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 again 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. Wasn’t sure how I’d afford going away again so soon but I thought I absolutely had to go.
Now, for some perspective I got back from the Canary Islands 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 away to Morocco on the 2nd of January. I knew he was going before but didn’t know when.
(I doubt he will be sharing his holiday plans with me again in a rush lol).
I mean really, I thought it was hilarious when I joked about coming and he said “you don’t know where I’m going in Morocco. It’s a pretty big place”. But I knew as his girlfriend said they was going to Agadir – so I said “yes I do – Agadir!”
So, he then said, in a flat kind of tone “I can’t stop you from coming” – so I suppose this was what triggered it for me BUT really, what really convinced me was when I looked on Skyscanner and I see the price was only £15 to get to Agadir and from my local airport Luton!
Although it was at 6AM in the morning I had to be here for 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 that. I was going to Morocco for what would be my 2nd time.
I was not done there though, for getting back home I was even more surprised to see I could get back 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 but it was all pretty amazing how it all come together.
So, what happened on me and Teddy’s latest trip away… This is going to be a very long post but let me share this story with you…
Travelling To Agadir And Marrakech Morocco With No £1K Hotel – Here Is What Happened?
So, NO HOTEL by that I mean I didn’t come to Agadir like a typical British tourist would do to stay in one of its many All-Inclusive Hotels. I did this last time I was here back in 2018 but there was nothing like this available on the cheap so this was a hard pass.
I did manage to book somewhere to stay and I thought I was being so smart saving a load of money. If you could have only seen me. I was round my brothers in Basingstoke when I found found this place.
There wasn’t anything I really liked on the Hostel World site so I didn’t book anything. I then looked on Booking.com and Trip.com, and I found something even better (I thought). I looked 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 this place WAS NOT IN AGADIR – it was an hour away on the bus.
Typical me – the jams I find myself in you really can’t make it up – so…
Where I Stayed For My First 8 Days in Morocco
The town I booked to stay in was Auorir (Awrir) which means Banana Village in Arabic. It is on the outskirts of Agadir and 3 hours walk away from the City Centre (where all the main tourist hotels are) by the sea. Where I had to go was nowhere near basically where I wanted to be.
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 his Girlfriend came through here to go to Paradise Valley and they said it looked GRIM. I am a bit mincier with my words than they are but I guess I would say, it is not somewhere you would really want to be if your looking for a nice holiday. Its quite slummy, and run down compared to Agadir.
Although, it is a lot more relaxed here – no beggars and it is quite cheap – that was a good thing about it for me and I probably would stay here maybe again if I was on my own. The host of this apartment was very helpful and welcoming – I saved his number and I mean If I was coming back to Morocco and he only had this place I would be OK with it I think.
But, it didn’t really start too well for me staying here though, I would have left early I think if I had the options – I was looking at trying to get back to the Canary Islands or Spain at one stage – it was that bad after just a couple of days and I will explain why.
My First Couple of Days Were Not The Best
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 one good thing was 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, for my friends I guess this was lucky for them because it meant I wasn’t intruding on their holiday so much lol but anway about the town I stayed in.
Getting Into Auorir (Awrir)
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 to work out but what I finally realized was 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. I used this till I knew it was time to get off. It’s funny really because the bus here I think a lot of tourists would not like it.
You are basically shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers and you have to hold onto a bar unless you can get a seat. You could easily hurt yourself I think if you are not holding on because once the bus turns a corner it is kind of like throwing you about.
It is very cheap – one good thing about it but 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 it seems a lot of them they wont steal from you.
I mean I was curious about this. 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 does happen in Morocco but I got the feeling that I would be OK from being pick pocketed. Its not really the advise of the tourism board they say you should be very careful in crowded places like the markets etc. but I think there a lot of decent people here in Morocco – people say a lot of bad stuff about Muslims but proper Muslims have very high morals I think and they are very respectable.
Really I think its just common sense even if your back home. If you have things you don’t want stolen – be extra vigilant.
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 here 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 to Auorir 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 you are leaving yourself very vulnerable! and this is an understatement.
Running Into My First Problems In Morocco
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) and I was back to getting drunk again.
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 here – I said to myself “OK may as well get drunk now, I’ve done quite well not to drink for a year and after all I am on holiday” I thought.
So, right there 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 (70 Dirhams a drink) and it was money I should have maybe been saving as I really wasn’t that flush.
