Just how easy is it to travel to, and around, Morocco?

AZDEAN: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Destination Morocco podcast, your guide to the magic and mystery of Morocco. This week, we're tackling a question many of you have asked us in the past, just how easy it is to get to Morocco, whether you're dreaming of a camel ride in the Sahara, losing yourself in the souks of Marrakech, or sipping mint tea in your riad.[00:01:00]

The journey to Morocco might be easier than you think. we'll walk you through via requirements, flight options, and everything else you need to know to start planning your Moroccan adventure. So, buckle up, listeners, and get ready to discover how accessible this breathtaking country really is. Sam, welcome back to Destination Morocco podcast.

SAM: Thank you very much, Azdean.

AZDEAN: So we're going to start. you know, we have done some of these questions in the past, on and off, but this time we just put in this together, all of it, just to see how easy it is to really travel to Morocco in terms of transportation, visa requirements, accommodations, availability, international hotel brands in Morocco, local brands and stuff like that.

So, Sam, we're talking about the U. S. market, and that's our number one, travelers, the second one is Canada, So to travel to Morocco, [00:02:00]

SAM: No, they don't need a visa to travel to Morocco for U. S. citizens.

AZDEAN: I see. And how long can they stay without a visa in Morocco?

SAM: They can stay up to 90 days in Morocco.

AZDEAN: Okay. Now let's say somebody wants to stay over 90 days in Morocco. What can they do to extend their stay?

SAM: To extend their stay, actually, they should just go to northern part of Morocco, near, Tangier. They can go to Ceuta, or they can just travel to, Al Khousirat for one hour, and then they stamp their, their passport and come back to Morocco, and they will have another three months.

AZDEAN: Okay. Perfect. Also, they can go somewhere else in a different country, but those are the shortest distances that they can do. So in Morocco, there's two, two cities, Ceuta and Melilla, where they can do that. unless if they want to go somewhere else and That's really good. Thank you for that, Sam. So the next question that I have is actually about passport.

Uh, we [00:03:00] have learned in the pandemic, that passports nowadays take a little bit longer than normal to get it back. And I know that there are a lot of people, they have traveled and they got stuck in all the destinations that they have traveled to with their passport being expired at some point, because the borders were closed and nobody can travel in and out.

So what are the recommendations for the passport? If you're traveling overseas from the U. S., you need three months, six months, or even more for your passport to be valid when you come back, to the U. S.?

SAM: Yes, Azdean, this is a very good question. So your passport should be valid for at least nine months beyond your intended stay in Morocco, just to avoid this. And also you have to make sure that your passport is not damaged. That's

AZDEAN: Okay. So let me just clarify that. So basically what you're saying is, let's say I'm coming back to the US from Morocco in January, let's say, uh, January 1st, then, my passport needs to be [00:04:00] valid until September of that same year.

SAM: right. Yeah, that's right. At least, at least nine months.

AZDEAN: Okay. Perfect. Thank you for clarifying that. So, moving on to the next question that I have I know A lot of people may not be familiar with Morocco, especially in the U. S., but everywhere else people are familiar with it, especially Europe. But I wanted to ask you, what are the options in terms of flights to Morocco?

I know when we travel from the U. S., we have options. You can go through Europe, you can go through Asia. What are the options that travelers nowadays have living in North America, the U. S. and Canada? Please, Sam.

SAM: Yes. Thank you very much because Azdean, we received this question many times from our listeners. So, uh, from North America, there is a few options where you can travel directly to Morocco, especially to Casablanca. there is flights from Boston, from, uh, Miami, from, uh, Montreal or Montreal in [00:05:00] Canada.

So there is New York direct flights to Casablanca as well. And there is Washington DC. Also, there is a direct flights to Casablanca and Rabat.

AZDEAN: Anarabat. Okay, that's really, really important. I just want to add something else to what you just said, Sam, a lot of these airlines, they have affiliation with Rwayal Air Maroc or LAGAM, which is the, the, the National Moroccan Airline. airline for example, in Miami, they have an affiliation with American airline in New York.

