5 things you must do in Marrakech

 

I’m finally getting around to recapping the last bit of my Morocco trip, and you know what they say it’s better late than never!! When I got to Marrakesh, I was amazed by all the beautiful architecture and delicious food. If you plan to head to Morocco and more specifically Marrakech. Here are my 5 things that you must experience when you visit:

1. Hamman House: This had to be one of the favorite things that I got to do while I was in Morocco. A Hamman which is also referred to as a bathhouse is part of Morocco’s traditions. It is a very relaxing luxurious experience, and you will be so glad that you went trust me!  Hamman service takes place in a  steam room that is used for traditional cleansing rituals. A traditional hammam involves steam and cleansing black soap. Les Bains is where I chose to have my service done, and it was a pretty seamless process to book. You just have to head to the website and select your service, and you can pay before, or pay once you arrive. I ended up booking 45 min of hammam & black soap scrub with Kessa glove and massage. This was about 80 dollars, which is not bad for a 5-star service. After your service, you’re allowed to relax in one of the rooms where they serve you mint tea and cookies.
2. City Tour: On every trip, I always enjoy booking a city tour with one of the local companies. I truly believe that is the best way you are going to be able to learn the city and understand the culture by learning it from a native. Our group opted to do a half day tour which we found off on Trip Advisor. Our guide was excellent and took us to temples and explained the whole town, taking our group to a place to purchase souvenirs(that were a little on the high end so be aware). We were told that most places would try to sell you argon oil that is not 100% pure so while we were in this pharmacy, I did splurge a bit and got the argon oil. Since it was 100% natural and not mixed with any other oils, I was okay to spend about 20 dollars.
3. Cooking Class: For me, a cooking class will always be on my must do when I visit a city. I enjoy being able to learn how to cook the traditional dishes, and then coming back to recreate them in my kitchenThis cooking class was with Urban Travel was a little similar to the class I took in Thailand. The guide meets you in a central location and then she walks you to the market and shows you traditional ingredients and how the locals shop for their food. I love the fact that everything is fresh and you can pick and choose your ingredients to cook with. Our guide even took us to the butcher, and we saw the chickens get picked and plucked. If you have a weak stomach, I would suggest you walk away from this part. Once we had all the ingredients we went to our cooking class were our instructor explained how and why each ingredient was made. We made a chicken tagine, and it was AMAZING!!! This had to be one of my favorite dishes! I even got to purchase a tagine in the market after with the help of my instructor for only 5 dollars! It’s so funny because before the class I tried to purchase one on mine on my own and it would of cost me close to 25 dollars!
4. Quad & Camel Riding (Skip the Camels if possible): The quad riding was a great way to tour the streets and ride through the neighborhoods. Riding the quads are always a good time, and the competitive side will come out. I would say if you can find an offer to do the quad riding only I would pick that option. The camel ride for me was NOT enjoyable at all. The camels are not treated the best, and some smell like they haven’t had showers for days. Once I got on my camel, I was ready to get off in 5 minutes. I also have ridding camel’s before in Dubai and enjoyed that experience very much. If you have never been, you can give it a try, but just remembered I warned you what to expect 🙂
5. Majorelle Garden(YSL Garden): I’m sure you have seen this place on Instagram with the pretty blue walls. Luckily the rain held out for us to be able to explore the garden and take a quick few pictures. I even stumbled upon a worker who was talented with taking photos on the iPhone. He had me feeling like I was model, and giving out picture tips. Be sure to check out the garden and stop by the gift shop as well!

Where we stayed:

While in Marrakesh our group stayed at the Shemsmoon Palace. I call it a palace because this place was huge! We were able to rent out the whole facility which was amazing. I was so happy that we were able to find a place that could fit our total group of 15 people.  Inside the reception is where we had most of our meals prepared by the chef. We had breakfast every day included in our package and some lunches as well. Also in the room, there was a pool table, lounge areas, and a full bar. As mentioned our group consisted of 15 people. If you don’t plan on traveling with this many people, I wouldn’t recommend you stay here. We were about 30 mins away from the town which is where most of the attractions are. It did get costly when we had to take a 30 min taxi ride to town. It was affordable for us since we had 15 people, but each way was still around 20-30 dollars. While in Casablanca our taxis were very cheap and we didn’t pay any more than 8 dollars to get around. This house, however, was gorgeous I just the weather was a bit better so we could enjoy all the amenities here. There was a huge patio, and pool that we didn’t use at all because March wasn’t exactly high summer for Morocco.

Also please note nothing is included in this house we had to pay for breakfast, water, and any alcohol you wanted to consume. If you can buy your alcohol before you leave the airport. There is a maximum of one bottle per person in duty-free so plan accordingly.

Trip Highlights:

This was the first time on my trip that we did a color-coordinated photo shoot. Although our photos didn’t’ end up as great as we wanted because our photographer was a mess.

We did get amazing photos of our iPhone! Portrait mode really does save lives. Even before our photoshoot the girls all got together and took pictures in our Melanin Magic Photo. We had such a blast, and the pictures came out looking amazing!

I would recommend your group do something similar I think its great to get dressed up and take photos, and its great to always look back at the memories.

As far as nightlife our group didn’t make it out until the second to last night and we had a great time. Drinks were amazing, and the DJ played all of the latest hits. I highly suggest you check out VIP Room, and you’ll have a blast.

Be sure to check out my IG Story Highlights to see all my Morocco Stories!

 

Until next time!