Morroco

>>1166350

Morocco is a really nice country, I went there about a year ago and it inspired me to go all around the Middle East

You'll be fine with just English in the major cities and tourist areas, but it wouldn't hurt to learn a little bit of French. Even the basics would be really helpful. Don't bother with Arabic, the Moroccan accent is so strong even other Arabs can't understand it, so you'd have no chance.

For Agadir/Marrakesh, it depends on what you want to see. Marrakesh would probably be better in my opinion as it's close to the Atlas mountains and the desert, and you can get trains to the other cities fairly easily, even if trains in Morocco can be a bit shit (my train from Casablanca to Marrakesh was 2 hours late and the toilet was literally a hole onto the track). You can definitely fly into Marrakesh too, but I'm not sure about Agadir.

>>1166357
Thanks! I'll try with some basic French then.

I definitely want to check out the mountains so Marrakesh sounds perfect.

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>I definitely want to check out the mountains
That's so nice to hear instead of the usual
>is $600 a good deal for a one-night camel trek? I've only got 36 hours in the country.
I go hiking in the Atlas every year so I could answer any of your questions in that regard.
Definitely learn as much French as you possibly can. It'll make the difference between you only being able to communicate with 90% of Moroccans, or only with people who want your money. Michel Thomas+Duolingo+LP phrasebook = fast track French

Marrakech is a horrible introduction to Morocco (hasslers, scams, rudeness, etc) but there's nothing of interest in Agadir, unless you want to access the southern 1/3 of the country.

>>1166582
What cities would you recommend instead of Marrakech then? I could just fly there and head of straight away if it's that bad.

When is a good season to go hiking in the mountains? I'll probably go within half a year but I haven't decided exactly when. Would some time in Januari be a good time or is some time during spring better?

Great country, but i did not like the Moroccans. Catcalling my girlfriend when walking on the street, screaming random insults. Everybody is out for your money if they don't know you.

If you get to know them its cool, we had dinner with the grandma of a guy we met, very hospitable. But once you're out on the street again the bullshit starts. Maybe the countryside is better.

>>1166764

Marrakesh might be pretty touristy, but it is a good intro to Morocco IMO. It's one of the biggest cities in the country, and you'd be silly to miss out on the Djemma el Fna, which is probably the most famous sight in the country. If you're interested in the mountains, Marrakesh is right next to the high Atlas mountains too.

>>1166791
This >>1166766
is why Marrakech is not a good introduction to Morocco.

Was in Marrakech about a year ago, with my mother. Only went to the coast (Essaouira) and the mountains for a day besides the old city itself.

What I like about this trip: cheap (airbnb hotel about 15 euro's I think, the day trips about the same), good food, some nice places.
But indeed, the people, or atleast some of them are utter shit. We walked from the main road towards a museum, and asked someone whether the museum was in this direction as well. He told us to go back to the road and demanded money for this fact. We turned around, but he followed us with a group of little boys who shouted. After like 5 min of not so friendly following my mother ordered me to give them some money (I still regret this...). Another day some old man had to show his anger (not directed to anyone closeby) and threw a big rock only inches from my mom's feet. I probably felt too protective for my mom to really enjoy their 'culture'. So don't visit with your lover/gf/mom/granny or anyone else you feel protective towards.

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>>1168095
Sorry you had a rough time of it; I visited Marrakech with my feeble old mother a few months ago and she had a great time, I guess we were lucky.

The problem isn't Morocco-wide. Rabat, Tiznit, Meknes, Taroudant are incredibly interesting cities where nobody will bother you.
Pic related, the throngs of tourists in Rabat

>>1168162
Seconding smaller cities like Meknes - most of the people there were quite friendly, and no one bothered us. I got asked for money a handful of times maybe, but nothing out of the ordinary. There were also barely any other tourists/foreigners there, which was awesome.

>>1166582
A bit late, but what are the best hikes/destinations/camping places in the mountains?

Which section of the range is the best in your opinion?

Favourite town/village in the mountains?

