My perfect itinerary for 9 magical days in Morocco

Before stepping into the land of endless deserts and tales of 1001 nights, I had plenty of reservations about being hassled around or stared at rudely on the street, as per Morocco's "bad rap". Instead, I find a magnificent country beyond wonder, an absolutely sweet and beautiful people and the breath-taking memories of a lifetime...

9️⃣ days in this magical country. That's all we could have. And since we both just started out working, with zero savings, and I'm focused on paying off my college debts from my time in the USA, our budget is clearly defined. We could spend maximum €1500 for two persons for 10 days of vacation, with traveling in comfort, good food, a bit of luxury as well as activities, excluding the flights which were were €300 in total with Ryan Air from Germany. That's ambitious we know! But with careful planning & the fine art of balancing, nothing is impossible.

And our goals were also clear:

🔆 Relax, #relax --which means a bit less sightseeing and hawking at touristic places, no rushing from one place to another & no wasting a lot of hours sitting on the train or bus

🔆 Food & delicacies -- we are both foodie fans so we aim to try as much local food as possible, and invest in good-quality cuisine for almost every single meal we have in the country

🔆 Of course, Experience! -- Get to know a completely new country and the people (I've never touched on #Africa before, so this is a new start!), go for un-missable experiences like stargazing in the #Sahara deserts or hawking at goats on the tree

“Given those aims and our limited budgets, our itinerary requires a very delicate balance of luxury & roadtripping, that might not be for everyone, especially those who are hardcore backpackers could definitely squeeze in much more, such as Fes...”

[We promise we have to come back for Fes next time (we weren't willing to spend the 8-hour train from Marrakesh to Fes, since our flight would go back out of Marakesh)]

In the end, we decided on the following itinerary:

♥️ first 3 nights in Marrakesh--the city has so so much to offer, so 3 days are definitely not enough, but it's the most we could make

♥️ a one-day trip to Essaouira, the coastal city 3 hours away, since we crave fresh seafood & some #vitaminsea!

[But I would recommend anyone to stay there at least for a night! With the 3-hour journey back and forth as well as random stops for pictures of Goats on the tree and an Argan oil cooperative, we hardly had even 4 full hours to roam the town. And Essaouira is absolutely lovely!!]

♥️ 3 days trip to Sahara, for camel trekking & stargazing

♥️ last 2 nights in a Palais outside of Marakesh, completely in the middle of nowhere, with hamman, sun & pool lounge and an endless field of olive & orange trees, for regeneration and a complete different kind of exposure ☺️

...which turned out to be an absolutely perfect journey for us. Thinking back, I felt like I have spent a month in Morocco, because the experience we had has been so rich and so memorable, and the people we met, the food we tasted, the endless cups of the delectable famed Moroccan mint tea that we savoured, the many sunsets we managed to catch, the unforgettable desert night--absolutely everything has made my journey in Morocco a stunning adventure ✨