Hi,

We are planning to go to Morocco next month. We have 2 itineraries:

1st day. Arrival Ouarzazate and go to Ait Ben Haddou.
2. Ait Ben Haddou - Mhamid
3. Erg Chigaga
4. Erg Chigaga - Nkob
5. Nkob _ Merzouga
6. Merzouga - El Khorbat
7. El Khorbat
8. El Khorbat - Merzouga

I think that this is too rush. What do you think? I like this one because we can spend New year's eve in the desert.

The other one would be:

1st day. Arrival Ouarzazate and go to Ait Ben Haddou.
2. Ait Ben Haddou - Nkob
…

I visited Volubilis (25 mins by taxi from Meknes) a couple of days ago, the first time for many years. It's been dramatically improved with better signage (French/Arabic/English) and a half-decent museum, but nevertheless there's not enough there to justify a whole day. You should combine Volubilis with Moulay Idriss or Meknes.

As far as Fez is concerned, you will notice signs high up in the walls of the medina signing six different walking tours such as the 'Andalucian Circuit' or…

Hi, thank you for your response! Sorry for not explaining better...I'm going to fly into Marrakech, spend a night there and then would like to head to one or two interesting places to stay for a while (for me travelling less feels better for work and is cheaper!) I might also do one desert tour (though I did India last year...).

I ideally I think one place by the sea and one in the mountains but what's most important to me is that I don't feel on edge all the time or have to constantly fend…

Morocco is generally quite safe, just take the basic precautions. There is a reason why Morocco is a popular destination for thousands and thousands of elderly Europeans each winter.

If you have already been to South America, then you already have experience in being street-savvy from countries that are much more dangerous than Morocco. Morocco is more similar to Europe as countries go than to somewhere like Peru or Colombia where violent muggings can happen.

The negative thing about Morocco…

I will be traveling to Morocco in mid-October and just found out today that our original flight was canceled. Instead of finding another flight (with would almost double the travel time) we decided to leave a day earlier. We were planning on two nights in Casablanca before starting a tour that includes Fes, Erfoud, Ouarzazate, the Atlas Mtns, and Marrakesh (with a day trip to Essaouira) before returning for a short day in Casablanca to fly home. Now we have another day/night so I was thinking of…

If you book a tour via the auspices of your hotel, they will snatch a percentage fee on what you actually pay, so you are still going to be ripped off ( but surreptitiously and politely with a smile)......the trigger word "mean" must, as needs, evoke my usual Marrakesh caveats.....

https://web.archive.org/web/20170224191853/http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/1658d2/20372e/

..... 'i suppose i could go back to Agadir and then from Agadir to Marrakesh by bus but I wanted to go over the mountains.'
Ah..... from Taroudannt or Agadir to Marrakech you'll be using the same road, there's only the one motorway in the area. So from Taroudannt the journey is about 35km. shorter, the Taroudannt road, (old and bumpy) P 1708 meets the A7 (Auto-route). No need to go 80km. to Agadir only to backtrack 35km. covering 115km. for nothing, and the 'Mountain drive' isn't dramatic or…

I'll start the trek at Keleat M Gouna and end near Nekob. I need to be careful with how much time I spent between Nekob and Essaouria because I want to be sure to have a few days at the coast. Maybe I'll look into renting a car afterall for the time after the trek. It would make the travel to the coast and finally on to Marrakesh easier without dealing with bus schedules and I could stop where I wanted on the way. I had read about Erg Chebbi earlier. Thanks for your suggestions!