Meknes is a rural town in the centre of Morocco that is very beautiful. It’s a location we didn’t know much about prior to being in Fes, but did some last minute research to find out that it’s a great place to visit for a day trip!
When visiting Meknes, we would definitely recommend to research the best way to get there from your start location! If you are in Fes, we would take the train as it is only a 40 minute ride to the Town. However, try to book the train tickets online, or get to the station early to guarantee a seat on the train as they can get full up rather quickly (we found this out the hard way)!
You can check out our full blog experience and thoughts on Meknes down below or by visiting our YouTube channel OurTwoStepStart.
How to spend a day in Meknes
Now you have set a day aside for Meknes, we would recommend you to book accommodation (either in person or online) with a local riad Hostel or homestay. This way you will have the authentic experience of staying in traditional housing and meet some of the locals. When visiting Meknes, we stayed in Dar Merzouga which had an amazingly friendly host and if you are in the area we would recommend staying here! Find it here.
Below we have highlighted the best activities you can enjoy when in Meknes so you don’t miss anything!
Visit the markets
Meknes is known for it’s local markets and is full of them! The markets can stretch for a good 45 minute walk; leaving you with endless opportunity to wander, look for souvenirs for home, or just check out some of the niche stalls! Some of the markets are specific to food or clothing for example, so you can choose the market that is right for you to get them most enjoyment!
When visiting a food market, be aware that it is a poorer country and they aren’t westernised with how they may treat animals. You are likely to see animal body parts such as Donkey hooves for sale or sheep’s head… or even live chickens being purchased and handled for meat. We would recommend for anyone who is bothered by this to avoid these specific areas where meat is sold as it can be graphic.
The markets however definitely offers an opportunity to get some good deals as you can negotiate a lower price for the goods that are on offer. Usually we would recommend to look at the price and find a realistic price you are comfortable and go from there! The locals are likely to take you up on your new price as long as it’s isn’t too low!
Bab El Masour
This is a monumental Gate that is located in the heart of Meknes just a stones throw from the mass markets. It is known to be one of the best structurally and architecturally gates across north Africa which stands out amongst the old Town. It was completed in the 1730s and build for the sultan’s son Moulay Abdallah.
It’s a great building which attracts crowds of visitors everyday and would be a great place to spend a few hours after wandering the local markets.
Try local food
As Meknes is a smaller Town, it doesn’t provide many westernised foods and sticks to the more traditional meals that Morocco has to offer. This is a great opportunity to find some local spots to taste authentic Moroccan Cuisine. Traditional food can be provided for dinner during you stay if you book with a Riad and is a great way to taste Morocco homecooked cuisine!
There will also be small independent stalls which will offer a variety of snacks/bites you can grab. The can be specific like pastries or desserts, or shops that offer a range of foods to try! You can even watch some of these make the foods to show it’s freshly made and that it’s a traditional Morocco taste as they cook it in front of you.
Street photography of locals
As it’s a more traditional and less touristy area, it’s a perfect place to set up and take some street photography of Meknes. It’s known to being a traditional Town so would be great to snap authentic Moroccan living. Places we would recommend for this would be down the tight streets of the Medina, in the busy markets as there’s so much going on, and outside the Bab El Mansour.
The Bab El Mansour is a monumental traditional structure which would be an awesome place to snap some photography. They have horse and cart outside with locals moving from place to place making it a great place to people watch!
The perfect day trip in Morocco
Meknes is a small Town that is full of life and has some beautiful parts we would recommend to visit! It’s the perfect 1-day trip into traditional Morocco and a great way to learn more about the countries culture and lifestyle.
We have also covered some of the most important things to know for travelling to Morocco, with key things to look out for! Find the blog here, which you should definitely check out to help you through your dream Moroccan Travels!
If you did enjoy this Blog and want to hear more on our past, present and future adventures please make sure to follow our Journey by subscribing to the Blog and check out our Social Media’ below!
Morocco is a stunning country located in North Africa, which is a popular location for avid travellers and European holiday makers alike. Due to its location, the country is rich in history, and provides a diverse experience when visiting. You are able to enjoy luscious resorts, snorkelling in the Mediterranean, but you also have east Morocco to visit the Sahara Dessert to ride camels, and watch the beautiful still stars at night.
There’s such opportunity in the country for visiting which makes it a popular spot for people when deciding where to go!