They have it with JetBlue. So, uh, you have a lot of options with Air Canada. I think Air Canada flies, all the way to, to Casablanca and they're, um, and they're well, most of the time, and also. there's going to be new options for us travelers to get to Morocco. the first one is going to be in October 31st.

There's going to be an airline direct flight from New York to Marrakech, all these flights that Sam has mentioned, you fly to Casablanca. And some of them to Rabat, but this is the first one that is going to be flying to Marrakech, October 31st. And [00:06:00] it's going to be an affiliation with the United Airlines.

And then, during the pandemic, unfortunately, Chicago was supposed to be added to the list, but now it's back to the list. So in a year or so, Chicago is going to be added. So you'll be able to fly from Chicago directly to Morocco. And then I believe in 2027, or so, a line will be added from Dallas, Texas, to Casablanca as well.

So, you have a lot of options in terms of getting to Morocco from the U. S. and then if you want to fly indirect, then you can go either through, like we said, through Europe, through Asia, but these are the direct flights that you can do from the U. S. and Canada at this point. so the next, stop that we have, or the next question that I have, Sam, a lot of people, they may not be familiar with Morocco. So this is a. We have received so many questions. and this is a really, really important question to, to showcase Morocco, the diversity of Morocco. And also when it comes to accommodations, the international brands that are in Morocco.

can you mention some of them? Can you just [00:07:00] highlight some of them, for example, so that way the audience, they know, Hey, you know, there's a lot of luxury hotels in Morocco as well. I would say probably over 200 luxury hotels. are in Morocco right now. A lot of people have options, you know, premium, luxury, mid luxury.

So there's, there's a lot of options to stay in Morocco. So can you give us some of those brands, please?

SAM: Yes, Azdean, thank you, uh, because this is very interesting and, audience may don't know maybe about the luxury, a very luxury and high end accommodations we have in Morocco. So we can just mention a few of them for international brands. So we can start with Marrakech, for example, uh, Amanjina, Amanjina Marrakech.

Thank you. It's a luxury international brand. There is, in Rabat, there is Kunrat Rabat Arzana. In Marrakech as well, there is Fairmont Royal Palm of Marrakech. There is Fairmont Tezi Palace [00:08:00] in Tangier. There is Four Seasons, Four Seasons Luxury in Casablanca. There is Four Seasons Luxury in Marrakech.

There is, um, Mandava. Mandarin Oriental in Marrakech. There is Nubo Hotel in Marrakech, which is, uh, you know, about the story of it. Azdean will emphasize in this. There is the Oberwa of Marrakech. there is the Sainte Rugie Tamouda Bay. Resort in Titouan, which is very interesting because this is the only luxury accommodation in Titouan and it's very, very, very luxury stay for the people searching for beautiful and luxury resorts in the northern part of Morocco.

So this is, yeah, and

AZDEAN: this is incredible. Thank you, Sam, for this list. and these are just some of the luxury brands. We, there's Marriott, there's different Marriott brands, Holiday Inn, all type of US or Western brands, [00:09:00] in Morocco.

SAM: Hotels, Azdean, yeah.

AZDEAN: Accor, Melia Hotel. There's a lot of, uh, different varieties. We have the St.

Regis. We have, I think four. Four season hotels in Morocco, two in Marrakech, so it's a really, really diverse accommodation. and the stay can vary from a couple of hundred dollars a night to a couple of thousand dollars a night, depending on your choice, really.

So now we have talked about. the international brands, Sam, but also would like for you, if you can please highlight some of the local brands, some of the, the local, maybe riads, that are also luxury, and we can do, you know, city by city, for example, just to give the audience an idea where those brands are.

if they want to make their travel arrangements, if they want us to make those travel arrangements for them. So can you, can you do that? And we can start with Marrakech, please.

SAM: Yeah, Sure, Azdean. I can start with Marrakech. When in Marrakech, you can choose, La Mamounia, La Mamounia Hotel. which is one of [00:10:00] the luxury accommodations with a long history dated back to the 19th century. by the way, in this hotel, uh, Mr.

