Discover marrakech: essential tips and must-do experiences in the heart of morocco
It's wild how this Thanksgiving trip to Morocco trip almost didn't even happen. Everything was so rough. I got my passport back from the British Embassy the day before. The weekend before, I applied for a priority E-visa from Morocco, which cost about $108 because (I) needed a visa to enter the Kingdom of Morocco. I got to my airport and almost missed the flight because even though I bought the ticket with Delta, I was supposed to check in with Air France, but I finally got on the flight. My friend and I met at Paris Airport and flew to Marrakesh together. Morocco was the 21st country i’ve visited
Things to know about Marrakech
Both spellings, Marrakech and Marrakesh, are correct.Because there are no Ubers in Marrakesh, I had our transportation from the airport pre-arranged via booking.com since I used their app to book the Riad we stayed at. Booking offered me the option to be picked up at the airport. So I did that. A lovely man called Younnes picked us up. I think the total cost was about €12. The local currency is called Dirham, the Moroccan Dirham, but they also take Euros.Another thing to know about Marrakesh is that the Medina of Marrakesh is like the old town within the city walls, and no cars are allowed. Fun fact: It turns out that Marrakesh Marrakesh's Medina is the largest area in the world where it's just for pedestrians, no cars allowed.
Another thing to know about Marrakesh is that you see a lot of cats everywhere. I even saw one at the airport, and I was appalled. They're just everywhere, and I hate cats. I've had a terrible experience with cats in the past, so seeing them go from table to table begging for food at a rooftop restaurant was a living nightmare for me.In Marrakesh, they speak a little English, but their major languages are Arabic and French. I was thrilled to practice some little Arabic that I know. I was like greeting people and saying Salam and doing little head bows out of respect and greeting them.Learning at least some words of your visiting language is very important. It goes a long way; every time I said Salam, Merhaba, or Shukran to anyone, their countenance lit up. It's just a respectful and practical thing to do. It also serves as an icebreaker for people who already identify you as a foreigner.When you're in the souk, you can negotiate some prices. Some people will tell you the price is fixed, but still, see if you can negotiate.
It does get cold at night, depending on the time of the year you visit. My friend and I stopped by Zara quickly to get a jacket because we knew it would be chilly. That was a good investment because it was a bit chilly there in the desert.Marrakesh has a lot of places where you can do dinner with a show (dancers, singers, and other performances)If you are visiting Marrakesh, Morocco, you must take out cash. You can survive using your credit card in certain places, but you will need cash to pay for your taxis and buy stuff at the souk (the souks are their markets). I took out about 2000 Dirhams, equivalent to about $200 on the first day.A critical fact about Marrakesh is that the Medina of Marrakesh is like the old town within the city walls, and no cars are allowed. To get to your riad (if you choose to stay at one), the taxi drops you off at the closest main road near your Riad, and then you have to go on foot the rest of the way. That was an exciting experience. I'm glad I read up on that before I left. Thankfully, our riad was close to the road, so we didn't have to walk a long distance.
Top things to do in Marrakesh
We checked into our riad and rested until dinner time. Riad stays are a unique experience for anyone going to Marrakesh; it must be on your list. When Riads were first created, the concept of Riad was that they were like guest houses for wealthy people, but now many riads are used as hotels for travelers. Ours was called Riad Lalla Mimouna. It was a 10/10 stay. I don't have a single complaint. I highly recommend staying here if you’re visiting Marrakesh. The riad manager, Ibrahim, was such a sweetie. He made sure that we had everything that we needed.
Jardin Majorelle, YSL Museum and the Berber Museum. It all comes as a combined ticket, and you can get yours here; they do not sell tickets at the entrance, so you have to get them online. It costs us $60 for two people. I recommend going as early in the morning as possible. We went at 9:30, and it wasn't as crowded. It was a lovely spot. The thing to note is the YSL Museum itself is not actually in Jardin Majorelle's compound. You have to exit the garden, take a left, and just walk down the block in less than a minute, and then you will see the YSL Museum. It's worth it.Because the city has a lot of places where you can do dinner with a show, we spent our first-night dinner at this highly-rated place called Palais Dar Soukkar. I did have to pay $60 to secure a reservation for two people, and they eventually scraped it off your final bill. The food was extremely mid. I ordered lamb, and it tasted like it had no seasoning. I was very unhappy about that. But the show was incredible. First, this guy came out breathing fire; the next set of people were terrific drummers and dancers and then belly dancers. It was a great show. But unfortunately, I went back to my riad feeling hungry.
