7 - 24 Mar 2019

Chefchaouen is absolutely worth visiting, but expect reality to differ from Instagram imagery — the blue medina is genuinely stunning. The city is more complex and human than the perfectly framed blue walls suggest. What makes Chefchaouen worthwhile isn't matching your Pinterest board, but learning to appreciate a place for what it actually is rather than what you dreamed it would be.

I had been dreaming about Chefchaouen long and it is my top dream destination.

Not in the vague, "one day maybe" kind of way. I mean the kind of dream where you've already planned your outfit. I knew I wanted to wear my red jacket there — the pop of colour against all that blue would be perfect for photos. So when my friend called and asked if I wanted to do Morocco together, I said yes so fast she couldn’t believe me.

What I didn't know then was that Chefchaouen — the destination I had built everything around — would turn out to be just one extraordinary chapter in a country full of them. Morocco didn't just deliver my dream. It expanded it in directions I hadn't thought to imagine.

Why Did Chefchaouen Become the Dream?

Before I get to the blue streets, let me explain the obsession.

Chefchaouen is a small city in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco, and it is almost entirely painted in shades of blue. Walls, staircases, doorways, flower pots — blue everywhere, in every variation from pale powder to deep cobalt. The locals believe blue repels mosquitoes, and so for generations they've painted everything in it. The result is a place that looks like someone had a very specific dream and then decided to build it.

I had been looking at photographs of Chefchaouen for years before this trip. It sat at the top of my travel list as the kind of destination that felt almost too beautiful to be real — and I had learned from experience that places like that can disappoint when you finally arrive. Reality rarely matches the filtered version you've been staring at online.

So I made myself a quiet deal: go with the red jacket, go with open eyes, and let whatever is real be enough.

Should You Do Morocco on a Guided Tour or Go Independently?

We booked our own flights— and engaged a ground tour operator for everything within Morocco. The company was Deep Morocco Tours, and if you're considering a guided approach, they earn the recommendation for a specific reason: they didn't drag us through tourist factory shops at every stop.

This matters more than it sounds. Shopping will take up alot of time that eat into your time and pressure you into spending. Deep Morocco Tours kept this to a minimum. We moved through the country feeling like travellers, not a captive audience.

The route covered almost the entire country in one big loop over 18 days: Casablanca → Rabat → Chefchaouen → Meknes → Fes → Merzouga → Ouazazate → Taroudant → Essaouira → Marrakesh → back to Casablanca. A full circle. A complete picture.

For first-time visitors, a guided ground tour makes genuine sense in Morocco. The country is large, complex to navigate independently, and the logistics — particularly in rural areas and the desert — are significantly easier to manage with a knowledgeable operator. If you go guided, research your operator carefully: look for reviews that specifically mention how many shopping stops they include.

What Is It Really Like to Arrive at a Medina for the First Time?

Nobody warned me about arriving at a medina with luggage.

A medina is a walled old city — essentially a fortress with an entire city living inside it. The walls are so tall that when you look up they seem to reach the sky, and the gates open onto a network of narrow alleys that branch and twist in every direction with no logic you can follow from the outside. Our first overnight medina stay meant arriving at night, pulling our suitcases behind us, and walking for ten to fifteen minutes through what felt like a maze of back lane alleyways.

I was completely disoriented within minutes. The stone walls, the flickering light from somewhere deeper inside, the sounds that seemed to come from every direction and none. If our guide hadn't been leading the way I would have been genuinely, helplessly lost.

And then — once we arrived at the riad and I stopped panicking — something shifted.

Because on the other side of all that disorientation was one of the most magical experiences of the entire trip. Riads are traditional Moroccan houses built around a central courtyard or interior garden, many now converted into guesthouses. Every corner is detailed with tilework, carved wood, and Moroccan craftsmanship. Every room holds something unexpected. Standing inside one for the first time, I understood completely why people describe staying in a medina as being transported back centuries. It genuinely feels that way.

