Travelling To Agadir And Marrakech Morocco With No Hotel Oh Dear!

My 1st post of 2025. Pretty mad really – only 3 days into the new year and I was off away Travelling To Agadir And Marrakech Morocco. It was barely a few days after getting back from Fuerteventura that I booked my flight. I looked it up and I thought £15 – this is too cheap not too book.

For some perspective I got back on the 17th and I think it was the next day (or day after) that I spoke to my friend who casually mentioned he was going to Morocco on the 2nd of January (I doubt he will be sharing his holiday plans with me again in a rush lol).

I thought it was hilarious when I joked about coming and he said in a flat kind of tone “I can’t stop you from coming” – so I suppose this was what triggered it but really what really convinced me was when I looked on Skyscanner the price – only £15 and from my local airport Luton!

Although it was at 6AM in the morning so this was a bit of a hurdle.

I mean I will say I didn’t want to impose on my friends holiday with his Girlfriend but for £15 and the chance to get out of cold, miserable England again it was too much of a good opportunity to miss. So that was it.

Plus, I was even more surprised to see I could get back as well from Marrakech, at a good reasonable hour (I got back in Luton at 15:30pm) and it only cost me £13.50 – it seemed almost too good to be true but YES it was not a trip without its problems by all means.

So, what happened on this latest trip away…

Travelling To Agadir And Marrakech Morocco With No Hotel – What Happened?

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So, NO HOTEL by that I mean I didn’t come to Agadir like a typical British tourist would to stay in one of its many All-Inclusive Hotels.

I did book somewhere to stay but not of these £1200 all-inclusive package holidays with flights Included. And, this was something else I thought I was being smart saving a load of money.

I was round my brothers in Basingstoke when I found my 1st place to stay in Morocco. There wasn’t anything I really liked on the Hostel World site. It looked like there was dorms and the beds had no curtains.

I mean, nothing really looked that appealing to me. For me, I’ve stayed in enough hostels now to know there are good ones and bad ones.

So there was nowhere really I found like this (hostel-wise) in Agadir.

But, I found something even better (I thought). I looked next on Booking.com and there was an apartment on there that was available – 7 days for just over £100. I thought YES sorted. It actually looked perfect!

I was showing my brother the photos of the apartment and he agreed with me – It looked like a nice place to stay. He even joked he would come with me.

I mean actually the apartment it was nice – I really can’t moan too much about it. It was clean, tidy, there was basic food (noodles), coffee, bottles of water and my host was very helpful but what I never realized was that IT WAS NOT IN AGADIR REALLY – not in the City.

Where I Stayed For My First 8 Days

The town I booked to stay was Auorir (Awrir) known as Banana Village. It is on the outskirts of Agadir and 3 hours walk away from the City Centre where all the hotels are. Nowhere near basically where I thought I was.

This video on YouTube starts outside my apartment where I stayed so I can only assume this couple stayed here too. I think this is a pretty good look at the area.

So, In my head I was thinking all those Idiots that pay £1000+ just to come here and stay in a hotel. Whilst I only paid £130 with FLIGHTS What a Result! – I thought I was being REALLY CLEVER but wow this was NOT what I expected.

Awrir is not exactly somewhere you would want to come on Holiday. My friend and has Girlfriend came through here to go to Paradise Valley and they said it looked GRIM. In my opinion it is not somewhere you would really want to be if your looking for a nice holiday. Its a quite run down and poor area here.

Although, it is quite cheap that was a good thing about it and I probably would stay here maybe again if I was on my own. The owner of the apartment I stayed is pretty cool and I saved his number so If I was coming back to Morocco and he only had this place I would be OK with it.

But, it didn’t really start too well for me by all means. and I will explain why.

My First Couple of Days Were Not The Best

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Getting to the airport I definitely made one good call. The first thing I did was got some mobile data sorted. I paid 200 Dirhams for 20GB at the Orange kiosk. For my whole stay in Morocco I had Internet on my phone (STRONGLY ADVISE).

Then the airport shuttle to Agadir City was pretty easy to find. It was a bit too long for me really coming from the airport but so far so good it was kind of.

Then from here I was talking to Mohammed who I was renting my apartment from on WhatsApp messenger. He was giving me directions where to go to catch the bus from – this took me quite a while to work out.

