(Disclaimer: all articles were written without using any AI tool, nor any of grammar checkers (I probably should use some grammar checker, but hey, as long as you understand :D)
Hello everyone!
I have a few other posts still in progress, but since I really enjoyed the last trip I did, I decided to fully concentrate on this first before continuing the other posts! Recently, I spent 10 days solo-travelling through some cities in Morocco and the next few posts will be to tell you my experience, some do and don'ts, sharing some tips and recommendation of where to stay. Disclaimer, I was not sponsored by anyone, therefore any recommendation mentioned was purely from my experience :)
Morocco has been one of the place I've wanted to visit, mainly due to the possibility to visit Sahara. As a child growing up in Indonesia, Africa in general seemed so far away! I was actually planning to go to Turkey with my parents, because due to some issues, they were not able to join, hence I steered my way to Morocco (other reason that it was more affordable than a 10-days-trip to Turkey).
Even before booking my flight tickets, I've done some researches about the country, especially from solo-travelling women point of view. After reading lots of blogs and reddit post, I decided to just go through with it. I though if I could survive one-day in New Delhi by myself, I could survive in Morocco :D Besides, I have a colleague originally from Morocco, and coincidentally my Japanese teacher is currently living there -- therefore in case of emergency, I would have a point of contact.
Enough about the background, then let's start with the journey!
Day 1
Flight to Fes
From Stuttgart itself there's unfortunately no direct flight to Morrocco -- the nearest option would be to fly from Baden-Baden/Karlsruhe or Memmingen. Looking at the dates, the easiest for me would be to fly from Baden-Baden/Karlsure (FKB) directly to Fes. As the flight was so early in the morning (6 a.m), I arrived with the last bus one at midnight to the airport and slept on a bench -- I'm too cheap to pay for hotel which would cost the same as the flight ticket to Fes!
In case you're like me, here are some infos:
- There will be an "unlocked" area (at the departure) that will be open 24/7. It is equipped with toilet, and there are some vending machines too.
- I did not see a lot of charging opportunity, so bring your power bank.
- It could be quiet cold (I was there end of September), so make sure to dress warm/bring some jackets
Arriving in Fes
Fes airport is newly built (the old one was directly beside it), and it is really modern. It only took me 15 minutes from getting out of the airplane to going out of the arrival section. As Indonesian passport holder, I did not need any visa, and there's also not so many questions from the officer except for my accommodation in Fes. Before getting out of the arrival, I did exchanged 20€ to MAD (Moroccan Dirham), just to have something small in my hand. I'd suggest to safe your money for later, or even better, just withdraw through ATMs.
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| Fes Airport |
I have read about the stress of getting a ride to the city from the airport (no matter where you stay) since the taxi drivers could be pretty aggresive and could charge you more than it should be. There are few options here:
- Go with the bus -- there's a direct bus directly to the old town (Medina), it might took 40-60 minutes, but it cost 40 MAD (0.40€). However, it might not be comfy and I wouldn't suggest to take this if you are travelling with luggage.
- Arranged pickup. I ended up booking an arrange pickup from GetYourGuide that costs 15€.
- For the brave ones, Taxi. Here you have to haggle, but if you decide so, offer no more than 150 MAD (otherwise you'd better get the arranged pickup one).
I can't stress enough how stress-free it was to have an arranged pickup. The travel tour contacted me a day before for the confirmation, and the driver already waited for me upon arrival. He even messaged me not to buy anything in the airport because it would be too expensive. The journey was comfortable (mind that in Morocco, they didn't use AC that much, but opening the windows would help to cool down) -- and the driver was a bit chatty. He was planning to go for an Ausbildung in Germany and we ended up talking a little bit in German!
He called my accommodation to ask for direction where to drop me off. I ended up only walking 5 minutes there, which was quiet fast because on the next days I've heard so much "horror" stories of people getting lost trying to find their way to their Riads!
Accommodation in Fes
If you want authentic Moroccan stay, I'd highly recommend you to stay either on a Dar or a Riad (or both because why not?) If you want more, some palaces are also available for a stay! So what's the different between Dar or Riad? They are both traditional moroccan home, most equipped with superb decorations and tilings, but the main key different is the courtyard. A Riad will have a bigger center area (Riad means "garden" in Arabic), and a Dar does not have it.
For my 1st 3 nights in Fes I stayed in Dar Sunrise Fes -- which is one of the highligh of my stay in Morocco!!! And for the last night (more story later), I stayed in Green House Riad. I would recommend them both, as they were so closed from the blue gate and the parking area.
