If, by any chance, you are wondering:
The answer is in this article, ready?
We leave with a direct flight from Bologna to Agadir, in three hours we pass from the humid heat of Romagna to the cool breeze of the Moroccan town overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Yes, because if there is one thing that amazed us on this trip, it is certainly the climate.
Until June you travel very well, especially if you intend to travel along the coast.
In the evening you even wear a jacket and sleep with a blanket. The situation in the hinterland is different, cities like Marrakech can be hot but later we will talk more about it and I will explain how to deal with this experience as well.
Agadir is Morocco's busiest tourist spot for its sunshine, gorgeous sandy beach, and buzzing nightlife.
Walking through the city we are attracted to a festival with music organized by coca cola with games and stands. It is Saturday night and families are having fun walking among churros and popcorn vendors, children hugging giant mice in a very pleasant and relaxing atmosphere.
Have you had enough of the sea?
Then go haggle with the locals at Souq Al-Had.
It is an immense labyrinth. The stalls sell everything from jellaba (typical Moroccan hooded tunics), to meat, handicrafts, leather goods, lanterns. Among the stalls of sweet fruit and vegetables arranged to perfection look for the sellers of menthol crystals excellent as aerosols.
The locals, both the Chleu Berbers who populate the Souss, and the Saharans who live in the nearby Western Sahara, will welcome you with smiles and sunshine, especially if you are traveling with children. Men, women, kids, the elderly, no one will pass you by without a sweet word, a caress or a smile towards your baby.
In a few days we will meet Lisa di in marocco con lisa. We met in Italy a few months ago and we couldn't wait to visit her in the land of her heart. Lisa takes care of tailor-made itineraries, group travel and offers real and non-tourist travel experiences.
Or, for those like us, who need a vehicle for transfers to other cities, she has arranged for us a transport with a driver who picked us up at the hotel to take us straight to our destination.
And here in 3 hours we reach the jewel of Essaouira.
Although it is summer, we are greeted by a breeze that is present here all year round.
It is the alizee wind or taros in Berber, not for nothing it has earned the nickname of "African city of the wind" attracting throngs of windsurfing and kitesurfing enthusiasts.
Here you stop to explore the spice-scented alleys and palm-shaded avenues of the fortified Medina. Browse through the art galleries and delightful craft shops.
I took the opportunity to buy a denim jacket with Berber carpet application on the back that I love!
Here we stay at the Riad Madada Mogador, a boutique hotel that exudes charm and style thanks to its luxurious rooms, quality toiletries, impeccable staff. Each of the seven rooms has a name and its own personality and charm.
Sip mint tea on the terrace overlooking the harbor and the often rough ocean.
You don't come to Essaouira for particular sites or monuments. This is a town to live and that's it. You wander aimlessly through its fortified Medina, a UNESCO heritage site, its colorful souq, breathe deeply and open arms sitting on the cannons of its fortress, the view is breathtaking and will give you an incredible charge. Go see the harbor where fishermen mend their nets and place hooks between the typical traditional blue boats and hundreds of seagulls dancing above your head.
Stop here for a lunch based on fresh fish and cooked on the grill… you will not regret it. We paid 18 euros in four.
And then strolls and walks enjoying the squares, the street vendors, the carpets hanging on the walls, the kittens that will make you stop for tenderness in search of some bones under the tables of the restaurants, the whitewashed houses and the air of relaxation. and serenity that wraps everything around.
If you didn't understand it is my favorite city in Morocco!
The children were craving pizza and then here we find Lino, from Ferrara who has moved here for years. The food in Morocco is super delicious and will never tire you but you want to eat your pizza in the carton looking out of our window and watching the alleys teeming with life and stories.
And here we get back in the car in just over 3 hours we reach Marrakech.
For many, this city is the destination of their first trip to Morocco. In fact it is a perfect introduction to the country with the carriages pulled by donkeys that go around the souqs, the marble buildings, the zellij (tile mosaics) and the continuous getting lost in the alleys of the Medina.
The culture of the caravanserai and the handicraft heritage coexist in harmony. Elegant boutiques appear among the souq stalls and tourists gawk at the decorations of the palaces once inhabited by wealthy merchants.
Marrakech is a kaleidoscope that will shock your senses. It is surrounded by rose-colored pisè (clay) ramparts that protect the labyrinthine souq inside which you can find everything. The beating heart of the city is Jemaa El-Fna, the large square where every evening musicians, acrobats, street artists, fortune tellers, henna decorators will call you from all directions and the water sellers with their red fringed hats will beat the their brass mugs to attract the attention of tourists.