I mean at that point I thought it was a bit odd I had to get a bus away from the City that I thought I was staying in. This was certainly not clearly mentioned before and as I got closer I realized I wasn’t going to be staying anywhere near where I wanted to be or thought I’d be staying.

*This was a HUGE problem for me. Although, my friends I guess this was lucky for them lol but anway,…

Getting Into Auorir (Awrir)

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When I got to central Agadir it was a bit of a nuisance because I could NOT figure out where to get the bus from. This took me a good few hours but I finally realized that near the McDonalds I ended up at – the bus to Auorir went from just around the corner.

So, I got on this bus and I was able to get to where I needed to be by using Google Maps – it’s basically like what you would use driving. The bus I think a lot of tourists would not like.

You are basically shoulder to shoulder with people and you have to hold onto a bar unless you can get a seat. You have to be very fast though to get a seat because a LOT of people use the bus.

Then you kind of worry about getting pick pocketed because your so close to people but actually I think (I could be wrong) a lot of Moroccans they might rip you off but they wont steal from you.

After I looked up the penalty for theft in Morocco I read that;

The hudud crime of theft is referred to in Quran verse 5:38: As for male and female thieves, cut off their hands for what they have done—a deterrent from Allah. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.

SO, I don’t know if this actually still happens in Morocco but I got the feeling that I would be OK from being pick pocketed. Although apparently it does happen but STILL I was on my guard for the most part.

Really I think its just common sense even if your back home.

First Impressions of Aourir

When I got to Aourir I was a bit shocked seeing how the town was. It was very different from Agadir where I will mention – I actually stayed before back in 2018. Aourir is a Market town for the most part but it is a poor area compared to central Agadir which is a lot more developed.

I guess when they say you pay cheap you get cheap maybe this is a good analogy of my situation I found myself in here but really I got to my place and it was all good Inside. It was actually very comfortable here.

I guess I only really had a problem with the place the next day. It was not actually the village itself that was the problem for me. I was happy to stay here but just the distance between here and Agadir was my issue.

Especially when I came to realize that there was no buses back here after 8PM

*Travel Tip: Always Make Sure You Keep A Note of When Public Transport is Running. Being Outside All Night I’ve done it. It’s not good but not only this…

Running Into My First Problems

I really caused myself a lot of grief on this 2nd day for this reason. I found a bar to watch the football and I started drinking. 1 year and 1 week since my last drink of alcohol and In a Muslim country (Of all the places).

At the bar I was asking for alcohol free beer. This was what pretty much what got me through 2024 sober but crikey all of a sudden no one here spoke English – I ended up with a Beer that was NOT Alcohol Free.

So, I kind of just accepted it from there. I said to myself OK may as well get drunk now I’ve done quite well not to drink for a year and well I am on holiday I thought. So, I had about 5 pints of beer just at that bar.

I should have got the bus after this REALLY but Instead I went to the Irish Bar next to carry on drinking and had another 5 or so Pints. Which really wasn’t that cheap and it was money I should have maybe been saving.

Although, I still thought I could get back at this point. I was talking to Mohammed on WhatsApp about what to do. He said the last bus was at 9 (it was not – it was at 8PM) so I missed that and he suggested I get a taxi.

Well, from coming to this conclusion I thought I could stay out longer.

I ended up drinking until the Irish bar closed. It was pretty lively there really. They had a DJ mixing hip hop in a breakbeat style. Really good but then it was not a good idea staying here. I mean I knew already I had to be very careful with booking a taxi back and I actually was very hesitant to do so but I did.

Getting Back To Auorir Was Very Expensive

I was talking to my mum and my niece on the phone. They was very worried because I said about walking 3 hours up into the mountain back to Auorir. I could have done really (I think) it would have saved me a lot of problems as well but then 3 hours walking whilst drunk, at night, in a foreign country, even I will admit this sounds dangerous and stupid.

So, I was being asked by every taxi driver I went past if I wanted a ride. They are very persistent – desperate I guess you could say but the next one that stopped me I just said OK take me to Auorir.

It was not the best thing I could have done. I download the Indrive App I could have probably got someone on there to take take me back for maybe 150-200 Dirhams that would have been fine with me but I didn’t do that.

