A week in Morocco from Dec 28th/29th?

It's a horrible place to visit. Every second person is tying to scam you and every other second person is begging and telling you sad stories about why they need your money and won't leave you alone. As soon as you give change to anyone you have hordes of beggars following you. They have also no standards at all when it comes to hygiene and preparing food.

Maybe try the Canaries.

i was in tangier around christmas time a few years back and it was kind of surreal, we had just come from spain across on the ferry where it was obviously christmas season everywhere you went and nothing of the sort in morocco

A lot of negative comments about Morocco. Before going, we had absorbed the negative experiences of others, but we ourselves experienced none of it. Just lots of friendly people.

We went nearly the same time as you (for a cheap honeymoon). To save money, we flew into Málaga, which we know well enough to spend a night, and then took the bus to Tarifa where we spent New Year's eve, which was a wonderful place to do it. So quiet and laid back until 11pm when the whole town square turns into a really lovely street party.

Back to practicalities, at that time of year, the cheapest thing to do might be to fly to Málaga. If you get in early, you could be in Tarifa within four hours, where you might like to spend a night before taking the ferry to Tangier.

Simply walk out of Málaga airport and take the underground to the main train station (10 minutes); the bus station is beside the train station. Book a ticket to Tarifa, which goes via Marbella and Algeciras. Do it by day because the trip is quite scenic.

Tarifa town is a 5 minute walk from the small Tarifa bus stop; it's small, quaint with a nice beach and good places to eat.

Right beside the town is the ferry port, a catamaran service. Be sure to get a ferry timetable the day you arrive in Tarifa, there are two companies meaning ferries usually go by the hour.

On the Tangier side, it can be a bit of a culture shock. Be streetsmart; you'll find that it's actually absolutely fine. You can either stay one night in Tangier or get a taxi straight to the bus station (a little out of town) to go on elsewhere. In fact, memory serves that there are two bus stations, the main one (a real experience), and a 'posh' one (less of an experience).

Tangier is interesting, but I feel it's best to move on somewhere else.

Our route was Tangier (1 night), bus to Chefchaouen (3 nights), Fez (3 nights), then back to Tarifa in one day from Fez, then on to Málaga for one more night.

The Rif mountains are quite nice, and Chefchaouen is a very nice place to spend a few days. At that time of year, the Atlas mountains that far north may not be so easily accessible. Still, Morocco is a big country and if you've the time and the inclination, you could just do a couple of long bus trips south.

Of course, the alternative is to spend more and fly somewhere like Agadir, but we weren't into that and just wanted to travel independently, and we're not beach people (which also explains not visiting Essouira).

Going back to the 'hassle' issue people always seem to mention, perhaps it was the time of year (much fewer tourists), or the signals we sent out, that we were clearly a couple, but we got ZERO hassle. Quite the opposite - we really found everyone really friendly and happy to chat just to chat, it's what they do. I think what many Europeans interpret as hassle is actually hospitality and is part of their own culture, which they're proud of. That's not to say that petty theft and wolf-whistling doesn't happen.

It's a great time of year to visit Morocco because the weather is perfect. In Fez, it's warm enough, and in the Rif mountains, it's beautifully cool and crisp.

Anyway, that's our four cents.

And finally: this is where we stayed in Fez. Amazing location, rooms, service, breakfast, and value. Incredible.