Morocco Travel Help

[lmkkitten]

Hi I hope someone can give me some advice.

My friend and I are flying into Marrakech on the 15 Oct and back out 23 Oct. We have drafted up an itinerary but are not sure if it will work with time frames, transport etc.
We are travelling unassisted and would like to do some fun stuff and get off the beaten track.

We would like to do a 2 day 1 night camel trek in the desert first.. have found a place that will pick us up in Marrakech and take us back. From here we were going to go to Fez for 2 nights then onto Oualidia for 1 night then back to Marrakech for 2 nights.

What would be the easiest way to get from Marrakech to Fez and then onto Oualidia..? will we be wasting alot of time travelling..?

Any suggestions / advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

[Ma_Li_Ka]

Great timing... isn't that travelschedule like in the middle of Ramadan?

Not to knitpick or anything, but isn't Marrakech a bit far from the desert? To my understanding the desert starts around Zagora, Merzouga-Rissani and these kind of places

[lmkkitten]

Thanks for your not so helpful reply..

Ramadan does not shut down Morocco.. I have done my research.. We respect the religion, but are not muslim and do not see how this will affect us.

Marrakech is far from the desert and we are well aware of where it is and where the camel treks go from hence our excitment at finding a company that will collect us from Marrakech...

People post on these boards for helpful replies.

[Kendra1]

You're right Morocco does not shut down, but don't expect to really experience the real Morocco if you go during Ramadan,that's all. i have got non-muslim friends going soon who have also done their research and realized it was best to go at the end so that they experience Eid (the festival at the end of Ramadan) and then have a few days to see Morocco as it usually is, but different strokes for different folks i guess.

My fathers family is from Marrakech and further down South and I can tell you it is a bloody trek !! and then you want to go to Fez afterwards, If you had a good 10days there I'd say its poss, otherwise I think you will end up spending too much time travelling and not enough time seeing/doing stuff.
This of course is just my opinion so please don't bite my head off for it

[lmkkitten]

Thanks for your thoughts.. I know we are going to be pushing it but we also want to make the most of our time.. I have been looking on the net today and it seems that there is an 8 hour express train from Marrakech to Fez.. do you know if that is right..?

We have booked our desert stuff that will only take out 2 days so we will be back in Marrakech on the 17th and ready to head off somewhere (hopefully Fez) on the 18th..

Do you think time wise we should skip the coast explore Fez for two full days then head back to Marrakech for another 2 full days before we fly out..??

[Ma_Li_Ka]

Yeah, I am like that. Really helpfull!

Indirectly I was saying the same as Kendra, Morocco is not very exciting during Ramadan. They may not shut down completely, but some places do though. Because there is hardly any business. They are not gonna wait for those two tourists that will order one barad datay?

The train from Marrakech to Fez does take more than 8 hours. From Fes to Casa Voyageurs is already almost 5 hours en from Voyageurs to Marrakech it is over 4 hours.
That's a day travelling?

And I know from experience that Fes really shuts down in Ramadan. Fes Al Bali and Fes eljdid shut down completely.

But hey, do what you've gotta do.

[brim]

None of these replies are really useful. Try and post your message here http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/ca...es.cfm?catid=9 This is the Lonely Planet's travel forum, the THORNTREE, and is VERY useful for queries such as yours.