Last updated: March 1, 2023
Stop number 3 of 4 on our 6th around the world was Marrakech Morocco! Marrakech Morocco is not as easy to get to from North America as it is from Europe and so it hasn’t been easy for us to achieve our goal of visiting this culturally rich, historic and exotic destination for many years now. This past November, we were able to finally visit Marrakech for a 4 night stay. While it is pretty touristy and popular with travelers of all backgrounds and experience, there are still things that we struggled to research and were surprised about when we were there. In this post, we share our 13 tips and general information based on our experiences to help you plan your visit Marrakech Morocco!
List of Topics:
1. Marrakech or Marrakesh
2. Visiting in November
3. Getting Here
4. Fast Track and Lounge at the Airport
5. Currency,Cash or credit card
6. Where to stay
7. To Nomad or not to Nomad
8. Where to eat
9. Buying Alcohol in Marrakech
10. Language
11. What to wear and pack
12. Things to do
13. Visiting Marrakech with Children
1. Marrakech or Marrakesh
You can spell it either way; Marrakesh is the common English spelling while Marrakesh is the common French spelling. In French, “ch” is pronounced more or less the same way as “sh” in English.
The verdict: Despite being spelled differently, they sound the same. Since most Moroccans we spoke with prefer to speak in French, we spell it this way.
2. Visiting in November
Most guides will say visiting between September to November and March to May are the best times to visit Marrakech. Like anything, we’d recommend being aware of average temperatures, rainfall, hours of daylight and specifically for Marrakech, whether or not it’s Ramadan (Ramadan lasts 29-30 days and the dates change every year due to the lunar calendar).
We visited in early November and the temperature was quite comfortable; it was sunny every day and the temperature reached highs of about 25 Celsius. The mornings and evenings were cool with temperatures around 10 Celsius. We found the temperature really comfortable to visit the souk during the day as we can’t imagine how it would be to visit when it’s really hot as it is quite closed off. We brought sandals but didn’t find them appropriate to walk through the souk due to everything going on and how dusty it can be. We did have to bundle up though to have breakfast on the rooftop terrace and when walking at night to go for dinner. Thankfully, some places had heated lamps and/or blankets to keep people warm.
The verdict: If we could, we’d visit somewhere around mid-September to mid-October for slightly warmer weather.
3. Getting Here
We eventually chose to get to Marrakech from Bali by flying on Turkish Airlines from DPS – I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport to IST – Istanbul Airport then onwards to RAK – Menara Marrakech Airport. While it was a long trip, it did maximize time; it took 13.5 hours or so to get to Istanbul and another 5 hours to get to Marrakech with 5 hours to enjoy the Turkish Airlines Lounge in IST. Had we not done this, we would have flown from CGK – Jakarta to HKG – Hong Kong on Garuda, then spent 1 night and 1 day in Hong Kong before flying to CDG – Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and having to overnight to catch a morning flight to RAK on either Air France or Royal Air Maroc.
We flew on TAP Portugal from RAK – Marrakech Menara Airport to LIS – Lisbon Portale Airport to EWR – Newark International Airport and onwards to YVR – Vancouver International Airport to get home after a 3 day stop-over in Porto. Overall, we found it a long day but the timings were efficient and we enjoyed our flights; we felt it was great value to book business class on TAP Portugal due to the product and miles earned. We could have connected through YYZ – Toronto but Air Canada operates a 787 from EWR to YVR which means you get Air Canada Signature Class!
The verdict: If you are coming from North America, we do recommend booking with TAP Portugal and including a stopover in Lisbon or Porto. A detailed review of the product will be posted soon; stay tuned!
4. Fast Track and Lounge at the Airport
From our research about visas and general customs rules, we noticed that many people said it took hours to get through which would not be ideal; who wants to stand in line for 2 hours just to clear customs and immigration? Thankfully, there is a Fast Track service that can be purchased to bypass the queues; for $45USD per person, Pearl Assist will meet you at the gate and take you through the Fast Track Immigration area. They also offer the same service for departures; we purchased both. Since we arrived at RAK around 14:00, the airport wasn’t busy so there was actually no one waiting in line so it was a waste. That being said, had we arrived an hour later, it would have been a lot busier so it can be worth it depending on when you are arriving. As for departure, our flight was leaving RAK at 12:00 and since the airport wasn’t busy and Star Alliance Gold gets you Fast Track, it was a waste of money, not to mention the Pearl Assist people didn’t show up to meet us and were nowhere to be found so we are working on getting a refund.
