Eating, lounging and soaking up the souks in Marrakech

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
3
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
8
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
6
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
8
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
67 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
192nd/454
Top 40%
continent
Africa
country
Morocco
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$70 (typically $20 - $110)
Time of year visited
October
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Marrakech is a cracking spot for a short break, especially to escape the European winter.  I’m writing this a few years later so only a very short entry, but my 4 tips after spending 3 days there:

 

Tip #1 Marrakech has 2 sides – the first side is the mayhem of it all, with the markets and busy streets.  The second is the hidden and private residences that often sit behind the non-descript walls in what appear to be super dull streets.  You can be walking down one of these streets and then suddenly knock on the right door and find yourself in a little contained oasis paradise.  Very much part of the allure.

Tip #2 So, it pays to do a bit of research to see which of these little hidden paradises you’d like to check out.

Tip #3 Get yourself lost in some of the narrow chaotic medina lanes – you’re going to get lost anyway, so just embrace it!

Tip #4 See if you can arrange yourself a day trip into the nearby mountains, which feel a world away from the business of Marrakech.  This was probably our highlight.

Highlights

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#1 Wandering through the famous souks, trying to find a bargain and trying to come out the same way you came in

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#2 Taking a trip to the gorgeous nearby mountains and to see the baked terracotta villages

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#3 Finding that mini oasis roof tucked away from the madness

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#4 Getting lost in the tiny medina lanes that are so famous in Marrakech

Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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