A bucketlist country of mine is definitely Morocco. The gateway to Africa, and one whose culture emanates all over the world including in the small country of Brunei. Even tile art from Morocco dot our mosques and palaces – only heightening my desires to visit!
However, I always thought going to Morocco is somewhat out of reach. It’s super far away and thus expensive – and in fact I already have another holiday planned for January 2019 – even pitched for some sponsorships!
But, alhamdullilah this year rezeki to go to Morocco because lo and behold for some fluke I found Saudia Airlines offering cheap fare from Kuala Lumpur to Casablanca for only GBP374!
I didn’t think much – quickly found travel buddies (not easy) – bought the tickets for approximately 10 days in Morocco and thus began my fumbling around in the darkness looking for information.
In hindsight, I should’ve booked a longer trip – considering the journey to Casablanca took 20++ hours and this country is simply an incredible place..
Unlike more countries I’ve visited there is really limited information about Morocco online. I find this very strange, considering it is a really popular country to visit! Furthermore the more I researched the more I thought how insufficient 10 days was! In the end after reading several resources, we settled on the following destinations:
- Casablanca (of course since we are landing there)
- Off to Chefchaouen immediately by Minivan
- Back to Fes by Bus
- Fes to Marrakech by Train
- Essaouira day trip from Marrakech by bus
- Back to Casablanca
Of course once we arrived in Morocco, all the plans sort of changed and we ended up with this new itinerary!
Itinerary for 10 Days in Morocco
| Day 1 | Arrive in Mohamed V International Airport, Casablanca Catch a Minivan to Chefchaouen (8 hour drive)* Drop by Restaurant Pergola for late lunch* Arrive in Chefchaouen & check in our Airbnb Rest *We had our Airbnb arrange the minivan, we love love love our Airbnb in Chefchaouen – our host Redouan even came to pick us up at the airport in Casablanca and brought us for lunch! Highly recommend them for a stay there! |
| Day 2 | Have Chefchaouen Breakfast at Restaurant Sofia Explore Chefchaouen Medina, buy and take millions of pictures – try on a Berber costume! |
| Day 3 | Easy hike up to the Spanish Mosque Hammam at Place Outa el Hamam* *Very authentic and this is a public hammam hahaaa… |
| Day 4 | Grab CTM Bus to Fes (6 hour trip)* Arrive in Fes and check in to Ibis Fes Visit Borj Nord, Marinid Tombs – and Bab Bou Jeloud** Enjoy a Kebab in the Jewish Quarters *Redouan our host bought the tickets for us. He also arranged for taxis to send us to the bus station. **When we arrived at the bus station, we grabbed a taxi to get to Ibis Fes. We asked this taxi driver (his name is Omar Babni) to take us around Fes and boy did he! He also hooked us up with a guide at Fes el Bali and they brought us to all the local places to eat! If you’re heading to Fes, get in touch with Omar at +212 664 507378 |
| Day 5 | Breakfast of Bisara Soup in Fes el Bali – a UNESCO World Heritage Site Visit and do some major shopping in Fes el Bali* Must visit the Chouara Tannery – and splurge on something leather!* Check out the Nejarine Foundouk Visit Zaouia Moulay Idriss II (founder of Fes) tomb/shrine in the middle of the medina – a descendant of Prophet Muhammad SAW (PBUH) he brought Islam to Morocco *At Fes El Bali we found our way with the help of a guide – Abdul (Omar’s friend). Abdul volunteers his time as a guide for a charity and grew up in the Medina – don’t know how much of this is true haha but – he knows Fes el Bali like the back of his hand and knows so much about the history of this amazing place. I love that we ate at local haunts and that was so fun! After, we can pay him any amount we are most comfortable with no paksaan. Abdul also helped us arrange for a driver and stay in the Erg Chebbi. |
| Day 6 | Journey from Fes to Erg Chebbi (Sahara Desert) via private car – on the way, enjoy beautiful scenery of snow (if in January), cedar forests, date palms, breathtaking gorges in the Atlas Mountains. Arrive in Auberge Kasbah, Merzouga and leave most luggage there Journey to camp in Erg Chebbi on camelback (1.5 hours!) Check in to camp Dinner followed with entertainment around the bonfire* *Four gentlemen taught us how to sing Berber songs and play Berber music instrument and one of them is Brahim. Do check them out if you are venturing to Erg Chebbi! They are very funny! |
| Day 7 | Journey back to Auberge Kasbah on camelback for hot shower and breakfast (SO COLD!!!) Journey to Ouarzazate – for lunch & visit the Kasbah Taouirt (another UNESCO World Heritage Site) Arrive in Marrakech and check in Riad Awatif 36** Hammam in Riad Awatif 36 **Highly recommend! Such a beautiful place and the staff Ahlam is sooooooo nice and attentive! He explains everything about Marrakech and navigating the Medina when u arrive and he is the one who recommended us to download the Maps.Me app. Also there’s a hammam there siukkk… |
| Day 8 | Explore the Medina in Marrakech Lunch at Jemaa El Fna Walk to Gueliz – visit Jardin Majorelle & Musee Yves Saint Laurent (both on Rue Yves Saint Laurent) 830pm: Catch last train to Casablanca from Gare de Marrakech Arrive in Casablanca, check in to Hotel Central (first hotel in Casablanca)* *If you are coming from Marrakech to stay here, opt to stop at Casa de Port Station (as opposed to Casa Vayageurs) as Casa de Port is super near to Hotel Central. |
| Day 9 | Explore Old Medina + breakfast of fried seafood Walk to Rick’s Cafe from movie Casablanca Walk to Hassan II Mosque Explore Corniche area and enjoy Atlantic Ocean view Take taxi to Morocco Mall |
| Day 10 | Take taxi to Casablanca Airport for flight back to Kuala Lumpur |
As you can see, we ended up spending more time in Fes, adding some time in Erg Chebbi (unplanned) and quite a short amount of time in Marrakech. If I can do this better, would add 1 more day in Marrakech, and bring a bigger bag!!! LOL.
Btw bigger bag is something I highly recommend for any trip to Morocco otherwise u will end up like me penuh sesalan dengan all the stuff I could buy. But I guess good for my wallet.
As for the million dollar question, what’s my budget like? Well, been sitting here writing this since morning so maybe I let you know next time lol! #sangaljuburmesis
iammaurina 
Nice. So what did u find out about the significance of the blue in fes and other parts of morocco?
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In Chaouen it’s a symbol of jewish solidarity hehehe. Apparently many jewish fled persecution to Morocco and made communities there and painting houses blue ani is their tradition.
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I didn’t know about the visa to Morocco! Also out of curiosity how do you normally save your itinerary for reference during the trip? At the moment I use Google sheets to store all the relevant info – time of departure, map location etc. Any apps you use? Thanks
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Wow I am not as organized as u – daily itinerary isjust written in the whatsapp group! Butttt for flight/train/hotels i use the Tripit app!
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how long the visa duration for bruneians ?
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