Going to marrakech for 4 days - How much money to bring?

gline

I am off to marrakech for 4 days soon. But i havent a clue how much money to bring, googling around doesnt seem to help much.

What is the average cost of travelling (bus/taxi etc)/food/tours compared to Ireland?

Anyone been there before any advice?

cfitz

If you want to do Marrakesh on the cheap it's easy. If you're careless it will probably be quite a bit cheaper than Ireland; if you're careful about how you spend your money it will be really cheap. One thing I've found in Morocco is that it's hard to organise things cheaply on a tight schedule - I think a laid back approach works well in Morocco.

Marrakech has expensive restaurants, fast-food chains, and cheap eating. So it's up to yourself. Any time I was there I had a car so I'm not sure what taxis cost but I don't think they're expensive. It's not a huge city anyway. I think buses out of the city are quite cheap.

Advice? Well if I was going to Marrakesh for 4 days, I'd leave plenty of time for dossing around in the Medina. I'd try the food and the fruit and the juices in the Djemnaa El Fna and nearby. I'd chat to the locals a bit. I might go to Telouet and spend a night there. The Jardin Majorelle is nice too.

I'd love to be going...

gline

Well i am planning on having 1 fancy meal in a fancy restraunt, the rest of the time il be eating in a "standard" restraunt.
I plan on using a lot of taxi's as I am not hiring a car and im not mad on buses.
Not really going for the mad nights out, maybe once in the 4 days, so wont be boozing it up.
im sure the missus will want to shop a lot though, lol, il be there to bargin them down :P

Would €400 be enough for the 4 days for 2 ppl (not including hotel, as I am counting that seperate)???

cfitz

Well it is Africa, so 'standard' might be different than standard here. I'd say it's worth doing a bit of research beforehand anyways.

Being a muslim country, nightclubs and bars won't be in abundance.

I'm not really selling this very well am I?! I'd say you'd be fine on 400 EUR, I think I'd spend less. Marrakesh is great, but it's different, it's not gonna be like Magalluf!

I spent well under 400 euro during my whole time in Morocco (10 days), including buses, taxis, hostels and all my food. We went to a really upscale, snooty cafe place out of curiosity and the coffee there was about 2.50 euro, so less than a standard coffee here! Everywhere else, we paid about 30 cents or less. Had some lovely 3 course meals for 5 or 6 euro - starters, tagine, pastries and mint tea. Paid about 3 euro for 'street food'. Taxis were usually 2 or 3 euro.

If your wife goes mad shopping, then yes you can spend more than 400 euro, just like you can anywhere. I've realised my idea of treating myself/splashing out is vastly different to some women's (especially Irish women) so maybe ask her exactly how much she's thinking of spending. It goes without saying that Morocco is not really a place to go out boozing, so you'll save a lot that way. A nice evening out could be an outdoor restaurant and then just wandering around - that seriously would cost under 20 quid.

ToxicPaddy

Sorry for digging up an old post, but just wondering, would 4 days be too much for Marrakesh or would 3 days be enough? Thinking of going for a few days in March..

Tox

EVGR

I would be interested to know if 3 days are enough in Marrakesh too?

cfitz

Well you'd definitely get a good flavour of the place in three days. I've been there a few times but I've never stayed there for more than 1 night. For me, Marrakech is a cool place to just hang around and experience rather than be rushing around to see the sights. If you went for 4 days and found you were stuck for something to do, you could rent a car coz there are lots of cool day trips you could do - Telouet, Essaouira, Tin Mal/Tizi'n'Test, Cascades des Ouzoud.

ToxicPaddy

Well Im looking around for weekend trips for the year ahead and Marrakesh wud be cool. Have been to Agadir which was like going to any spainish resort but got a taste of Morocco from a few day trips I did and would love to go back, maybe see Fez too..

Any recommendations for accommodation there? Somewhere not too expensive and central..