Here, in fact, wherever you turn your gaze you will see a performance in progress, the bustle and the halqa (street theater) have continued uninterruptedly since 1050 when the square was the site of public executions, the name in fact means "assembly of the dead".
Troublesome snake charmers play their obo-like wind instruments. To take a photo or video you have to pay them and if they realize that you are making a video, even from a distance, they will chase you to get paid.
Even if street artists have taken the place of the most romantic storytellers of antiquity, the square still retains all its charm!
After sunset, the square transforms even more. It lights up, it fills up more. The chefs of the culinary stands make their appearance, armed with grills ready to cook tagines, couscous, skewers and vegetables.
It's not all pink and flowers, in fact you will see little monkeys locked up in cages or tied with chains and dressed as babies in diapers. The traffic of mopeds and cars is unleashed, especially if you are traveling with children you will have to be very careful because they whiz from every alley and are very dangerous.
The orange juice vendors offer you small tasting glasses. It is a continuous request, for proposals, for offers, for alms. Sometimes it gets a little tiring for this reason we suggest you stay in the kasbah and not on the square.
This time we tried a luxury riad hotel Les Borjs de la Kasbah.
We have traveled extensively and slept in amazing places and this wonderful riad is definitely in our top 5.
The riad is obtained from the union of 5 typical houses and an old riad. This composition has given life to a wonderful project in which glimpses, details, sculptures are placed in a path of continuous discovery.
As soon as you cross the door, you are enveloped by a perfume and a magical atmosphere.
Everything is silent, the silence and peace that reigns here is unique.
Nora and Tom are a wonderful couple and will welcome you with elegance and simplicity.
They will make you feel at home. We have mint tea on the sofas overlooking the courtyard. The fountain with pink rose petals, the colored carpets, the decorative feathers. Everything is in the right place. Everything couldn't be more perfect.
The rooms are large, spacious, bright. Super comfortable beds. The children (and others) couldn't wait to wake up to go to breakfast and have some honey m'semen prepared, juices, fruit, crepes and much more.
The heat in Marrakech can be stifling, even reaching over 45 degrees in the summer and having a swimming pool in your riad is priceless. And what a swimming pool! We will also remember her forever because Nora learned to swim armless on her sixth birthday!
We recommend going around in the morning and resting after lunch by soaking in the pool, then showering and at 7pm again off to the chaos of the city. When traveling with children try to take the right time to get things done. Don't rush to see. If you succeed well, otherwise it will mean that you will return. A city like Marrakech can shock a child so much the things there are to see. It is important to explain before going into the square what they will find in front of them. It is better to prepare them delicately, just like telling them a story, a fable, which is not that different.
If you want to take a walk in the shade of magnificent plants from all over the world, you cannot miss a visit to the Majorelle Gardens.
Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergè bought this electric blue villa and its guard to preserve the project of the original owner, the painter Jacques Mjorelle, from the early 1900s. Any time will be fine to visit them. Kids will love this place. See different plants, giant cacti and all around the blue and yellow as a background.
It is certainly a magical place for both adults and children.
As well as on the website, tickets can also be purchased at the Jardin Majorelle ticket office during opening hours, from Monday to Sunday, from 8:00 to 18:30; last access at 18.00
A 3 and a half hours drive from Marrakech we reach Rabat.
The capital of Morocco which is not one of the main tourist destinations in the country.
Yet it is a city full of charm. The palm-shaded boulevards of the ville nouvelle are clean, well-kept and with little traffic.
In addition to diving into the beautiful medina and photographing its suggestive views and then entering the many shops and wandering around the souq, we recommend that you take an excursion to nearby Salè. If you have children in tow they will have a lot of fun. You take the tram up to Salè, see the beautiful Medersa in the Medina and then walk up to the river, along the way stop to get a donuts in a very western but super fun place that runs along the river and, once you arrive at the port, go back by boat to Rabat. With a few pennies, they will take you to the other coast. The ride is short but very nice.
And here we are today we will meet Lisa and Tofiq.
We are super happy to be able to spend a few days together !!!
Before leaving Rabat we pass for a quick visit to the Mausoleum, it must have been a mosque, as evidenced by the many columns, but now the King's family rests in peace.
