Hi - can anyone offer advice on travelling to Morroco for New Year?

Where to stay - on a not to big budget?
What will the weather be like?
Recommendations for visits and anything else of interest...

There will be four of us - me and my partner both 26, and my parents early/mid 50s.

Going to Agadir 7 weeks tommorow, had jabs yesterday, typhoid, hepatitis A and a booster of tetanus, diptheria and polio. Got a bit confused about whether we needed jabs or not scouting about on the net as some sites say strongly recommended and others not!!! Phoned my G.P months ago to be told by the receptionist that jabs were not needed, phoned last week to double check and spoke to the nurse who advised definately needed. Better to be safe than sorry i guess, hence the sore arms today.

Thanks, yeah i got a bit confused myself so i rung the doctors so the four of us are off to the doctors at the end of the month to get whatever we need.

We are not flying till the 14th sept

We are staying at the founty beach, hope its nice

Enjoy yourself

thanks

dave

You go before us then. We are staying at Occidental Carribean. When u come back, please can you post your opinion of Agadir on this site. Seems to be mixed reviews at the moment, but they all count until you go and get your own view on things.

Kirsti

There is an increased risk of terrorism in Britain too.

Hi Gooner, Only just came across your post.
I can't answer all you questions but:
1. We travelled at end of March & weather was glorious. I imagine you should have mild short days & probably manage a bit of sunbathing.

2. We stayed in the Hotel Tichka which is in the new part of Marrakech. Very pleased with this:nice rooms fabulous buffet breakfast and a lovely outdoor pool set in gardens for relaxing. The location was not a problem as there is a taxi rank outside the hotel & It costs about £1.50 to get to the Djar-el-fna(sp??) ---the most famous place in Marrakech. It was nice to get away from the hustle & bustle to this serene accommodation.

3. Don't know about such young kids, but Marrakech is so colourful. They would probably love the bazaar. We did a wonderful full day tour through the Atlas mountains but wouldn't recommend it for such little ones. There were other trips available which may be more suitable.

4.We had to travel from Agadir ( 4.30. hours!!) so can't help there.

5. Go with an open mind & be prepared to haggle over everything. Don't get into a taxi until you have agreed a price. You should be able to travel about everywhere in Marrakesh for about £1.50 ( I forget how much that is in dirhams 20 or 30) and if the driver won't agree walk away. He'll agree then. Not being mean but they will take advantage & this is a fair price. It's very different to anywhere else but a wonderful experience.
We felt very safe there and the people are extremely friendly. Once you've done the deal e.g. the taxi drivers are so helpful and pleasant.
6. The Majorelle Gardens are very pleasant for a morning, but overall it's just nice to stoll about & soak up the extraordinary atmosphere esp in the square at sunset & the evening: snake charmers, transvestite belly dancers(!!) dentists etc,etc,etc,!
The only downside for me was the state of some of those poor beasts of burden. I found that quite upsetting and I understand that life is so hard for the people that animal care is way down the list of priorities, but still......
Hope you have a great time!

I agree, seems a bit of a harsh decison.. However each to there own

I am off to morocco in 4 weeks

7 weeks for me, well 6 weeks and 5 days not that i am not counting or anything. Anyone else going October the 4th?

Where abouts are you staying ?

We are staying at Occidental Carribean Village, Agadir, it has very mixed reveiws on it but we will be going with an open mind. The holiday we went on last year in Bulgaria was on holidays from hell, we went with a negative attitude but had a fab time. Going to be pretty much the same this time i think. Watched the videos of Agadir on the Thompson site and it looks right up my street. We like something a little bit different and hate the Costas. Going to Egypt next September and thinking of going to the Gambia or kenya the following year when kids a bit older.
I would still like to hear your opinion though on your return from Agadir even though you are staying somewhere else.
Kirsti.

Ive just booked to go to Marrakech the weekend before christmas, and never having been there before would welcome some advice.

1) Is this a good time to go in terms of weather ?

Be prepared for cold nights and early mornings, but warm at midday - take layers! You will also need good shoes for town walking. Remember that this is a muslim country so please dress with decency!

2) Where is the best place to stay in terms of location ? Im looking for somewhere close to the hustle and bustle, yet of a good standard;

There are three parts of Marrakesh; the old centre, the New Town (Ville Nouvelle) and the Hivernage - out in the country about 5 miles away with golf courses and flashy resort hotels. You should find suitable accommodation in the New Town. Make sure your accommodation is 4* local norms - the hotels tend to be classed higher than their equivalents in the UK.

3) any must do's with kids aged 3 and 5

I think you should prepare your kids in advance for the fact that this is North Africa and donkeys and mules are regular forms of HGVs, so they should try not to get too upset about their condition. Warn them also about snake charmers in the Place Djemma el Fna, and try to dissuade them from touching ANY animals anywhere. They may also be upset by live animals on sale at the butchers, and certain cuts of private parts on public display at the butchers too!

Start collecting 1 and 5 dirham coins for the toilets as soon as you get there and bring plenty of tissues!

4) how far out is the airport and what will a taxi cost me to get to the centre, and will they be able to accommodate 6 of us.