The country is a heavily Muslim country which does come with some reservations as it is different to non-muslin countries. As you are visiting these countries, it’s important to do your research beforehand and understand the culture before visiting.
Here we have provided things to watch out for and to not do when visiting Morocco!
Be careful of locals taking you place!
A lot of locals in busy areas will try to recommend you to visit certain places that are close. They usually do this to promote a family member’s shop, or restaurant, to boost sales; but has been known to be a ploy to lead you astray and some people have been mugged with this method. We would recommend having a plan in mind when visiting each place in Morocco.
When you are walking you have a specific destination in mind, whether it’s a restaurant you were recommended, or you are walking to a local Souk to see what they have to offer. This way you are unlikely to be pulled from your plan- and limits any issues further down the line.
Some of the locals will be very direct and intimidating with their requests so be sure to stay diligent. A trick that usually works is if you get the name of the place and say you’ll check it out later or mention you are meeting friends this way. Unfortunately it can seem rude denying them, and even sometimes ignoring their requests but it is a great way to move past them with any further problems.
Make sure to research the area and take the taxis that are designated for that area.
Each city will have a designated colour for their Petit Taxi Service. An example would be in Fez where all the Taxi’s would be red to symbolise they are a legitimate taxi service. These taxi’s are only limited to the city, and to move out of the city you would require other transport or a larger taxi which would accommodate.
These taxi’s are usually very cheap and easy to find across the city. The most we spent on a petit taxi ride was 20 Dihram which was a 20 minute ride through the city. These are the fastest and cheapest ways to move through cities to your desired location which is great for budget travellers.
During ramadan, keep your food and drink consumption subtle
When we travelled Morocco, it was during Ramadan which taught us a lot about their religion and their way of life. As non-Muslims, it was a normal day for us, where we would eat our 3 meals a day, buy large bottles of water and enjoy some well deserved snacks. However, during Ramadan, no Muslim is able to eat food from sunrise to sunset. So when you are out in the day you will see no food or water consumed by locals.
As this is due to a religious reason you don’t need to partake in this as the locals don’t expect you to. However, we would recommend that if you are in confined places such as on a train ride or in a busy area, that you limit your eating and drinking out of respect for all around you. If you are needing to eat or drink during the day in a busy area, we would recommend to do this subtly.
Confirming prices with locals before and not after! (Don’t just accept the first price)
As with most places in the north of Africa and across the world, you need to agree a price with the seller before and not after! This is can be used throughout Morocco, with exceptions being restaurants.
Whether its at a stall in a market, or grabbing a taxi, or even agreeing a price on tours, you can certainly work out a price that mutually benefits both parties. As with any negotiation, we would recommend finding a price you are willing to pay for the good or service, and drop your price below. It is likely the local will provide a counter offer in which you can settle around your desired price. Some locals will offer a ‘tourist price’ for you which some may not haggle.
Please do understand that you should not try to get the cheapest price necessarily as you are in a poor country, and the small amount to you is a lot larger for them.
In some instances you will come across a more than reasonable offer which requires no negotiation. Here it’s best to accept the price you are offered if you are happy with it!
Plan ahead with any transport you take! (train issues) – leave ample time for travel.
If you are visiting one area in Morocco, or have a trip booked through a company, then it’s not too important to book/plan ahead with transport as it’s all provided/not necessary. However, if you have to explore different locations like us then it’s good to do your research, and have a route planned out with transport included.
If you are moving from city to city it’s important to know what times you can get the transportation, and we would always recommend you sort this out as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we had to wait 2 hours in a smaller city missing 2 trains as they were both fully booked and we waited till closer to the time to book the tickets. As we missed the first train, we decided to find a shop to relax at and grab snacks before looking to purchase the tickets for the next train which led to this next train being fully booked aswell. We ended up having to get the following train which ran every hour. This really slowed down our travel day and is definitely one thing we would avoid doing in the future.
Watch out for kids being exploited to make money and beg from you.
In Morocco, a lot of families are working throughout the day to earn enough money to feed their families. While they are working, they can sometimes send their young children (between 5 – 12 y/o) out to beg and get money from tourists pretending to be homeless or hungry.
Even though they are really cute, and you want to give them some money it only goes to their parents. As they catch some gullible tourists with this, some parents are taking their children out of school to beg and earn money for their family. The best way to deal with this is to say no sorry and carry on walking. If they speak French only you can say désolé.
