In early December, my husband and I took a kid-less vacation to Morocco.  It was our first one after our new addition (who is now somehow 2!).  We’re grateful to our village for allowing us to take such trips from time to time; our last kid-less trip was over 3 years ago in the fall of 2019.  We spent a week in Marrakech and had such a wonderful time – it’s amazing the travel opportunities we are able to take thanks to points and miles!  Here’s a look at how we spent our time in this beautiful country.

December 2nd: We flew out from Dallas-Fort Worth, and landed in Marrakech the next day.  We had tough travel days – being able to stop at the Capital One lounge in DFW Airport, relax, and grab a meal before boarding a long flight definitely helped.  We get free access to this lounge thanks to my husband’s Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.  (We just paid the $395 annual fee on this card, and yes, it’s definitely a keeper for us ;))

December 3rd:  We landed in Marrackech in the afternoon.  Tired from a long overnight flight, we ate dinner at our Riad, Riad Anayela, and decided to call it an early night as we were just so exhausted.  (You can see here how our week-long stay cost us $0!)

December 4th:  We had breakfast at our Riad, and wanted to take it easy and get to know our area a little better.  We were staying in the heart of the Medina, surrounded by locals, and would be walking a lot.  We set out to explore the city and strolled through the Souks.  When feasible in our travels, we like to stay amongst the locals – to get a taste of the culture, and the town/city we are staying in, as well as get a glimpse of daily life.

December 5th:  We did our first excursion – a day trip to the Atlas Mountains.  This included lots of hiking, viewing waterfalls and eating lunch with Berber families.  The weather is actually fairly nice in Morocco in early December.  Our light jackets were just enough for our outdoor activities and excursions.  In the mountains, as we climbed higher it tended to get a little cooler and windy, but during the day in the city, we were fine even without one.  Included in this excursion was a camel ride in the desert – it was our first time doing this!

December 6th: We wanted to pace out our excursions and not exhaust ourselves – so we stayed local this day and did more exploring (and haggling in) of the Souks.  We also visited Bahia Palace – set up in the 19th century by Si Moussa, grand vizir of the Sultan for his personal use.  We walked everywhere – so having good, comfortable walking shoes is a must when visiting Marrakech.  In the town square that evening, Jemaa El-Fnaa Square, we watched Morocco beat Spain on penalities in the World Cup.  The vibe of the crowd after that win was something like I have never experienced before!  File this under amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

December 7th:  We took a day trip to Ourika Valley.  We lucked out and had a private driver, as there weren’t any other tourists who had signed up for this excursion that day.  We were able to stop for coffee as it was about an hour drive, and also get back earlier in the day according to our convenience.  Ourika Valley is located at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and is known for its amazing waterfalls, scenery, and the beautiful traditional villages.  I should mention that no matter the excursion, there is always time included to stop for traditional mint tea.  We had lunch with different Berber families this day – their warmth and hospitality was surely felt in the tasty tagines we had.

December 8th: We enjoyed a later start to the day, and again stayed local.  In the afternoon we did what was supposed to be a sunset quad bike ride in the desert.  Instead of sunset, we got light rainfall so it felt chilly.  Nevertheless, we both enjoyed the experience – as we love partaking in such activities and adventures.

December 9th: This was our last full day in Marrakech.  We had originally thought to visit the beach town of Essaouira, but considering it would be a 12-hour (or so) excursion, we didn’t want to exhaust ourselves before the next day of lengthy travel that awaited us.  Instead we prayed Jumuah (Friday prayer) at Koutoubia Mosque, the largest mosque in Marrakech.  Afterwards, we visited the Yves Saint Laurent Mansion – Jardin Majorelle Mansion.  In the 80s, the property was purchased by fashion designers Yves Saint-Laourent and Pierre Berge who did restorative work to it.  The weather was cooperative – if you’re looking for insta-worthy pics, well this is one place where you’ll be sure to find a great landscape to work with 😉

December 10th: We headed out from Marrakech and started our trek home.  We landed in DFW very late Saturday evening – after two stopovers, and a very, very long travel day – we were grateful to be back home.

Couple things to note:  

• I booked flights on American Airlines about six months prior.  Even then, our award flights had 1-2 stops each way.  
• There’s so much more to do in Marrakech, and one week just isn’t enough.  If you want an authentic Moroccan experience, I definitely suggest staying in a Riad.  Our room was just right for the two of us, and everything was a walkable distance.  There were few occasions where we did take taxi rides as needed, mostly for getting to/from excursions.  
• The Souks are narrow, crowded spaces – I saw some strollers, but I kept thinking how we would have managed with our little one as the alleyways are not stroller friendly.  Even then, if you are traveling with littles, bring the stroller as you will generally be walking a lot!
• December is slow season for Marrakech – weather is slightly cooler, and there are less tourists.  If you are looking for an off-peak time to go, I’d suggest thinking about a possible visit during this month.
• Excursions/activities we did required extensive amounts of walking and hiking – I think we could have managed with our older two children, had they been there (ages 13 and 10), but definitely would have thought twice before doing with our little one (2 years old).  It’s something to keep in mind as you decide what you want to do and experience while in Marrakech, especially if you are traveling with little ones.
• Getting to Marrakech is the harder, more expensive part (but not so much if you award travel!) – once there, excursions and activities don’t cost much.  Shopping for both sides of our family was our most expensive, out-of-pocket expense (I mean….they were watching our kiddos afterall ;))