Trip Report: Morocco
Visited in September 2015
Morocco was not only my first country in Africa, but also the first country where I announced my country count on social media. In fact, Morocco was my country 31/197 and at that time I asked myself: why not visit all of them? That was in September 2015 when my extreme traveling just started.
Fast forward ten years. In the meantime, I have visited every North African country and almost all countries in Africa. On the way to West Africa, I came to Morocco a second time. What was originally planned as two one-day layovers unexpectedly turned into a longer trip…
But one thing at a time. We’ll start with the first trip to Morocco.
2015: Marrakesh
In 2015, I decided to spend a long weekend in Marrakesh. Easyjet was flying to Marrakesh on Saturdays and Tuesdays, so I was able to spend three days in Morocco’s most touristy city.
As this trip happened ten years ago, I do not remember every single detail. But I visited all the major sights of the city, some of which I thought are world class. In general, I found Marrakech to be a very beautiful city. I also saw a riad for the first time in my life, and loved these little hotels with courtyards with fountains or pools.
I also explored the nightlife a lot and the clubs I went to were great. Marrakech is considered the most liberal city in Morocco. Alcohol is consumed en masse, there are fashion shows, and sometimes the world’s biggest DJs perform there. For me, Marrakech was a perfect blend of the traditional and the modern world.
Were there any negatives? Not really, but I quickly realized that Marrakech is also a bit of a circus. By that I mean all the hustle and bustle around Jemaa el-Fnaa with the snakes and monkeys and whatnot. Not that I found it bad, but it was just a tourist hell. 😀
What got on my nerves was the behavior of some locals. There are a lot of people in Marrakech who are looking for tourists to rip them off. Although nothing serious happened to me, I was constantly approached by people and in one case I also had an argument with a taxi driver who did not want to give me change.
However, this had no significant impact on my assessment of the city. I still enjoyed Marrakesh a lot and thought it was even one of the coolest cities in North Africa and the Middle East combined. Therefore, I always wanted to visit it a second time, but somehow it never worked out…
The more time passed, the more I wanted to travel to Morocco again, because in the meantime I had seen more and more beautiful places in the country on social media, travel blogs and so on. For this reason, I also had the feeling that Morocco has the potential of being one of my favorite countries. But to confirm this, I needed to spend more time in the country.
2024: Casablanca
Although it was only supposed to be a short stay – at least that was the original plan – a trip to West Africa brought me to Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco and one of the largest hubs for all of West Africa. With so many trips to West Africa, it’s actually surprising that I’ve never flown through Casablanca.
So the plan was to spend the first and last day of this trip in Casablanca. Enough time for this city that didn’t seem to be too popular with travelers. However, I thought that the Hassan II mosque alone would make a visit to Casablanca worthwhile.
This trip did not begin well. As I was on my way to Casablanca, I realized that I had to change my itinerary at the last moment. You can find out why here. So my 24 hours in Casablanca were filled with phone calls, messages, rebooking and a visit to the Royal Air Maroc office.
Still, I have to say that I was impressed by the city, as I never expected it to be so modern. However, Casablanca looked like a Western European city with skyscrapers and excellent infrastructure. Quite a contrast to how I remembered Marrakech.
I used the day to visit the city’s sights, for example Mohammed V Square, United Nations Square, the Medina and the Hassan II Mosque I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately it was a gloomy day, the sun didn’t shine once, which is why the places didn’t look so pretty.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco. Nevertheless, I explored most of it on foot. I also used Careem, Morocco’s Uber (or one of the many cab apps) for one place or another. The rides were ridiculously cheap, I usually paid around 2 euros for 10 minutes. And most of the time, it only took 2-3 minutes for the car to arrive.
I also spent a lot of time sitting in front of the bistro-like cafés and drinking coffee. This was also necessary from time to time to find some time to plan my onward journey. I had to decide whether to stay in Morocco, fly on to Burkina Faso or perhaps to Niger after all.
However, I have to admit that this stress meant that I couldn’t fully enjoy the city. I almost had to force myself to take photos and apart from two or three pictures, I didn’t upload anything to social media. By three o’clock in the afternoon, I had decided what to do next. I would have three more days in Morocco and decided to spend them in the north, in Tangier. From that point on, my head was clear again and I could slowly start to enjoy the trip.
A final verdict on Casablanca? I can understand why this city is not popular with everyone. Especially compared to the other cities I have seen in Morocco, Casablanca seems to have a rather unimpressive character. But as I said before, I was impressed by the modernity of the city alone and therefore consider it a good place for a layover.
That afternoon, I took the high-speed train to Tangier in the north. Morocco’s train system, which connects the country’s major cities, is brilliant. The trains are comfortable and on time. I have always traveled second class and found it to be at least on par with train travel in Western Europe. What’s more, the trains are rarely full, and you either have a four-person compartment to yourself or share it with another person.
The train stations were also impressive. Beautiful, large and clean buildings with shops, cafes and restaurants. Not as run down as many stations in Europe full of shady people. Traveling by train in Morocco is definitely fun and not very expensive.
2024: Tangier, Chefchaouen
Tangier is located at the northernmost tip of Morocco, right on the Strait of Gibraltar. On a sunny day you can see the Spanish coast. It is even possible to enter the country by ferry from Spain or vice versa. So it is not surprising that Tangier is considered the most European city in Morocco.