Avoid booking accommodation online where possible
Booking online is a more convenient and organised way to travel! We would normally recommend this to all travellers as it can eliminate any issues further down the line. However, there are some exceptions!
In Morocco, we ended up booking in person due to online difficulties. We arrived at the Riad around 7pm, and they didn’t have any shared dorms available which they did have on hostel world. We understood that people would book extra nights and it would not update on the website- so can cause confusion which makes it easier to book in person!
Because of this, we had to book a private room which on the website was £45 a night. As we were speaking with the host they provided a lower cost (as it’s cheaper in person) and also got a discount meaning we only spent £30 a night. Which isn’t too far from what we would pay if we were to stay in shared dorms. The only risk is that they would have no room but as we stayed in a quieter area we couldn’t see this being an issue!
Booking in person can make it almost 40% cheaper than online and can avoid issues like double booking with other travellers!
Don’t take a drone.
Drones have been completely banned in Morocco since 2015! The only available use is for companies who acquire a special permit. Private users are prohibited, and therefore could lead to hefty fines; or the drone to be taken and sometimes not returned.
Drones can be declared at the airport and they will hold them until your departure. If you are travelling Morocco and leaving via a different airport then you might need to change your flights. They will not ship or post your drone to the airport you depart, and will only drop the drone off in person!
After hearing stories, the best bet would be to either declare the drone (if you are departing from the same airport) and pay 201 Dirhams holding fee, or just leave your drone at home or with someone you trust while you are in the country. They have a strict no drone policy that they do monitor when leaving the country. They don’t monitor it when entering!
Make sure you know where ATMs are where you are staying.
Most places in Morocco take cash only. It is expected of you to pay cash, with some higher end restaurants allowing card. However, when we left the airport we only had a couple hundred dirhams to our name… and only just had enough to pay for our taxi into the city! There doesn’t seem to be many ATM’s which may lead to long walks to find them.
It’s always recommended to search the area in which you are going to see the local ATM’s and how close they are to where you are staying. We also found out that they can be sometimes unreliable and sometimes out of order so make sure to know where multiple are!
Brush up on your French from School
Morocco is a predominantly French speaking country, with many of the locals only knowing basic English if you are lucky. They only know broken English through previous interactions with travellers, and therefore knowing some French would be very handy.
There were situations where people would speak no English, and Aimee’s understanding of French and her little knowledge of speaking French from school helped! Even simple words like numbers and greetings can help massively when trying to understand and communicate with the locals!
Wear appropriate clothing.
As it is a Muslim country, most of the local adult women will wear religious headwear. This isn’t expected by travellers, but is respected if you are to cover up. It is a great way to immerse yourself in their culture, and understand more about their way of life.
However, we would recommend to cover your shoulders and ankles where possible.. definitely in less touristy areas as some locals aren’t used to seeing many tourists. Simple clothing like long t-shirts or shirts and a flowy dress or trousers for women. This is less so for men, as Muslim men aren’t expected to cover as much compared to women. During Ramadan, this would be recommended more so as it’s during a religious event.
Don’t miss out on the Moroccan Cuisine.
This is one thing we weren’t so aware of.. There is so much to try in Morocco, and it’s all delicious!! The food here is so fresh and flavourful, something we would recommend everyone to try and explore as you wont regret it!
They have some dishes that are very different to things you have tried before! One being the B’silla. This is a pastry dish filled with chicken, almost like a English Pie but includes some flavours you won’t expect. They garnish it with icing sugar and cinnamon which turns it from savoury to sweet. Surprisingly, the dish goes really well. Traditionally, they also fill it with pigeon!
Also, we would recommend to try their local Tajine, Harira, and a selection of Moroccan pastries! Don’t forget to wash it down with a sweet tea which is a must when visiting Morocco.
Moroccan Travel is so Beautiful
Morocco is such a beautiful country full of colour, personality and history! There is so much to see and do but it definitely requires good planning to make the most of your trip!
These are our top tips when experiencing this stunning country, and we hope it helps you during your travels!
Do let us know how you get on and if you have any more Do’s or Dont’s for Morocco!!
Be sure to let us know your thoughts and like the blog if you enjoyed – it really goes a long way to supporting us and our Blog!
You can also follow our travel Journey on our Social Below to see where else we have been and where we plan to go in the future!
