Morocco

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Marrocco

CAPITOL CITY

Rabat

DATE

December 2024

CURRENCY

Marrocco Dirham

FLIGHT DURATION

3 hours and 45 minutes

You’re in IT, so surely you can make my Wi-Fi work.

What I usually do when I have an early morning flight, is book a hotel in Hoofddorp (10 minutes from Schiphol). And what’s slowly becoming a tradition is that the night before, I go out for dinner with a good friend from Amsterdam. This time we ate at Birds, a Thai restaurant on the Zeedijk. If you’re ever there, definitely order number 52, Paneng Kai. After dinner, I went to Max Hotel Schiphol Airport. It’s a nice hotel, but this time the fire alarm went off six times (false alarms), so I didn’t get much sleep. As a valued guest, I was offered a free breakfast during my next stay, which I appreciated.

At 08:15, my flight took off, and at noon, I landed in Marrakesh. On the plane, I met a Moroccan man who kept feeding me dates and mandarins the entire flight – quite the character, but a fun guy. At the airport, he couldn’t connect to the Wi-Fi. Since he knew I worked in IT, he expected me to fix it. Give me a break, mate… I’m on holiday!

In Taghazout, in southern Morocco (Agadir), I had booked a six-day yoga retreat with Space to Growth. Only, I wanted to explore Marrakesh first, so I arrived a day earlier. Looking back, I could have easily stayed longer in Marrakesh—a good reason to return someday. I’d still love to do a road trip through Morocco.

Practical tips

  • For 200 dirhams, you can buy 20 GB of mobile internet at the airport.
  • Memory tip: 10 dirhams is roughly €1, which makes it easy to calculate.
  • Traveling by bus (CTM) is a very convenient way to get around Morocco. Book your ticket in advance via Bookaway.com to guarantee a seat.
All photos

Marrakesh is a very pleasant city with delicious food. The people are incredibly friendly (okay, some can be a bit pushy), but it feels very safe to travel alone.

My food & drink experiences

  • Hotel & Spa La Ferme El Dar: A variety of Moroccan salads – an excellent choice for lunch! A beautiful plate with salads made from sweet potato, zucchini, eggplant, and pumpkin. And the homemade tarragon lemonade… I usually wouldn’t go for that, but this one deserves a solid 10. In the evening, I also dined at the hotel, as I wasn’t entirely confident about the souk’s hygiene. At lunch, I had already seen couscous on the menu, and I had been looking forward to it all day. It did not disappoint: tender chicken with couscous and lots of fresh vegetables like carrot, pumpkin, potato, zucchini, and of course eggplant. I paired it with a lovely Moroccan red wine. The next morning, I was served msemmen (traditional Moroccan pancakes) with banana, honey and jam, along with an omelet and fresh orange juice.
  • If you need a break from the hustle and bustle, grab a drink at Cafe Kessabine. I had a strong and tasty coffee on the terrace with a view of the medina.

Where I stayed

  • Hotel & Spa La Ferme El Dar: Wow, what an oasis of calm and such a beautiful riad! Just 20 minutes from the airport, outside the hustle of the Medina, this hidden gem awaits. The food is incredibly fresh and healthy. The riad has a gorgeous garden with goats, horses and little kittens. There are also two swimming pools, a restaurant, and a cozy bar. Rooms come as tents or traditional Moroccan rooms. I stayed in a Moroccan-style room. It was a bit cold, but I slept wonderfully. Note: “Spa” refers to massage services, so don’t expect thermal baths or similar facilities.

What I saw and did

  • Marrakesh Medina: When I started reading about the Marrakesh medina, I initially felt nervous. I was worried that, as a blonde woman on my own, I wouldn’t feel safe. But the opposite turned out to be true. The medina consists of a large square surrounded by countless narrow alleys. It’s a lot of fun to wander around there. You’ll find market stalls everywhere with fresh fruit, nuts and dried fruit. I bought delicious dates, Moroccan raisins, walnuts, cashews and pumpkin seeds – perfect snacks for the road.

The next morning, I left Marrakesh at 9 AM with a CTM bus headed for Agadir. The bus ride took about 3.5 hours, including a 20-minute break.

Upon arrival in Agadir, a taxi was waiting to take me to the yoga retreat hosted by Amy and Mohammed. It’s located in the mountains near Taghazout, in a large house with three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and toilet. I had a room that felt like a penthouse, with such a beautiful view over the mountains.

When I arrived, I was welcomed with a delicious lunch and met the two other guests: Mina from Stockholm, Sweden, and Dana from Deventer, the Netherlands.

My (local) food & drink experiences

  • Msemmen (traditional Moroccan pancakes)
  • Couscous with chicken
  • Tanjina with all sorts of vegetables (cauliflower, potato, bell pepper, lentils, chickpeas, olives, zucchini)
  • Cauliflower soup
  • Beetroot salad
  • Avocado, date and chocolate cream
  • Chocolate cake
  • Shakshuka
  • Amlou (a traditional nut paste made from honey, argan oil and ground almonds)
  • Moroccan wine
  • Cucumber, apple and pear smoothie
  • Beetroot smoothie
  • Overnight oats with Moroccan raisins and banana
  • Chicken tajine with mixed vegetables
  • Green bean salad

What I saw and did

  • Hike through the mountains of Taghazout;
  • Yoga: Yoga: Yoga nidra, Yin yoga, Vinyasa yoga;
  • Sunrise meditation;
  • Sunrise walking meditation; 
  • Taghazout beach: A cold dip in the sea feels great. It was December, so the ocean was still chilly, but don’t let that stop you from diving in.
  • Cooking workshop: Led by Mohammed, we made our chicken tajine, which turned out delicious. Ingredients: chicken, red onion, tomato, zucchini, bell pepper, potato, ginger, fresh coriander, turmeric, olives, olive oil, salt and pepper. You slice the red onion and place it at the bottom of the tajine. Then add half a teaspoon each of ginger, turmeric, pepper and salt, and a splash of olive oil. Mix it and place the chicken on top. Add some fresh coriander. Then slice the tomato, zucchini, potato, bell pepper and more onion, and stack the pieces into a little tower (shaped like a tajine cone). Add olives, drizzle with more olive oil and garnish with coriander. Add water and let it simmer on low heat for 50 minutes.

My (local) food & drink experiences

  • Grilled corn on the cob with butter and salt
  • Skinny Moroccan bread in strips. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name, but it was super tasty.

What I saw and did

  • Visit the Souk el Had: Absolutely worth going! I’ve been told it’s the largest souk in Morocco. I bought a Moroccan rug, a Moroccan scarf for my mother, authentic leather Moroccan shoes for my father, fresh spices, and of course some snacks to walk around with (corn on the cob and Moroccan bread). This place is amazing but be warned: you will come back feeling overstimulated.