Morocco, situated in North Africa, has two coastlines the Atlantic to the west and the Mediterranean to the north and east providing beaches with a variety of facilities to suit most tastes. Morocco has many ancient towns which offer an insight into its cultural history.
For many travellers, Morocco might just be a short hop away by ferry or by one of the myriad budget airlines from Spain, but it’s a much further distance to travel culturally. The regular certainties of Europe are suddenly swept away by the arrival in full technicolour of Africa and Islam. It’s a complete sensory overload.
There is much more to Morocco than Marrakech and Casablanca although these are the most famous cities and well worth a visit. The beaches on both coasts offer a vast array of sporting opportunities where sunshine is virtually guaranteed for the whole of the year. Morocco has a wealth of ancient monuments, museums which were once old palaces, walled towns with narrow cobbled streets and shopping opportunities to satisfy the most voracious retail appetite. A Morocco holiday surely has something for everyone.
Tangier, that faded libertine on the coast, has traditionally been a first port of call, but the winds blow you quickly along the Atlantic coast to the cosmopolitan and movie-star famous Casablanca, and whitewashed fishing port gems of Asalih and Essaouira. Inland, the great imperial cities of Marrakesh and Fez attract visitors in droves as they have done for centuries. The winding streets of their ancient medinas have enough surprises around each corner to fill a dozen repeat trips. Away from the urban beat, you’ll find Roman ruins and dramatically craggy valleys to distract you.
If you really want to escape from everything, Morocco still has a couple of trump cards. The High Atlas mountains seem custom-made for hiking boots, with endless trails between Berber villages, and North Africa’s highest peak (Jebel Toubkal) to conquer. Or if you prefer someone else to do the walking, simply saddle up your camel and ride it straight into the Sahara, to watch the sun setting over an ocean of sand.