You can also purchase access to the lounge through Fast Track for about $20. We used our Priority Pass to get access. Overall, it was a decent lounge that wasn’t crowded, had adequate seating including flat loungers with individual televisions, reliable and fast WIFI, beverages (water, soda, coffee, tea, wine, beer, hard alcohol) and food (snacks, baked goods, and warm items).
The verdict: We would consider getting Fast Track again for arrival only if our flight was scheduled to arrive at 14:00 or later. Fast Track with Pearl Assist needs to be booked in advance so don’t think you can book it while at the airport while in transit if you notice your flight is delayed and will now arrive during a busy time. Since there isn’t really anywhere to sit, we do think it is worth paying to use the lounge if you will be staying at the airport for a long time.
5. Currency,Cash or credit card
Moroccan Dirhams are the currency in Morocco and some places will accept Euros but most often, you will be billed in Moroccan Dirhams. We always pay in local currency as sometimes the exchange rate is not posted and it can end up costing more. Since the airport was not busy, we immediately exchanged Canadian Dollars for Moroccan Dirhams; the rate we received at the airport was marginally less than was offered in the souk. We went to El Bacha Exchange which was a 5 minute walk from where we were; it opened fairly early and stayed open fairly late, we’d say around 09:00-20:00.
If you are shopping in the souk, you need cash. Larger and more expensive restaurants and hotels will accept credit card and we had no issues with the credit card machines when we paid with card. We really didn’t want to re-exchange money back when leaving so we made sure to use up all of our cash.
The verdict: If the arrivals area at the airport is too busy and you don’t need cash for a taxi, you can wait until you get to the medina to exchange it fairly easily.
6. Where to stay
Depending on how much time you have, we do recommend staying in the medina for at least 2-3 nights to have 2 full days there. The medina is fairly small and it is nice to have somewhere close-by to go back to in between excursions. If you have extra time, you may want to consider adding 2 nights at a resort outside of the city or 1 night in Essaouira to experience something different.
We spent 4 nights at Dar Kandi in the medina and ended up with 3.5 days in Marrakech. We had a pretty big wish list and found it hard to get everything we wanted on it at the price we were looking for; riad accommodations go from $20 per night to $1,000+. We chose Dar Kandi because it looked beautiful, had a good location, positive reviews, the price was reasonable and included breakfast, it had a pool and rooftop terrace, and while it didn’t have the balcony we wanted our room was quite spacious and had an area where you could open the windows (yes, sometimes you should book the nicest and biggest room!).
We met people who were staying at AirBnB in Gueliz, the new city and while they enjoyed that, they felt it was a little inconvenient to always take a taxi into the medina.
The verdict: We do recommend staying in the medina at a riad for the full experience and we would stay at Dar Kandi again for sure. We would also splurge and stay at a resort-style property outside the city for at least 1-2 nights due to how stunning it is in the Marrakech area but also to be away from the chaos. Try to book in advance as the riads are quite small and have limited number of rooms; we initially wanted to book at Riad 72 but the room type we wanted was sold out.
7. To Nomad or not to Nomad
Most, if not every guidebook will mention eating at Nomad. It was also recommended by everyone we told we were going to Marrakech! What makes Nomad spectacular is the view from the rooftop patio at sunset; there are very few places in the medina that offer such a view. That being said, we found the food to be mediocre; Jason’s burger was under seasoned, the bun was stale, the potatoes were very dry and the mound of undressed greens were uninspiring. Max’s braised lamb was better but the dish was served very cold.
The thing that kills it here is the selfie/Instagram crowd; it is hard to enjoy the sunset and views when everyone is pointing their phone to capture it rather than enjoy it. And in some cases, people will reach over your table to get a better angle. It just feels like a place where people come to have a crappy burger and take photos/videos and perhaps that’s what’s become of it due to its popularity.
The verdict: If you do go, make sure to make a reservation as they were turning people away around 18:00 when we arrived and order something small to snack on or just beverages. Enjoy the sunset and try not to hate on all the people more obsessed with their phones than being there. It REALLY is beautiful and unique so take a few photos like we did, but be mindful of others and just enjoy being there!