Churchill, stayed in this luxury accommodation in the past. Also, I can mention Royal Mansour,. which is a very high end hotel starting from, uh, $ 600 to $25, 000 a night, and one of the best, and you can choose between suites and riads as well inside this beautiful, iconic accommodation in Marrakech.

So 

AZDEAN: quick question. My apologies for the interruption. Sam, you said the Royal Mansour, Marrakech, it has riads. How many riads do they have? and also want to make a little bit of a difference between staying in the riad in the Royal Mansour versus staying at the hotel in the Royal Mansour, please.

SAM: Yeah. Yeah, that's right. So the riads they have five luxury riads they are similar to the other riads in the old Medina, for example, but those [00:11:00] ones when you stay in the riad, you still have accessible to the pool, to the spa, to the restaurant of the riad, uh, you have like, uh, many other amenities in this accommodation, moving on, for example, to Casablanca.

Casablanca, there is no riads but there is very much everything else. So, there is Four Seasons, which is built on Atlantic Ocean, Cornish of India, in Casablanca. There is the Royal Mansour, which is recently renovated. It's just opened last year. also there is, uh, Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, which belongs brand of Regency and there is in Morocco, there is in Agadir, there is in Tanjir also.

So in Fes, in Fes, you have also the choice. luxury accommodations between riad and hotels. So in Fes you can stay in riad Fes Relais & Châteaux, the name of the riad is Relais & [00:12:00] Châteaux. You can stay in Riad Amine, Riad el Amine Hotel & Spa . the riads in Fes is just, um, we can say they are iconic, they are unique. You can see this leisure Fes inside, which, which distinguish them from the others in Marrakech, for example. If you remember last time in the summer, we visited this, this, this beautiful hotel. So you can give more details about, about, about the hotel. Sure.

AZDEAN: Thank you. Thank you, Sam. So basically there, there are luxury hotels throughout Morocco and, you know, in the North side, especially in the South side, definitely has its options as well. But also, you know, when we talk, for example Merzouga, when we talk the desert, the Sahara.

are there any options for luxury accommodations in terms of camps, in terms of, privacy, in terms of, the difference? Also, if you, if you would tell us a little bit of the difference between Urg Shigega, Urg Shibi, and Merzouga, where are all they located? And, and where should people go in one place versus the next one, [00:13:00] please, Sam.

SAM: Yes, so most of the people, they don't know, for example, what is the difference between Chigaga and Merzouga. So Chigaga is the, they are all in the, in the southern part. South East part of Morocco, but Merzouga is to the other side, to the left side, and Erg Chigaga to the other side.

When it comes to luxury accommodation, in Merzouga, you have multiple of choices from, luxury camps, most of them, they have air conditions, they have beautiful, beautiful tents, with the options, you can do cooking class, you can do some stuff like this.

So, the difference between Merzouga and Chigaga so, the dunes in Merzouga, the color of the dunes are green. Gold and in Chigaga the color of the sand is brown. So, in Merzouga, you still have like luxury hotels. If you don't like to stay in the camp, if you have two nights or three nights, you can stay on luxury.

They have five stars, five star accommodations We can mention, for example, she Luca. unlike [00:14:00] the other side of Erg Chigaga we have only luxury, camps. with tents, of course, with options you can emphasize, the different options that you can have, including camel ride and stuff.

AZDEAN: Okay, thank you for clarifying that. It's, it's, it can be confusing to a lot of people. So, that's the, the biggest difference is one of them has, the tents, um, the camp and the riads or the hotels. One just have the camps. Um, so that's really, really important for a lot of people to know.

So now we just, uh, we have talked about accommodations. We've talked about a few things. Now we need to talk about transportation. When do you book, A tour or we plan a tour for you. The transportation is included. It's whether it's a private tour or a small group tour or large group tour, but then for the people that are traveling just by themselves.

So this is the information for them, really, for the solo travelers, for the, the backpackers, for people who want to discover Morocco on their own. when it comes to, to travel in between cities in Morocco, what type of transportation can people really depend on and [00:15:00] utilize in doing so?

