Morocco: What Nobody Tells You Before You Go

Morocco gets described in travel writing as overwhelming, chaotic, intense. All of those things are true, and none of them are reasons not to go. They are, in fact, precisely why you should. Morocco is one of the few destinations left that still feels genuinely different from everywhere else.

The medinas

Fes el-Bali, the old medina of Fes, is the largest car-free urban area in the world. It has been continuously inhabited for over 1,200 years. The streets are too narrow for vehicles, too old for maps to be reliable, and too extraordinary to rush through. Getting lost is not a failure it is the itinerary.

The food reality

Moroccan food is exceptional. Tagines slow-cooked for hours with preserved lemon and olives. Bastilla a sweet-savoury pigeon pie dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar which sounds wrong and tastes extraordinary. Fresh-squeezed orange juice on every corner for 50 cents. The food alone justifies the trip.

What to actually expect

• ✦Expect to be approached by touts in medinas polite but firm works perfectly
• ✦Expect hospitality that feels overwhelming it is genuine
• ✦Expect the Sahara to be the most silent place you have ever stood
• ✦Expect to want to come back before you've left

Why a small group works here

Morocco rewards travellers who have local knowledge and local connections. Our guide in Marrakech has been working with Navaro for four years. He knows which riads offer the best sunset view, which hammam won't overcharge tourists, and which restaurant in the medina is actually good rather than tourist-adjacent. This knowledge is not available in a guidebook.