Help planning a good trip to Morocco

Suggest you get DK's "Top ten Marrakech" for use in that city. We used it along with the tour we took in March. IN Fez, our tour did the Medina and it is beyond chaotic-really think you should hire a guide so that you can experience it and see what needs to be seen. In the Medinas, "hustling" is what its all about-you have to negotiate for everything but food.

You need a guide book. Fes and Marrakech are very interesting, but there are many additional fascinating places. Getting to them expeditiously is not always simple, and a guide book will be of great assistance. It will also explain about the large number of young males who will approach you, wanting to be your guide.

Some parts of Morocco will probably be brutally hot in August. Try to find one or two interesting places that will be cooler so you'll get a bit of a break.

You can manage Marrakech with a good guide book, but you should definitely look into hiring a guide in Fes. First of all, you'll learn more about the history of the city that way. (The city has layers of history.) And you will need a guide to visit the medina. While it's possible that a newbie might be able to visit the medina alone, consider the number of streets and lack of signs. Unless your language skills are considerable, a guide will help you manage your time best.

Thank you for the replies all! I'll consider a guide in Fez then, but for someone interested in the history and architecture, do you think Marrakech and fez are good destinations, or are they too touristy?

Of course you'll find enough monuments and historical sites in both Marrakech and Fez, these are the two oldest cities in Morocco, so don't worry about not enjoying your trip if history and culture are what interests you! for the plan, there are many places you could visit in both cities, in Fez there's the Medina, which is the oldest part of the city (Fez is big city with more than 1.1million inhabitants) I'll suggest you take a a Riad in the Medina and enjoy its beauty. it is safe but be careful and know that you'll be suggested a lot of help by many children that are not willing to help you but be your guide and expect money in return. so my advice is to either plan well your trip and know what you'll do and only ask for directions from salespeople that you can trust from the looks (there are many) or be ready to lose much of your money on tips plus a headache with those children who don't know what enough is. in Marrakech it's somehow similar but different, people are more difficult and salespeople are the biggest danger haha. they want to sell you anything just to take money. if you go to Elfna, you'll find showpeople with snakes and monkeys, be very careful there as they'll put a snake on you so that you take a picture and pay them. They'll even try to take money from you if they only see you taking pictures. if that happens that off your smile and act like your getting angry because he asked you that otherwise he'll be the one playing that game acting all angry and weird. Use a firm NO and try to minimize the touristy look if possible, and also try to look like a traveler who knows what's up and is tough himself, and that with everyone when it comes to Marrakech, don't always be mean but show them that you know what they want and you wont give it because you're smarter, otherwise they'll think they smarter than you and that's the worse you can do for yourself! I'd recommend you take a look at this itinerary guide, it'll help you plan your trip to Marrakech, and the traveler's profile has also a guide to Fez, I'd recommend you check that one as well, it covers most of the must-see and do things. I hope you'll have a great time! Here's my suggested article
https://tripblan.com/trip/marrakech Cheers

for someone interested in the history and architecture, do you think Marrakech and fez are good destinations, or are they too touristy?

You'll love the architecture in Fes. Again, the city has so much history that you can't help but be captivated by the different parts of the city.

Both cities are wonderful places to visit as far as history goes. Both cities will also have tourists, but not to the same levels of concentration you might see in London, Paris or Rome.

Having said that, just use the same common sense you'd use in any major city. And if you're traveling by taxi, make sure that you and the driver agree on a price before you climb into the cab.

Thank you for the tips guys, very helpful! I'm already making huge progress with planning and have a better idea of what to expect.. pretty excited tbh :D

Sounds like you have a good plan....I found Morocco fascinating! I myself, since breaking my ankle in Egypt, have decided that when I travel in third-world countries, I will go with a group. When I broke my ankle, I was traveling with a group, but another woman and I were out walking near the pyramids when it happened. The first hospital they took me (in an ambulance which I had to crawl into, dragging my flopping foot) had dirt on the walls....my companion ran back to our group leader and she came to the little local hospital and demanded to have me transferred to one of the two best hospitals in Cairo. The other thing you can do besides traveling with a group, is to find out which hospitals are the best (perhaps the good travel guide publications list them) and demand to be taken to one of them. I love Egypt, and have been back several times since then, by now I've gotten to know some people there and could call them if I get in trouble. Anyway, I am one of the few tourists to Egypt to came home with two Egyptian screws in my ankle!

Medina is the best option to visit if you are going Marrakech. There are lot of historical places to see like Saadian Tombs, the Badi Palace and Koutoubia Mosque etc. Inspite of this, Medina Toy & Train Museum is also an awesome one for kids.