The first taxi driver took me to another taxi to go to Auorir. He asked me for 100 Dirhams but when I give him 200 he said I only give him 20. So he basically ripped me off and got 280 Dirhams off me Instead of 100.

I just kept quiet though and I thought OK whatever but then the next taxi charged me 300 Dirhams as well which felt like more than I’d like to pay.

580 Dirhams total – £47 GBP – I really did not have the budget for this.

SO, after that 3 days basically I spent in my apartment. I was pretty skint after this and I had to make some money online – which to be fair I did but this night really kind of upset me and I wasn’t so eager to go back out again so soon.

But I did on the Wednesday and AGAIN something else happened after getting drunk and staying out late.

My 2nd Day Out In Agadir

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On this Wednesday again I got quite drunk. It was kind of the plan really. I was meeting my friends for their last night before they flew back to the UK (I only actually see them once lol) and also Tottenham was playing Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Semi Final 1st leg.

It was a good night mostly. Had some good food, had a good laugh, sung on the karaoke and Tottenham beat Liverpool 1-0.

I booked a room local for the night so I wouldn’t have to stress about going back to Aourir too. It is maybe what I should have done on the Saturday but anyway it was all going pretty well – till I got to the nightclub.

Here it just went WRONG my friends left and then I was approached to pay a bill of 720 Dirhams for 12 Bottles of beer. Which I’m quite sure I didn’t drink.

60 Dirhams a bottle. I had about 55 Dirhams on me and I had 2 security guards right there wanting me to pay.

My friends said it wasn’t them because they paid before they left – so I don’t know what happened here . It was not a good way to end the night, but THEN then I had to get the hotel I was staying at.

I got there at about 5AM and I couldn’t get in. I think I was trying to sleep in a hallway (very cold) but I tried the door again and they finally let me in at around 6AM – I must have only got 2-3 hours sleep.

Really I could have just waited an hour to get the bus back but I figured free breakfast and shower – I figured I might as well.

Although, another stinger was my credit card wasn’t charged for my stay. I found 200 Dirhams I didn’t know I had. I thought great I have a little bit of money with the change in my pocket but then I had to pay for my room (Not Good).

I did get breakfast though and a shower so that was nice really but anyway.

The Next Day

I wasn’t actually totally broke after this. I managed to get another 300 Dirhams together. There was these 4 Labradors (I think they were) with 2 puppies – I bought a bottle of water to give them because they really looked thirsty and after that I just found the next bar and carried on drinking.

I managed to borrow another £20 off my nephew after this and I ordered a Chicken Tangine with another beer and I got the bus back.

The guy I think he was happy because he didn’t have many customers in but I think he actually ripped me off as well because he asked me to give him all my change to pay for a beer and I think what I give him was quite a bit more than his price for 1 beer.

I suppose it would have been nice to tip him but as I was already pretty broke with another 8 days in Morocco well I wasn’t happy about it. I guess maybe it was fair dues but for anyone who reads this blog I mostly travel just about scraping by – so saving every penny is very important I think.

Anyway…

My Last Couple Nights In Auorir

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So, I booked to stay in Agadir for 1 week. Crikey this blog post is getting long now but still so much to tell. I got back to Auorir on the Thursday and I was supposed to leave the next day but what was quite good was I asked to stay another night and I was allowed to stay 1 more night.

Not only this but I arranged to stay another 3 nights in Mohammed’s other place in another town called Adrar.

I was kind of a bit nervous about leaving because my actual flight back from Morocco was a week later from Marrakech. Really it was so nice for things to work out how they did.

I left Auorir on the Saturday and Mohammed told me to get the bus to Souk El Had and that I would need to get another bus to Adrar.

I mean OK so again I was not staying in Agadir really but it was a better area than Aourir. Adrar I would say is like a new city in its infancy. I would not be surprised to see it grow massively in the next 20-30 years as seems to be a lot of buildings going up and they even have a retail park.

So, AGAIN I had some trouble getting here. It is actually a bit of a nuisance in Morocco – there are a lot of bus stops that aren’t actually marked as bus stops.

