Adventurous woman alone

Hi Everyone,
Although I am a seasoned traveler to lots of interesting places (e.g., Indonesia, Ethiopia, Myanmar), I have never done so alone. No husband or boyfriend at the moment, and no girlfriends are available or adventurous! I am confident I can do it, and very much looking forward to it, but do not know where to begin in order to plan. Want to spend about 2-3 weeks in September/October in Morocco, in comfortable, yet not ridiculously overpriced places, and to see things that are off the beaten path, but also do the "must see's". Am very friendly and can take care of myself. Suggestions?

Morocco isn't very difficult to get around especially if you've got a bit of cash which sounds the case. Seems like this trip could be a landmark for your sense of boldness, good luck.

I would like to refer you to the tale I had to tell (but don't want to type all again) on page two about camal/desert trekking. Advice from a woman here is obviously much more relevant. The ones i came across were all with partners or small groups.

For possible ideas checkout my itineraries, photos from my 2 trips there at;
Casablanca2Marakech
MountainsAndDesert

Just what type of suggestions are you asking for? Whether to go? Locations? Etc.

OK: where to go: Marrakech, Dades Gorge, Essaouira, maybe Fes, but probably not desert in Sept. unless you love heat.

I'm a female travelling solo to Morocco in October. I have posted my rough itinerary below, PM me if you want to meet up at any point. I'm particularly looking for someone to do the desert portion of my trip because it's much cheaper with 2 people instead of one.

If I can arrive a day earlier, I will either spend the day (and perhaps the night) in Essaouria.

10-Oct-2007 Tangier > Chefchaouen
11-Oct-2007 Chefchaouen > Fes
12-Oct-2007 Fes
13-Oct-2007 Fes
14-Oct-2007 Fes
15-Oct-2007 Meknes/Volubsis
16-Oct-2007 Desert Tour
17-Oct-2007 Desert Tour
18-Oct-2007 Desert Tour
19-Oct-2007 Desert Tour
20-Oct-2007 Marrakesh
21-Oct-2007 Marrakesh
22-Oct-2007 Marrakesh
23-Oct-2007 Marrakesh / Casablanca (maybe Essauoria)
24-Oct-2007 depart from Tangier

Four days in the desert? Wow...such punishment! Hope you don't plan it via camelback.

For those who are unable to see the obvious - I would start from Fes and work my way to Marrakech via the Atlas mountains and Sahara desert (go through Merzouga, Dodra Gorges, etc, etc.)

Thank you, everyone.
Oceania, that sounds like a good plan. I live in NY. Where would I fly to and how many days in each? I would want to end up in Marrakech. And then, how to do the return to NY?
Thanks.

I'm not sure from NYC - I'm from Toronto but I'm flying to Madrid and spending 2 weeks in Spain and 2 weeks in Morocco. I believe most international flights fly into Casablanca -
Royal Air Moroc flies directly from NYC to Casablanca but they're might be cheaper options...check out the flights fly by using expedia, tripadvisor, travelocity, etc.

Most likely you will be flying to Casablanca, you can go do Casablanca > Rabat > Fes (day trip to Meknes) > desert > Marrakech (trips to Essauoria or do desert trip from Marrakech) > Casablanca for example...you can get to each of these places by train and bus.

In my opinion, I would research Morocco first and figure out what appeals to you first and then make a rough itinerary but just play it by ear once you get here...that's what I'm doing anyways. If you have 3 weeks, you'll have plenty of time for each place I listed and add more on to it...you can use the # of days I have allotted for each place as a starting point.

As a fyi, it's better to go into the desert in October as it's cooler. Let me know if I can help further.

I believe the only direct flights from NY to Morocco are on Royal Air Maroc, to Casablanca. But it sometimes is less expensive if you go through London on another carrier. The desert MAY be cooler in early October, but I about croaked from the heat in Merzouga while camping near there on one trip at that time of year.

We took Royal Air Maroc from NY if I remember correctly we landed in Marrakesh 3 years ago, then left from Casa to go home. We really liked Royal Air Maroc. We're from Baltimore, MD. My husband did a lot of research and found that the best flights from our area (NY/DC/Balt) land in Casa or Marrakesh (we take a similar route and tried really hard to land at one end or the other but we were either ending up too far away, paying too much or had extra lay-overs). You can also get good flights out of Washington, DC or BWI (in Baltimore) but beware - connector flights in New York can be a bit of a hassle (got stuck there trying to get to DC for 4 hours last year).

From New York, it's easiest to fly direct to Casa (but not necessarily cheapest). I've also gone from Boston to Casa via France; NYC to Casa via Brussels, and know many people who have gone to Marrakesh or Fez via London, Paris, or Amsterdam.

Hello oceania,
We will go to Morocco in the coming days(Nov9!)...Did you enjoy the desert tour and did you find the agency in advance or just found one when you arrived there?