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>>1168672
I can't recommend many specific hikes since my strategy is usually to just choose a random donkey path and get lost. That's the great thing about hiking in the Atlas, as long as you're on a path you know you'll end up in a village sooner or later, and there are paths everywhere.
I stay far away from Toubkal National Park because I know the people there have been corrupted by tourism. It looks epic, though. Some day I'll go.
Walking up the Dades gorge instead of driving was a nice easy two-day trek.
M'goun almost killed me, that's the most hardcore thing I've done in Morocco. The whole M'goun area is beautiful.
Look up 'Souk sebt Talmakant' on google earth. That's an awesome one if you do it in late spring or during almond blossom season.
My favorite region is the Anti-Atlas in the south. It's more arid, but still epic and the people down there are the most friendly.
>Favorite town/village
Pic related. Typical Anti-Atlas village. There's nothing special about it but it's my village.

Seriously makes me happy to hear of people thinking of Morocco as an /out/ destination

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>>1168696
Here's the mountains above Talmakant. Dunno the elevation

>>1168696
holy moly thanks man

yeah I'm really into hiking and camping, and I'm going to Morocco anyways so I wanted to get something of that vein into my trip

Planning on going in the winter though (January/February), I'm assuming it's not ideal conditions in those months?

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>>1168700
both of those photos were taken in late January. As you can see from the second one, snow isn't much of a problem unless you're doing ridge hikes, in which case you definitely need crampons.
Nights are extremely cold. You need a good down sleeping bag. You don't necessarily need a tent, but have some plan for rainy nights. buy a good quality wool jellaba in one of the cities.
You're going during almond blossom season; lucky you.

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This pic was taken somewhere between Tizi-n-Tichka and M'goun. mid-February, I think. Really interesting character to the mountains there.

>>1168705
you're the best, anon, bless your heart

Not many people mentionned Casablanca or Rabat, are they interesting as well? Also are people ok not speaking arabic there? I speak fluent French and ok spanish but don't want to seem rude to the locals. My idea was actually to land in Casablanca and then go up north and take a ferry to Spain and end my trip in Madrid.

>>1168739

When I went I thought Casablanca was a dump. It's essentially just a big third world city with none of the Moroccan character or architecture of the other cities. The only thing of any cultural interest there is the massive Hassan II mosque, but even that's pretty artificial as it was just the king's vanity project a few years ago. Casablanca is the major transport hub of the country, so a lot of people who go to Morocco end up there, but I really wouldn't recommend spending more than the minimum amount of time there.

A friend told me Rabat was beautiful, but I never went.

>>1168788
Interesting. Thanks a lot!

Heading for morocco, tangier in a few hours with the ferry from spain. Annyone who wan't to meet up? I'll travel a few weeks/months in morocco and then follow the coast to cameorun.

>>1169422
Go to Hostel Melting Pot. It's an awesome backpacker hostel and you might meet someone there who will travel with you. I think it's 16 euro per night.
It's impossible to find, though. Pay a child 10 dirham to show you the way.

Are you sailing to Tangier Med or Tangier city? If you're sailing to the city, be careful. There are a lot of predators who will meet you when you get off the ferry and try to scam you or sell you an expensive taxi. You don't need a taxi, the medina is 10 minutes walk from the ferry terminal.

>>1169422
>I'll travel a few weeks/months in morocco and then follow the coast to cameorun.
Neat. What's your route?

>>1168788
you never go to Casablanca. It's the shithole of Morocco, even for Morroccans. It's just an industrial city, people there work and that's it.

>>1169426
>Pay a child 10 dirham to show you the way.

Sorry for the rage, but man, fuck you. Really, fuck you. I stayed at that hostel, found it on my own, following the instructions on the hostel site. And as you're getting closer to it there's handmade signs and writings on the wall telling you where to go. Half the fun of Morocco is getting lost in the Sokos, walking around those narrow streets trying to figure things out. Man, really, have a child show you? Are you unable to deal with being disoriented for a couple of minutes? Goddamn it. You can even stop at the little food shops and kiosks along the way and ask them, they'll point you in the general direction. Fucking hell. Do you also want the kid to hold you by the hand, in case you trip and fall? Fuck. Alright, rant over.

>>1169422
Hey, tangier is awesome. Hang out at the coffee shop right in the middle of the Soko, the petit Soko I mean, and also check out the cafe by the big roundabout in the Grand Soko, it's called The Rif, cool vibe. You can just sit there and talk to both expats and locals alike. And just walk the streets, get lost, go to every cafe you see in the Soko, each one has its own personality. Try to go up to the terraces if you can.