I will be traveling alone/senior citizen to Spain and Portugal late Oct-mid Nov. I am wondering what if any differences I should be aware of when traveling during this time. For example I have learned that many city tours either have limited hours or are closed. My destinations are as follows. Lisbon, Algarve Coast, Seville Cordoba, Madrid, Barcelona. Also I really wanted to visit Morocco but my son is against it because he said it is not safe. Any suggestions?
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
My suggestion is to tell your son he needs to adjust his world view a little bit. Yes, Morocco is very "foreign" for most of us, but like a lot of places, as long as you're prepared and use common sense, it's no more dangerous than many places closer to home (Pioneer Square on a weekend evening comes to mind...). Morocco is fascinating, and worth a visit (I've been twice). My advice would be to skip the obvious "day trip to tangiers" that most spooked tourists do (which offers you the absolute worst possible view of the country) and instead go straight to Marrakech, a much more interesting and authentic place (you can fly from madrid to Marrakech for chump change - there are other cheap flights, too).
If you think about it, Morocco is to western Europe as Mexico is to the US - the parallels are uncanny: the land to the south is foreign, rough, relatively poor, but filled with interesting sights and experiences. From the south come food, music, culture, and lots of immigrants looking for a better life. From the north comes hoards of tourists looking for sun, low prices and an exotic vacation.
The parallel continues if you look at how some people go there for a visit: Tangiers is the "bordertown" (equivalent to Tijuana), garish, inauthentic, designed to process large numbers of quickie day tours. Whether Tijuana or tangiers, a "border town" experience is no way to see a country. Those who want to get past the hustlers, hawkers and scan artists would do better to bypass the border and go see the real thing. For Morocco, Marrakech is the best choice, even for a quick trip. A couple of days there is enough to get a feel for the country, and it's about as "easy" a any place in Africa/the Arab world for a first time visitor. You probably don't realize it, but tourism is big business there - there are cheap flights from all over Europe and they get many visitors - you'll have company.
Hope that helps a bit. Good luck.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Susan...what kind of "city tours" are you speaking of? Most of these locations serve tourists year-round, and while they may not be as frequent as during the high season, any of those city's tourist information offices will be able to line up something for you.
I also see no problems with visiting Morocco....with normal precautions, it's very safe for tourists. And While I agree that Marrakech is a great city for a couple of days, his description of Tangiers as "the "bordertown" (equivalent to Tijuana), garish, inauthentic, designed to process large numbers of quickie day tours" ignores Tangiers' long and honourable history as a major port city, influenced by many different civilizations, and its role as a window on the world for Morocco. Tangiers would be as it is today without tourists....Tijuana would not.