Marrakesh and beyond.

Bucket list worthy getaway.

Before I get into all the to-do's and must visit spots in Marrakesh I just want to let you know that Marrakesh has been on my bucket list for YEARSSSSS and to say the least my expectations were so high for it that I was scared to be disappointed once I got there. For that reason we never went out of our way to go there, we said that if we happen to be on that side of the globe and tickets are cheap let's do it and everything finally aligned this summer! Now, let me tell you that this also wasn't the ideal time to go as it was a summer in the desert which led to temperatures being closed to 100  F degrees, however we both agreed it wasn't bad as it wasn't humid at all. 

P.s. we were only in Marrakesh for 2 nights/3 full days so my suggestions on what to see and what to do are pretty limited! 

S T A Y. 

Thanks to Instagram that has literally planned my vacation for me! Before even going I knew where I'd want to stay at, take pictures at and what I wanted to explore. When it came to picking a hotel La Sultana Hotel was a no brainer for us! Adam was all into their design, pool while I was obsessed with overall interior, to me it was a picture perfect hotel. We got to stay in a suite (thanks to La Sultana team!) which was beyondddd amazing, if you haven't seen it on my Instagram real time you can still see it under my highlights of "Marrakesh"! Hotel is located inside of what me and Adam called a local fortress (I think that's how I spell the word lol), it was surrounded by local restaurants, cafes, markets, stores and just about a 10 minute walk from the market! Due to a great location of the hotel we didn't need anymore than 3 full days to see Marrakesh as we wanted to explore local areas instead of touristy. We spent our mornings munching on hotel's complimentary breakfast, walked around town during the day and spent evenings at local restaurants and kiosks on the street trying new foods country had to offer. 

p.s. hotel has someone that's always just outside the hotel so that he can get you a cab and tell the driver where you want to go, that way there is no language barrier! 

V I S I T. 

La Mamounia Hotel. This hotel has been on my bucket list ever since Sincerely Jules took pictures there about five years ago lol. Something about their interior design really stood out to me and I was very happy to see that it was just as beautiful in person. The hotel also has the spa that is one of the most Instagrammed spots in Marrakesh! However, to see that you must stay there and be a hotel guest. 

Touristy area. Pretty much anywhere by SLS hotel is where the "touristy" area is. Once you cross over to that part of town expect to pay x10. Ex: coca cola by the hotel was $1 , coca cola in the tourist area was $8 smh... 

Local market. Probably one of the coolest markets ever, they sell everything from souvenirs, spices to shoes and local clothes. We went during the day instead of a night time as we wanted to avoid busy times in the evening. 

Don't waste your time on: 

YSL museum. Blahhh is all I have to say for this place. While I thought it would've been a cool, large museum to visit and see I was very much wrong. It took us 10 minutes total to get through the entire place. Don't waste your time or money on it. 

Camel rides. Let the animals rent and live the life they were born to do and don't ride them! Instead of supporting tourist attractions like camel rides, you can look for them around town, take a picture with them, give locals a tip and move on with your day. Yep, I am big on animal rights as they cannot speak for themselves! 

G E T T I N G    A R O U N D. 

If you follow me along on Instagram you probably saw my stories on how a short trip to London quickly turned into staying in UK for over a week, then we went to Marrakesh, from there to Amsterdam and then to Spain... yep.. we were away for literally the entire month! Getting to Marrakesh from London was a short & sweet trip. It cost about $100 to get there and another $100 to go to Barcelona from there. 

Getting around Marrakesh could get pretty interesting as people love to bargain, once you say you need a cab they'll start out with $20..then after arguing back and forth you'll get the price to go down as low as $5 lol. I didn't know how to bargain my way down so Adam was the one doing all the work at the stores and with cabs. 

p.s. There is no uber! 

F Y I. 

Bring cash! I personally didn't see any ATM's, no businesses took credit cards so thankfully Adam had money he has exchanged and we were able to buy stuff. To put it into perspective on how cheap Marrakesh is - fresh orange juice is 1cent / cab to get across town $5 / whole pizza $4. 

Watch out. There is soooo many motorcycles there that if you're not paying attention when you're walking you will get your feet driven over - no joke! I once even felt the guy on a motorcycle touch my feet with his feet while he was driving and I was walking, so don't even think about crossing a road where you're not supposed to. 

Safety. This was our biggest concern as no one really gave us a straight answer whether it was safe to go for American tourists or not. We felt very safe! We stayed at an amazing 4/5 star hotel in a local area and were able to walk around at night there, get a cab and go anywhere we wanted without looking over the shoulder. 

Clothing. I had a head scarf on me at all times in case we decided to go somewhere extremely local. However I wore it a few times for the photos and didn't get to wear it at any places or felt like I absolutely had to wear it, as most places we went to were somewhat touristy. 

xx, Sky Naite