10 Reasons Why You Need to Go to Morocco

Come January 2019, our new home was Marrakech, Morocco. While I can’t earnestly say it was a city I fell in love with, I would definitely encourage booking a trip.

Marrakech was loud, chaotic, colorful and eccentric; best discovered over the course of a long weekend and on vacation. The real treat was exploring the rich and diverse country that is Morocco.

Throughout the month I lived in Morocco, I fell in love with several places. My favorites were Chefchouen, Tangier and Essaouira. Here are a few of my general favorite things about Morocco:

1. The Colors and Architecture:

This might seem cliche but Morocco is a photographers dream. The whole country is as picturesque as you might imagine, particularly Chefchaouen (aka the blue city).

Morocco is home to gorgeous sunsets, unique architecture, colors everywhere and very intricate designs. The doors in Marrakech alone could cause you to waste your whole day looking at and examining.

2. Mint Tea:

It’s delicious. It’s everywhere. Moroccans don’t exactly drink alcohol…at all. So mint tea, with more sugar per glass than anyone should consume in a week, is a staple with every meal.

I have never had better mint leaves, not to mention their pouring skills were a work of art alone. It’s also a very cooling beverage on a hot day.

3. Riads:

After living here, several of us joked that we needed to immediately open a Riad back home. Riad is really just a term for the style of the house (beautiful, with an open courtyard in the middle and most likely a garden) but riads are so much more. Usually extremely gorgeous, with intricate design and home to a fancy restaurant or hotel, my favorite type of riads are the bath houses.

These day spas understand what people need to feel rejuvenated and pampered. Local tip: Definitely get a hammam, which is a traditional Moroccan body scrub. My skin never felt softer.

Go in with an open mind however, because if you’re not used to have every inch of your body scrubbed and massaged for an hour you might be a little shocked.

5. Sunsets in the Medina:

There are many roof top bars in Morocco so finding a place to go for sunset is not exactly a time consuming endeavor. However, my favorite spot to see it was in the Medina specifically (the main square).

There are so many people and vendors bustling around here, not to mention a view of the main mosque, that the sunset in this area is a one of a kind experience.

Once it actually gets dark, the Medina comes fully alive with bright lights, dancers, music and chaos.

6. Argan Oil:

No surprise since it comes from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, but argan oil is everywhere and for every price.

I’m a long time devotee of this amazing natural beauty product and it felt extremely decadent to be somewhere where argan oil was affordable enough to put it in and on everything.

7. The Entertainment:

While night life was lacking due to the very limited party culture, Moroccan’s still know how to put on a good show. It was quite the experience being able to go to a normal restaurant and experience live music, and belly dancing alongside your meal.

You were never too far from a spectacular performance. Order some shisha and call it a good Friday night.

8. Chefchouen:

I know I already mentioned this city twice, but it was honestly the entire highlight of my month in Morocco. This place is absolutely stunning. The entire city is painted various shades of blue. It’s also nestled in the mountains, so right outside of town you can do an easy hike to a beautiful sunset.

The town is much smaller than Marrakech, with a quaint, quiet and extremely safe feel. As a woman, walking around Marrakech alone, especially at night, was pretty daunting, so it was such a treat to go to a town where I felt completely safe and comfortable getting lost and exploring by myself.

9. The Variety:

Morocco is super easy to travel around in, with ridiculously cheap trains, buses and car transport. Due to this, I saw so much of the country and was blown away by the variety of what there was too see.

There are amazing coastal beach towns like Essaouira and Tangier. There are beautiful mountains with waterfalls and the berber villages, as well as cities like Marrakech and Casablanca. That’s not all, you can’t forget the desert, as in the Sahara Desert. It’s a great place to go if you want to see everything.

10. The Wildlife:

Due to the variety of the landscape, there is also a variety of animals you can see. Wild dogs and cats roam the streets. You sit on the beach and see camels next to you, and you can rent a horse to ride just about anywhere.

While hiking, I can’t tell you how many times herds of sheep or goats just appeared, or we passed donkeys. The first day I walked into the Medina there was just a man standing there with a giant cobra.

Of course, most of these animals and species are being exploited for various activities, so if you do want to take part in riding a camel or horse, please do some research to make sure you are supporting a good organization.

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