Chefchaouen Holidays

Geographically Morocco is defined by the Rif, Middle Atlas, High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains that spread across the country like fingers of a giant hand. Historically they provided refuge for the indigenous Berber people in the face of numerous foreign invasions, and remain Berber heartlands to this day. The mountains divide the country climatically as well as culturally, preventing rainfall from Europe and the Atlantic reaching inland and south; so the south and east are generally dry and hot, with the north and west being a little cooler and wetter.

Any trip to the country is likely to involve a mixture of city experiences and more rural experiences, a contrast that Morocco does very well. Her greatest cities, like Fez and Marrakesh are maelstroms of intoxicating sights, sounds and smells, very medieval in feel, whilst once you get out into the more remote oases, valleys and mountains, houses hunker down against the weather and invaders, clustered in ksour (fortified villages) overlooking by kasbahs whose mud-brick walls are covered in intricate decoration. Along the coast, fortified ports boast battlements designed by French and Portuguese invaders, whilst much more modern constructions, like the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca are no less inspiring or photogenic because of their modernity.

Morocco is such a diverse country that it’s almost impossible to convey the breadth of experiences on offer, but we hope this website gives you some idea of why we think it’s such an incredible country, and well worth a week or two of your precious holiday time!

This is a slightly tricky question, as any trip covering more than just a couple of places is going to involve compromising on the weather somewhere. As a general rule, the coast and High Atlas Mountains are best in the summer: the coast because it will be warm enough to swim in the sea, and the High Atlas because the winters get remarkably cold and snowy. The far south, along the great oasis valleys to the Sahara, gets very hot in summer, so is really an autumn/winter/spring destination, whilst the north of the country is a little more year-round and moderate in its climate.

Given these contrasting weather patterns, most people opt for a spring or autumn trip, missing the worst of the summer heat where it’s an issue, but also avoiding the colder, wetter winters where they occur. However, that being said, Morocco can be remarkably romantic during the winter months. With cosy riads, roaring fireplaces and snow-capped mountains. So, as always, chat to us about when you’re thinking of travelling and we’ll help make sure you choose the best time for you.

Over the last decade or so, Moroccan cuisine has become more familiar to us here in Europe, and most people are familiar with its staples: the tajine, couscous and perhaps pastilla. Tajines, the classic one-pot stews that marry chicken and lamb with soft fruit (dates, apricots and prunes), and pastilla (a slightly more unusual sounding dish of pigeon in layers of filo pastry dusted with cinnamon and sugar) exhibit one of the defining features of Moroccan food, the marriage of sweet and savoury in one dish. The standard accompaniment of couscous is to Moroccans what rice is to the Chinese!

Tajines, couscous and pastilla are “special” meals, ones that Moroccans would normally have on feast days, or public holidays. The more day-to-day food is actually just as tasty and is best exemplified by the street vendors of the Jemaa El Fna square in Marrakesh: brochettes (kebabs, barbequed) with fresh bread and salad (although if you want something more “challenging”, like whole sheep’s head, that’s on offer too!). Perhaps one of the most pleasing dishes, certainly for freshness, is to be had in places like Essaouira, where fish, straight off the boats moored next to your harbour-side food stall, is paired with a simple salad of tomato, onion, cucumber and coriander – one of our personal favourites!

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the lengthy French presence in Morocco, there is a long-established wine industry. Granted, for most of its history, the industry has produced little of note, but that is changing, and vineyards, notably near Essaouira in the south and Meknes in the north, are producing better and better wines. They are certainly a cheaper accompaniment to your meals than imported wines, and increasingly, just as tasty too.

Our holidays are inclusive of flights to Morocco with scheduled carriers such as BA or Royal Air Maroc and will include full ATOL bonding. There are also a large number of low-cost flights operating from various UK airports to various cities in Morocco, including EasyJet and Ryanair. We can assist with booking scheduled carrier flights and some low-cost carriers, however for some routes and flight options these may be best booked directly with the airline. As always, we're here to offer the best advice to suit your requirements.

UK passport holders aren’t required to obtain a visa in advance for entry into Morocco for the purposes of tourism for up to three months – you’ll be granted a free visa on arrival.

To enter Morocco, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 3 months after the date you arrive, and please do make sure your passport isn’t damaged before travel.

Non-UK passport holders should check with their local Moroccan embassy or consulate.

As we’re not medical experts, we feel it's essential you contact your G.P. regarding vaccinations and the like for travel to Morocco. What follows are some suggestions, but they must be verified by a medical professional. In addition to such vaccinations as you’d routinely have for living in the UK, further boosters are recommended for Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Typhoid.

For more information, The Travel Doctor, is a great interactive website providing specialist health information for travellers plus customised lists of travel medicines, vaccines and malaria tablets for holiday makers, global adventure travellers and expeditions. However, as always, this is no match for the first-hand advice of a trained professional! 

Perhaps more than almost any other country, your accommodation will be a defining feature of your trip, largely down to the phenomenon of riads. These are traditional townhouses, built around one or more internal courtyards, that have been converted into guesthouses and hotels. They are prolific in Marrakesh (there are 1,800 registered riads in Marrakesh and any number of unregistered ones), and increasingly numerous in other major cities.