There was this hyped-up place we had seen called Cafe Des Epices as a place to eat breakfast/brunch in the middle of the souk; it was not worth the hype. We should have gone to a different place to dine; cute spot though.
Also, finding it was a bit hard. I thought I was prepared for how lost you can get in the souk. But when we got there, I'm like, damn, we lost, lost. It's an experience! Even though we both had our Google Maps open, we went in the wrong direction a couple of times but eventually found it. So definitely get ready to wander in the souk.
Another must-do thing to do in Marrakesh is a Hammam. Hammam is a traditional bath/spa experience. Traditionally, it was meant for cleansing, but now it's become a bit more modernized where you can do a Hammam and a massage afterward.
My Hammam experience as a Black woman
We did ours at Be Flow Marrakesh, and it was an incredibly relaxing experience because, Lord knows, I've been under a lot of stress.The Northern Africans aren't who you are automatically referred to as Black, as they dont have the features you’ll associate with Black folk. They lean more into the Arab/Berber ancestry( please correct me if I’m off), their skin is lighter, and their hair is silkier, not the Type 4 nappy hair I and other West Africans have; they look nothing like me. During the hammam, it was clear that they don't do hammams for many people who look like me, either. And I say that because of how we were treated during the session.The Hammam started with us in a quiet room where we undressed (we had the option to take off our panties or leave them on), and then we were directed to the sauna. All phones had to be left behind, too. That Sauna, yeah, it was on fire, bro. I was struggling to see and breathe.They made us lay you down this elevated slab, and they turn in the shower and like dose you with a lot of water. And while they did that, I asked, “Please, can I get a shower cap or something because I don't want my hair to get wet”. But either they didn't understand me or hear me, I dont know. They kept spraying me with water, and my hair was wet, and I was sad because I just got my hair done. She eventually gave us a little bowl to elevate my head, but that wasn't what I was asking for, and my hair was already wet. I think that water touching her hair isn’t a big deal because when water touches silky hair texture, it dries much faster than mine, but there’s no way she could have known that. My 4C hair isn’t the hair texture that can just randomly get wet, Black people know.
After letting us sit and soak in the sauna, the ladies returned for the second stage, where they scrubbed us down with exfoliating gloves and black soap. I had to request again for something to cover my hair because it was dripping wet at this point. I was eventually brought a towel but the damage had already been done, and my cornrows started to unravel. Honestly, I was pretty unhappy about that, but I tried to stay in the moment and enjoy the experience. I do STRONGLY recommend that if you are a Black woman, do take a shower cap to cover your hair and take an extra pair of panties; that's something I was unprepared for. I'm like, damn, my panties kinda wet.I STRONGLY recommend that if you are a Black woman, do take a shower cap to cover your hair and take an extra pair of panties; that's something I was unprepared for. I'm like, damn, my panties kinda wet.
I knew the Hammam experience was a process of exfoliation, but damn, they were scrubbing a bit hard, and afterward, my friend had made a joke that they were trying to scrub the nigga out of us. After the scrub down, the ladies showed us what had been exfoliated off, and because there was a clear language barrier, I couldn't tell them, “Yo, we're not dirty; we're just Black.” Of course, the exfoliated dead skin cells will be brown; our skin is brown.Anyway, after the scrub down, they left us to enjoy the sauna for a while. I fell asleep straight up.After another twenty-ish minutes, they came back and hosed us down with water again. They slathered our bodies with some oils and let us soak up the sauna some more before moving us into the massage room. It was so relaxing to have all the knots and tightness worked away. That said, I recommend a hammam if you plan to visit Marrakesh.I did want to do henna, but we didn't have enough time. If you plan on doing henna and a hammam, you need to do your hammam first because if you dont, the henna will be scrubbed off during the hammam. 