Ready to go and discover Asilah.
Tortillas, paella and Roja wine served in almost all restaurants testify that this small town has long been Spanish territory.
We stop at a restaurant to eat a delicious fried fish and then take a beautiful walk inside its medina. It's all white and blue, the air is fresh despite being three in the afternoon. For most of the year Asillah is immersed in tranquility but in the summer months the population triples due to the influx of Moroccan and Spanish families on vacation. Here art is breathed in the air. Every year there is a festival of murals. Just think that in 1978 several Moroccan artists were invited to Asillah to hold workshops for local children and to paint some walls of the medina on the occasion of the Moussem (patron saint's day).
The medina of Asillah is surrounded by massive stone fortifications erected to protect itself in the 15th century. Inside, there are narrow streets with blue and green touches, with blue wooden shutters and decorated doors. Arrive as far as the southwestern bastion to have a unique view of the ocean, in the evening, at sunset it becomes simply magical.
And after a super breakfast we leave for Tangier, we stop at the caves of Hercules, the largest in Africa. Since the 1920s these caves have been used as quarries for grinding stone, then by prostitutes and later as a theater for private parties of the rich celebrities of Tangier. From inside the cave you can see an incredible peculiarity: you can admire the Atlantic from an opening that is exactly the map of Africa if you look at it in the mirror.
Before arriving in Tangier we make another pit stop at Cap Spartel: the north-western end of the African Atlantic coast. The late 1800s lighthouse on which you can climb to the top is interesting, the children enjoyed climbing the spiral staircase and admiring the opposite coast, that is Europe.
And then an obligatory photo in front of the meeting of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Tangier, nicknamed the "white city", has a very lively coastal road and everywhere there are large buildings in progress.
Its Medina is a labyrinth of alleys overlooked by commercial activities and private homes surrounded by the walls of a fortress built by the Portuguese in the 15th century.
All very clean, tidy, large manicured gardens and a very evident western touch.
Today we go Chefchauen, ah how much we talked about it, then due to the covid we postponed but it went well, in fact now we are here with Lisa who will make us discover this blue gem in all its beauty.
Chefchaouen is in a magnificent location. It is a mountain village with blue lime houses and a pleasant artistic atmosphere.
The tourist center is Uta El-Hammam square, but it is in the Medina that your cameras will go crazy. The characteristic spots are endless and we recommend a couple of days to really enjoy it and above all in a relaxed way.
Tourists entered private courtyards to take pictures and so the inhabitants thought, rightly, to charge a few pennies if you want to take a picture: in this way they earn something and manage to keep these beautiful places clean and always in order.
In its narrow streets you will always meet bakers carrying trays of biscuits to bake on their shoulders, kittens trying to grab something to eat, colored carpets on the walls.
Then stop for a mint tea near the river, one of the best ones!
The children can dress up in local clothes and it will be nice to take some souvenir photos.
It's time to leave and in 4 hours by car we reach the beautiful imperial city of Fes.
Ancient center for the training of scholars, craftsmen, Imams and astronomers. Fes is a city of natural charm combined with a history of great respect.
70,000 people live in the labyrinth of the Medina. Like any chaotic and messed up city you either love it or hate it. We obviously love it. Here apparently blind alleys lead to squares with beautiful fountains. The streets are full of shops of leather artisans, souvenirs, street food and much more.
Enter through the imposing Bab Bou Jeloud, an early 1900s door outside blue (color of Fes) and inside green (color of Islam). Stop in the Medersa Bou Inania considered the most beautiful Koranic school in Fes. Get lost in its alleys, it will not be difficult to do so.
Lisa led us through a thousand different and interlocking streets (think that Fes medina has 9500 streets) to the tanneries. Here you will realize that alone it is really impossible to reach panoramic points and that the help of the local children is essential.
Before going up the stairs you are given a sprig of mint for the smell which can sometimes be very strong. From the terrace of one of the many leather shops we can enjoy the whole natural production process of top quality leather that uses the same methods since the Middle Ages. All the natural colors used will explain to you. Those of saffron you will see them on the terraces higher up as it costs and cannot afford to throw large quantities in the tubs. Then a tip or a purchase from the terrace shopkeeper will be welcome.
In these two days of Fes we found a place where they make a super non-alcoholic mojto. Fresh and yummy, it's really recommended at Le Tarbouche Fès (No 43 Talaa kebira, rue haddadine).
