few days, but I think you would struggle to spend a week there without getting bored.

Interesting thanks, bit of moving and organisation required then

You could look at hiring a car and visiting the Atlas mountains?

I’ve not been but people have said they’re not that exciting….

It has been discussed on here before, but a while back…

Here: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-to-do-in-marrakech

I went to Agadir a few years ago, the weather was great but we got bored quite quick in the complex and leaving it was a total nightmare, every few yards theres someone trying to sell us drugs or leather jackets or some other Tat, we took a day trip to a mountain view point one day and there wasnt a sole for miles then suddenly there were two guys with camels insisting we ride them i wont be going back

Hhhmmmmm, thanks for link very helpful but mixed reviews. We had a villa/beach holiday last year so we don’t really want another one. Maybe it’s not the place for 10 days

I’m considering going to Morocco with my gf this Summer. If you are on a budget, you could do more of a back-packing holiday, so rather than stay in a resort/one place, or going on a fully organised tour, just use public transport, stay in cheap hostels etc etc? We did similar in SE Asia and saved a lot of money, and had great fun.

Re: street hawkers/sellers, depends how you find them I guess. When in Bangkok we stayed on Khao San Road which is a market 24/7 so was full of them, you get used to them. Can be quite fun actually if you like haggling.

99% of the stuff the street vendors sell is mass produced in China esp all the wooden boxes with mother of pearl inlays. Exact same models are available in every street store all over the Middle East!

If you go, take a trip to Essaouira for a couple of days. Beautiful place and not far from Marrakech

I’ll be there in four weeks time for an 8 day tour in the Atlas with Ciclo Montana. Will report back then.
Costing about £850 with flights form manchester.

Didn’t know Ciclo did stuff in the Atlas? I thought the riding would be too tame there for Marco……

Thanks bedmaker, would be useful.

It’s a new thing for them footflaps, just started in November. He’s done a 10 min DVD, the riding looks tamer than the alpujarra but it’s a different experience I suppose. It’s a big tour in big country type thing. Can’t wait!
I’m thinking my fatbike may be a good choice too.

There’s mentally good riding in the Atlas, went with Freeride Morocco a couple of years ago and it’s similar to southern Spain but more red coloured, definitely not tame. I wouldn’t say that the Atlas Mountains ‘aren’t that exciting’ either, but I guess it depends on what you want them to do for you.

Really liked Morocco as a place, it feels exotic for somewhere that’s so close to Europe and the look and feel of the Atlas isn’t a million miles removed from Nepal. We spent a day in Marrakech at the end of the trip and I’d struggle to spend more than a weekend there, but then I’m not particularly urban.

Would it be possible to hire bikes in the Atlas mountains, maybe along with a guide, but just for a day or two?

Would be ace to fit a bit of riding in, but wouldn’t want the hassle of lugging bikes around with us for the whole trip..

Marco’s Vid

I’d give Morocco a miss – its crap..

No big mountains, just a few hills like this..

And Valleys like this..

and a few rubbish rock gardens like this –

and a few rubbish tourist attractions like this..

Last year I watched the sunrise from the top of that ^ building (Ait Benhaddou). Amazing place.

Would it be possible to hire bikes in the Atlas mountains, maybe along with a guide, but just for a day or two?

The bikes for hire that I saw were ropey at best. Might be some better bikes in Ouarzazate, but in the mountain villages… I wouldn’t risk it unless I’d been able to service the bike myself well before riding anywhere. Best option is take a guided holiday or take your own kit.

I’ve been to Morocco on a climbing trip had a couple of days in Marrakech then went down to the Todra Gorge for a week’s climbing.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=todra+gorge+morocco&qpvt=todra+gorge+morocco&FORM=IGRE

Drive from Marrakech was about 6hrs on poor roads and was an adventure itself, across the Atlas with spectacular scenery en route. Stopped off at Ourzazate ( i think it’s where the Shot Star Wars or something!). Food good (if you like Tagine’s and Cous-Cous) and people friendly. I found the place an Adventure and would go back. Clearly I went to go climbing but plenty of other things to do.