There is no lift in a riad — the room is upstairs and the luggage has to get there somehow. Budget a dollar or two as a tip for the staff to carry bags up for you, or travel light enough to manage it yourself. And take your time exploring every corner of the riad, including your own room. Each one is different, and they reward curiosity.

Medinas exist throughout Morocco — Fes, Marrakesh, Chefchaouen and Rabat all have significant ones. The medina in Fes is considered the largest car-free urban area in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Always enter with your guide for the first time — the disorientation is real and the alleys genuinely do not follow a grid. Once you've walked the main routes a few times your spatial sense starts to calibrate.

What Did Chefchaouen Actually Feel Like When I Finally Got There?

When we start the day at Chefchaouen, I put on the red jacket.

I want to be honest about this moment because travel dreams don't always survive contact with reality, and I had been carrying this one for years. Sometimes a place you've over-imagined lands flat when you finally stand inside it.

Chefchaouen did not land flat.

The blue is everywhere and it is exactly as saturated and varied and extraordinary as every photograph suggested — but photographs don't give you the feeling of walking through it. The way each alley opens into something slightly different. The way the blue changes depending on the time of day and the angle of the light. The flower pots on windowsills. The cats on staircases. The whole town operating at a pace that feels unhurried in a way most places don't.

I had planned my red jacket for the contrast in photographs, and it worked exactly as intended. But what I hadn't planned for was how the place itself would feel — like walking inside someone else's very specific dream, and finding that it fits.

What Is the Sahara Desert Camp Experience Really Like?

Our guide told us before the Sahara leg of the trip to pack only the essentials for one night. No extra bags. No laptops. Strip everything back to what you genuinely need.

I left my charger behind. Partly on instruction, partly because I assumed — correctly — that there would be nowhere to charge anything in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

We rode camels into the desert as the sun began to lower, covering our faces with scarves against the sand and wind. In our headscarves and robes, we looked, as our guide cheerfully pointed out, like a very disoriented group of oriental Moroccans. The camel ride is slower than you expect and more meditative — you're not navigating, you're simply moving through something enormous and being present in it.

And then we arrived at the luxury camp.

Hot showers. Warm beds. Toilet facilities. A plug point beside my bunk. Wi-Fi — actual, functioning Wi-Fi — in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

I laughed out loud when I saw it. Of all the things I had mentally prepared for and packed around, a plug point in the desert was not among them. (The Wi-Fi signal only reaches the main camp area, not the individual rooms — but the fact that it exists at all still strikes me as extraordinary.)

Luxury Sahara camps vary in quality and price — research what is included before booking, as "luxury" covers a wide range. The essentials to bring for one night: warm layers for after dark (desert temperatures drop sharply at night regardless of the season), a scarf or buff for the camel ride, sunscreen, and a camera with a fully charged battery. Leave the large bags behind. The experience is the point, not the luggage.

What Else Did Morocco Show Me That I Didn't Expect?

Some of the moments that stayed with me most weren't on my original dream list at all.

The Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca The largest mosque in Morocco and the fifth largest in the world. The minaret stands at 210 metres — the equivalent of roughly 60 storeys — and is the tallest in the world. The mosque can hold 105,000 worshippers simultaneously: 25,000 inside and 80,000 in the surrounding plaza. I have visited mosques in a number of countries and there is something that consistently moves me about the architecture and the intention behind these spaces. The interior of Hassan II — the ceiling carvings, the tilework, the scale of human effort that went into every detail — was breathtaking in the most literal sense of the word.

**Casablanca (Exterior of the Mosque)**

We visited the big mosque in Casablanca named **Hassan II Mosque** (largest mosque in Morocco, the 5th largest in the world). The mosque has the tallest minaret in the word (689 feet which is equivalent to 60 stories high) and has the capacity to house 105,000 worshipers to pray at the same time (25,000 people inside the premises and 80,000 outside).

