Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So, we are going to spend about a week in morocco in January after visiting my sister in the UK. It'll be me, my partner, a 3 year old and a baby. I need people's suggestions about relaxing, low-key places in Morocco. my partner and I are seasoned travelers, but we really want an easy trip this time.

I gathered from another thread about morocco that fez is not the place for us! really, we want a beautiful, atmospheric place to stay, with some opportunities for wandering around on foot. This will not be a jam packed visit spent seeing all the sights.

Anyway, I kind of want to go to Marrakesh... but I'm open to other suggestions. Does anyone have any hotel suggestions? Has anyone stayed in a house or apartment while there?

I loved Morocco SO SO SO much. We went in October/November and Fez was cold, so I think you're wise to avoid it in January.

Marrakesh has an amazing vegan restaurant - Earth Cafe. I wish I had eaten there every day.

The most amazing part for me was going to the edge of the Sahara and staying at an oasis with fantastic food, right where you could see the red sand dunes.

I loved Volubilis and Meknes too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/71201511@N ... 427502844/

I'll look up the name when I'm at a computer, but the riad I stayed in at Fez was one of the nicer places I've ever stayed. it was expensive for morocco, but only about €15/night. there's a good amount to do around Fez, and if you break free of the medina there's a lot of beauty around. I was there in January this year and it was perfectly warm in the days considering - maybe around 20C? even just wandering the medina can be fun (away from the souks). you'll run into all kinds of people, and there was never a grumpy face to be found. everyone will tell you to go to the tannery though, but fork that.

I'm looking at going to morocco next year sometime but we'll see :)

I was there in January this year too! I only thought it was cold when we went into the mountains, but even then I didn't have my coat with me. We'd just come from Budapest and Prague though, which were pretty chilly.

We went to Marrakech, Chefchaouen and Rabat. I would probably only recommend Marrakech for you- Rabat is a bit too European for atmospheric wandering, and while Chefchaouen is beautiful and great for wandering (we spent our whole time there wandering, without any particular 'sights' in mind), it's hard to get to and we were pretty aggressively hassled there. I'm pretty familiar with getting off the beaten path or whatever, so I'm used to being hassled to some extent, but this was by far the worst I've experienced. Marrakech is great though. It's different enough that you can happily wander around and enjoy the atmosphere, but tourism is also well-developed enough that no one really cares that you're foreign and won't bother you. I would feel totally safe taking kids there. And yeah, Earth Cafe is a must!

We stayed at a guesthouse there, which might be a bit too basic for your needs but it was great so I'll recommend it anyway- Douarskoll Guesthouse. The place itself isn't really anything that special, but the owner is the best guy ever, he's super funny and helpful and always made us huge breakfasts, even on the morning when we had to leave at 4am.

I've heard a lot about Essaouira being relaxing and easy-going, but we didn't get down there. It won't be the busy season since it's a beach town and it'll be mid-winter, but maybe that's a good thing.

Fez is not at all easy and I wouldn't travel there with a baby. I really liked Rabat--it had an easy-to-navigate medina, the beach, and some gorgeous historical places to wander, like the old castle ruins and the palaces. I didn't find it too European for my tastes, and in fact really liked it. I didn't get harassed as much here as I did in other places in Morocco. I was staying with friends, so don't have a riad to recommend, but think it might be a great option for what you are looking for. I want to go back and visit Essaouira.

Oooo this was a timely find for me! Off to Morocco on Friday- will def be checking out the Earth Cafe in Marrakech! (Maybe in Essouira too if we make it there).