Tox

cfitz

ToxicPaddy wrote: »

Well Im looking around for weekend trips for the year ahead and Marrakesh wud be cool. Have been to Agadir which was like going to any spainish resort but got a taste of Morocco from a few day trips I did and would love to go back, maybe see Fez too..

Any recommendations for accommodation there? Somewhere not too expensive and central..

Tox

Well I think you'd like Marrakesh so.

The first time I was there I stayed in the Ibis hotel - it's pretty similar to the Ibis hotels in Europe, a little bit less well kept I suppose. BUT, it has an outdoor pool so that's a pretty good bonus. A few years ago it cost 40 EUR per night for a double/twin room and I doubt that's changed too much. It's in the city, but it is a bit of a walk to the Medina which is probably where you'll spend a lot of your time. If you're looking for a proper hotel for a low price in a good location, I'd say it's a good bet.

The other times I was there I stayed in a 'Riad' which is like a guesthouse. They're usually owned by French people. They look lovely and are cool places to stay, a lot of them are in really central locations. For standard facilities, they aren't as reliable as a chain hotel like the Ibis but you can ask questions before you book. The only thing I have against them is that they can feel a bit colonial - sort of like your hosts are kind of a class above the Moroccans.

These are the two I have stayed in and I was happy with both of them:
http://www.riad-maryam.com/
http://riad-diarna.ifrance.com

If you need any more info, let me know.

Amerie

Morocco is a lovely place to go...totally different but fab! cfitz knows what he is talkng about!

And maybe cfitz you'll be paying a visit once more to Morocco this year...:)

gline

ToxicPaddy wrote: »

Sorry for digging up an old post, but just wondering, would 4 days be too much for Marrakesh or would 3 days be enough? Thinking of going for a few days in March..

Tox

Id say 3 days is enough.

As mentioned, if staying anymore you would want to rent a car and do a ay trip outside the city. Not a lot to do in marrakech, more just for chilling for a few days and the weather is amazing

EVGR

Did you buy the currency in Ireland or in Morocco?

cfitz

EVGR wrote: »

Did you buy the currency in Ireland or in Morocco?

As far as I know, you can only buy the currency (dirham) in Morocco. You can withdraw cash from ATMs in Morocco too if you have Cirrus on your card.

RDM_83

If your looking for a place thats properly cheap (12 euro for a room) I stayed in this place, down a wee alley of Dja el Fna, very basic double room but they have a nice breakfast and roof terrace and the location can't be beat (however arriving at night was very confusing)
found a lot of the cheaper restaurants were no better than the street food so not really worth it 6/7 euro for Tangine rather than 2/3

http://www.hotel-imouzzer.com/

cfitz

RDM_83 wrote: »

If your looking for a place thats properly cheap (12 euro for a room) I stayed in this place, down a wee alley of Dja el Fna, very basic double room but they have a nice breakfast and roof terrace and the location can't be beat (however arriving at night was very confusing)
found a lot of the cheaper restaurants were no better than the street food so not really worth it 6/7 euro for Tangine rather than 2/3

http://www.hotel-imouzzer.com/

That looks like great value. Do any of the rooms have their own toilet and shower?

wmpdd3

Hey guys what airline did you fly with.

I'm looking for different option to the package hols available, as I can only get Sunday to Friday off work.

cfitz

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Hey guys what airline did you fly with.

I'm looking for different option to the package hols available, as I can only get Sunday to Friday off work.

I've used British Airways, through Gatwick.

yan

cfitz wrote: »

I've used British Airways, through Gatwick.

i cannot find flights to Marrakech with BA...

are you sure?

any other hints? for a short break of 3-4 days? where should i look?

cfitz

yan wrote: »

i cannot find flights to Marrakech with BA...

are you sure?

any other hints? for a short break of 3-4 days? where should i look?

Pretty sure it was, the last time I travelled with them would have been this time last year though, so perhaps they've stopped the service. You can fly there with Air France or Iberia too I think. You could also try Casablanca or a ferry from Spain but they wouldn't be much use for getting to Marrackech if it's only a short break.