I was going to where Google Maps was telling me but it was so confusing. There was taxi drivers but I really didn’t want to pay for one when a bus is only pennies compared. Mohammed was trying to tell me where to go but in the end he said he will come and got me – so that was a HUGE relief. Saved me a lot of stress.

My Next place in Adrar

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I will say it was very noisy in my next apartment. Outside is a HUGE basketball court and I thought it was probably a little bit like living in New York USA. There was a lot of kids outside but it was not too much of a problem for me.

The area wasn’t too bad I thought. If you walk from where I was staying about 10 minutes down the road is a huge retail park with a big supermarket.

In Aourir I was really quite limited with what I could buy (I felt). I mean in reality I wasn’t – For someone a bit more braver there is plenty of market stalls to buy fresh produce from but I wasn’t really too comfortable with doing that.

I had a couple days where I only ate noodles and drunk coffee so the supermarket was pretty cool to have so near to my new place.

So, besides this – I would say from this point things just got a lot better. On the Sunday Tottenham was playing again vs. Tamworth in the FA Cup – so I got the bus to Agadir from Adrar. Not as far its not the same bus route as to Auorir so this was a bit confusing.

Where I got off the bus I think was quite a walk away from where I wanted to go to Agadir Marina where I thought they might have the football on. I ended up at the 1st McDonalds I went to on my 1st day. About 35ish minutes walk away from the beach.

Pretty boring but by this point it was well past half time and I thought well I will just stay here drink coffee and watch on my phone. Tottenham won just about (I didn’t miss much) and I just thought WELL I should know where to get the bus from so about an hour or so later I just went back to the apartment.

I missed having YouTube actually like I did in Auorir but I actually done my 1st holiday-type thing on the next day – I went to the Crocodile Park.

It is not a big place but it was NOT really too far away really I thought. Basically just a 45 minute walk up the road. That was actually quite cool.

There is the Lion Park as well near by – I didn’t go here but It look kind of interesting – I may go here next time maybe will see. Now..

I left Adrar for Marrakech on the Tuesday and Mohammed I still had to pay for my time here but what was really great of him was he helped sort out my coach to Marrakech and he even drove to the coach terminal.

All Aboard The Marrakech Express

So, my uncle shared with me a link for the Crosby, Stills and Nash song ‘The Marrakech Express’ on Facebook this was not what the coach was called but it seemed like a fitting name given the circumstances.

I really was so grateful for the help getting here but at the same time I thought what now? – what problems will I have to deal with in this new city? I was kind of feeling like I had only just settled and now I was on the move again.

Although, the coach was quite Interesting taking the views in from out the window – so much unoccupied land. Morocco is a big country with a lot of people in but the amount of land I see that was mostly just desert between Agadir and Marrakech it did make me wonder how much of the country is like this as well.

So, the landscapes are quite something to look at. You wouldn’t want to get stuck out here I think. There was 2 coach stops on the way – kind of places in the middle of nowhere.

I think I was pretty fortunate not to need the toilet on the coach because there wasn’t one – some guy looked like he did. Usually my issue but I was kind of OK with just the 2 stops.

It was around 4 hours with 2 stops on the coach and I got to Marrakech around 4:30PM. I wasn’t really sure what to think to be honest but anyway I was here.

Getting Into Marrakech City

The coach stop in Marrakech was just outside a KFC. I don’t often eat KFC but I figured I could sit down and work out where I needed to get to. I had booked to stay in the Sun Hostel in the old town near Jemaa el-Fna and it was about an hour and 1/2 walk away.

The first part of the journey wasn’t too bad. Just a straight walk up the road. Busy but anyway then I got to the arches of the medina. This was a bit of a nightmare. I was not willing to ask for any directions – I was following the route on Google Maps it was very confusing.

The worst part was even though I was walking along a footpath with other pedestrians I had to keep moving out the way for mopeds they was EVERYWHERE!

It is about 10 minutes walk from outside the Old City part to my hostel. Its basically a massive stone complex all built together. It takes some getting used to navigating through it all but I got the hang of it in the end.

The hostel it was OK (I thought). I got my own locker, the bed had curtains going across, breakfast was included and I think the best part was the list they sent me of all the tours I could book from the hostel.

I booked my 1st tour for the next day and so glad I did.

