Morocco: Exciting Seven Day Itinerary

I had always dreamed of going Morocco so a friend and I decided to go together. A friend of my husband’s had recently taken his daughter to Morocco and used a travel company that he raved about. We decided to use the same company, Adventure in Travel so I reached out and asked the owner, Marcus Giddens about helping us plan a trip. Below, is the trip that he created for us with our input. We had 6 days of actual vacation (minus the day of travel) and Marcus made sure that it was action packed and that we saw several different areas of Morocco. Please check out the itinerary below. Our itinerary included two nights in each of the following three regions: Oulidia, near the coast, Ourika in the Atlas mountains and Marrakesh. 

 

Day 1: Arrived in Casablanca and Headed to Oualidia

Upon arriving at the Casablanca airport terminal, we met our driver after going through customs. Thankfully, we only packed carry-ons so we did not have to wait for our luggage. The driver was very friendly and he drove us to Oualidia (see #1 on the above map) which took about 2 1/2 hours. The views as we drove were beautiful, first of Casablanca as we drove through it and then the countryside and finally to Oualidia. Below is a picture of our view on the drive to the hotel. 

Oualidia is a small coastal village that is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and a lagoon. It is well known for its oysters and bird migration. We arrived at our hotel La Sultana Oualidia where they welcomed us before providing a tour of the property. 

The hotel is set on the beach and is absolutely stunning. The hotel has its own wonderful experiences/tours which we took part of, the staff were very friendly and the food at their restaurant was fantastic. It could not have been a more peaceful location. 

When we arrived, we settled in our rooms and found a large tub with some chaise lounge chairs on our balcony which overlooked the ocean. We were told that we could fill the tub with hot water. However, we found that the water was not hot or even very warm so unfortunately, were unable to enjoy it. 

First Excursion: Lunch on the beach

Once we settled in, we went on our first scheduled activity which was lunch on a beach. The staff took us on a small boat to the nearby lagoon and beach to have a “beach-made” lunch of fish, oysters and other moroccan delicacies. The beach itself as you can see was absolutely beautiful and lunch was delicious.

Second Excursion: Fat Bike Ride on the beach

After lunch, we were provided with fat tire bikes to take a ride along the beach for a few hours which was fun but extremely challenging. These tours were set up with the hotel.

After our wonderful tours, we were given a boat ride back to the hotel, relaxed a bit and walked around the hotel to explore and then went to dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. The food was excellent and view was amazing as it looked out onto the ocean, as seen below. 

Day 2: Our first Hamaam and Bird Watching

Private Hamaam at La Sultana Oualidia

I had never heard of a hamaam prior to researching for our trip. It is a bathhouse, typically experienced with friends and community as a cleansing and relaxing experience. We did not partake in a communal bathhouse. Instead, we each booked a private hamaam at the hotel where we were led into a marble room lined with marble ledges. You were advised to lie on the ledges while warm water was poured over you. You are then scrubbed down from head to toe with special black soap and a rough mitt, leaving you smooth as silk. While my skin was very smooth the next day, I was also covered in bruises or rather broken blood vessels on much of my body in the days to come. It was quite an experience (and quite painful!)

Birdwatching Tour

After this, we relaxed near the pool for a bit. Later on that day, we were taken out on a private boat tour to learn and see a variety of local birds. I have to admit that this tour was not my choice but I ended up loving it. I had not expected to see flamingoes in their natural habitat and it was fascinating. 

After our wonderful tour, we went back to the hotel, relaxed by the pool and then sat and had a drink overlooking the beach. Later, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant. We were lucky and caught another beautiful sunset.

Day 3: Bye Oualidia, Off to the Atlas Mountains!

After a lovely breakfast, we were picked up by our driver to take the 3 1/4 hour car ride to Ourika village (see #2 on the above map) in the high Atlas Mountains. We had to switch to a 4×4 car to make it up the road to our hotel due to the steepness of the road!

The hotel and its grounds were beautiful with a wonderful view of the mountains and surrounding Berber villages. See pictures of the property and views of the surround landscape below. 

Atlas Mountain Hike in Ourika, Morocco

After arriving at our hotel, we settled in and then headed off on our first scheduled trek. We scheduled this through the hotel and met our guide outside the hotel’s front entrance. The hike started at a trail near the hotel. Along the way, we saw salt fields, the Toubkal National Park and a Berber village. In fact, our guide showed us his own village and explained the intricacies of the Berber culture. The hike lasted around 3 hours. 

After a strenuous hike, we headed back to the hotel to relax and then had a lovely diinner at the hotel’s restaurant. The food was delicious!

Day 4: Day Trip to Setti Fatma and the 7 Waterfalls

Day Trip to Setti Fatma

We were excited for this trek as we had heard the waterfalls were beautiful. We met our guide outside our hotel and he took us to Setti Fatma, a small local village. On the way to the falls, we stopped at a store to learn how they make Moroccan oil. The trail itself was beautiful and was quite busy with locals and tourists. During the hike, we stopped and had lunch at a local outdoor restaurant. I am convinced this is where I developed food poisoning despite our guide assuring us it was safe (note: please only eat at the hotels – avoid food stalls, and other establishments.) Either way, the hike was well worth it! 

Experience: Massages at the Hotel

After our hike, we headed back to the hotel for our scheduled massages. It felt amazing after 2 days of hiking!

Day 5: Heading to Marrakech 

After a relaxing brekafast at the hotel, we checked out and our driver took us to Marrakech. It was about a one hour drive to our hotel. The hotel was once previous holiday residence for the royal famly. Our room felt like a royal bedroom and was absolutely beautiful! 

Hotel: Les Jardins de la Medina

Location: downtown Marrakech

Address: 21 Derb Chtouka Quartier de la Kasbah, Marrakech, Morocco 40000

The hotel has a spa, a pool in an inner courtyard garden that included a treadmill (literally right out in the open!) We spent the afternoon exploring the hotel and relaxing before we headed out to our sunset tour of Marrakech. 

Excursion: Sunset Tour of Marrakech

During our tour, we were taken to Jemaa el-Fna, a famous square in Marrakech’s old city (medina) where we were introduced to the souks (markets.) 

It all felt so loud and busy, and exhilarating. However, I did feel as if I’d be run over by a motorcyclist at any moment (they did not just stick to the roads but rode on any street, whether or not it was filled with pedestrians! We arrived back home several hours later and headed straight to bed. 

Day 6: A Full Day in Marrakech 

Walking Tour of Marrakech

Our guide and driver met us at 9:30am for our all day tour of Marrakech and we did not arrive back at our hotel until 4pm. We had a tour of the Saadian Tombs, El-Bahia Palace, Museum of Marrakech, Mellah, Souks, Majorelle Gardens and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum. I felt as if we walked 20 miles that day! Each of the attractions was amazing and unique in its own way. My favorite things included the Souks and Majorelle Gardens. 

Day 7: Bye, Morocco! 

Sadly, this was the day we had to leave. We had so many amazing memories from our many experiences over the past 6 days! There are so many fun things to do in Morocco and our trip only scratched the surface! Whether you use a travel service as we did or plan a trip loosely based on our trip, you will not go wrong! 

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All the best,

Alexis