Back when I was studying at LSE in London, I was in a pretty similar situation to now – no money and no time for travel. I needed to be in Germany for the holidays, but since I had a week free before Christmas I kept an eye out for travel ideas. Like many people were back in 2014 before the final season came out, I was a pretty big fan of Game of Thrones. So when I found a super cheap flight (~£30) to one of the film locations, I jumped on the opportunity.
There’s absolutely no perk to budget flights other than that they are dirt cheap. Mine left at 5am, so I was well on my way to the unremarkable London Stansted airport via the bus at 2am. When I landed in Morocco at 8am to start my 4 day solo adventure, I was an absolute zombie. Up until that day I had been swamped with Masters work and hadn’t researched any of the sites to go see. That said, I wouldn’t advise you follow anything of what I did and rather follow the untested alternative itinerary.
I have no idea how I got from the Marrakech airport to the centre of Marrakech and through the souks to the hostel. All I remember is I took a minibus, so there must be a way by public transport.
After checking into my £3-a-night hostel, Hostel Riad Rainbow Marrakech, I had some complimentary Moroccan mint tea. If you go to Morocco, you’ll find this everywhere. The mint tea is basically a shot of cavities. Want the recipe? Mix mint leaves, hot water, and 5 sugar cubes in a glass. Moroccan mint tea.
After putting my things down in the dorm room I wandered around in the area up to a large mosque, Koutoubia, where I ambled aimlessly around the gardens for a while. I found some vegetarian tagine for early dinner. It was good the first time. By day four I was tired of the limited vegetarian options. With energy restored, I visited the El Badii Palace. I was quickly beginning to dread the whole solo travel thing – not because I felt unsafe in Morocco but because I was getting bored of my own company. But then I met an American and a Brit.
From there the trip became a lot more interesting. We spent my second day in Marrakech walking around the souks trying to find the Palmeraie with no luck. If there is one thing I pride myself on its my navigational abilities and deeply engrained sense of direction. The souks completely demoralised me. A souk is the Arab term for an open-air market. The souks in Marrakech are an absolute labyrinth packed with a dizzying array of sights, sounds and smells that will immediately disorient any newcomer. At the time, I didn’t own a smartphone or any sort of map-bearing device, and so I spent most of my time in Morocco utterly lost. But to be honest, most of the souks’ paths aren’t marked on Google Maps anyway. Nowadays, I know that you can orient yourself using specific visual clues – the souks are laid out according to commodity type and value. Luxurious products are at the centre and as the souks radiate outwards the products become less expensive.
On my third day, the three of us arranged for a car via the hostel to bring us to what’s known locally as Essaouira – a port city with fortress walls dating back to the 18th century. To anyone with an HBO subscription, you’ll know it as Astapor – home of the Unsullied. The three-hour journey over rough roads getting there was completely worth it, even if we did only have three hours time to spend before returning to Marrakech. We headed over to Equi Evasion, just south of the city, for an hour of horseback riding on the beach. The stables are run by a friendly French and Moroccan couple who offer horseback and camel rides to cater to different day ride options and 2-8 day riding excursions.
Unlike trail rides in the US or Europe, there are no indemnity forms – you’re your own responsibility the moment you hop on the horse. The other nice thing is that you won’t be babysat the whole time on a lead or constrained to a slow walk if you don’t want to be. The three of us rode with the owner to the beach, but from there he set us loose.
Essaouira itself is easily visited in just a couple of hours. Compared to the bustle of Marrakech, Essaouira is much more relaxing and easier to navigate on foot. You can visit Castelo Real of Mogador and Bab Doukkala (the historic entrance to the medina), and get a bite to eat at the Moulay Hassan Square. The walls of the Borj El Barmil cannonade were featured in the walk of shame episode of Game of Thrones.
On my last day in Marrakech, we ventured back into the maze to do some shopping and find the Ben Youssef Madrasa. After evading a lot of catcalling, we finally found the madrasa and paid the equivalent of a few dollars to enter. Built in the 16th century, the Islamic college once housed more than 900 students at its height before it ceased to operate in 1960. From the street you wouldn’t guess how astonishingly beautiful the building’s architecture and design is inside.
Packing Essentials
When I visited in December, it was warm during the day and cooled down enough that I needed my winter jacket at night. Morocco is a relatively conservative country, so long, loose-fitting clothing should define your wardrobe. At the airport I was able to exchange USD cash for Moroccan dirhams – just about everywhere I visited was cash only. I bought bottled water everywhere, but water purifying tablets would have been useful to bring along.
What I would have done differently
While I wish I could have planned the trip a bit more in advance, I’m not sure how many sites I could have packed in a single day because a lot of time was lost trying to navigate the souks. Without a phone or guide, you can aim for at least one site a day and enjoy the experience of finding it. Nowadays, map apps might help you stay a little less lost than I was. With more time, I would visit Jardin Majorelle, the gardens designed by Jacques Majorelle and later purchased by Yves Saint-Laurent.
Overall, I think two to three days in Marrakech will suffice to give you a taste of the city. You can spend the rest of your time doing day trips. From the rooftops in Marrakech, I could see the nearby Atlas Mountains which looked really tantalising as a hiker – a day excursion to hike here would have fit into the short timeframe. I definitely would revisit Morocco for a longer trip, and would include Chefchaouen, Ait Ben Haddou and Erg Chebbi on my itinerary.