The airport is about 10 miles out of the city, and you will need to get a taxi to your hotel. Most taxis are Mercedes cars, and can only take 3 or 4 passengers at most. You would be better to ask your hotel to arrange a transfer for you - and 'bite the bullet', as Marrakesh airport can be chaos. Please note that there is an ATM and an exchange office just as you come out of customs and immigration.

5) is accommodation good value ? looking to pay no more than 100 euros per night

Oh dear - how long is a piece of string. Please prebook your accommodation and have it confirmed in writing before you arrive.
I would suggest you look for accommodation with a pool if you have youngsters, and break up the day with naps and swims. 6 people in a room for 100€ per night ... not sure, but you might try the Ibis hotel (has a pool, is clean and reputable and could probably offer a room for 3 for about 60€ .......................

6) any other advice/websites that may be useful

Not really sure that children aged 3 or 5 would really appreciate Marrakesh, because although tourism is becoming more common, it is a working city and not used to resorts. Life is hard and the people are poor. There are few if any McDonalds or equivalent in the country, and the milk is dodgy (I have personal experience of this!!). UK-style food is rarely found - do your children eat couscous or merguez (spicy sausages)?

And don't think you'll get a lie-in .... if the kids don't wake you, the muezzin will!!!

I really don't think that this is the ideal location for your children, but as you've gone ahead and booked it .... please read the Rough Guide to Morocco for a start and take GOOD MEDICAL INSURANCE because Marrakesh is not in the EEC. Sorry if you think I'm teaching you to suck eggs, but one needs to take special care when travelling with little ones.

Oh and just one final thing ... as I said, Morocco is a muslim country so there won't be any signs of Christmas - trees, lights, special window displays, presents, Santa Claus etc . A major resort hotel might have a Christmas tree but it's very rare (I was there between Christmas and New Year, and it was a relief to get away from all the tawdry bits!).

Hope this helps - and apologies in advance if you find it rather negative.

we are booked to go to Agadir next June and are staying at the Rui Le Tikida Beach hotel, fingers crossed it will be as good as their other hotels

We loved it. Had a fab time there. Everything great. I,ve posted a review and my photos are in the photo gallery. We would definately go back there and could not believe the other reviews from people that were also there in July. Each to their own though. Everyones entitled to an opinion

Thats Great Deb2
I really am never going to listen to horror stories again. Each to their own as you say but I know the type of holiday I like and morrocco sounds perfect for me.
The only time I ever cancelled a trip was when i was going to go to Algeria . But british embassy strongly advises against all non essential travel there. hopefully in the future it will stabilise and I can visit it without worries. I d love to see israel and the lebanon (my brother in law is from there). But I could be waiting for a while
But everywhere in the world is at risk from terrorists (even Ireland is listed as a risk country and they were neutrel) and of course the UK is probably one of the most at risk countries in Europe. Yet I still go there, I really wouldn t base booking a holiday on that. Only if there is real warning from the embassies would I cancel a holiday.
Morroco is next on the list then

Just back from Occidental in Agadir,my son had a henna tattoo on our last day and had a very bad reaction to it we ended up in A&E with him when we got home.I am hoping he is not going to be scarred but it still looks pretty bad. I'd just like to make people aware of the dangers of henna and the chemicals that are added to the dye to make it black, henna should not be black it should be red or brown, didn't know it at the time but we certainly know it now.....be careful!

These reactions to Henna tattoos has been well documented in the press. Some of the reactions have been frightening

Whilst we was at the Occidental Carribean Village last month my son had a henna tattoo done ther on the last day, it was fine for a few days but now it has worn off you can see that it has taken his skin off with it. He has a tanned upper arm and the template of the tattoo is still there in un tanned skin.

hi my name is christine and im thinking of going to agadir next august but the only thing is now so many people have put my mind in a boggle i dont know what to do.my family of 3 were planning on staying at the al moggar hotel and could anyone give me some up date on this hotel.also ive been told that the weather in july and august is over cast and if that is true i might not go as i like the sun out at all times.next can anyone tell me how many dirhams to the pound and how expensive it is over there many thanks ihope to get my hols booked before october but at this rate i cant see it christine

Hi, having stayed in Agadir this year ourselves in late July we found it to be a lovely safe place. The weather was lovely and hot in the middle 40's and yes some mornings were alittle hazy but by lunchtime the haze had lifted and the sun was very hot. Dont be put off by the haze though as you can still burn in the cloud. We all came home with lovely dark suntans. We did not stay at your chosen hotel but on walking along the main roads all the hotels do look very nice from the outside. We had no problems there atall, but some people just hated every minute of it, but each to their own, as it is a totally different culture your going to. The beach in Agadir was lovely and clean and the sea lovely and warm but the sand gets abit too hot to walk on in bare feet. There is at present 20 dirhams equals £1.21. It is very cheap in Morocco and bartering was great fun. If you walk away and they want a sale then they will keep going down in price and eventually you can expect to pay about a 3rd of the price they started with. eg. I bought a handbag which the 1st price was £30 english pounds and in the end we got it for £9, so I was happy and so was he and it was leather as is most of their goods. We had agreat holiday but it is somewhere you will either love or hate and most of the people who have wrote reports have mixed feelings.