Morocco is a stunning country located in North Africa, which is a popular location for avid travellers and European holiday makers alike. Due to its location, the country is rich in history, and provides a diverse experience when visiting. You are able to enjoy luscious resorts, snorkelling in the Mediterranean, but you also have east Morocco to visit the Sahara Dessert to ride camels, and watch the beautiful still stars at night.
There’s such opportunity in the country for visiting which makes it a popular spot for people when deciding where to go!
The country is a heavily Muslim country which does come with some reservations as it is different to non-muslin countries. As you are visiting these countries, it’s important to do your research beforehand and understand the culture before visiting.
Here we have provided things to watch out for and to not do when visiting Morocco!
*This post contains affiliate links, which we may earn from. This does not come at an additional cost, but helps us to pursue this dream 🙂
We have made a new video about this too!
Be careful of locals taking you places!
A lot of locals in busy areas will try to recommend you to visit certain places that are close. They usually do this to promote a family member’s shop, or restaurant, to boost sales; but has been known to be a ploy to lead you astray and some people have been mugged with this method. We would recommend having a plan in mind when visiting each place in Morocco.
When you are walking you have a specific destination in mind, whether it’s a restaurant you were recommended, or you are walking to a local Souk to see what they have to offer. This way you are unlikely to be pulled from your plan- and limits any issues further down the line.
Some of the locals will be very direct and intimidating with their requests so be sure to stay diligent. A trick that usually works is if you get the name of the place and say you’ll check it out later or mention you are meeting friends this way. Unfortunately it can seem rude denying them, and even sometimes ignoring their requests but it is a great way to move past them with any further problems.
Make sure to research the area and take the taxis that are designated for that area.
Each city will have a designated colour for their Petit Taxi Service. An example would be in Fez where all the Taxi’s would be red to symbolise they are a legitimate taxi service. These taxi’s are only limited to the city, and to move out of the city you would require other transport or a larger taxi which would accommodate.
These taxi’s are usually very cheap and easy to find across the city. The most we spent on a petit taxi ride was 20 Dihram which was a 20 minute ride through the city. These are the fastest and cheapest ways to move through cities to your desired location which is great for budget travellers.
During ramadan, keep your food and drink consumption subtle
When we travelled Morocco, it was during Ramadan which taught us a lot about their religion and their way of life. As non-Muslims, it was a normal day for us, where we would eat our 3 meals a day, buy large bottles of water and enjoy some well deserved snacks. However, during Ramadan, no Muslim is able to eat food from sunrise to sunset. So when you are out in the day you will see no food or water consumed by locals.
As this is due to a religious reason you don’t need to partake in this as the locals don’t expect you to. However, we would recommend that if you are in confined places such as on a train ride or in a busy area, that you limit your eating and drinking out of respect for all around you. If you are needing to eat or drink during the day in a busy area, we would recommend to do this subtly.
Confirming prices with locals before and not after! (Don’t just accept the first price)
As with most places in the north of Africa and across the world, you need to agree a price with the seller before and not after! This is can be used throughout Morocco, with exceptions being restaurants.
Whether its at a stall in a market, or grabbing a taxi, or even agreeing a price on tours, you can certainly work out a price that mutually benefits both parties. As with any negotiation, we would recommend finding a price you are willing to pay for the good or service, and drop your price below. It is likely the local will provide a counter offer in which you can settle around your desired price. Some locals will offer a ‘tourist price’ for you which some may not haggle.
Please do understand that you should not try to get the cheapest price necessarily as you are in a poor country, and the small amount to you is a lot larger for them.
In some instances you will come across a more than reasonable offer which requires no negotiation. Here it’s best to accept the price you are offered if you are happy with it!
Plan ahead with any transport you take! (train issues) – leave ample time for travel.
If you are visiting one area in Morocco, or have a trip booked through a company, then it’s not too important to book/plan ahead with transport as it’s all provided/not necessary. However, if you have to explore different locations like us then it’s good to do your research, and have a route planned out with transport included.
If you are moving from city to city it’s important to know what times you can get the transportation, and we would always recommend you sort this out as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we had to wait 2 hours in a smaller city missing 2 trains as they were both fully booked and we waited till closer to the time to book the tickets. As we missed the first train, we decided to find a shop to relax at and grab snacks before looking to purchase the tickets for the next train which led to this next train being fully booked aswell. We ended up having to get the following train which ran every hour. This really slowed down our travel day and is definitely one thing we would avoid doing in the future.
