This is the year! In 2018, I got to add a new continent to my list when I visited China for the first time. This year, I am finally going to make it to Africa! I’m so excited, I can’t wait. As my loyal readers know, I recently published a book all about prepping for vacations and things that you can learn to be a better traveler. If you don’t have it yet, you can up your copy here. I get questions about prep work all the time, so for this trip, I’m going to keep tabs on all of the different steps that I take in the planning process and throughout the trip.

Here we go: Planning a vacation to Morocco having never been there. These are the steps that I take to research a new place and determine how to get where I want to go.

Step 1: Do I need a Visa?

I always start with the US Department of State’s travel website and check on the country I am interested in. Search for the country you are looking to go to and read up on the government’s information about it. As of February 2020, this is what the website tells me.

Screenshot courtesy of the US State Department’s Travel Website for Morocco in Jan 2020

No visa needed for me. Perfect! Now, on to the next step.

Step 2: When should I go?

Start with a search on weather throughout the year, local holidays, tourist crowds, and anything else of interest to you. According to Trip Savvy, it looks like the best time for me to go will be any time of year. That’s wonderful, really! I think that summer might be a little warm for my travel companion, but we’ll work through it.

Step 3: How should I get there?

Now, I move on to searching for flights into Morocco. I still use Google Flights and Expedia for things like this. Whatever sites you use is up to you. This step has its own parts to finding the cheapest flights, so bear with me.

Which city in Morocco is the least expensive to fly into?
1. Marrakesh, Fez, and Casablanca are all about the same price ~$1,200 round trip
Can I get to Morocco cheaper from anywhere else?
1. It turns out you can fly into Barcelona for ~$500 round trip and get to Morocco from there.
Are there alternate modes of transportation to get to where I want to be?
1. I use Direct Ferries when I search for sailings. I found that there are a few ports that I can put into, but the trip will be 28 hours. That seems quite long. So, I looked at Ryan Air instead. It turns out I can fly into Fez from Barcelona for about $30 one way. If I fly back to Spain from Marrakesh, it’s only another $30. That’s pretty solid savings of $640 for flights.
When are the major holidays and celebrations?
1. After a quick google search, I found TimeandDate.com. They were useful to learn about events and holidays. It looks like March/April is a good option. Few holidays, good weather, few tourists. I like all of these things.

Step 4: Look for things to do

I’m interested in heading out into the desert at some point, riding a camel, experiencing a riad in Medina in Marrakesh, perhaps a Turkish bath and of course, some great coffee. I use Expedia to research hotel prices and things to do. I like that I can search by review, location, and price. Pinterest always makes a good starting point for cool pictures and to get a high level idea.

Step 5: Transportation

Again, I’ve never been to Morocco. I know that I need to know how to get around. I am used to rail, taxis, planes, boats, and car rentals. Let’s see what this new country has.

Fez to Marrakesh: After some more researching, I find that they have a solid rail system there and according to Expedia, there are plenty of tours that take you through the Atlas Mountains from Fez to Marrakech. I stumbled on ONCF as a source for rail info. According to this website, I can get from Fez to Marrakech for 195 DH. I’ve got the middle covered.

Screenshot courtesy of ONCF’s booking website

Madrid to Barcelona: I already have the flights figured from Morocco back to Spain, so now I need to know how much it will take to get from Madrid back to Barcelona. Checking Renfe, I learned that it’ll be about $100 to get between these two cities. That’s a red flag. With another search, I learned that it’s only $70 more to fly back to Chicago from Madrid.

Why waste 5 hours on a train when you can just end the trip in Madrid? This sounds like a plan to me. I’ll do a multi-city ORD-BCN & MAD-ORD. That comes out to under $600 still. Don’t be afraid to manipulate the course to save a little time. You might even save a little money.

Step 6: What currency do they use in Morocco? How much might I need?

I learned that they use Moroccan Dirham there and 1 of those is worth roughly a dime in US dollars. That means that train ride is going to be roughly $20 one-way. That’s a pretty good price. I love CostToTravel.com, these guys break down how much things cost in different parts of the world so you know how to budget better.

It turns out that you can’t bring in more than MAD 1000 into the country and you cannot leave with more than that. It is a “closed currency”. I love learning new things. Apparently is it easy to have your money exchanged in the country. I find myself curious to the exchange rates that one might find.

Step 7: Budget

Now that I have plenty of research down, I can move onto building a budget that I can use to see if this trip is even feasible. Allowing $600 for flights, $1,000 for lodging, and an additional $400 for things to do and the train rides in the middle, the whole trip will be around $2,000. That is certainly feasible. Add in my travel partner, and we’ll likely come in under $3,000 total. I’m definitely excited about this trip.

Step 8: What will get me arrested?

I love this question in any place that I want to go. Morocco being a Muslim country draws my curiosity. I am surprised to learn that it is legal to consume alcohol in certain areas and that many people speak French. Flying a drone without permission can get you arrested and if you are walking with a local, don’t be surprised if he is stopped by officials to check his paperwork. Many thanks to The Culture Trip for their article on strange things that are illegal in Morocco. Even if you’re not planning a trip, give that article a read. Dmarge has a pretty good article with some strong cultural information, as well. My familiarity with Arabic and Muslim culture is limited, but some of the things he talks about ring familiar.

Conclusion

I’m excited. That’s my conclusion. I have been wanting to get to a new continent for a while now and I did not manage to go anywhere new last year. I’m ready. Now, there is nothing left but to book. Now, it’s a matter of watching the flight prices and jumping when they’re right. Check back for the next article when everything gets booked!

Thanks, y’all!