Morocco totally took me by surprise in the best way imaginable. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm up for adventure, and over a span of 6 days, I rode camels, ATVs, sandboards and horses. The Moroccan culture and colors were so vibrant... Yves Saint Laurent loved this place so much that he lived here for 50 years and has a full-on LUXE garden in Marrakech. I got tons of questions about my itinerary, so I'm gonna take some time to walk y'all through what 6 perfect days in Morocco looks like:
Wednesday:
Arrived in Casablanca.
Visited the Hassan II Mosque, lunched at La Scala, went to the Habbous and the medina.
Click here for my flowy Casablanca dress on my Liketoknow.it!
I know this is nuts, but same day I flew from Vegas to Casablanca (16 hours), my curiosity for the beautiful new city managed to push me through the jet lag to tour around Casablanca with minimal sleep, only to get on another plane that same night to Errachidia (Royal Morac Air - $70). Once we landed in Errachidia, we caravanned through the desert to our hotel for the night: the incomparable Palais Masandoia - a true Saharan gem. It's practically located in the middle of nowhere and tourists that frequent here are en route to the desert. Since we arrived too late at night to tour the property, we woke up a little earlier the next day (before we caravanned into the Sahara Desert for our camp excursion) to have a traditional Moroccan breakfast on our personal patio take a look around the beautiful property.
Thursday:
Stayed in the middle of the Saharan Desert in Merzouga - traveled to a luxury camp via camel ride/caravan, which is as amazing as it sounds.
After we arrived at camp, we did an unforgettable sunset ATV ride (truly a highlight of the trip), then wrapped up with dinner and Moroccan wine by the campfire, complete with stargazing.
The tents had full showers and toilets and were completely carpeted with beautiful Moroccan rugs and the most comfortable beds.
Friday:
We got up extra early to catch the sunrise over the dunes, which was a completely unforgettable moment.
Mid-morning sand boarding is a can't miss if you do any kind of board or snow sports!
Click here for my sand dune outfit details.
After leaving camp, we traveled via car to todgha gorges, where I experienced my first of many Moroccan rug buying experiences. First of all, it is customary for shop owners to pour you welcome tea EVERYWHERE you go, and rug buying is no exception. A good rule of thumb when buying rugs is if you can't afford at least half of the starting price they quote you, move on. You don't want to offend their culture since it takes about 2 months on average to complete ONE rug, but part of the experience is bargaining. For instance, for this 5x6 entryway rug, he started at $650, and I walked out with it for $400.
Rug buying is EXHAUSTING and pretty intense, so we welcomed the minimal activities in the Dades and stayed at a hotel in the gorge called the Chez Pierre. Dinner was superb here.
Saturday:
Departed for Marrakech via car, stayed at the Savoy Le Grand Hotel, which was right in the middle of all the action. We did a fancy dinner at an amazing Moroccan lounge located inside of a casino called Epicurean complete with everything you expect from a lounge in Marrakech - crystal chandeliers, mahogany furniture, large, ornate mirrors and ridiculous bronze lamps galore. Aftter dinner, they had live music, where for the price of a bottle of champagne, we got a table right next to the stage. Everyone was on their feet and the vibe was super upscale and energetic.
Sunday:
We did a full guided tour of Marrakech (Koutoubia, Saadian Tombs, Bahia Palace) before touring the medina and souks. The main square has snake charmers, monkeys, and tons of people selling rugs, lamps, leather goods, spices, etc.
Click here for my Marrakech bohemian dress.
Liketoknow.it Outfit Details here.
Monday:
The Majorelle Garden is a two and half acre botanical garden and artist's landscape garden in Marrakech, Morocco. It took French painter Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962) forty years of passion and dedication to create this enchanting garden in the heart of the “Ochre City”, which was purchased by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé in 1980 after they visited and fell in love with Marrakech. The garden is as fabulous as he was.
After touring the museum (get there at 9 am to buy tickets and go back around 11 am - the line is about an hour wait after that), we had a 3 pm Royal Hammam Spa at La Mason Aribe . Hammams are a mystifying process, where you strip down completely naked except for a small cloth covering your bottom half. Moroccan hammams are part of many Moroccans’ daily life. A hammam is essentially a VERY wet steam room where people go to clean themselves. This is usually a monthly ritual and is considered a social activity in villages, with men, women, and children all participating. Baths are separated by gender and many people will spend hours here chatting with friends. While in Islamic culture, the women are typically covered from head to toe in public, they’re fully naked at hammams. It's quite the juxtaposition.
Treatments vary by hotel, but the general process is that you first soak in a pool or sit in a steam room, then you’re rinsed, exfoliated, and massaged.
Tuesday:
7 am Hot Air Balloon Ride over the Atlas Mountains.
After our morning excursion, we caravanned back to Casablanca where we stayed at the Four Seasons, which was obviously a VIP experience and a nice place to unwind before the long journey back to Las Vegas. Since Casablanca is on the beach, the views from the rooms were amazing and the hotel affords direct beach access.