Watch out for kids being exploited to make money and beg from you.
In Morocco, a lot of families are working throughout the day to earn enough money to feed their families. While they are working, they can sometimes send their young children (between 5 – 12 y/o) out to beg and get money from tourists pretending to be homeless or hungry.
Even though they are really cute, and you want to give them some money it only goes to their parents. As they catch some gullible tourists with this, some parents are taking their children out of school to beg and earn money for their family. The best way to deal with this is to say no sorry and carry on walking. If they speak French only you can say désolé.
Avoid booking accommodation online where possible
Booking online is a more convenient and organised way to travel! We would normally recommend this to all travellers as it can eliminate any issues further down the line. However, there are some exceptions!
In Morocco, we ended up booking in person due to online difficulties. We arrived at the Riad around 7pm, and they didn’t have any shared dorms available which they did have on hostel world. We understood that people would book extra nights and it would not update on the website- so can cause confusion which makes it easier to book in person!
Because of this, we had to book a private room which on the website was £45 a night. As we were speaking with the host they provided a lower cost (as it’s cheaper in person) and also got a discount meaning we only spent £30 a night. Which isn’t too far from what we would pay if we were to stay in shared dorms. The only risk is that they would have no room but as we stayed in a quieter area we couldn’t see this being an issue!
Booking in person can make it almost 40% cheaper than online and can avoid issues like double booking with other travellers!
Don’t take a drone.
Drones have been completely banned in Morocco since 2015! The only available use is for companies who acquire a special permit. Private users are prohibited, and therefore could lead to hefty fines; or the drone to be taken and sometimes not returned.
Drones can be declared at the airport and they will hold them until your departure. If you are travelling Morocco and leaving via a different airport then you might need to change your flights. They will not ship or post your drone to the airport you depart, and will only drop the drone off in person!
After hearing stories, the best bet would be to either declare the drone (if you are departing from the same airport) and pay 201 Dirhams holding fee, or just leave your drone at home or with someone you trust while you are in the country. They have a strict no drone policy that they do monitor when leaving the country. They don’t monitor it when entering!
Make sure you know where ATMs are where you are staying.
Most places in Morocco take cash only. It is expected of you to pay cash, with some higher end restaurants allowing card. However, when we left the airport we only had a couple hundred dirhams to our name… and only just had enough to pay for our taxi into the city! There doesn’t seem to be many ATM’s which may lead to long walks to find them.
It’s always recommended to search the area in which you are going to see the local ATM’s and how close they are to where you are staying. We also found out that they can be sometimes unreliable and sometimes out of order so make sure to know where multiple are!
Brush up on your French from School
Morocco is a predominantly French speaking country, with many of the locals only knowing basic English if you are lucky. They only know broken English through previous interactions with travellers, and therefore knowing some French would be very handy.
There were situations where people would speak no English, and Aimee’s understanding of French and her little knowledge of speaking French from school helped! Even simple words like numbers and greetings can help massively when trying to understand and communicate with the locals!
Wear appropriate clothing.
As it is a Muslim country, most of the local adult women will wear religious headwear. This isn’t expected by travellers, but is respected if you are to cover up. It is a great way to immerse yourself in their culture, and understand more about their way of life.
However, we would recommend to cover your shoulders and ankles where possible.. definitely in less touristy areas as some locals aren’t used to seeing many tourists. Simple clothing like long t-shirts or shirts and a flowy dress or trousers for women. This is less so for men, as Muslim men aren’t expected to cover as much compared to women. During Ramadan, this would be recommended more so as it’s during a religious event.
Don’t miss out on the Moroccan Cuisine.
This is one thing we weren’t so aware of.. There is so much to try in Morocco, and it’s all delicious!! The food here is so fresh and flavourful, something we would recommend everyone to try and explore as you wont regret it!
They have some dishes that are very different to things you have tried before! One being the B’silla. This is a pastry dish filled with chicken, almost like a English Pie but includes some flavours you won’t expect. They garnish it with icing sugar and cinnamon which turns it from savoury to sweet. Surprisingly, the dish goes really well. Traditionally, they also fill it with pigeon!
Also, we would recommend to try their local Tajine, Harira, and a selection of Moroccan pastries! Don’t forget to wash it down with a sweet tea which is a must when visiting Morocco.