Top things to do (continued)
Every time I travel, I do an Airbnb experience; it's an excellent way to immerse myself in the culture and interact more with the people. And for this trip, there was a hot air balloon ride. Even though I’d experienced it in Mexico, where we floated over the Teotihuacan pyramids, I wanted to do it again. It cost about $173. There was hotel pick up and drop off and a whole breakfast spread, which was delicious!!! If you're not afraid of heights, I will recommend a hot air balloon ride. I feel like even if you are scared of heights, it's something you should try at least once. I promise. It wasn't scary at all. You don't even feel it when you're taking off from the ground into the sky.Another thing to do in Morocco is visit the Agafay Desert. Honestly, I don't know how I fell about it. I saw that it was something folks visiting Marrakesh did, and I wanted to experience it because it looked beautiful. But it was underwhelming. I also found this trip to Agafay dinner with a Berber dinner as an Airbnb experience. There was a hotel pickup and drop-off, too. We stopped by a corporation of artisans who make argan oil because it's a primary So product of Morocco called Liquid Gold. It was interesting to see how it is made.
The Agafay desert experience came with a camel ride, and I'm like, yeah. No, I don't wanna ride a camel. So my friend and I sat that one out and just enjoyed the sunset. It was stunning. At some point, it was unbelievable because the sun and the moon were out at the same time. It was freezing. Yeah, I found that Marrakesh is not warm in November.We all sat in tents; we were fed a Berber dinner. We finally had tagine, and it was delicious. The potatoes, the chicken. That was good! Afterward, we all sat around a bonfire, singing and dancing and being totally random. Yeah, that was it and then drove back home. I wish that had gone better. Looking back, some of the videos I had seen of Agafay looked like they were in luxury hotels/camps and looked really interesting. I think that is what I was looking for or something like there was more activity, but I didn't. I did notice that I felt underwhelmed after.So, if/when planning to explore Agafay, look for more specific activities in the desert. Not just ours, where we were in random tents in the middle of nowhere. 
You also want to visit Bacha Coffee. You can find it inside the Dar El Bacha Museum of Confluences right at the entrance of the medina. It is the most glamorous cafe you’ll ever see. I’m so serious. You do have to pay a little sum’n to get into the Museum of Confluences; we paid about 60 Dirham for both of us. We were bummed out because Bacha had a long ass wait time of about 90 minutes, and we weren't gonna do that. So my friend picked an order to go. So that's something you might want to consider: either calling them beforehand, going early to make a reservation, putting your name on a waitlist, and coming back. I would have loved to experience that, but I couldn't. However, I went into the store to buy coffee for my lover and his mom.
Another thing you have to do is visit Casablanca. Our initial plan was to spend a whole day there, but they felt there was still so much we needed to do in Marrakesh, so we cancelled that and just moved to a different riad. But only after our Riad served us a fantastic breakfast that was included in our bill. It was my first great breakfast in Marrakesh. It was so good.
What & Where to Eat
You need to eat Tagine; their national food was even more delicious than I imagined. Make a reservation at La Trattoria; the food and the decor were top-tier!
Navigating Marrakech
As I mentioned, you should wander through the souk and prepare to get lost. I saw so many gorgeous items and managed to practice restraint and only buy myself these cute traditional Moroccan gold beaded slippers and an Abaya because I’ve always wanted one.Navigating Marrakesh is easy. If we weren't getting lost in the souk, we were hailing taxis or reaching out to the amazing Youssef. He was a taxi driver whom we met on our second night, and he took excellent care of us throughout our entire stay and dropped us off at the airport. The average taxi cost between 50 to 100 Dirhams, which is like $5 to $10; it was nothing in terms of price. If you are going to Marrakesh, I've shared below the contact information for Youssef, the taxi driver who took care of me during my stay. He's trustworthy. He's kind; he'll take good care of you. Navigating the souk can be overwhelming because sometimes the passageways are tight, and there are people on bikes and donkeys passing through as well, so you have to stand aside. We spent our last day exploring the souk and buying as much shit as we could. I bought so many spices, especially tagine spices. I dropped a bag in the souk that day. I was determined to buy a lot of stuff; I got a teapot, cups, mirrors, you name it! On our last night, we went to this joint called Folk, and it was quite nice. My cocktail was great, but the food was extremely mid, just like Palais Dar Soukkar. But the show was fabulous, with flamenco dancers, arab covers of pop songs, and more belly dancers!I’ve made it easy for ya’ll by hyperlinking all the important spots. If you want some more juicy deets on my Marrakesh trip, click here. Until I book another flight somewhere… who knows where, follow me on Instagram and TikTok for more travel stories, tips, itineraries, and gist.xxx- Summer