Day One in Marrakesh
After our 20-hour journey, we finally arrived at Marrakesh airport. We had prepared our transportation from the airport to our Riad (traditional name for a moroccan hotel) beforehand after finding out that cab drivers in Morocco are notorious for ripping off naive tourists. Apparently, drivers will try to ask you for up to 700 Dirham (approximately $70 USD) for a 10 minute cab drive to your Riad from the airport.
We were able to avoid this situation altogether by calling ahead to ask our Riad what the the typical rate would be for a cab ride from the airport. We were pleased to find that is was only 150 Dirham ($15), and they were also willing to set up a taxi ride to bring us directly to them. I recommend this move for everyone, next to saving money and time haggling, it also saved us a ton of trouble in finding our Riad.
They had communicated with the taxi service to have one of their employees meet us to help carry our luggage to the Riad. Thankfully we’d taken out enough Dirhams to tip the sweet man that transported our luggage. When in Marrakesh, you should always make sure you keep smaller bills on you for tipping and change. Keep in mind that for many of these people, the tips you give them are what they live off of, and use to feed themselves and their families. You don’t need to give them something grand, but nothing at all is highly frowned upon.
To learn more about managing your money in Marrakesh, exchanging currency, and haggling methods, refer to my How to Budget your trip to Marrakesh article.
Once we arrived at our Riad, Dar Assiya, we were immediately taken in by the beauty, it was luxury style and service, and the total for one night including free breakfast was only $160. The manager insisted we relax by the courtyard while they settled our luggage into the room. Meanwhile, they poured us our first cup of mint tea along with some pastries. This is a common part of the culture to welcome new guests into your “home,” and boy could I get used to it. We felt like royalty.
The Marrakesh Medina (Old Town Shopping Center)
With less than 48 hours left to see Marrakesh, we got straight out into the Medina to have a look around before our tour that evening. Walking through the Medina was in two words, a SENSORY OVERLOAD. It almost felt like we’d traveled back in time and were living on the set of Aladdin.
All the colors, leather goods, gold and silver, spices, and local street food combined with men yelling somewhat derogatory but mostly hilarious things at us made for an entertaining day to say the least.
Morocco is famous for its leather goods, so our first stop was to find some cute slip on shoes, or babouches, for my mom. With my negotiating methods, I was able to get the price down to almost half of what the merchant first suggested. I was warned not to take photos of the people in Marrakesh, as they do not appreciate it being done without their permission.
Ironically enough, this man asked to get a photo with us holding up his shoes. I took a video of him asking him to tell my mom, Lilly that he made them for her. Instead he chose to say,
“Lilly, I give these shoes to your daughter because she is very nice. How many camels you want for her?”
Karlie and I couldn’t contain our laughter. The funny interactions only proceeded to happen as we continued walking through. Karlie was approached by a basket weaving merchant who whispered in her ear,
“I know that you are looking for rich husband. I am rich husband you are looking for.”
After that we decided it was time to quit the Medina for the day, but we just had to make one last stop off in a store where I’d seen a Moroccan style dress I had fallen in love with. Karlie also found a little native get up that she loved and we haggled for a buy two discount deal until the merchant caved.
To learn more about Haggling Methods to use in Marrakesh, click here.
Like I mentioned before in my Packing Like a Pro article, if you want to dress like a native when you visit somewhere, wait to buy your outfit from small local businesses when you arrive.
Merchants in places like Morocco will pretend like they’re giving you an amazing deal, but in reality they are completely reliant on your business. Giving them your business is a way that you can benefit from (fashion wise) while giving back to an economy that is in need of it. A.K.A, a great method of leaving a place better than you found it. So save that room in your case, dammit.
After a little bit of searching, we finally found a nice place to have lunch with a beautiful rooftop terrace called Cafe Chez Zaza. Being the adventurous eaters we are, we just asked our server to bring us out two of the most authentic Moroccan dishes that he thought we’d enjoy.
If you are any bit familiar with Moroccan food, you can probably guess what he brought us, chicken tagine and couscous. But there were absolutely no complaints on our end, the tagine was delicious, and for about $10 each, we got more than enough food to fill us up.
Fun fact: the food dish is called tagine, but it’s literally referring to the actual dish (shallow earthenware pot) that it’s slow cooked in the process of making the cuisine. The slow cooking method in tagine makes the meat, fish or vegetarian dish it is cooking tender and delicious, and it’s more flavorful than a cuisine you’d expect somewhere with as much spice as Morocco to produce.
Call to Prayer
During our lunch, it couldn’t have been a more perfect time for us to experience our first “call to prayer.” When we asked our local friends what was going on, they explained it as a routine ritual to show pride for their country and their religion. For us, call to prayer became a meditation like reminder to breathe and enjoy the present moment around us.
Camel Tour into Palm Grove with Berber House Visit: $29
On a time crunch, we rushed back to our hotel and got ready for our camel tour through the Palm Grove Dessert. When we reached our tour bus, we were pleased to meet two other Americans who were also visiting Morocco. The little bit of warmth and feeling from home combined with the different perspectives we had to share about our trips so far made for some great conversation throughout the tour.
When we reached Palm Grove, the guides provided each of us with our own hijab and traditional matching attire, and then we went to meet our fun new friends!
We rode off into the most captivating sunset surrounded by some pretty awesome creatures, and it was pretty much anyone (but especially anyone who’s ever read The Alchemist’s) dream come true.
We ended off the tour by having mint tea, pastries and bread in the home of a Local Berber woman, and for some reason when I write that sentence out it doesn’t seem to do the experience justice. The hospitality we were shown wrapped up a perfect day of immersing ourselves into such a different yet beautiful culture. We were surrounded by strangers, yet somehow our hearts felt more full than they ever had.
I wish I caught her name, because she has no idea how much of an impact her hospitality had on us. 
Jemaa el-Fna
After the tour we headed to the Jemaa el-Fna market to grab some quick dinner. Jemaa el-Fna is a fun and lively place to visit at night in Marrakesh. Walking through this market, you will see everything from live music, to fire dancing, to snake charmers.
As we were leaving, I was approached by a little boy with roses. I genuinely didn’t have the cash on me, so I told him I was so sorry, I had nothing to give him. But he was persistent, and kept pushing the rose in my face, so I apologized again and blew him a kiss. His eyes lit up with a smile, and as my cab drove away, he threw a single rose to me the through car window. My heart melted, I would not let go of this rose.
When we got back, one of the Dar Assiya employees named Mohammed was waiting to escort us to the Riad. We rarely felt endangered there, even in the night, but the fact that Dar Assiya would send Mohammed to escort us and ensure our safety just confirmed their overachieving hospitality.
Exhausted and jet lagged, it was time to call it quits for the day, we had to be up early to check into our next hotel, 2Ciels Hotel and Boutique. It was located in New Town, where the debauchery was.