Want help planning your Moroccan adventure?
We now offer custom travel planning support! Experience the pinnacle of travel planning, ensuring your journey is luxurious, well-organized, and unforgettable! Find our Basic package, Standard package, and Luxury package, ready for your Morocco trip! We have made a blog post explaining these packages further here!
We post weekly Youtube Videos now! Please check out our newest Vlog!
Our favourite must-needed travel resources
Where to Fly
Trip.com – Find amazing flight deals, with over 2 million flight routes, and being one of the world’s leading online travel agencies.
Kiwi – Use Kiwi’s amazing service that is pioneering in the flight space! They use virtual interlining, which means they can provide seamless connecting flights into one single itinerary!
CheapOair – Being one of the fastest growing online travel companies in the US, CheapOair offers great flight deals, hotel rooms, rental cars and more!
Where to Stay
Booking.com – Offering over 28 million accommodations to book, we will always use booking.com! Having a rewards system built in, the more you book, the more perks you get!
HostelWorld – You cannot budget travel without hostel world! Having over 17,000 hostels, boasting over 13 million reviews, hostel world is one our of top websites for budget travel! They are now offering more ways to meet people abroad, with meet ups, group chats and more available!
Vrbo – Find stunning vacation rentals with Vrbo! Offering over 2 million paid listings in 190 countries, find memorable experiences with this accommodation service!
Where to Explore
Viator – A trip advisor company, viator offers over 300,000 experiences over 200 countries, including water sports, walking tours, boat trips, food tastes tours and more! Including activities for many budgets, check out Viator!
Eat With – Experience authentic travel experiences with locals worldwide! Use eat with to book unique and intimate dining experiences, such as dinner parties in big restaurants, big feasts with a local family, cooking classes with a local and more!
Get Your Guide – Book unique (and common too!) experiences and activities worldwide, including skip the line tickets to big attractions worldwide!
Where to get Connected
Airalo – With over one million people using Airalo, it is our go to eSIM provider for our worldwide trips! Having data packs from over 200 countries, find combined area packages and deals to suit your travel style and data needs!
Where to be Protected
ETKA – Every age from 3 to 85 can buy ETKA’s travel insurance, offering multilingual 24/7 chat support, and your insurance policy within 2-3 minutes!
Our Top Traveller’s Essentials
Backpack – Osprey Farpoint 40 – This backpack is a staple amongst many travellers! Being a lot cheaper than the luxury brands, this is a quality backpack from a well known brand. It boasts quality durability, is lightweight with a great framework and is a great option for most people! This backpack has a hip strap to help carry the bag, a breathable harness strap, and comes in multiple colours!
Compression Packing Cubes – Compression cubes are our favourite packing accessory! These cubes are similar to the normal packing cubes, but feature a compression zip, meaning you can compress your clothes down… this makes packing easier, limits the space you are using, and means more room for souvenirs etc!
Powerbank – Don’t lose power when travelling! It isn’t always guaranteed to find charging ports, so we would always suggest carrying a spare power bank, just incase you do run low on power when you need it!
Universal Travel Plug Adapter – Most backpackers/travellers visit multiple countries during one trip. And that means it isn’t guaranteed you will be using the same plug head during each place. A universal plug is great as it lets you switch between each plug head style all in one item! We love ours, it has USB slots meaning multiple items can be charged at once.
Thank you for reading about Things to Avoid in Morocco
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Morocco is a vibrant, scenic country which is full of rich histories! There is so much to love about and it is surprising with the amount of places you must visit in the country!
Ideally, to get the most out of the country you probably would need 1 month worth of travelling to visit all of the must see places. These include seaside towns/cities like Tangier or Agadir with beaches that you need to see. But also they have many beautiful locations inland like Chefchaouen which is a completely blue town or Mergouza which is on the cusp of the Sahara desert which is perfect for a range of activities!!
It’s definitely a location we will be revisiting but for now, 7 days is all we have so lets make the most of it!
We have filmed a Vlog for Fes which is up on our YouTube which you can find here or below.
*There are affiliate links in this post – they do not come at any extra cost to you, but just means we can earn commission to help us pursue this further 🙂
How to spend 2/3 days in Fes!
If we are honest, we looked at the cheapest flight across Europe and countries just outside and this jumped out as one of the cheapest! We initially were looking to fly to Ouarzazate for £30 return but we didn’t book them tickets in time- but rather saw a cheap flight to Fes for £50 which we couldn’t pass up!