SAM: So I can start first with domestic flights In Morocco, for the long distances that you can use, when you want to travel from, Casablanca to Fes, or from Tangier to Fes, or from Fes to Marrakech, because the drive could take like between 6 hours to 10 hours from, Fes to Marrakech, so there is like two, airline, or three airline companies if you want, right now, there is Royal Air Maroc, Morocco, as you mentioned before, it's uh, a local, uh, airline company.

There is Air Arabia, Arabia, it's, they, they operate mostly under the Royal Air Maroc, even. They are independent. And, uh, recently from last year, we have Ryanair. So they signed a contract with the, with Moroccan government to start the domestic flights between different cities in Morocco except the Western of Morocco.

There is only from Agadir to the to the other part of Morocco. There is so now that you know, [00:16:00] uh, up to now and they wish in the future, they will, they will start those lines.

AZDEAN: Okay, so just to add to what Sam has said, you know, the biggest player, obviously it's, uh, Royal Air Morocco, which is the, the local carrier. And then last year, Ryanair, this is, this is a major deal for the travel industry in Morocco, because nowadays, uh, a lot of people used to travel by, by train from city to city and stuff like that.

As I'll give you an example, if you were to travel from Marrakech to Fez, it's cheaper to fly and obviously a lot quicker than you using the train. So, if you're going to be traveling in Morocco using train, uh, this is one of the good options. Just take a look at, you know, Ryanair options.

Um, they're probably going to save you some money. And we have the website, for example, for Royal Air Maroc. It's, royal air maroc.com. And then Air Arabia, which is, uh, like, uh, Sams, it's part of the umbrella of Royal Air Maroc, which is airarabia.com [00:17:00] and then ryan air.com.

Uh, so there's, there's quite a bit of options to travel within Morocco. Now the other thing that I wanted to talk about is. Is people that are traveling by train. We, we're going to move to the, uh, the next question that I have is how expensive or efficient is the Office National, des Chemins de Fer, which is, uh, the national, rail road, if you would, and amongst them, the Boraq, which is the fastest train in Morocco now.

So you have options, to travel via train in Morocco and their website is www.oncf.ma, that's the website and you can, you can see their schedule and book accordingly. And now, you know, just like, you know, with Ryanair, they're really changing the game in terms of traveling Morocco.

So just, uh, look them up, all of them see, which one is, is a really good fit for you. So, can you tell us a little bit about traveling by train in Morocco, Sam, please?

SAM: Yes. Thank you, Azdean. first I want to just mention [00:18:00] something important. you just mentioned the high speed train in Morocco, which is Al Boraq. So this is linking from Casablanca to the north of Morocco right now. And in a few months they will extend it to Marrakech.

And to the east part, which is, uh, Fes, uh, Taza, Tel, Oujda, Oujda, which is the border with Algeria. And for the other parts of Morocco, we have like trains, first class and second class. Which is, they are good, very good, if you want, to use it to travel between, Marrakech to, to Casablanca, from Marrakech to Rabat, if you want to go to Tangier, you can just take Alboraq, from Casablanca to Tangier. So this is the, the options, that we have, for the trains, Morocco.

AZDEAN: Thank you. I want to add something else because I know I've seen these, questions sometimes on social media. to buy these tickets, the best way to do it is online. because sometimes when you go to the station, you don't know where to go. You don't know, how to buy your tickets. Normally, [00:19:00] there's a kiosk and it's self served.

You can just. Pay and get your ticket. But sometimes you'll see somebody standing next to that kiosk and they will not let you buy it directly. They say, Oh, I'll take care of it for you. I'll buy it, blah, blah, blah. But then they expect you to pay them. So, uh, you know, just, just be careful. You can do this on your own by yourself.

Do it online. be proactive. don't wait until the last minute and don't wait until you get to the station to buy your tickets. So, now we talked about, the air travel. We talked about. trains, we want to move to, in Morocco, they're called cars, uh, and here they're, we call them motor coach or bus travel.

So what can you tell us about bus travel in Morocco, moving from city to city or even within the city, if you would please, Sam, but most importantly from city to city.

