Handy Hints:

• Be sure to take advantage of TravelTalk’s airport transfers upon arrival (these are available to anyone arriving on a ‘pre-accommodation’ day or day one of the tour). Follow the instructions emailed to you to submit your flight details to TT to arrange.

• Print your boarding pass. Either on paper at home or at the check-in desk. Moroccans love paper!

• If you book pre-accommodation with TravelTalk, be warned, you may be sharing with someone, even before the tour starts!

Daily Expenses:

• Flight Belfast to Luton (return) £92.46 or approximately $200AUD

• Flight Luton to Marrakech £86.98 or approximately $180AUD

• Cocktail at Luton (my friend shouted this! Thanks, Josh!)

• TravelTalk Tour Fee (10 Days) £659 ($1,300AUD)

• TravelTalk 1 night Pre-Accom £35 ($75AUD)

• Transfer Marrakech to Hotel - Included in TravelTalk fee.

Hello my literary friends!

Today we start the latest TravelTalk adventure, by flying to Morocco for Exotic Morocco! Today I fly from Belfast to Luton, London after finishing a house sit in the stunning Portrush, Northern Ireland. EasyJet were fantastic, on time and a very cost effective way to get across to Africa.

After landing in Luton, I met a friend at Luton airport and had a drink at an airport bar before flying across to Marrakech together.  The flight over was only 3 hours and landed just slightly behind schedule. EasyJet departed Luton around 17:30 arriving after 21:10.

Marrakech airport is one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. Outside passport control and after luggage collection, we walked out toward the exit and found our driver waiting with a red and orange TravelTalk card at the front door. According to our driver, the airport is relatively new and quite busy during the day. We were then whisked away into the Moroccan night!

Unlike Egypt, Morocco does not require a visa for Australian travellers. However, like Egypt, I would highly recommend having a paper boarding pass, as despite the ‘newness’ of the airport, the technology still seems to be a bit lax. Have your hotel details ready as you will need them for a) your COVID paperwork and b) the passport office.

In less than half an hour we arrived at the hotel Bluesea Le Printemps and were swiftly delivered to front reception. The lobby space is open and filled with marble interiors, with walkways through to the breakfast room and bar/restaurant beside the pool.

Upon check-in, I was a bit surprised when I learned I had a roommate tonight. The reason for this surprise is that I paid for an extra night of accommodation, which TravelTalk don’t mention is ‘shared accommodation’ (as far as I can find). The only reason I decided to go with the TT hotel tonight was because it was the same price in AUD as other accommodation in the area for that night. As it turned out, it was fine, but at the time I was not particularly impressed. The rate I paid TT for the room was certainly not indicative of a ‘shared room’. Adding to the frustration, I had to press the point with the staff on the desk that I required a room key. I was told several times ‘the lady in the room already has a key’ (a single plastic swipe card). I had to explain to several people that I didn’t know her and the next day I would need a way to get back into the room independently of her because the tour didn’t officially start until 7pm tomorrow. Eventually someone relented and agreed to give me a key to the room.

Hilariously, the room we are in is a ‘twin’ but the beds are pressed together to make one very big king sized bed! Good thing we get along because at 10:30pm I walked into the room with her already in bed wearing her pyjamas, and we essentially shared a bed! 

TIPS:

• Unlike TravelTalk in Egypt, TT in Morocco is booked into hotels close to supermarkets and are easy enough to navigate around without a guide. Buy snacks! Morocco is very much like Egypt in that breakfast is early, lunch often fell between 1pm and 3pm with dinner not scheduled to commence until after 7.30-8.00pm. Pick up snacks! Supermarkets are easy to navigate and relatively cheap to shop at. Buy fruit, crackers, nuts and lots of water! Much, much cheaper to buy in a supermarket where possible than at the roadside stops.

•  Our guide told us that the tap water is fine for brushing teeth but not for drinking. Personally, I just followed the same system as in Egypt and bought water from Day 1 for this purpose. We were told by our guide to avoid ice and any salads washed in tap water, so I can’t  understand why using the same water for brushing teeth is okay. A couple of people followed this and did get upset stomachs, so if you’d prefer to avoid it all together, pick up a bottle of water from a supermarket before checking in and use it from the start.

•  Morocco is yet another ‘tip for bathroom’ country. Keep small change on hand as, even though most bathrooms had toilet paper, many had attendants requiring payment. Only one (from what I recall) did the old Egypt trick of holding the paper hostage until payment was made.