Marrakech was good for a few days, a bit manic but a good experience!

Loved the place, found it easy to get around and very little hassle. Been 4 times on various bike trips.
Flew with Atlas Blue / Royal Air Maroc and Easyjet to Agadir, simple and cheap
Supratours air conditioned coaches get you around as per national express.
Essouria ok but 2 days max…
Marakech good, Hotel Foucald central and reasonable
Imlil is the end of the road, literally, and ok for walking etc etc.
Jose who is guiding with Marco could probably arrange something, walking biking.. Erg Tours do support.
Ouazazatte good, Todra and Dades gorges are nice… Freeagents pics sum it up really. Enchanting place to loose yourself somewhere completely different.
Felt quite safe and not hassled at all and Ms Rickmeister was dissapointed as she only got her bum pinched once…

HTH

bedmaker, that video looks good. Might have to make a booking with Ciclo at some point to ride that!

I loved the 2 weeks I spent in Morocco when I was 20.

My gf and I spent 3 weeks in Morocco a couple of years ago – it was brilliant. Folk who write it off are (IMO) talking shite or were unlucky. We travelled independently on local transport and made up our itinerary as we went along, apart from a 2-night trek from Imlil which we booked in advance (which was very good). We were on a budget and stayed in cheap guest houses and ate with locals. Highlights were Fez (astonishing), Meknes (also great), Skoura (very bizarre in a good way), Dades Gorge (spectacular if slightly touristy). Essaouira was ok. Marrakesh was worth a couple of days for its unique atmosphere. I’ve travelled loads, including SE Asia, and I highly rate Morocco if you can be bothered to travel around and mix with the people. Good food, good weather, friendly and hospitable people, interesting culture, amazing landscapes and architecture, pretty cheap, and plenty of adventures to be had.

I went on a package to Agadir with a friend back in the mid nineties. Good surf and huge beaches on the coast and the resort areas were about as relaxed as anywhere in the Arab world. We hired a Renault 4 and drove it to Marrakech and back over three days. One night in Marrakech for lively atmosphere and another out in the sticks for quiet atmosphere. Would definitely recommend the country. Hassle to buy stuff can wear you down but just be firm with them and walk away. At the end of the week I gave in and bought a ‘camel hair’ (alegedly) blanket from a beach trader which we still keep by the sofa for snuggling under on cold evenings. Take a stock of old T shirts or cheap watches to swap for stuff. They love that kind of thing there.

I love the Jebel Sahro range on the edge of the Sahara. If you get to Ouzazazte (sic), just travel by taxi or hire car to Mhamid and Mazouga, there will be plentiful converted forts in which to stay en route.

If you you want a days demanding biking, Nkob to Boumaine Dades is an amazing route.

If you like a drink, stock up in the Carrefour on the outskirts of Marrakech – it’s a VERY dry country.

Personally, I hate Marrakech, and I’m as urban as they come, but I have been told that midnight mountain bike racing through the souk after a few bottles of red is a riot.

Well, the video was decieving, the riding was far from tame!!
I didn’t realise before going that we were going to get quite so much uplift. Everything was piled into/onto two landcruisers each morning and driven way into the hills. One track was a strong contender for one of these reality shows about crazy roads, gave me the heebie jeebies looking out the window.
There was a donkey uplift one day too.

A typical day was 45K riding with 2500M descending and 600M ascending. Most days involved a mint tea stop in someones front room in very remote villages.
The guide was a local Berber lad with an encyclopeadic knowledge of the area. His contacts were great, and he seemed to be adding to them constantly on the trail, swapping mobile numbers with villagers all over the place.
Terrain was very rocky with a bit of everything, flowy – very steep techy stuff – dry riverbeds – switchbacks – miles of off camber gravelly stuff – techy little paths through villages.
We did one section called ‘Magic carpet ride” which was very good. A couple of days later we did ‘Orgasmic Magic carpet ride” which was just glorious.

Accommodation was 4 nights in hotels and 3 nights in gites/bunkhouses. One of these was the French ski refuge where they sell beer 🙂
Food was great throughout. Our guides took us to local places away from tourist traps and the food was cheap, quick and very tasty.