So it’s not as if we chose to visit Fes.. more-so it was meant to be. The city really didn’t disappoint!!
As we booked the flights 36 or so hours before departure, we didn’t know a whole lot about the city. What activities to do, where to stay, what and where to eat etc! We pretty much spent the day before brushing up on the best things to do.
For Fes, we kept an open mind on whether to travel around Morocco, or to just take it easy and explore the city more! We didn’t have many plans, but rather we would make decisions on a day-to-day basis depending how we were feeling, and if we wanted to venture to different places.
As we landed in Fes first thing on a Monday morning, we navigated the city into the marina and wandered through the favela-like streets to our stay. We were very lucky, we outreached to hostels and AirBnB’s in Fes to see if we could get any gifted stays to keep costs down on our trip, and we spoke with a lovely hostel who were very happy to support our trip with content in return!
If you have the tools, this is a great way to keep costs down but don’t be discouraged if you can’t get gifted stays, not everywhere does them!! Let us know if you would like us to talk more about how we have gotten gifted stays!
So we had this hostel for 2 nights and it was BEAUTIFUL!!!!
A traditional Riad building located in the heart of the Medina, and only a stones throw from local Souks that you can wander for hours on end! Find the link to this amazing Riad here.
Our stay was magical! On arrival we were taken to the rooftop which had stunning views over the medina and the whole city, with old ruins standing tall like they once did centuries ago. At the rooftop, they offered sweet tea which is a family recipe.. one they were reluctant to spill the beans on!
After settling in and dropping off our luggage at the Riad, we ventured out in the rough direction of the Souks, and took in the scenery around our new home for the next 7 days or so.
We winded through the tight streets, passing children playing football in makeshift goals, and family members wheeling foods to and from their shop. The atmosphere was happy and subtly busy. The narrow streets creates a somewhat chaotic atmosphere as the buildings overhang to make the medina streets smaller.
Once we hit the Souks, we started from (somewhat) the top and wandered down admiring the vast shops, activities and products on offer. Each shop was totally different and had it’s own stamp of traditional creativity. From local spices, to handmade leather bags and soft silky dresses, the Souk was full of product diversity- a place you can revisit later, and see completely different products on the same stalls as before.
After wandering down the hill and the shops either side, we were looking to find a place to settle down to have our first proper meal in Morocco. Of course, we visited the country during the awkward period of Ramadan so all Muslims were fasting from dusk till dawn.
If you are to visit during this time, we would recommend to be respectful to the locals and avoid eating or drinking in public/busy places if it can be helped.
We found a highly recommended restaurant in the heart of the Medina called The Ruined Garden, which was only a 5 minute or so stroll from our hostel. As we arrived, we had a short 20 minute wait for the restaurant to open and we were actually the first people to enter for lunch. The aesthetic was amazing!
The front doors were huge, almost castle-like, with a small staircase leading up to the seating area. It was pretty enclosed up until this point but once you turned the corner onto the top step, the room opened up and in the centre was a fountain with beautiful gardens surrounding. Vines were strung from above to create a beautiful ambience and we were gratefully seated amongst it.
As we sat down, we were greeted by 2 adorable cats who clearly are pets to the owners of the restaurants. We ordered traditional dishes – the B’stilla – being an oddly sounding sweet and savoury, pastry-like filled pie. Yeah this was typed right.. Once we received this, we were pleasantly surprised with the taste as it was dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar. This was a very enjoyable meal, and one we decided to recreate once we arrived back home. Wasn’t quite the same but one we did enjoy for sure!
At the restaurant, we both shared the meal and the portion was super filling that we couldn’t finish it between us! It’s one that we would definitely recommend for any visitor to try. It’s really got everything, from traditional flavours to strange flavour mixes. If anyone has tried this dish we would love to know your views and know your thoughts as we both loved it!!
Towards the end of the meal we were delight to have the visitors of tortoises who suddenly woke up from the back of the gardens and wandered around the courtyard. There were 2 large tortoises who decided to wander around and visit some of the lunch-goers. It was a surprising but welcomed introduction as it’s not one you expect in the centre of the old medina!