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| Dar Sunrise living room |
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| Dar Sunrise's rooftop area |
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| Riad Green House's 'Courtyard' |
But as I've mentioned, Dar Sunrise Fes has become the top on my accommodation list. It is not as big and fancy as other Riads/Hotels that I stayed, but their hospitality was over the top that it really felt like home! I'd like to thank Yasir, Jessica and Alma for their warm welcome!!! I also have to mention, their food was one of the best food I've tasted through my entire stay in Morocco!
Fes Old Town
This part deserved a post itself, you can find them here (tbd)!
Day 2 - Chefchaouen
A day that needs also a post itself, you can read them here (tbd)!
Day 3
New Fes
On the 3rd day I have an appointment to visit my Japanese teacher for the first time in-person! It was a different feeling seeing each other for the past 2 years through zoom call. I have said to here while planning that we did not have to meet in Old Town since I also wanted to see the other part of the city -- so we ended up meeting at a steakhouse in the new part of Fes.
It was... a different world. When one part of the old town was bustling with merchants trying to sell you their goods (and the constant awareness of the surrounding since the small was quiet small), the new Fes felt like well... a normal city. With wide streets and nice gardens, with a organised pedestrians way. I was so amazed and it was difficult to believe that this city has these two parts.
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| a whole new worldddddddd |
After lunch meeting with my teacher, we parted our way and I walked to shopping mall. I have been craving for some ice coffee and some shopping, and usually my to go place for souvenirs (in terms of edible souvenirs) would be in the supermarket! I did not want to buy a lot of stuff first, but at least I could already start researching what to buy on my last day, and also stocking up some food for my desert trip! After a quick stop, I went back to the old town for the cooking class.
Cooking Class
At my accommodation, two nights in a row, I've always heard laughter in the afternoon between 5pm - 9pm if I shortly stopping by. The reason for this was that they held a cooking class daily. Since I've tasted their food (they were super delicious) and it seemed so much fun -- I signed up for it for my last day staying at their place. What better Saturday night could it be, learning about cooking a new food with other people you never met before? If you haven't done this (doesn't have to be on a Saturday night), I highly recommend you to try it, even if you don't like cooking!
The class started with classic Moroccan Mint Tea and cookies -- then the introduction to the cooking class and to decide what we'd learn to cook. There were 3 other participants beside me, and in the end we decided to cook: Tajine with Meatball, Tajine Lemon Chicken, Vegetable Tajine, and "Less" Vegetable Tajine but with Raisins. We would also prepare two kind of salad, carrot salad and "zaalouk" (eggplant salad). They were both cooked, just to avoid some uncomfort if one of us has "sensitive" stoamch (iykyk ;))
Yassir and Alma (our teacher for the day) checked which ingredients they already had for the food, and then all of us went together to the market to buy the fresh ingredients. I passed by the market everyday at least twice, but it's just interesting to see it from the other perspective. Regarding the market (normal one for the local), they are usually placed near places with most locals' residents. So if you happened to walk around the old city, and you noticed a normal market (that sold everything from fruits and vegetables to live chicken/turkey...), that means you're near the residential area :)
3 out of our 4 chosen menu were cooked in Tajine, traditional Moroccan pot made of clay, and one was made from pressure cooker. I would skip most of the details about the cooking class for you to later experience it yourself once you're in Morocco :D It took us even more than 4 hours (with cooking and eating, we finished by 9.30pm), and I enjoyed every single minute of it! It was fun and I would recommend you to do the cooking class at Dar Sunrise Fes! (you can book through their AirBnB page, but it would be cheaper if you directly contact them through the website! And they have cooking class for vegetarian dishes too!)
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| my choice -- Tajine with Meatball and Cheese in tomato sauce -- on the making |
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| stirring Zaalouk -- eggplant salad |
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| Feast time!!! |
Day 4
Day 4 already??? To be honest, I was feeling a bit emotional when I woke up in the morning and to pack the rest of my stuff. I did have one last breakfast at Dar Sunrise before saying goodbye to them and move to the next Riad, which only located one alley away.
I was actually supposed to leave Fes already on this day and go to a 3 nights desert tour -- unfortunately the tour has not reached the minimum amount of 4 people to join, therefore I stayed an extra night and shift to their 2 nights desert tour instead. More about desert tour will be explain on a separate post!