And this journey also comes to an end. The happiness of having seen beauties of the world, having shared a piece of with Lisa. Having enjoyed the excellent food, the kindness of the Arab people. I still remember when in Rabat a small group of kids were playing a football match when Iago got in the middle of the game. They all started playing with him, a boy went to his house to get him a smaller ball. They are gestures that come from their culture, they see adults behaving with love towards the elderly and children and so do they too.
The Moroccan people are hospitable and friendly.
Should you need something they go out of their way to help you. You never feel alone, there are always people around. There is life and joy.
Dear Lisa we understand why this is your heart's weight. It has also become ours.
Lisa organizes both group and single trips. Contact her, she will make you totally fall in love with Morocco, our word!
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10 Responses
Bellissimo.
Anch’io ci ho lasciato un pezzettino di cuore e anche se ci andavo per lavoro, soprattutto a Casablanca, ho potuto conoscerlo un po’.
Il Quartier Habous, la Mahkama du Pascia, la moschea di Mohamed V e tutte le piccole e bellissime attività artigianali di Casa.
E la magnifica camera alle Twin Towers che, a dispetto della modernità, di sera, col buio offriva un paesaggio indimenticabile della costa.
Mi manca…
Il Marocco è davvero stupendo, ogni volta che ci veniamo ci colpisce sempre di piu’ e non è una cosa scontata!
Ciao carissima, grazie mille per questa tua condivisione meravigliosa,io sono marocchina e mi hai illuminata su moltissimi aspetti che davo per scontato al Mio paese d’origine, bellissimi gli scatti che avete fatto , io vorrei chiederti due cose spero mi rispondi in breve, perché tra una settimana voliamo per il Marocco esattamente a Sidi kawki in provincia di sawira con mio marito e nostri 3 figli piccoli, cosa mi consigli di farli vadere a sawira? Ci sono attività culturali che fanno per i bambini? Ti ringrazio di cuore ❤️
Ciao cara Fatima, grazie per il tuo commento cosi’ carino. Essaouira è una città che noi amiamo particolarmente in Marocco!
Siamo felici del tuo prossimo viaggio e ti confesso che non c’e’ un’attività diretta soprattutto ai bambini che ti consiglieremmo perche’ Essaouira è una città cartolina che si ama e si apprezza semplicemente passeggiando con gli occhi curiosi.
Per noi il meglio resta:
Le mura e i bastioni
La spiaggia
La Medina
Il souk.
Sia per grandi che per piccini.
Ciao, noi partiamo la settimana prossima con i nostri bimbi di 6 e 1 anno.
voi avete avuto problemi con l’acqua?
E altra domanda, per i bimbi piccoli si trovano anche li le stesse marche che ci sono anche in Italia? Tipo Mellin, Plasmon, Pampers ecc…
Vorrei evitare di portarmi tutto da qui, e prendere omogeneizzati e pannolini una volta li…
Ciao Valentina, nel dubbio abbiamo usato sempre e solo acqua in bottiglia, mi riferisco al lavaggio denti come ad un te’ la mattina.
Trovi le stesse marche che troveresti in Italia anche perche’ c’è il Carrefour, Conad ecc. pero’ i prezzi sono notevolmente piu’ alti.
Noi abbiamo dovuto comprare i pannolini e son stati abbastanza cari
Ciao, grazie per aver condiviso in modo dettagliato questa
vostra stupenda avventura. Vorremmo partire a fine anno con nostro figlio di 3 anni, noi siamo già stati in Marocco senza bimbo, ci piacerebbe portarlo nel deserto e fare una notte li, mi chiedevo come mai voi non avete scelto questa meta, a noi ci era piaciuto molto, però probabilmente gli spostamenti non sono troppo brevi. Pensate che sia sensato evitare qualche tappa tipo Chefchoune e Fes (che io adoro) per andare giù al sud verso il Sahara? Grazie mille!
Ciao Matteo, secondo me è super fattibile. Non l’abbiamo fatto in quell’occasione con nostro figlio solo perche’ il nostro itinerario da noi pianificato era diverso ma abbiamo dormito nel deserto giordano o senegalese quando era anche piu’ piccolo, quindi va sereno e non avere timori!
molto interessante questo blog grazie per condividere
anche una cosa particilare viaggiare con bambini
Grazie di cuore! Cerchiamo di condividere le nostre esperienze di viaggio anche con bambini