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 with the InDrive App.
Well, from coming to this conclusion I thought I could stay out longer.
I ended up drinking until the Irish bar closed at around 11:30pm. It was pretty lively there really. They had a DJ mixing hip hop in a breakbeat style. Really good but I knew it – it was not a good idea staying here. I mean I knew already I had to be very careful with booking a taxi back but there I was drinking one beer after another, and this was the trouble.
Getting Back To Auorir Was VERY Expensive
I was talking to my mum and my niece on the phone. They was 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. Usually I would not entertain any of them but regarding my situation 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 which I should have used – 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 to get 100 change he said I only give him 20.
So he basically ripped me off for 180 and got 280 Dirhams off me Instead of 100.
I was NOT happy but I just kept quiet. I thought OK whatever as long as I get back but then the next taxi driver charged me 300 Dirhams which was pretty much all I had left.
580 Dirhams total it cost me – £47 GBP – I really did not have the budget for this.
SO, after this the next 3 days basically I spent in the apartment in Auorir. I was pretty skint after this and I had to make some money online – which to be fair I did but this one 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 as this was the day I arranged to meet my friend and his girlfriend and AGAIN something else happened after getting drunk and staying out late that I didn’t like.
My 2nd Day Out In Agadir
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 550 Dirhams on me and I had 2 very tall 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 prior to this. 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 seriously I have not missed all the problems that drinking alcohol causes. If you actually get out of the tourist strip in Morocco its quite hard to find places that sell alcohol. It was kind of good for me because for the most part of my 3 weeks away I was sober on most days.
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. It is actually good to have change in Morocco even 1 dirhams just to pay the exact amount so this did annoy me.
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
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.
And, 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.
*Note: I never knew this but in the 1960’s much of Agadir was destroyed by an earthquake. Quite a lot of people died and the whole city had to be completely rebuilt. 60 years is a long time but perhaps it does explain why there is so much ongoing construction around here.
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. Mohamed 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
I will say it was very noisy in this next apartment I stayed in. 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 playing. Nothing like in England and you could hear them till 9-10 at night.
The area wasn’t too bad though 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.
Pretty mad actually when I went in there they had a band playing down the meat and fish aisle. I couldn’t really believe it but I do like the kind of freedom people seem to have in Morocco. It is better than England in a lot of ways I think.
But, anyway, 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 with all the street vendors.
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.
It was closer to Agadir which was better for me – 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 although it was basically up the motorway I had to walk. Some Interesting buildings next to this – very old looking.
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..
So, I left Adrar for Marrakech on the Tuesday and Mohamed 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 me 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 in Adrar and now I was on the move again.
The coach journey was quite Interesting really 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. There was 2 coach stops on the way – places in the middle of nowhere. The first one I looked on Google maps how far it would be to walk to Marrakech – 24 hours it said.
Besides this, I think I was pretty fortunate not to need the toilet on the coach. Having an overactive bladder doesn’t seem to be as much as an issue as in the UK/Europe because not many people drink but there was someone on the coach that looked like they needed to go. Its definitely something to bear in mind before you take this trip (if you do).
It was around 4 hours with 2 stops on the coach before I got to Marrakech around 4:30PM. I wasn’t really sure what to think getting here but anyway I was here and it was quite eventful.
Getting Into Marrakech City
The coach stop in Marrakech was just outside a KFC. I don’t often eat KFC but I figured whilst here 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 from where I got off on the coach.
The first part of the journey wasn’t too bad. Although there was a lot of dug up roads which was a bit of a pain. It was basically just a straight walk up the road. The roads are very along here so you have to be very careful. They call this the new town it is quite scenic really but getting past this. The next part of the journey through the Medina in Marrakech old town quarters WOW.
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. There was plenty people offering to take me here but not really the most trustable characters I guess you could say.
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 the Sun 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. Also the manager of the hostel Salah is very friendly – he will make you want to come back lol but definitely the list of things to do (the tours) make it worth coming here.
I booked my 1st tour for the next day and so glad I did.
Going To Ouzoud Falls To See The Monkeys
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 the 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.
It is actually illegal without a license to keep these monkey and only a number of people (less than 20) are permitted to keep these animals (I think). I didn’t see them but I read that it is really bad. I’m glad I didn’t see the monkeys on the square and I see them on this tour.