SAM: Yeah, so in Morocco, we have like two main, uh, famous companies that you can use for land transportation, which is called CAR, or bus travel in Morocco. You can use from the cities who [00:20:00] don't have train. Let's start for example, from Marrakesh.

So the end of the train is Marrakesh. When we are talking about southern part of Morocco and do west part of Morocco. We're talking about Agadir, we're talking about Tiznit, we're talking about Dahla, and also from Marrakech to Essaouira as well. One of the must see cities in Morocco. so there is two companies.

One is called CTM. CTM. which is one of the oldest, oldest companies in Morocco since 1928. we have Supratour. So you can emphasize more their websites and, and, and, and stuff. So we have Supratours, Supratours, which is also, it's, it's a company that belongs to the ONCF, to the train company.

So let's say if you want to travel from Casablanca to Agadir, you can buy the same ticket. From the same company, and you use train from Casablanca to Marrakech, and you use this bus, which is called Supratour [00:21:00] from Marrakech to Agadir. So we don't need to buy like two tickets at the same time.

This is the advantage of this company.

AZDEAN: Yes. Yeah. Uh, CTM, we call it set, locally, then Supratours. These are really, really some of the luxury amazing, companies to work with. I, I used both of them. CTM was really popular back in the nineties. Then it kind of went down in the early two thousands, but they're back again. But Supra is definitely, it's, it's luxury.

I, I love both of them. And I traveled with both of them. Like Sam said, you know, if, if you're going to be traveling by yourself and you want to explore the oceanic side of Morocco on, you know, the Atlantic ocean, there's, many, many areas that, the train does not travel, but you can go there by Supratours. Get your tickets, and have fun.

So, and again, if you're going to be planning your tour in Morocco on your own, you're just going to explore. So you have a lot of options. but you just have to do a little bit of your homework, and expect some delays, of course, and just, uh, plan accordingly, and enjoy it. it's going to be a lot of fun.

So Sam, as we're getting close to, [00:22:00] to the end of this episode, this is a really short episode, but we just wanted to, to really showcase how easy it is to travel to Morocco. And then in the next few episodes, we have mentioned some hotels. We're going to. Dig deep, into the accommodations and the luxury accommodations in Morocco, because there's so much to see and so much to explore and so many places to stay and have fun.

a lot of people, we, we realized, when they did their homework and research, they get too many, too much information and sometimes it's confusing. So we're going to just hone in and have those accommodations ready for you to explore, to look into if you're going to travel, or if you're going to have somebody plan your tour for you like us.

so Sam, do you have any other questions that I should have asked you, but I didn't, or do you have anything else you want to add before we conclude this episode?

SAM: Yeah, sure, Azdean. Thank you. Uh, what I want to add is just, we have, talked about luxury accommodations in Morocco. So we have in each city, we have luxury [00:23:00] accommodations, for example, in Ouarzazate, it's a small city and a famous destination. We have luxury accommodation in even in Aît Binhaddou, near the kasbah of Aït Binhaddou there is a luxury accommodation. If you remember last, summer, we stayed in, that very luxury and high end riad in Ouarzazate, which is called Oz Palace, uh, wherever you can see in Erfoud, for example, in , in, Midelts, even for example, in Chefchaouen, so there is everywhere, like the accommodation as you said.

We, we, I wish in another episode we'll emphasize and give more informations about this. And, um, what, what I want to add is just, Morocco. is, is totally different, of what most of the people think because it's, it's a very developed country. And when you're traveling in Morocco, you still enjoy the magic of the country and you still enjoy luxury, mixed with the traditions and the heritage of the [00:24:00] imperial cities of Morocco.

AZDEAN: Sam, thank you so much. It's always, always a pleasure to have you and talk to you and pick your brain. A lot of good content, a lot of good information, and I definitely learn from you every time. So, uh, we're very grateful for your knowledge. We really, really appreciate you. So there you have it. Your ticket to Morocco is just a few clicks or a phone call away.

With accessible visa requirements, plenty of flight routes, and modern transportation options within the country, there has never been a better time to travel to Morocco than now. So, let us help you plan your dream Moroccan getaway today. Until then, happy travels.