Hello, jetsetters, and a very happy New Year to you. I hope everyone had a great holiday yesterday, whether that be Christmas, Hanukkah, or I don't I'm sorry. I'm not educated about Kwanzaa, but happy holidays, and here's to a very merry, happy, successful 2025. Today's episode of jet setting with me, I'm going to give you tips to make the most out of a visit to Morocco. I've heard from a lot of people that Morocco is on their travel bucket list or their travel to do list, whichever phrasing you prefer. And I'm gonna give you my best tips based on my very own small group, which I led to Morocco just last November, very recently. And here is what I have learned that can make your visit to Morocco the best that it can be. Let's talk a moment about the best time of year to visit and how long the ideal stay is.
So first of all, simply put, don't go in the summer. The temperatures can reach unbearable heat levels, and even though it is a dry heat, many of the best sites to visit in Morocco, for example, there are Roman and Greek ruins, they're outside and they require walks in the sun and some uphill climbs to get to them. Even in November, I was hot. Traveling in the shoulder seasons will make your visit much more enjoyable because because of the weather, which, as I said in early November, I was still warm, but was considered chilly by Moroccan standards. So you'll get some better pricing because the summer tourists are gone, and the guides and the tour companies are seeking out your business at that time. Our guide, shout out to Saeed, he was so wonderful, told us the slowdown in Morocco tourism starts in late August, and it extends all the way through February. So those are gonna be great times to go. I personally think the perfect stay is about 8 days, not including your travel time to and from the country.
This allows for some time to rest, some shopping, some spa time in between the sightseeing. You can see all the sites in a 7 day week, but I think you would feel tired and rushed. With that extra day, we had one completely free day, but we also had some free time in the afternoons, or we were able to sometimes get a slightly later start so we could sleep in, and we were able to enjoy everything that we wanted to in the different cities. The challenge in visiting Morocco is that all of the major cities you just have to see to make your visit there seem complete, They're all about 3 hours away from each other by car. So I highly recommend a private car and driver who will be with you for your entire stay. It made the time spent in the van much more enjoyable than any type of transport, especially the very unique train system, I shall say. It also allowed for Syed, our guide, to travel with us the entire time and narrate what we were seeing and interesting history along the way. It also meant that we had assistance with our luggage, and it doesn't seem like a big thing, but it can be.
Every time we left the van to go see a site, we could leave items in our luxury Mercedes spinner. So we could dress in layers and then shed a layer and leave, like, the sweater in the van, or we could bring a tripod along and know that we wanted it at certain sites, but at others, we could leave it in the van. We didn't have to carry all our layers, a raincoat, an umbrella, a tripod, or even a heavy camera, and a backpack because we could leave things in the van. To consider Morocco's your visit, to check it off of your list, I think you must see Casablanca, Marrakesh in Fez. Now we did also visit Rabat, and it was beautiful. It's a very, very clean city. But the additional time in the car, that extra 3 hours there and then 3 hours to the next stop, it really didn't make it worth the stop, in my opinion. However, there were people in my group who disagree.
So, you know, Rabat wasn't for me, but it might well be a choice for you, especially if you really love to walk among very pristine, clean cities. 2 of my favorite sites in all of Morocco were actually in Casablanca, which is where we started. We flew into Casablanca, and that's the Hassan II mosque and Rick's Cafe. Also in Casablanca, we visited 2 Jewish historical sites in Morocco, the Jewish Museum and an old synagogue. Now from Casablanca, we drove to Fez, and we broke up the driving with a stop in Meknes at the Chateau Rosolain. I'm sure I'm not saying the Rose Lane right because it's French, and me and French are just not good friends. But it was a wine tasting and the lunch, and it is an absolute must. That was a really nice way to break up the drive.
And you will not believe that an oasis of these lush vineyards exists in the shadows of desert mountains. The food and wine were exquisite, and several members of my group listed this as their favorite experience. All of these pictures are also in my Instagram, and I have a little tab under my stories, for Morocco, where you can see several of these things. Fez is the symbolic heart of Morocco. It was at one time the capital. It was founded shortly after the Arabs swept across North Africa and Spain, and it quickly became the religious and cultural center. And even on periods when it was not the official capital, Fez could never be ignored, and it was considered the northern capital. And the Medina of Fez, Fez el Bali, which means old Fez, it's the largest living medieval city in the world, and it's definitely the most interesting in Morocco.
It covers one of the largest car free zones in the world. If you've ever visited the old city in Jerusalem, it's like the old city times 5. That's the size of it. And it has sounds, a mixture of unknown aromas, not all of which I would say were pleasant, very rich colors, and the overwhelming crowds of people that will stimulate all your senses. At times, it actually felt really overpowering. Now, the souk has hidden stores. You need a special guide. So Saeed had to have another guide to help him guide us through the wandering alleyways.