8. Where to eat
Despite being touristy, the dining scene in the Medina in Marrakech is a little daunting: you have very basic street-food at night at Jemaa el-Fna, mid-range to fine-dining restaurants for lunch and dinner serving a mosaic of varied cuisines, and the dinners at the riads. Our strategy to wander around and eat all day was not going to work very well in Marrakech!
We had breakfast included in our stay at our riad and since it included eggs and lots of carbs, it kept us going for awhile until we could have lunch and then we’d snack a little until we could have dinner as early as possible; there is a late dining culture in Marrakech so be prepared to eat around 18:30 or later. We had also looked at various Moroccan cookbooks and we didn’t find many of the dishes that looked interesting to us. Overall, while we enjoyed eating in Marrakech, it wasn’t as food focused as we had hoped or expected. We were also hesitant to eat at the stalls at Jemaa el-Fna due to how crazy busy everything was and how people were really pushy about getting you to eat at your stall. Even Maroc Mama has tips on what to avoid at Jemaa el-Fna.
Here are some of the meals we enjoyed the most:
- Dar Kandi for dinner: Since we’d travelled over 20 hours, we decided to take advantage of having dinner at our riad and quite enjoyed it. Overall, it was probably the best meal we had during out visit; we had a selection of Moroccan salads, chicken tajine, beef tangia, with couscous. This was the best chicken tajine we had on the trip.
- Le Trou au Mur: Located in the medina, Le Trou au Mur is renowned for its own traditional clay mechoui oven so that you can try lamb mechoui in a more comfortable setting than getting it in the souk. We were not as brave as Crissy Teigen and David Chang to try it on the street so this was a good compromise! We got the mixed lamb mechoui which was topped with crispy onions that were to die for!
- Le Jardin: Le Jardin is also in the medina and part of the Nomad group so we were unsure about it but ended up pleasantly surprised with the meal, it was delicious and we got to try some delicious Moroccan food! While the setting is in a nice courtyard with trees, the birds do get agitated at sunset and so you need to be mindful of bird poop; make a reservation and ask not to be seated under a tree.
- Amal: We did a cooking class at Amal in the Targa neighborhood where we learned how to make tajines and Moroccan tea. Amal Training Centre is a non-profit that helps disadvantaged women gain training and work experience through the cooking school, catering business, and restaurant in Gueliz. Overall, we enjoyed the experience of learning the spices and different flavor profiles of lamb, beef, chicken, and vegetable tajines as we also got to help cook them over an open-fire. We did find the whole thing to be a little disorganized but overall it is worth supporting Amal either by joining a cooking class and/or having lunch at their facility in Gueliz.
- Naranj: We eventually found Naranj after wandering through the medina for a lovely lunch on their rooftop terrace. The menu is a mix of Lebanese and Moroccan inspired dishes. We really enjoyed the mezze platter and lemonades.
- Café Clock: Café Clock is pretty popular with tourists as it brings together local people to enjoy food, drink, and culture at the café. Café Clock is a restaurant but also has cooking/baking classes, Arabic calligraphy classes, Moroccan Culture classes, and music and storytelling events. We came for the Fez platter but they ran out and while the camel burger that most westerns order was enticing, we had the 7ALWA Selection of Moroccan with Moroccan tea which was delightful.
The verdict: Yes, you will get tajined out so try to mix it up; if you have tajine for lunch, you may not want to have it for dinner. We do really recommend Le Trou au Mur for a nice meal on a rooftop and the lamb mechoui. If you are into food photography, prepare for low-light which is why we did’t get to take too many photos of food as it was too dark.
9. Buying Alcohol in Marrakech
Morocco is a Muslim country but quite relaxed; even more relaxed than we expected from what we read online. We had read that to purchase alcohol at Carrefour, you need to present a passport. We did not experience this at all and had no issues purchasing alcohol on separate days without having to present a passport. The alcoholic beverages are located in the basement in the bank corner of the store and you exit through the back door after purchasing. The alcohol section was closed on Sunday of Mawlid, Islamic prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
Many restaurants don’t serve alcohol unless they are affiliated with a hotel; Nomad and Le Jardin do not serve alcohol but Le Trou au Mur, our riad Dar Kandi, and Riad 72 do. There are also a few random spots and established bars that do. Here are two spots we tried out:
- Kosy Bar: We probably wouldn’t have a meal here as the menu is quite eclectic; from sushi to spaghetti but we did enjoy some drinks and spicy Moroccan olives. This is where we ordered a glass of Moroccan rosé and we were actually served Moroccan vin gris which is very similar to Provençale rosé! We also got to eat a whole little bowl of those delicious olives we saw in the souk and were not brave enough to buy! A glass of Morrocan vin gris is about 60 Dirhams and a Casablance beer was 75 Dirhams.
