Thursday, December 04, 2014

4 Days Morocco Self-guided Solo Tour

Marrakesh - Ouarzazate - Casablanca tour
July 03 to July 06, 2014

“Travelling, one accepts everything; indignation stays at home. One looks, one listens, one is roused to enthusiasm by the most dreadful things because they are new. Good travellers are heartless.” ― Elias Canetti, The Voices of Marrakesh: A Record of a Visit

My 35th country to visit, 31st solo backpacking trip, 2nd country to visit in Africa, and of course, usual budget do-it-yourself itinerary from arrival to departure.

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Geographically, Morocco is characterized by a rugged mountainous interior and large portions of desert. The Arabic name al-Mamlakah al-Maġribiyah, meaning "The Western Kingdom" and Al-Maghrib, meaning "The West" are commonly used as alternate names. Morocco is composed mainly of Arabs and Berbers or a mixture of the two. Sizeable numbers of Berbers live mainly in the country’s mountainous regions — long areas of refuge for them where they preserve their language and culture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco

Ait Benhaddou

plane travel from London Gatwick Airport to Marrakesh

visa stamps on arrival Marrakesh and departure in Casablanca

bus #19 from Marrakesh Airport (just infront of exit) going to Place Jemaa

inside bus #19 going to Central Marrakesh

This another race against time, very short backpacking researched in somehow detailed manner has a compressed itinerary designed as follows; 

July 03 Thursday: Marrakesh Airport arrival and day tour
July 04 Friday: Ouarzazate tour 1st part (Ait Benhaddou, Zagora)
July 05 Saturday: Ouarzazate tour last part (Draa Valley, High Atlas)
July 06  Sunday: Casablanca city tour and airport departure 

TOTAL BUDGET : USD426 = PHP18,744 (44.34% went to plane ticket)

Basic Words to Remember;
hello - salam;   thank you - shokran;   I love you - uhibbok;   goodbye - ma'a salama!
yes/no - na'am/laa;   sorry - aasef;   please - min fadlak;   excuse me - men fathlek
toilet - al merhaad;   train station - ketar;   airport - matar

timezone - +0000H UTC;   capital - Rabat;   language - Arabic
currency - dirham 8.1 MAD = 1 USD
visa - Filipinos are visa on arrival in the Western Kingdom of Morocco 
requirements: none (very relax immigration)
 
Zagora 2D1N tour 1st stop-over

Morocco High Atlas map of tourist spots

Zagora 2D1N tour 2nd stop-over

Interesting Facts about Morocco: 
1. The best place to shop for souvenirs in Morocco is in Marrakesh.
2. Morocco is a member of the Arab League, Arab Maghreb Union, the Francophonie, Organization of the Islamic Conference, Mediterranean Dialogue group and Group of 77.
3. It is impolite to say no to ‘meat’ in Morocco.
4. The University in Fes, founded in 859 AD, claims to be the oldest university in the world.
5. Moroccans are known to be some of the friendliest people around the world.
6. In Moroccan culture, traditionally the liver and not the heart, is considered to be the symbol of love.
7. A large number of movies are shot in this exotic Country. In the year 2000, “Gladiator” was filmed here.


Place Jemaa in Marrakesh at night

camel back ride in Berber Desert camp

Casablanca corniche

Arriving from Marrakesh International Airport;
Filipinos have free pre-arranged visa requirements in Morocco regardless if transit or tour for how many times as long as the 30 days to 90 days maximum limit per entry as mandated by local immigration is not exceeded. As for me, when I encountered the Immigration Officer in Marrakesh Airport, I have my Morocco arrival visa stamp in less than 45 seconds with no single question at all. This process was one of the easiest airport entry process I ever experience.

Anyways, I divided this wonderful journey into different set of posts to be more specific on its content;



2 comments:

  1. may i know what airline you took from manila? and how much did it cost you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @annaliza; I took Air Arabia and my port of origin was in Middle East. All expenses are shown in the itinerary linked above.

      Delete

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