Going To Ouzoud Falls To See The Monkeys

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I see this trip advertised in Jemaa el-Fna city square. I went out on my 1st night and I shamefully will admit I was hoping to see some monkeys on the square. Its definitely been a thing for a long time people keeping monkeys as pets in Morocco but its now under a lot of scrutiny how these monkeys get here.

I was looking at where to find wild monkeys in Morocco when I was still in Agadir and I actually thought I would have to forget the idea because it was my understanding that I would have to go to Fez.

I am not sure if this is another part of the country you can go but I googled Ouzoud falls and see they had monkeys here so I booked the tour for 200 Dirhams.

It was Incredible. I thought it was kind of funny because past Aourir is Paradaise Valley. My friend and his Girlfriend went here but the waterfall was dried up and I actually went on this tour and the waterfall was amazing.

I really thought that Jameos del Agua in Lanzarote was the most beautiful place I’d ever been to but this was really something else. I mean I actually liked just taking in the views from out the window of the bus – just going round the mountains but Azilal the village in the Atlas Mountains where Ouzoud falls are – this was a very special place.

Even just seeing the lambs jumping around when my group had began the trail it made me think that I have never seen Lambs so happy and it was just nice walking through this route.

Seeing the Waterfall

It was quite something because it was a bit of a trek here but it was a nice walk. You have a lot of children along the way trying to sell you monkey nuts. When you see the monkeys they will jump all over you for these but it is best to wait till you get there up where they are and get them then.

The waterfall you get to before this and the tour stops here for around an hour. You can pay around 20 dirhams to go on the boat here. It is about 15 minutes and they take you right to the waterfall – its a bit of a pain because of all the water spray but when I see the boat it was like something in a dream so they didn’t have to ask me twice if I wanted to do it.

Coming here is an absolute must if you come to Marrakech. Maybe you might not like what it is like inside the medina if your staying here and actually all around Jemaa el-Fna city square its very intense (busy) but this was good 100%

Seeing The Monkeys (Barbary Apes)

Prior to this trip I had actually seen the Barbary Apes in Gibraltar. I actually on both occasions found these animals to be a bit intimidating. Some of them are HUGE but it was different in Morocco – the Atlas Mountains where Ouzoud Falls are is the natural habitat of the Barbary Apes.

The ones in Gibraltar and the ones you might see in Jemaa el-Fna are from here. So one thing I thought was it would be nice to see them at home (kind of). Although, I will say it didn’t quite seem like this because the Monkeys at the waterfall seemed like they was kind of trained.

It was a new experience for me – at the Monkeys den there was a man getting the monkeys to climb on us by giving them Monkey nuts. I had to give him some dirhams after but he did get me a good few photos. My baby niece I have to show these every time I see her now so was well worth it.

I kind of had the feeling that it was a bit risky feeding these animals but it does seem like everyday life for them I guess and you just need to kind let them have what they want. The guy there has them somewhat trained I think but anyway – in Gibraltar they are very strict about NOT feeding them so that is what I mean.

Anyway – after seeing the monkeys we stopped for dinner and I was dropped off back at Jemaa el-Fna about half 5. Tottenham was playing Arsenal that night so I basically just went back and charged up my phone to back out.

My First Night Out In Marrakech

Well, what can I say? Salah the receptionist at the hostel I had on WhatsApp he recommended that I went to a place called the Cafe Roxe. I got here and they was watching Real Madrid vs. someone and drinking Mint Tea – not what I had in mind. So – I ended up googling Irish bars, pubs etc.

I found a place called the Chesterfield Bar in Marrakech City. It was about 45 minutes walk away and it was in a hotel. The traffic getting here – I mean crossing the road lol wow so crazy. I had to be so careful. I think it’s like what New York would be like (I haven’t been here) just so busy.

It’s definitely not poor in this part of the country it actually looks nicer than most of London. So, this was an Interesting walk and I finally got to the bar and they was playing Fulham vs. Leicester (I think it was) – never mind.

I had a few beers here and I was watching Tottenham on my phone. The Leicester game finished about 15 minutes before though so I did get to watch the end of it. Good start top the game but pretty dismal towards the end.

The bar was pretty nice but it wasn’t open for much longer after. You kind of get the feeling that bars serving alcohol is a very small niche market in Morocco. The large majority of Moroccans surely don’t drink so this was a bit of a mission.