It seems like there's no straight way to get to where you're going. You have to, you know, meander through these very crowded, really poor Arabic living quarters. And right in the middle of this, well, I don't know if it was the middle, but where we went was the best traditional Moroccan food that we actually had on our trip. I had chicken pastis, which is chicken in a pastry, and the pastry has sugar on it. So, it's a very unique thing. Some of my compatriots had tangines with lamb and or chicken. And all of these were served in this Moroccan restaurant, which is called a riyad. A riad in Moroccan is just a home.
Now, it's considered a palace. And this riad used to be a home. It's 3 stories. And, now, it's a hotel. So the restaurants in the first story, and then up above are rooms, if you wanted to, actually, stay in this old quarter. And it was beautiful. The architecture and the tile work were just gorgeous. Also, in Fez, you can buy your leather goods at 1 of 3 different tanneries.
We took a tour of a tannery. Also, not a place that smells great. And then the old market also has places where you can buy hand woven rugs. These rugs are all actually made by women in the poor communities throughout Morocco, and it's a skill that they pass from mother to daughter. And it's something that they learn how to do in order to support their families. So they learn how to make these rugs, and then these co ops that support these women take the rugs from these outer places in Morocco, and they bring them into Fez in the center, and then they make them. That way, they sell them. Also, in Marrakech, which was our last stop, rather than driving back to Casablanca, we chose to fly out of Marrakech.
So we flew into Casablanca, and we flew out of Marrakech. We built in a free day here to try the world's best traditional hamam. And when I say the world's best, we went to the same hotel where Winston Churchill used to visit for his stays and his massage treatments. And the lobby of the hotel is so private that they won't allow any photos, and they have this beautiful glass blown chandelier. And you can't take photos of it because you might inadvertently take a photo of a visiting celebrity. I didn't see any on our visit, but, nonetheless, I have no pictures of this gorgeous hotel. Here is where you will find upscale shopping with a very favorable exchange rate that you can make the most of it. I bought a one of a kind silk half can, which is exquisite.
We also attended the Marrakech night market, and we ended our 8 days in Morocco with a final dinner show that featured belly dancers, acrobatics, and singers. Now, several enhancements we made, which I, of course, would recommend for any one of you, transformed our trip from a typical visit to a truly luxurious week in Morocco. First, we did upgrade our hotels from the traditional 3 star, 2, 4, or 5 stars. And we had to stay in a hotel for 1 night, which was a 3, maybe 4 star, because there weren't any of the upgraded hotels available, and there was a marked difference. So in the 3 star hotel, for example, one room, the phone didn't work, and in the other, the toilet didn't flush. So I definitely recommend upgrading, for example, our hotel in Marrakech, as I mentioned, was a 5 star property. It had a pool experience, and our breakfast that is included, had seating outside that overlooked this gorgeous relaxing pool experience. Now we added a few special dinners.
For example, I mentioned one of my favorites was Rick's Cafe, and then our final meal at the dinner theater. I loved Rick's Cafe. You can see my photos of it on both my Instagram and Facebook. I got to celebrate my birthday there. I thought it would be really touristy, but it it looked like it was right out of the movie, and so I didn't care. I had to see it, but the food and the service were really exquisite. And, again, it pays to have a private guide. Saeed, our guide, knew the maitre d's at the door.
We got front of the lines, skipping the waiting treatment, and we got optimal seating for the piano entertainment that goes on as part of the dinner experience. We did a cooking class, a maracas, that was simply for our group. It wasn't we were part of a larger group. It was just us in a kitchen. We all had our own stations. A woman owned cooking school. She's a single mom. She's divorced.
It is a Latin America, excuse me, in Morocco. And then we got to eat our handiwork, which I will say wasn't horrible, me being a danger in the kitchen. It was, you know, it was livable. The hammam experience that we added on was the single best spa experience I've ever had. I wouldn't say it was like a relaxing massage, but I actually felt the dead layers of my skin falling away during this, sometimes harsh scrub and shower session. So the session starts with a 15 minute steam session in a steam room, and then it's followed by a cool shower. And then there are multiple different rubs applied, and there's a sequence of scrubs and showers. Scrub, shower, scrub, shower.
And in the end, there's that silent relaxation room where they serve the national drink of Morocco, their tea, and I fell into a very peaceful sleep. If you are modest, you wanna skip Hammam. I enjoyed it so much, though, that I looked for a provider of the service at home here in Austin, and sadly, my Google search did not give me any good results. But I am looking forward to a visit to a city in January, in just a few days, actually, where I can try the Nordic version of a mom. So I'll keep you posted on that. Now other enhancements that can be added to this trip to make it yours is a hot air balloon ride, a camel ride in the desert, or even a full night of glamping in a Berber village. All can be added on to a trip, and, obviously, it can be very personal. So if a visit to Morocco is on your 2025 travel list or your bucket list, allow me to help you by making the best tour recommendations, make sure that I get you a guide, Saeed or someone just as good, a driver, and an itinerary that will make your visit a remarkable travel experience.
And with that, happy New Year and safe travels. Talk to you soon.