**Casablanca (Interior of the mosque)**

The architectural inside the mosque is stunning with beautiful engraving and installations. I am (till today) is very amaze and find that visiting mosque in other countries very worthwhile.

The Leather Tannery, Fes You smell it before you see it. The tannery sits within the medina of Fes and is best viewed from the leather shop terraces above — looking down into the circles of dye vats, the workers moving between colours, the hides being processed by hand using methods that haven't changed significantly in centuries. Shops at the viewing terraces will offer you mint sprigs to hold near your nose. Accept them.

**The Leather Tannery**

Instagrammer but the workers who work there have to bear with the smell

The Goats in the Argan Trees This one I cannot explain better than simply describing it: there are goats in Morocco that climb argan trees to eat from the branches. Fully grown goats. In trees. Up to four or five metres off the ground. The roadside viewing spots are staged for tourists, but the goats are genuinely capable of climbing — it's a real behaviour, not a performance. A fee may be requested if the owner spots you photographing, so be aware before raising your camera.

**The Goats in the Argan Trees**

It is tourist stage and the goats are up there whole day for fee. No fix fee but the owner just come to collect from us

Kasbah A kasbah is a fortress — built centuries ago as a seat of power, a military stronghold, or a walled citadel depending on the region. Many across Morocco have been preserved and opened to visitors, functioning now somewhere between a museum and a living historical site. Walking through one, the thickness of the walls and the scale of the construction tells you immediately that whatever was being protected here mattered enormously to the people who built it. It's the kind of place that makes history feel close rather than distant.

**Kasbah**

Fortress built centuries ago but preserved

What Should You Know Before You Visit Morocco?

Morocco operates on its own logic, and the trip goes more smoothly if you arrive knowing a few things:

Electricity and infrastructure: In some areas, the electricity supply is limited. We were told by our accommodation staff that guests were not permitted to boil their own water due to the weakness of the electrical connection. This is not universal across Morocco but is worth knowing in more rural and traditional areas.

The dryness: Morocco is an arid country. Hydration matters more than you think, particularly in the desert regions and during summer months. Carry water consistently.

Language: Arabic and Berber are the primary languages. English is understood in most hotels, riads, and tourist-facing businesses.

Tipping culture: Tipping is expected and appreciated throughout Morocco — guides, drivers, riad staff, and anyone who assists you with luggage or photography. Small amounts in local currency go a long way and are genuinely meaningful.

The people: Morocco is not a wealthy country by any measure. The people we encountered were warm, hospitable, and generous in their welcome — but the contrast between tourist experience and local reality is present and worth being conscious of rather than moving past quickly.

FAQs about Morocco Trip

How long do you need to see the whole country?

To cover Morocco in a meaningful loop — from the north (Chefchaouen, Rabat) through to the desert (Merzouga, Sahara) and back through the south (Marrakesh) — a minimum of 14 to 18 days is realistic. Shorter trips work well if you focus on a specific region rather than attempting the full circle.

What is the best time of year to visit Morocco?

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) offer the most comfortable temperatures across the country. Summer is very hot particularly in the interior and desert regions. Winter is mild on the coast but cold in the mountains and at night in the desert.

What food should you try in Morocco?

Tagine (slow-cooked meat or vegetable stew) and couscous are the foundations of Moroccan cuisine and appear across every region. Harira soup, pastilla (a sweet-savoury pastry), and fresh-squeezed orange juice are all worth seeking out. Mint tea — served sweet and poured from a height — is the social currency of the country; accept it whenever it's offered.

Do you need a visa to visit Morocco?

Visa requirements depend on your nationality. Many nationalities including Malaysian, British, Australian, and most EU passport holders can enter Morocco visa-free for up to 90 days. Check the current requirements for your specific passport before travelling as these do change.

It was a very good trip. Rich in culture, full of surprises although it is a dry country and people are poor. We as tourist are not even allow to boil hot water (according to the staff, the electricity connected is weak). A magical yet mysterious place to discover.

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