Marrakesch

Marrakesch is a must see on the travel books, but that also means it does have the tourist trap feelings that come with such fame. One of the main downsides of Marrakesch is its market, which is not only very crowded with people, but also motorcycles racing through crowds with exhaust fumes to add. Does that mean Marrakesch lacks charm? For sure not. Marrakesch is colors, life and smells. It is the beating heart of Morocco and a place of deep contrasts.

Impressions

How to get there without flying

There are two main ferry ports from Spain that will take you to Tangier. The first is the fast ferry which takes you to the African continent in 30 minutes via Tarifa – an interesting place on its own due to its clear view of Africa. The best part of the speed is that it drops you off directly in front of the old city (lots of steps up!). The downside of Tarifa are the following:

• There is no train connection, you would need to take a rare bus from Algeciras or Cadiz or a taxi.
• Once you arrive dissappointment may await, high winds (which do occur frequently) will lead to ferry cancellations
• The ferry is small, hence weather has a strong impact on its schedule

The alternative is Algeciras (not interesting), but does have a view of Gibralter. There are large ferries which take a route which are less impacted by weather, but also shares its own form of delays. It also drops you off at Tangier Med which is not connected by any rail service (but busses) and is quite scenically distant from Tangier. The bus does drop you off at the train station in Tangier at least.

From Tangier are frequent highly modern trains that will take you down to Marrakesh in a few hours. These are the same trains used by the TGV in France and even more spotless than the ones you find in Europe. The tickets are also very reasonable.