- El Fenn: We really wanted to stay at El Fenn but couldn’t justify the price tag so we went for a drink. Their rooftop terrace bar is really nice and the drinks, especially the Moroccan vin gris are reasonably priced (about 80 Dirhams/$11CAD) but once again, it’s hard to enjoy the setting when Instagram girls keep walking in and setting up for their photo shoots.
The verdict: Try some Moroccan vin gris; Carrefour sells half size and full size bottles for pretty cheap (about 25-45 Dirhams), cheaper than purchasing the bottle opener (35 Dirhams). And yes, Carrefour also sells the spiced olives also sold in the souk that pair well with the vin gris!
10. Language
Many Moroccans speak both French and most speak Arabic and those who work in tourism will know some English. We were advised to speak French but our French accent as Canadians is quite different than the typical France-French accent so it was difficult for them to understand us at times. Despite that, people told us they preferred it when we spoke French over English. As Canadians, when you speak English without a British accent, everyone will assume you are American.
As for signs, most were either in French or Arabic or both. We did not experience any issues communicating in Marrakech.
The verdict: Speak French and if you’re Canadian like us try adopting more of a France-French accent and dialect if you can.
11. What to wear and pack
Even if Morocco is a Muslim country, it is a common misconception that you need to wear a headscarf. Yes, one should dress more conservatively, especially women but it’s a lot more relaxed than people think it is. We both wore jeans and layered tops due to how cold it was. Max had a t-shirt, a cardigan and a windbreaker to start in the morning and eventually walked around in a t-shirt. Closed toe shoes are recommended if you are walking in the narrow streets of the medina due to how busy it is with motorbikes, bicycles, donkeys, people and just dusty in general. We both brought shorts for this leg of the trip but didn’t end up wearing them even if it reached 27 Celsius in the afternoon. Our style is relaxed casual but neat to blend in and we found this to work well in Marrakech; we were comfortable and no one bugged us other than when we were walking through Jemaa el-Fna.
We also should have packed a universal charger; if we can’t plug in to the wall, we usually plug in to the USB in the TV or the plug in the bathroom for shaves but we had none such options where we were staying and didn’t come across any universal chargers to buy very easily either.
As for women, it is easy to buy pads and tampons at the Carrefour so no worries about these items like in other places in the world. There are a few modern malls that are easily accessible in case you need to buy anything. Carré Eden Shopping Center Marrakech in Gueliz has lots of Western brands like H&M, Diesel, Lacoste as well as restaurants and a supermarket.
We had packed a money belt for when we walked around the medina but only used it once when we walked to Carrefour with our passports to purchase beer and wine. After that, we felt comfortable enough to walk around without it; Max had a black Herschel tote bag and Jason had a jacket with inside pockets that zip.
The verdict: Be mindful of the weather and if you are visiting in November through to March, bring warm clothing if you plan on being outside in the morning and evenings. Bring anything that is essential to you as it may be difficult to buy in the medina.
12. Things to do
- Shopping: A lot of people come to Marrakech to shop and we can see why; it was one of the first times we wished we would have checked luggage to bring things home. Well, more like a shipping container to fit all the nice furniture too! From tea pots to serving trays, lights, tiles, tables, chairs, etc. there is lots of beautiful things to buy, uhm I mean haggle for since you do need to negotiate the price. We don’t have any experience in that so we can’t offer tips. Even if we didn’t buy anything, walking through the narrow streets and just observing the souk was an experience in itself; especially after you’re travelled over 20+ hours and are jetlagged, it was like being in a video game maze. Eventually, we got the hang of it and were able to find landmarks and match them to our Google Map but do expect to get lost and it is fun to find your way out! Even with Google Maps, we struggled as the GPS function didn’t work too well for us. Unfortunately, as the souk was shutting down around 20:00, we got even more lost as our usually landmarks were not easy to be found since they were starting to shut the lights too. Be mindful of this if you are staying out later.
- Mosques: Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter mosques in Morocco as they are a place of worship, not a tourist attraction. That being said, you can still admire the mosque from the outside and if you plan it, you can be there around the adhan (call to prayer). We do recommend doing this and found the setting more peaceful at the Mosquée Berrima than Mosquée Koutoubia which is always crowded with tourists.