I got back to Jemaa el-Fna fairly drunk still and I ended up stopping for some food. I had a tangine, skewers, rice and I didn’t know half of what I was eating but some of it was pretty good. Not sure many brits would be so brave but anyway – was a nice bit of Moroccan culture.

*It was nice to get out of my shell a bit – even though my time was coming to an end! Some good memories here and what a day!

My Last Full Day In Morocco (A Long Walk)

Well, this was a bit NUTS – the night before I was looking at going to Marrakech Zoo. If you read my blog or follow my travels I go to a Zoo in most cities I go too. I don’t go to the zoos in England – only rarely but if I’m away this is a good day out for me so my plan for my last full day in Morocco was to visit this Zoo.

It was not exactly straightforward to get here. From the Sun Hostel its just a 26 minute drive but WALKING as I chose to do is 2 hours and 50 minutes. I never actually got here – after walking for about 2 hours I decided to turn back around.

It was quite an interesting journey really. I see buses and taxis on the way but the buses it wasn’t showing any information on Google so I didn’t bother there and the taxis I just didn’t trust enough – perhaps I should have used the Indrive App – I really should get used to that next time I’m in Morocco but ANYWAY.

I ended up in this town. It reminded me of a village near where I live. Kind of it was pretty interesting to walk through because I doubt many British tourists come through here. A couple people did try to talk to me but I really was just very wary of even acknowledging anyone.

I took a left up the road from here. It was pretty deserted and it was Interesting because I see Storks, I think Vultures and I’m pretty sure Roadrunners all up this road but the annoying thing was this was not the right way.

It was at this point I kind of decided not to go any further. I actually see on the way back that I was supposed to (according to Google Maps) head in the opposite direction which was through a Shanty town.

I was thinking about it but I kind of lost my nerve. My battery on my phone was on about 54%. It was still another 50 minutes to walk and by the time I would have got there this would have been about half past 1, so a bit late for the zoo.

I actually thought I should do this again and walk all the way but I guess its probably not exactly sensible – If I was to be robbed! that would be my main concern and if they took my phone – no google maps would be a serious problem. Although, I would like to do this – I like a long walk and this is a good distance.

Maybe I will speak to the staff at the Sun Hostel see if they think this is a bad idea or not – if they say its not I probably will go all the way.

Getting Back To The UK

This was another thing I thought was really good about the Sun Hostel. They arranged a transfer for me to get to the airport. I got there with a good amount of time to spare. Although, were I had to meet my driver was where all the other taxi drivers were – they was all over me like flies.

It was actually so confusing and its a good job I didn’t get in one of these cabs by mistake. Fortunately I had my driver on WhatsApp and I just had to go back in the medina until he actually arrived.

So, Marrakech airport I thought was a bit crazy – police with guns, airport scanners at the entrance and very tight security. I was a bit nervous mostly about getting to my gate in time – I had to queue up to print my boarding pass. You can’t use your phones like in Europe here.

Going through customs was pretty long as well but it was all good I had enough time to go to duty free, have some food and a cup of coffee and get my plane. I got back to England at about 3:30PM with enough time to catch the bus. It wasn’t raining but I did leave myself a parting gift from Morocco…

A Flight back to Agadir – I will be doing this all again VERY SOON…

Final Word: My Advice For Travelling To Morocco

I was actually going to write this post a bit differently 10 Travel Mistakes Not To Make In Morocco – I actually think I will publish this still in a separate post but just to summarise for anyone that wants to follow in my footsteps lol

*I bet a lot of people I know will laugh at this – follow in MY footsteps lol but as I did have a bit of trouble in Morocco I have a few tips to share…

• Get Mobile Data at the Airport – 200 MAD for 50GB I think it is
• If not booking a hotel in tourist area be careful where you book.
• Be careful getting drunk and with taxi drivers
• Watch out for thieves in the Souks and Medinas – I didn’t get robbed but I have read this several times now…
• Watch what you spend if drinking in Night Clubs or don’t go to them

Morocco is an interesting country there’s lots to do here. It’s a nice climate, a very different cultural experience and depending on what you do it can be quite cheap. I’d definitely recommend coming here and YES I will be back here with Teddy very soon…