As a rule, riads are superb and match nicely with our preference for smaller, owner-run and managed hotels, which tend to have more character and better service than larger, chain hotels. Needless to say with so many of them about it’s important to choose the right one, for quality and for the security of your money: that’s where we come in! If we choose to feature a riad or hotel, then we’ve visited it, we know exactly what it’s like and we know it’s a legit, trustworthy operation!

There is more to Moroccan accommodation than riads, and another trend of recent years has been the conversion of old kasbahs (or the building of new hotels but in a kasbah style). These are particularly numerous around Ouarzazate and Skoura in the Dades Valley. More simple, as a rule, than riads, they none-the-less have bags of character and are something to elevate a trip from the ordinary to the truly memorable.

The main languages of Morocco are Moroccan Arabic (which is quite distinctive from Classical Arabic and the Arabic spoken in much of the rest of the Arab world), Berber (there are a number of Berber dialects spoken, all being derived from the main Amazigh language), and French. English is not that widely spoken, certainly not outside of the cities, but most people will speak a few words; for getting along on a day-to-day basis, French is very helpful unless you happen to speak Moroccan Arabic or Amazigh!

We don’t recommend self-driving in Morocco, for a number of reasons. The first is that, when in the older cities, navigation through the medinas is extremely difficult, and driving conditions (very narrow streets clogged with pedestrians, donkey-carts, vendors) are tough. Outside the cities, driving standards are not especially high, and road conditions are difficult at times. For locals, who are used to driving in Morocco, it’s not a problem, but even pretty experienced drivers can find things very hard going – exactly the sort of stress you really don’t want on a holiday!

Morocco is a relatively conservative Islamic country, but is liberalising. If you’re visiting any religious monuments, it’s polite to cover arms and legs, especially for women, but almost everywhere else, shorts and t-shirts will be acceptable. Going topless, for men (except by the pool / beach) and women, would be considered very insensitive and should be avoided.

The currency in Morocco is the Moroccan Dirham (MAD). Credit and debit cards are accepted at most hotels, although not many restaurants or shops accept cards, so you’ll need to keep topped up with cash. ATMs are readily available in towns and cities of almost any size; sometimes they may not accept your card or be out of order, but there’s nearly always an alternative machine you can use – just ask your driver / guide to find one for you!

Haggling is an integral part of the shopping experience in Morocco, especially in the souqs. There’s no hard and fast rule as to what price you should eventually settle on given the initial price asked – but you should never accept that first price! Consider what it is you want to buy, decide how much you’d be happy to pay for it, and walk away if the vendor won’t come down to that price.

Tipping is ubiquitous and expected for almost any service rendered. As well as the usual 10-15% in restaurants and cafés, tips will be anticipated by porters, drivers, guides (official and unofficial), shoe shiners, vendors, and so on. Try to keep a stash of small Moroccan coins (exchange as many as you can early in the trip, enlist your driver / guide’s help in this) to give out for the inconsequential services. We’ll give you guidelines before you go on how much to tip drivers and guides before you go.

We believe travel should be a force for good. That means exploring with open eyes, treading lightly, and respecting the people and places that make the world so special. Our code of conduct isn’t about rules, it’s simply a guide to help you travel thoughtfully, ethically, and with care. Because every small choice makes a big difference.

• If you choose to trust us with your holiday, we’ll send you a “Travel Facts” document when confirming your booking. This includes useful facts and travel advice, such as restaurant recommendations, reading tips, basic language information, cultural traditions, climate information, brief historical overviews, and more. We feel that this offers a useful insight and can help you interact with local residents in a more sensitive, well-informed manner. Please do try to take the time to read this information before your visit, it’s worth the time!

• A number of the countries in which we operate holidays are religious societies with a widely observed set of customs. Always respect these norms, particularly when visiting religious buildings.

• To the best of our knowledge, all hotels, lodges, and camps within our portfolio operate stringent measures to minimise water usage. All of our destinations have issues with water supplies to a certain extent, so feel free to raise any possible wastage should you encounter it during your stay, either with the accommodation or with us upon your return.

• Please ask permission before taking photographs of people, and respect their wishes if they are not happy to be photographed. We find that friendly requests and a smile are usually met with a ‘yes!’

• Strive, where possible, to make your own contribution to environmental practices as you travel. This might include minimising your electricity usage, not smoking in protected areas, avoiding coral while snorkelling, and safely disposing of all litter (recycling where possible).

• Where possible, try to purchase from local suppliers. This includes shopping for souvenirs, dining out at restaurants, and booking additional excursions during your free time. In areas where haggling is an accepted part of daily life, don’t be offended if you’re unable to obtain what you perceive as a fair price for an item.

• We emphasise to local suppliers that our clients should never be taken on unsolicited shopping trips, but if this does happen, try to retain your sense of humour, provide a firm refusal to participate and do let us know about it on your return. We pass on all feedback from every trip undertaken with us to our relevant local suppliers, who all share our commitment to travelling with sensitivity.

• Please don’t remove any indigenous items from their natural habitat and attempt to bring them home as a souvenir. This particularly applies to everything from coral, shells, plants and food in the natural world, to cultural artefacts and antiques.

If you’re unsure about anything relating to the above, please feel free to chat to us. We’ve travelled extensively in the country and will be more than happy to offer our considered advice.