Just as we were to pick up the bill and leave the restaurant, we looked back to see a tiny, baby tortoise who was slowly munching on a rather large piece of watermelon (for his size!). It was so small that the garden area it was in prohibited him from escaping due to a small 2-inch wall which he couldn’t master no matter how hard he tried!
Upon leaving, we decided to wander back to our hostel and relax for a few hours, after travelling since 1 in the morning. We spent time on the rooftop and enjoyed the chilled atmosphere, while being served endless cups of traditional sweet Moroccan tea.
As the sky darkened and the mood changed, we were informed that the hostel were hosting dinner as part of the stay! We ended up breaking the fast with the local Moroccans as they served a buffet fit for a king! A sea of plates filled the table, full of colourful traditional Moroccan foods with a soup perfectly placed in front of each guest and a freshly squeezed orange juice to wash it all down with. Here, we conversated with other travellers and ate till our hearts content!
After finishing our meals and thoroughly thanking our hosts for the lovely spread, we headed back to the rooftop to carry on socialising and enjoy our first night!
If you thought the hostel hadn’t done enough, we were also given free popcorn (salted of course) and provided a Shisha for all guests. We spent time eating the popcorn, playing card games and practicing our newly learnt skill… smoke rings!!
We soon headed off to bed and called it a night so we could get ready for a fun and adventurous day tomorrow.
Day 2
The next day started with a little lay-in. We would always recommend that if you are travelling, or even on a holiday, to make sure to take time to rest when needed as no one can be on the go 100% of the time! So Aimee slept in to 9:30 am so she felt energised for the day!
During this time, Jack went upstairs and ended up socialising with some travellers whilst enjoying a complementary breakfast. Once Jack finished, Aimee joined and had her fruit breakfast before we got showered, changed and ready for our busy day!
By this point we didn’t have a plan beyond Fes; but just planned each day the night before and kinda just winged it! If you have travelled before, it’s probably the best way to do it (if you don’t mind the odd panic and stress that comes with it!).
So today we headed outside the medina to a local shopping mall called Borj Fes which is recommended to visit while in Fes! It’s 4 stories tall and filled with a variety of shops! We initially wandered around some of the clothing shops just having a wander, and comparing it to home shopping malls. After a while, we stumbled upon a supermarket on the lower floor which we looked for snacks!
We found a bakery full of cakes, pastries and many quirky looking sweet treats! We took about 10 minutes, but finally decided on grabbing a few of each, a drink and headed out! If you are looking for snacks or looking to make your own food in Fes, we would recommend visiting this supermarket! It’s a lot cheaper than most other shops as mostly locals shop here! It’s so cheap- we got a 2l bottle of water for 3.50 Dirhams which is roughly 30p which is a bargain! We spent £2 on 6 pastry/cakes, which we found a table outside and enjoyed! The snacks were lovely and it perked our appetite ready for heading to Burger King!
Burger king was a lot cheaper in Morocco and we bought some cool items which we have never seen before! All in all, this mall was a great place to spend a few hours eating lunch, venturing shops and taking a break from the hot sun!
In the afternoon we left the mall to head back to the medina. We decided to wander the local souk and embrace the beauty of the old medina. Here we found ourselves wandering for an hour or so before finding a quaint, local restaurant which we chose to be where we ate our dinner.
Luckily, we ordered and received our meal before the sun went down. As we received our meal, the Ramadan fasting ended as spoken through loud speakers informing everyone and the restaurant closed to any further customers. The owners and staff all sat down with their freshly prepared meal and broke their fast!
If you are ever to go to a Muslim dominant country during Ramadan, it is important to find out when the sun sets and the fasting stops as all restaurants will close. The last thing you want to do is go out for your dinner but be stuck wandering looking for a place that is open (like we did…). Once we finished our meal we headed back to the hostel to relax in the evening, look at the beautiful nightly view and social with some travellers.
We soon played cards into the evening before deciding to go sleep!
Once the morning came and we woke up, we came to the conclusion that we wanted to explore more of Morocco, and decided on moving to Meknes which is a small city, 40 minutes west of Fes on the train. We got our breakfast, picked up our snacks and headed to the train station!!
We really enjoyed Fes and it is a beautiful place which we couldn’t recommend it enough. We would say that 2/3 days is enough time there and there are so many places to visit in Morocco so we wouldn’t stay much longer!
Did you like Fes?
This blog is the 1st of a 3-part blog. Next up is our experiences and activities in the small city of Meknes!
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