How to spend 10 Days in Morocco

Morocco is a beautiful country that varies incredibly from region to region. While travelling, you go from rolling plains to snowy mountains, coasts made of beaches to coasts made of cliffs, from red cities to blue cities and desert sands to grasses of green. It is almost impossible to see it all in one go!

Therefore, to help you decide where to go and what to do, here is my Morocco itinerary for 10 days.

DESTINATION #1 – TANGIER

First of all, Tangier is a sensible place to start on the map, as it is the northernmost tip of the country.

Fun fact: You could get travel from Spain into Tangier by boat!

Length of stay: We stayed in Tangier for two days, and I think this was enough to see what we planned to see. we stayed at Hostel Baytalice. It had

Where to stay: As a low budget traveler, there are some tremendous Moroccan riads to stay in for a very low price. We opted for a hostel called Hostel Baytalice located right in the city centre. It was close by a beach, had a beautiful rooftop terrace with a view of the city and the ocean, and served free coffee.

What to do:

• Hercules Caves
• The Kasbah Museum
• Parc Perdicaris
• Cap Spartel
• Dalia beach

My personal take: This was probably the city with the friendliest people in Morocco. Our group got invited for a traditional Moroccan dinner during Ramadan. Here we also met our taxi driver who drove us to Tangier and came back to drive us to Marrakech as well.

DESTINATION #2 – CHEFCHAOUEN (BLUE CITY)

It took us around 2.5 hours to get from Tangier to Chefchaouen, the blue city. This city is so blue and beautiful, it seems unreal!

How long to spend here: We stayed in Chefchaouen for two days, which was also enough to see what we planned to see. If you would like to do a day trip to either the

Accommodation: Since there was a big group of us, we found an amazing Airbnb in the city centre right in front of the Place El Haouta.

Activities:

• Walk the blue streets
• Visit the orange juice guy – located at Bab El Mahrouk
• Short hike to the Spanish Mosque at sunset
• Raas el ma waterfall
• Ankhour waterfalls – day trip required
• Kasbah
• Place El Haouta
• Shopping by the Kasbah at Plaza Uta el Hamman

Tips for Chefchaouan

My recommendation: Unless you really hate the colour blue, definitely come visit this city! Outside of just wandering the pretty city streets, there is also some natural beauty from the mountain and small waterfall. However, I do have to mention we had two unpleasant experiences here and they are something you can learn from as well:

• Do not take pictures where people may be in them without asking. This may seem like common sense, but in the moments that we got yelled at for this, were moments where we weren’t intentionally taking pictures of people. We were taking pictures of the scenery, and people just happened to be in the background. Especially in Chefchaouen, people reacted very strongly to our cameras and were quite unhappy by them. Please be respectful and careful, and just be sure to ask! Some people did say yes.
• Be aware of your surroundings and stay in a group. There was more than one instance where we got followed by a man around the city. We were weaving through different streets hoping to lose him, but he obviously knew them better than we did and consistently found us again. We lost him by having out with the orange juice guy, who told him to leave. We were really careful for the rest of our trip.

DESTINATION #3 – MARRAKESH

The journey from Chefchaouen to Marrakech is approximately 8 hours. Prepare yourself for a complete change in colour, vibe and energy in this city! This is the red city.

Length of stay: It is worth staying in Marrakech for at least two full days.

Accommodation: You must stay in a traditional riad in Marrakech! We stayed in The Central House Marrakech Medina. It was equipped with an amazing rooftop patio with lounge chairs and showers. There was a pool located within 5 metres of a bar which served alcohol and bar food all day. It was awesome and incredibly cheap! I highly recommend!

What to do:

• Haggle!! Go out into the city and haggle your heart away at the souks (markets). Even if there’s nothing you’re super keen on buying, even something small is fun for the experience! And don’t be shy about it, just see how low can you go
• Jemaa el-fna – town square with snake charmers, food markets, hena, dancers, etc.,
  • Quick tip: if you are a tourist, you are told to not eat the food. I would recommend to have a smoothie!
• For architecture – Bahia palace, jardin majorelle (Yves saint Laurent mansion), badi palace, ben Youssef madrassa (didn’t see these)
• Saadien’s tombs (saw this one, really simple, cheaper tourist attraction right in the city centre)
• Go to the restaurant le jardin – was best food of the trip!
• day trip – ouzoud waterfalls (didn’t go but also recommended to me)

My personal take: I absolutely LOVED Marrakech, because it gave me a whole new meaning to a “busy” and “vibrant” city.

DESTINATION #4 – THE SAHARA DESERT

How long is needed: At least 2 days are needed to do the Sahara desert tour(from Marrakech) because the drive itself is up to 10 hours long. If you talk to the locals, you maybe be able to find a more authentic trip to the Sahara desert.

Accommodation: You will stay at a campsite in the Sahara desert

Activities: rolling down the sand dunes, watching the sunset on the sand dunes, camel ride at sunrise or sunset, sand boarding down the sand dunes

My personal take: the Sahara desert was a 10/10 experience. You MUST do this when you come to Morocco!!! You can read more about what a trip to the Sahara Desert looks like here.

DESTINATION #5 – RABAT

It took us around 5 hours to get from Marrakech to Rabat by train. This is the capital city of Morocco, and it definitely feels like it.
Length of stay: 2 days is enough
Where to stay: You can find fancy Resorts located right on the beach, or airbnb’s throughout the city.

What to do: Visiting monuments, to beach hopping, water-based activities and markets.

Finally, two more cities that are popular to visit in Morocco are Casablanca and Fez.