Travels with my son!

A short trip designed to introduce Natty to the culture, sights, sounds and tastes of Morrocco.

Outside of skiing, it was the first with just the two of us for a few years.

We visited two famous cities on this trip, with my favourite, ‘Essaouira’ sandwiched between two very different Marrakesh experiences.

Thankfully the weather played ball providing us with blue skies and warm sunny days for the duration. However, the nights were a little chillier than expected.

Each day got better…

Day 1 – Marrakesh

We arrived in Marrakesh late on Monday evening and, after checking in to our Riad in the Kazbar we headed for my favourite haunt in the Medina ‘Cafe Arabe’ for some nourishment. We popped in for a beer at Le Salama on the way back.

We walked via the world famous Jemaa el-Fnaa market square which by late evening is heaving with people and buzzing with noise.  It was probably the same sensory overload for Natty that I experienced when I first visited here a few years ago.

The colours, the noise, smells and general hustle and bustle – it takes a bit of getting used to!

Whilst being inside the Medina, the famous Kazbar quarter is just outside of the central area, and our accommodation was right on its extremities. It has to be said that it was not in the most salubrious corner of the city – a tad squalid in places. Step outside of the centre of the Medina and things get a little more edgy. Our digs, whilst clean, were on the “budget” side too… That said, we didn’t spend much time there, which for Natty was just as well – as he has high standards 😂 😂 😂.

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Day 2 – Marrakesh

We got up early (ish) and, after wrapping up warm, wandered the local quarter of the Medina, meandering through the narrow alleyways, looking at the market stalls and sucking up the vibe. The bold colours jump out and slap you square around the face, everything is so vibrant and unmistakably Marrakesh!

The narrow streets are full to the brim with people, carts, donkeys, bikes and other wheeled contraptions – often held together with lengths of string and occasionally propelled by a noisy two stroke motor – most are driven incredibly fast by their skilled and competent drivers!

Street traders ambush you even at the slightest glance at their products, and every trick in the book is used to help visitors part with their money… which takes a bit of getting used to!

But I LOVE it. It’s wonderful!

Before the crowds built up too much we headed for Bahia Palace and joined visitors exploring the wonderful architecture of this famous building. I’ve been here before, but thought it worth introducing to Natty.

…after an hour or so the sun warmed the air enough for us to head back to our digs and ditch our coats. We then went back out to explore the areas around the Koutoubia Mosque and returned to the centre and grabbed some food.

We visited a great bar which overlooks the square and spent an hour or so chatting to some Americans (Amanda and Sean) and a guy from Netherlands (Bas). I recognised the former as they were on the same flight as us from London. They’ve both recently retired from the ASAF and were buzzing with excitement to be here.

The evening was perfect, so we grabbed a few beers in my favourite sunset bar, Kabana. 

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Day 3 – Essaouira

Mid-morning on day three we headed off to the SupaTours bus station to catch a coach to Essaouira.  We could have walked it in 45 minutes, but decided on taking a take a taxi, and after a little haggling we agreed a price and got there well ahead of schedule. 

The coach drive (which we booked for 100 DAM via https://12go.com) was incredibly comfortable, and sooooo much better than my last experience I had using Moroccan transport (where one of my fellow passengers carried their boxed up live chicken on the trip). I guess that was a good thing so as not to traumatise Natty too much.  I also learned quickly this was a more touristic in nature, charging extra to stick a rucksack in the hold. It was jam packed full of European and Americans, the exact opposite to my last journey. 

On arriving at Essaouira we BOTH gave a huge sigh of relief as the atmosphere here is the antithesis of Marrakesh. Calm, quiet, relaxed and slow paced.

Natty was way more comfortable, and I must admit that I was too.

Essaouira is my favourite go-to city on the coast, although I’ve picked up a few tips of places further up north I want to visit at some point. 

We checked into our Riad which was the best I’ve experienced in Essaouira so far (for the price) and a major step up from last night!  

After a short walk around the walled city, and visiting a few must-do locations we headed for a late lunch and the most glorious rooftop bar where we both chose a fish based meal which would have been caught locally and was super fresh. Oh and it was washed down with a beer or two! 

After dragging Natty around the fish harbour, we headed along the beach to a bar I’ve never been to right next to the sand before plonking our arse in the best seat in the house at Beytt to wash the sun-set. 

On the way back, we treated ourselves to a “special” meal. We visited a restaurant called Cosmo which I think is off-the-scale in terms of high quality and its stunning decor. I think Natty agreed, although the portion sizes were smaller than anticipated which meant we ordered an extra “side” which hit the spot! 

The club on the top floor “Taros” was pretty much empty, so we didn’t stay long – it’s usually banging in high season and weekends, Tuesday night in early Feb meant it was neither!  

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Day 4 – return to Marrakesh

The next morning saw us return to Marrakesh and check into the best hotel of the trip yet… It was styled as a Riad, and had a nice touch of luxury.  It was also in the heart of the Medina in a calmer area than our first Marrakesh experience. We’d stepped up the quality on each day…

The weather was also a LOT warmer, so we wandered the streets and headed for a few rooftop bars to relax and gaze over the distant snowcapped Atlas mountains.  

We also found a few wonderful rooftop bars. El Fenn and MK.

Natty also made a new “Manchester United” friend on the afternoon we visited the market for some street food. We weren’t going to eat in the square but got suckered in mainly on account of Natty wearing his LFC top and being bombarded with shouts of “MO SALAH”.

The meal was a bit of a meat feast…. I’d packed the Imodium, just in case! (it wasn’t needed).

But all good things come to an end… and as the sun rose on the last morning we grabbed our final breakfast before heading back to the airport… a little sad to be leaving.

A great trip and introduction to Morocco for Natty

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Hints and tips

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Air Travel

Flights

WizzAir from Gatwick £12.99 each per person per flight! Which includes one small carry on bag (40x30x20).

OUTBOUND – on the way out I booked an additional cabin bag (55x40x23) which has an allowance of up to 10kg in weight. It costs £36 with Wizz Priority, which also gives you early boarding. Wizz Priority was higher price for this flight as many going to Marrakesh only take cabin bags.

INBOUND – I didn’t book Wizz Priority on the way back as they were asking too much, so swapped it for a single Hold Bag up to 20KG, which meant I could bring back gifts and not worry about the weight or dimensions. This cost was £36. The bag was on the carousel at Gatwick almost before we got there.

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Bus and Coach

12go.com is the website to use to book a bus between Marrakesh and Essaouira 100 MAD = £8GBP, additional charges for large bag approx 50 pence.

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Accommodation

Marrakesh

Riad Pachavana 172 Derb Lamsober, Medina

Cost approx £40pppn, including great breakfast. Quite central and very clean. I would recommend for couples or room share.

My rating 8.5/10 (cost v quality)

Essaouira

Riad Mogantique-Essaouira, Rue Qudi Ayad, Ahl Agadir, 40400 Essaouira.

Cost approx £20pppn including breakfast

My rating 9/10 (cost v quality)

Marrakesh

For You Riad 4, Serb Riad Kasbah

This is a BUDGET travellers Riad and worked out at approx £10pppn including a basic breakfast.

We stayed here when we first arrived. It was clean enough, but needs a bit of a lick of paint in places. Probably only for people on a budget or during busier periods when you want to get away from the main Medina area and tourists (and meet other travellers).

Photos look better than it actually was, but for the price I was happy. Natty was less impressed!

My rating 7/10 (cost v quality)