- Museums: As far as museums, we only visited the Dar el Bacha, also known as Musée des Confluences. We chose to visit this one because it appears to be less known so less crowded and they also have a unique and beautiful café inside called Dar El Bacha Coffee. We arrived exactly at 10:00 for opening and didn’t find it too crowded and there was free space at the café. By the time we left at 12:00, the café was turning away people who didn’t have reservations and the museum was crowded but not overrun. We paid 60 Dirhams in cash each to enter the museum and despite people saying you can pay with card, we didn’t see any indication of that. Overall, we enjoyed our morning here; the coffee was great and we got to see Moroccan architecture and a lovely courtyard. Had they not been closed on Tuesday, we would have gone back just for coffee; if you let the staff know you are going to the café, you don’t need to pay the entrance fee but people will ask to see your ticket if you walk around the exhibits and courtyard. For more tips and photos, check out our Instagram post!
- Cooking Class: We also did a half day cooking class at Amal, which we talk about in the “Where to Eat” tips. We do recommend signing-up for a cooking class as it is a great way to learn more about the food and the culture.
- Day Trip to the Atlas Mountains to experience Berber life: Our friend and local guide Mohamed of Moroccan Berbers Roaming recommends a day trip to Imlil village, followed by some time spent in the Agafay desert to explore via quad or camel ride, ending the day with a dinner in Berber tent with cultural show. This full day trip allows tourists to experience the daily life of Berbers in the Atlas mountains and enjoy the landscape of the rocky desert at sunset.
- Food Tour: We had also looked at doing a food tour but the one we were most interested isn’t cheap and sells out fast and so we were hesitant to book something so far in advance that is essentially non-refundable unless you purchase cancellation insurance.
The verdict: Look at the things you want to do in advance and when they are closed to plan your activities each day as you will run out of time fast if you are only there for 3-5 days like most people we met.
13. Visiting Marrakech with Children
Since we’ve been back, we’ve been asked whether or not Marrakech is a child-friendly place to visit a few times; this is difficult for us to assess as a couple who don’t have children or travel with children very often! We did see people with children in the medina and some with little ones in strollers. That being said, the challenge will be accommodations as many of the riad style hotels don’t seem geared to children; the rooms can be small, there are lots of winding stairs, and not many places we visited had children’s menus nor did we see any children at the places we were eating at. It might also be difficult to walk in the medina with children and make sure they’re alert and aware at all times as this was difficult for us as adults. We even worry about getting sick and needing to go to a hospital or clinic in a foreign country and so it might be worth doing some research about health care in Marrakech for peace of mind in case your children get hurt or sick.
If you want to visit Marrakech with children, staying at a resort property might be the way to go. During our visit, we mostly saw couples, tour groups of adults, and mostly adults in general. In the end it depends what you are comfortable with and your parenting style but things are not as children-friendly as North America even if the local culture is pretty friendly and welcoming to children.
The verdict: If you want to bring your children to Marrakech, we are sure you can pull it off but we do recommend doing extensive research about child-friendly accommodations, places to eat, activities, and tours.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, we really enjoyed our visit to Marrakech and felt that we had enough time to get through the list of things we were most interested in. We had a lot of fun just wandering the medina and absorbing all its chaos and order. One second you are walking through these tiny narrow streets and you come upon a door and once that door opens, you enter a completely new world; you are in awe of all that is behind that door as you can’t really see beyond the walls! Marrakech is truly unlike anywhere we have been and the scenery was so surreal it felt like a movie set at some times. That being said, if we go back to Morocco, we’d like to explore a little more off the tourist beaten path and visit Meknès which is one of Morocco’s oldest imperial cities near a few vineyards that grow the gris and rose wines we enjoyed so much!
Have you been to Marrakech? If so, did you enjoy it? Do you have any other tips and/or perspectives to add?
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Glad you had a good visit to Marrakesh! It is certainly an interesting place! I definitely got tagine’d out so I appreciated finding some restaurants that weren’t tagine. Sorry that you didn’t like Nomad – I can imagine since it’s been 2 years since we were there, that there is an overwhelming number of Instagrammers there now.
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Our hotel told us people has similar experiences at Nomad so perhaps it’s become too popular for its own good! It was till fun!
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