We had a day and a half in Marrakech at the end. This was plenty. The souks appeared to be mostly tourist tat but worth a quick scoot round. When you’ve seen one snake ‘charmer’ you’ve seen them all. I did get a Hammam and massage which I’d highly recommend though. £25 for two hours.
Hotel Tazi is a great place to enjoy an evening beer in shabby chic surroundings with ‘interesting’ waiters. Just don’t drink the water.

We were pretty much guinea pigs for this trip so it was ridiculously cheap for what we got. The price is likely to be around £675 – £700 once established though according to Marco.
Highly recommended.

I’ll link to video once it goes on youtube. Two Spanish lads with us did loads of filming and are still editing it.

Bedmaker, very informative. A group of us are considering this for next year. We were out in the Alpujarras with Marco & co the week before he left for Morocco, as we were packing the bikes up on the Friday afternoon for Saturday flight back Marco was packing his up for his Morocco trip.

🙂

If you do a search there have been a lot of threads about Morocco! we’ve MTB’d there and it was awesome. In the same breath you could EASILY do Thailand for £2000 all in, although what time of year were you thinking of going? Flights will be £500 each, then hotels are £20 a night for something decent can pay as little as £5 if you want to. Food is insanely cheap out there. we did 16 days in Thailand, learning to scuba diving, splashing out on “niceish” hotels and it was between £1500-2000 each. Thailand is a phenomenal place and I is a lot easier to travel around off your own back, internal flights from Chiang Mai down to Phuket were £33 each (inc food) single. Morocco isn’t quite as easy to get around, although it is an awesome country. If I had to pick I’d do Thailand, loved it so much in 2011 we are going back in Nov this year. If you want any more specific info on Thailand drop me an email (in profile) and I’m more than willing to help out as I spent 5 months researching and preparing for it whilst Mr MC had major surgery reconnecting his tricep tendon!!!

Morocco is flipping ace! Did two two week trips there with Exodus (“Atlas descent” and “High Atlas traverse” I think) a few years back and both were very good (though mostly double track riding) it’s as much a cultural experience as a riding one.

Does your other half ride? A bike is a really great way to see the country, even if you’re just on some kind of “cruising along” type pootling ride. You’re in it all the time, rather than looking at it out of a windscreen…

Once you’re further south, away from the big cities, where they’re not expecting tourists, you don’t get hassled (just by school kids asking for pens). As others have said, for somewhere relatively close it feels incredibly exotic and otherworldly. A brilliantly bonkers place, would love to go back there.

If you want to MTB go with cycle Active, we did lots of research into all the MTB companies and CA was certainly challenging, all swoopy singletrack and awesome descents! I agree with Jimification cycling it is the best way to see it!

Bedmakers trip captured here

Went to Kerala, India for a month.
Cost £1,000 all in, including visa costs, getting to and from the airport, absolutely everything.
I will be going back, possibly to live.

I have been To Morrooco as a sort of proper student scumbag traveller. I liked it but it was hard work with hassle in places

Tunisia was great. My wif and I did a week cycle touring.

But I recon that a well chosen resort could offer a holiday with it all. Local culture a stroll from your hotel. Beaches and sunshine. Ruins and tourist stuff (Roman ruins). Plus trips to the desert

Sbob we did Kerala too..2 weeks with http://www.mountainbikekerala.com awesome trip.

Back in the late 90’s i spent some time in the Rif mountains on a hillside collective farm (yeah – one of “those” farms”) bout a 3 hr drive from Chefchaouen and i so wished i had taken my bike out there, the amount of trails were endless and the scenery was utterly jaw-dropping, the very early mornings spent watching the sunrise from the hilltop (a mountain really) behind the farm was spine tingly ethereal as the sunlight pierced the dark morning sky. I’ve always promised i’d go back but 15yrs later i still haven’t made it 😥

The people are so friendly and welcoming and there’s now’t quite as refreshing as mint tea which is thrust upon you at every house you enter, the mahjoon is rather “moresome” as well 😉