Funny thing to about finding the way to accommodation was, it was so near, yet so confusing! It was literally in the next alley, yet I got lost and had to contact them to pick me up :D Riad Green House was also one of the top rated accommodation in Fes, and it was indeed very beautiful. My only complaint was that the bathroom stink a bit (I'd say from the pipes), but since I only stayed one night it didn't really matter so much. The most important information I got from the reception, Ahmed, was to use Maps.me for navigation through the old town. It is indeed much more better than google maps.
Hammam Experience
Did you say you were in Morocco without going to a Hammam? But WHY did you skip it?
Hammam / public bath was created long ago for the locals to bath, since they might not have their own bathroom at home. In Morocco, it's always gender-based (boys under 4 can go with their mothers), and usually it's a communal bath (that means you would bath with others).
However, if you're not up for the real experience, a lot of places these days has offered the Private Hammam Experience, where it would be only you and one other person that would scrub all the dead skin on you :D I was too coward to experience the real experience and booked an appointment at Palais Amani for the "Royal Hammam Experience", based on someone's experience (that I met on a day trip to Chefchaouen). She had the appointment a day before me and messaged me at night that it was great and I should come early to enjoy their cookies :D
I walked 20 minutes from my Riad to Palais Amani. I've been 4 days in Fes already so navigating around the old town was a bit easier (I still got lost on the way back). I was sooo shocked when I entered the Palais. Well.. it's a PALACE after all! They were so huge and so well maintained. Upon going to the reception, I was directed to a table to enjoy the Mint Tea and cookies, and oh boi they were nice I ate ALL the cookies. ALL. After a big breakfast in the morning. Afterwards the spa manager asked me to follow her to the spa area -- I think she saw how impressed I was with the building that she said I should take a pic later after the appointment haha xD
Firstly I was brought to a room to change to a bathrobe and to keep my stuff. I was even given a key to the lock for valuable stuff. And then, we went to the basement to the Hammam and I was handed over to another lady. It started with a hand and footbath, then hair mask, and in the end, the body scrub. I would not go into too much details here, but if people asked me how I felt about it, I'd answer "I feel like a cow being scrub off" hahaha because I did feel like that! It was nice experience though, almost the same as korean spa I did once, minus the sauna part.
After I finish the Hammam experience, I was brought back to the changing room, and the Spa Manager liked my chaotic hair so much she offered to give me a braid, for free! I was really thankful to all the staff at Palais Amani, and if one day I'd be rich enough to afford staying at the "palace", I would surely stay there :D
Jnan Sbil & a mini "hike" to the panorama view & the last dinner
After a quick nap (even though I stopped for a coffee after Hammam), I made my way to meet up with a woman I knew from Dar Sunrise. Since the old city could be a little overwhelming and your movement would be a bit limited (just because there were so many people), we had the same opinion that we should go out of the gate and explore a bit of outside area -- and as recommendation from some people, we decided to walk to Jnan Sbil, a garden, open for public, only 10 mins walk from the blue gate.
The walk there was peaceful -- well, even stepping out from the old town felt already peaceful xD It was not difficult to find the garden, and what I really liked about the garden, that it was mostly locals there. There might be one or two other tourists that we saw, but that's it. We just walked our way around while chatting -- I also liked how some plants (banana, for example xD) gave me this "homey" feeling. Unfortunately, there should be a lake, but it was dry.
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| a walk through the garden |
We then decided to continue walking since that walk wasn't enough, and heading up to the Panorama View (Hamayyuns tomb). We were walking on pararel street outside of the gate, and it was just so different to see that inside that gate, we knew it was going to be packed. We kept walking and passed the bus station (which was not that far from the blue gate). But on the half way there, we noticed that it would soon be dark (and we did not want to walk in uncrowded plance by then), so we decided to just climb up the nearest stairs to see the old city from above. The view was nice, though I think it would be nicer to take a look from a higher point of view.
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| outside the gate, just looked so different |
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| the view from a bit "up" |
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| where we actually wanted to go |
After enjoying the view for sometimes, we decided to go back and embrace the crowds and go for dinner. My last dinner in Fes was spent in Chez Rachid, which I could recommend a lot! Despite being on a main street, it was actually not touristy at all -- the price was 1/2 or 1/3 of the normally price I'd pay for a portion of Tajine!
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| good food for the last night in Fes :) |
Last words
So... we have come to the end of the first my first days in Morocco! THANK YOU so much for reading this! Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me! See you in the next post!
Recommendation in Fes
- Where to stay:
- Where to eat:
- Chez Rachid (local price, and local portion!)
- The Ruined Garden (make a reservation if you want a guarantee seating in the garden)
- Duplex Steakhouse (new Fes)
- GOOD COFFEE:
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