I arrived in the evening, when the sun had already set. When I left the station, the city looked just as modern to me as Casablanca. In front of me I saw international luxury hotels like the Hilton and the Pestana. I felt as if I had just arrived somewhere on the Côte d’Azur. After the previous 24 hours, however, I was mentally completely exhausted. I decided to spend the next three nights in a 5-star hotel.
I really liked Tangier. The city is a perfect blend of traditional Morocco and European-influenced modernity. I had booked my hotel near the medina, which is more traditional. But Tangier also has very modern districts with designer shops, modern buildings and so on. Like I said, it’s a cool mix.
By the way, I found it interesting that, obviously due to the geographical proximity, the Spanish language has spread to Tangier. Sometimes I was answered with “gracias” and I also heard other Spanish expressions. Otherwise, Morocco is a country where the first foreign language spoken is French.
In terms of sightseeing, you can easily spend two to three days in Tangier itself. I wanted to take it easy after the stress of Niger and explored the city at a leisurely pace. My favorite places in Tangier were the Kasbah, the Grand Socco, the Cafe Hafa and the Tombeaux Phéniciens at a leisurely pace. I especially liked the Tombeaux Phéniciens, from where I could see the Spanish coast.
I also made an excursion to Cap Spartel, which was also worthwhile. The drive there takes less than 30 minutes and once you’ve arrived, you might need an hour to visit the place. I booked a cab driver directly through my hotel, who drove me there and back for 500 dirhams. A normal cab would only have been slightly cheaper. Normally,
By the way, what I liked in both Casablanca and Tangier was that there were far fewer people trying to rip off tourists than in Marrakech. People actually leave you alone, and when they do approach you, they are not as pushy as in Marrakech.
As I had three full days, I used one of them to visit Chefchaouen, also known as “The Blue Perl”, perhaps the most Instagrammable city in Morocco. You’ve probably seen pictures of this blue city on social media. The journey from Tangier to Chefchaouen takes about 2.5 hours by bus and costs the equivalent of about €6. The bus was on time and all in all comfortable, if not quite up to the standard of the trains.
I then spent a few hours touring the city and its photogenic corners. The blue part of Chefchaouen is neither tiny nor huge. So you can actually see everything in about two hours or less. However, if you want to visit the photo spots where you can see the city from the outside, you will need more time.
Did Chefchaouen live up to the hype? I would say yes. In fact, I was almost afraid that Chefchaouen would be a flop. But it wasn’t. It really is an incredibly photogenic city. Probably one of the most special in the world, as there aren’t that many blue cities (Jodphur in India was my first, by the way).
Like me, you can see the city in a couple of hours. It certainly makes more sense to spend another night there. Then you have the city to yourself in the early morning hours and without other tourists. I have to say, though, that I didn’t find Chefchaouen particularly crowded. The fact that the light is better for photography in the morning and late afternoon than in the middle of the day also speaks in favor of an overnight stay.
My conclusion on Morocco
Now that I’ve spent eight days in Morocco, I can draw a slightly better conclusion than after my first visit to Marakkesh. In fact, Morocco is the first country in North Africa that I can say I have “traveled”, even if eight days is not a lot.
I liked Morocco in 2015, but I like it even more in 2024. For me, Morocco is a country that offers visitors a lot in terms of culture, cuisine, history and nature. In addition, the country has a pretty good infrastructure (certainly one of the best in Africa) and is also quite affordable.
What I really learned to appreciate on my second visit was Moroccan cuisine. Call me an idiot, but until then I thought tajine was a dish in which I didn’t particularly like the cooked fruit. Only now did I learn that tajine is a style of cooking that produces a variety of delicious dishes. And I loved it. I had a different variation almost every day.
And a word about the infrastructure. I was absolutely thrilled with the trains and the stations. The stations are modern and clean, more like a European airport than a train station. I thought that if a Moroccan ever visited, say, the train station in Frankfurt, he would wonder what kind of shithole he had just arrived in…
Is there anything I didn’t like? Not much to be honest. On my first day in Casablanca, I was ripped off by an Orange salesman (the telco provider). The guy was handing out free sim cards on the street. When I took one, he added data credit to it, even though I told him three times that I didn’t want it. And then he wanted €20 for it.
In this situation, I thought this was North Africa at its best, where many locals just want to scam tourists. But it was the many friendly Moroccans who made me feel more than welcome over the next few days and reminded me that this was an unfortunate exception.
I think you’re spoilt for choice in Morocco when you have to decide which places to visit. There are simply so many beautiful places in the country. Marrakesh has already won me over, Tangier and Chefchaouen now too. Casablanca… well, I can understand if people don’t like the city, but I didn’t think it was bad either.
But with Fez, Ouarzazate, the Atlas Mountains, Essaouira, Agadir and so on, there are still a lot of places I haven’t seen yet. So I’m sure there will be a third visit to Morocco in the near future. And I’m really looking forward to it.
I mentioned at the beginning of this text that I thought Morocco was a country that could become one of my favorites. And it did. Of course, comparing it to other North African countries would be a bit unfair, as I haven’t spent much time in them. However, I can compare Morocco to countries in the Middle East and Morocco would certainly be up there.
In conclusion, this trip to Morocco was unplanned, as two days suddenly turned into five. But although it was very frustrating to miss one country (Niger) on this trip, the extra days in Morocco made up for it…
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