Traveling to Malaga and Morroco

thanks for your reply which we will certainly consider. We appreciate your planning and tips and advice.

I have just finished planning a similar itinerary. We are traveling to Madrid and Costa del Sol next October where we will use Marbella as a base for 1 week. On the last day we are traveling to either Algeciras or Tarifa for the fast ferry to Tangier(or TangerMed depending on ferry). I have arranged for a guide/driver to meet us in Tangier and drive us to Fes via Chefchaouen where we will visit for several hours. We are spending 3 nights in Fes before heading on to Merzouga and Erg Chebbi for a camel 'safari' and an overnight in a berber tent in the Saharan dunes We will also have one night at a riad before the camel trek. From Merzouga we will visit the Todra/Dades Gorge and overnight. The next day we make our way to Marrakech via Ouarzazate and Ait ben Haddou. We then spend 3 nights in Marrakech before flying back to Madrid via Iberian. From all that I have reseached many experienced travelers do not recommend staying in Casablanca as it does not have much to see. I chose the route I did to experience Fes and Marrakech as well as the mountains and desert areas in Morocco. We will have the services of a guide and driver for the duration. There is much written on planning a trip on the Morocco forums on TA

Your welcome...feel free to PM me if you have questions....It took a couple of intense months to sift through info and email vendors.

Again thanks, I'm notifying my son who along with me will compose our itinerary and we will defiantly contact you to see what fits our travel demands or desires..

This summer I was in Spain and Morroco. I did Spain on my own and enjoyed it. I did a tour in Morroco, which was great. I was in Morroco for 16 days. My tour left from Casablanca, but spent no time in the city. I gave myself 2 1/2 days in Casablanca on my own. It was about 1 1/2 days to long. It was a city not much to see with the expection of the new Mosque with is a must see. It is beautiful and one of the few in Morroco where non Muslims are allowed. I would only do Casablanca if it works in your plans and then only for a day.

I've been to Morocco twice, first time included a couple days in Casablanca. Honestly, I see no reason to go to Casablanca, and would spend my time elsewhere. It's a very ordinary city with little going for it - the only notable sight is the Hassan II mosque (a large and impressive building, but it's a modern building, not a historic one). There is no "Ricks American Cafe" there and the movie was shot in California - nothing romantic or exciting about the place besides the name...you can do better. Spend your time exploring the ancient cities, Fes, Marrakesh and Meknes, get out to the grand ergs if you have time (takes a while to get there though). Don't miss Fes or Marrakesh - they're the reason you go.

Chris' route as described above looks pretty good. Although personally I think the ferry cities on the coast are a waste of time - in many ways Morocco is "Europe's Mexico" and the ferry towns are akin to Tijuana or other Mexican "bordertowns" where you don't really get a real experience. Consider skipping all the touts and the other hassles waiting for the ferry daytrippers, and fly directly to Fes or Marrakesh. There are very cheap flights from several cities in Spain (and elsewhere in Europe) - tourism in Morocco is a lot more developed than many of us think. I'll put in another vote for Ait Benhaddou - amazing place! BTW, I see no need for a "guide" - Personally, I found driving in Morocco less challenging than driving in Paris. YMMV. Bon chance

David, We are simply using Tangier as a pick up point as we are coming from Marbella..There are no direct flights from Malaga or we would have flown direct to Fes. For the OP I would recommend if they will be coming from Spain to Morocco to end their Spain portion either in Seville or Madrid..both of which have direct flights to Morocco. Instead of Tangier - we are going to vist chefchaouen before heading to Fes for the night. As for the 'guide' ...it is not so much for the driving but a good guide is a window to their culture in a way that you can miss if doing it all on your own...Our guide is a Berber and will be with us for the entire 10 days and we look forward to experieincing his culture and see and meet some Berber families along the way. Our guide is the driver as well. We learned the value of having a local show you his/her culture through their eyes during several trips to Israel and the Palestinian Territories years ago. We had experiences that the average tourist would not have had and learned more about the culture and history this way. They were able to open doors for us that would not have been open to someone traveling on their own.

Great comments. I have a couple of questions to add if you don't mind: How safe is it in Morocco for Americans?, I like the comments about having a guide to get a more direct "window" into the culture. Roughly how much would a guide cost for a party of six for five or six days? We are thinking about a 7 to 10 day trip to Morocco with part of the time with a guide and part of the time on our own. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Its hard to say without more information...the guide that I hired charges roughly180 euro per day for his services which includes a 4 x4 and seats 6.....Conservatively I'd say 200 euro per day...this is pretty much having the guide/driver at your service. Initially I thought my guide was high on his estimate until I sent more emails to to various vendors....he came in under the other vendors. Morocco is a safe country for Americans and the tourism industry has many laws governing it there.

Fair enough, Chris, point taken about guides. Personally, I enjoy making my own way, and feel that also gives one a unique perspective on a place and a culture - I worry that a "guide" often serves to insulate a traveler from that, but I'm sure that's not always the case. I prefer not to use one, but if it works for you, more power to ya. As for getting there, yes, it depends on where you're coming from - but there are a lot more flights between Spain and Morocco than most first-time visitors probably imagine...after doing a little online research, I was surprised to find so many options. For me, I'd rather avoid a day spent on the ferry, charging through the touts, and then driving all day to get to Fes - sounds like you may have already investigated the options. Joe - Morocco is plenty safe, as long as you use some basic common sense, just like anywhere else. If you've never been to an islamic/Arabic/African/Middle East country before, it will feel like a very alien environment initially - unlike in European countries where you may not speak the language, at least you can recognize the alphabet. But for most of us, Arabic script looks just like squiggles. Fortunately, French is spoken (badly) everywhere tourists go (and in many places, English, too). You will feel very far from home - which is exactly why it's worth going. Safe? Yes. Different? Oh yeah.

David - There are no direct flights from Malaga to Fez...they go thru Madrid or Casablanca and their schedules are not convenient and they are way more expensive than the ferry. The one schedule on easyjet depart Malaga at 655 am and goes through Madrid and Marseille France before it gets to Fez. I think I'd rather spend my time taking the ferry and being able to see some of the countryside and villages on the way to Fez. We should arrive Fez around 5 pm delivered to our riad. BTW...that schedule is around $2000! The others leave in the afternoon and arrive at 1030 pm! What is so difficult about taking the fast ferry from Algeciras at 8 and Arriving at 9 am?? or the fast ferry from Tarifa at 8 arriving at 8 and arriving at 845 am and being met by your guide thus you avoid all the touts??? It is a 4 hour drive to Fez which we are breaking up by visiting Chaouen. As I said earlier ...with different decisions as to point of departure it is possible to fly but not from Malaga. I don't understand the dismissiveness of my POV to have a guide.....I also understand your POV of doing it on your own..I have done that as well - many times...I don't think a different POV requires ' more power to ya'