So, 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 with Salah 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 they said the waterfall was dried up and here I was I actually went on this tour and the waterfall was AMAZING. 2nd biggest in Africa after Victoria falls. An Incredible place made my whole trip worth it.
I really thought that Jameos del Agua in Lanzarote was the most beautiful place I’d ever been to prior to this 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.
One of the first things I see en route to the waterfall with the tour guide was a group lambs in a field. They looked so happy and it was just natural beauty. The guide said you sometimes see Otters around this area. I didn’t see any but must be interesting to be here day in day out.
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. It is pretty pointless buying them really 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 go on it
Coming here is an absolute must if you come to Marrakech. The coach trip is fairly long but its worth it. 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 seen the Barbary Apes in Gibraltar before. I actually on both occasions coming here 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. They are found wild in Tunisia, and Algeria besides this.
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
Salah at the hostel on WhatsApp recommended that I went to a place called the Cafe Roxe. It was not what I had in mind. I got here and they was watching Real Madrid vs. someone and drinking Mint Tea – not what I was hoping for.
So – I ended up googling Irish bars, pubs etc. There does not seem to be many places to go really if you want drink here in Marrakech. It seems like it is only at the hotels.
I found a place called the Chesterfield Pub in the end. It was about 45 minutes walk away from the medina and it was in a hotel.
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 to get here and I finally got to the bar and they was playing Fulham vs. Leicester (I think it was) – never mind. Somebody had beat me to it. Damn.
It was alright though. I had a few beers here and I was just following the live updates on my phone. There was a couple early goals from Tottenham actually but they lost 2-3 lol
The Leicester game finished about 15 minutes before so I did get to watch the end of it but pretty dire. Good start to the game but pretty dismal towards the end.
The bar was pretty nice but it wasn’t open for much longer after the game finished. 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 street 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!
*Note be careful ordering street food as some places where they will sit you down will over charge you. See if you can get a price before they serve you.
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 and I really did want to come here. 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.
In Agadir the first time I went they had the Birds valley which you can walk around for free but unfortunately this was closed for renovation. It was supposed to reopen last year but the work has not been completed.
So, I was disappointed there but I thought if I could just go here it would be cool.
Now, getting to Marrakech Zoo – It was not exactly straightforward to get here. I should have got a cab. From the Sun Hostel its just a 26 minute drive but WALKING as I chose to do it is 2 hours and 50 minutes walk (according to Google Maps).
I never actually got here in the end – after walking for about 2 hours I decided to turn back around. I’d actually been heading the wrong way for a while and according to Google I was supposed to head the opposite way through a shanty town. I basically wimped out here.
But, 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. 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 small town. It reminded me of a village near where I live called Radwell. 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 didn’t really entertain it.
It must have been strange for the locals to see me here because this town was very far from a tourist attraction but I was here and my phone was saying I had to walk through here.
I took a left up the road from here (in the wrong direction). It was pretty deserted and it was Interesting because I see Storks, I think Vultures and these little birds I thought were Roadrunners all up this road. Really I think this was enough wildlife for me to see lol I’m sure I see a couple of camels outside the shanty town as well.
But this was it for me – after turning back around and left with the choice of carrying on through the shanty town or going back into Marrakech town I chose the latter.
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 – another time.
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 – this was a bit annoying because they were all telling me to get in their cabs – I had to head back in the medina.
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.
No digital boarding passes here. It is a good idea to factor this in when getting to the airport as you have to queue for this before you go to customs. And that was another thing…
Going through customs was pretty long as well. I was a bit nervous about how long it was taking 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
- Get used to using the InDrive App and use the right change to pay.
- Watch out for thieves in the Souks and Medinas – I didn’t get robbed but I have read this several times now… I heard someone say someone on a bike tried to grab their phone – so be careful if you have an expensive phone.
- 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…
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Agadir Bosnia and Herzegonia Brazil Budget Holiday Destinations Canary Islands Czech Republic Easter Island Eastern Europe Egypt Ethiopia Europe Fuerteventura Fuertoventura Gozo and Comino Japan Kenya Lanzarote Malta Marrakech Mexico Mongolia Morocco North Africa Oasis Wildlife Park South Korea Spain The Canary Islands The Phillipines Tibet USA
Keen traveller and digital nomad looking to share my stories from my international trips with my faithful companion Mr Bean 2.0 (Alex Chivers).
