No top-10 listicles.
Photo: Uwe Brodrecht, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Slow, opinionated dispatches on when to come, where to go first, what to skip and how to spend your dirhams well. Read before you book — and certainly before you pack.
One slow, in-house piece every month. No commissioned writers, no sponsored takes — just the answers we already give our guests on WhatsApp, written down properly.
Marrakech · June 2026 · 9 min read
Most people try to do Marrakech in 36 hours and leave exhausted. Here is the three-day rhythm we recommend for first-timers — the medina, Majorelle, an Atlas day, what to skip and where to eat.
Read the pieceRe-read every season by our team. If anything is out of date we annotate it at the top of the piece — Morocco changes slowly, but it does change.
June 2026 · 10 min read
Merzouga or Zagora? Standard or luxury? We map the trade-offs in distance, dunes, silence and price — and what a night under canvas actually includes — with the camps we still send guests to.
June 2026 · 8 min read
The UNESCO earthen citadel south of the Atlas — its history, the films shot there (Gladiator to Game of Thrones), and how to visit properly from Marrakech or Ouarzazate.
June 2026 · 8 min read
Big dunes and a longer drive, or accessible desert closer to Marrakech? We compare Erg Chebbi and the Zagora/Chigaga route on dunes, drive time, crowds and cost.
June 2026 · 7 min read
Camel arrival, the tents, dinner under the stars, the cold nights, the sunrise on the dunes — and the difference between a standard and a luxury Sahara camp.
June 2026 · 8 min read
The etiquette and the mechanics of bargaining — fair price ranges, the phrases that help, what's actually fixed-price, the set-ups to sidestep, and why walking away is your strongest move.
May 2026 · 6 min read
Guides, drivers, riads, camps, restaurants — who to tip, how much, and in what currency. The honest, no-guesswork numbers we give our own guests before every trip.
June 2026 · 7 min read
No 'breathable convertible trousers'. A real packing list that changes with the month and the route — medina, mountains, coast and desert all ask for different things.
June 2026 · 8 min read
Road conditions, police checkpoints, city parking, fuel and the real cost trade-off — and why most of our guests end up with a private driver instead of a rental.
March 2025 · 7 min read
How to get around Casablanca: the modern Casa Tram network, red petits taxis and shared grands taxis, the two main train stations (Casa-Port and Casa-Voyageurs), the airport train from Mohammed V, ride apps and walking the central and Corniche areas.
March 2025 · 8 min read
Honest things to know before visiting Casablanca: it's Morocco's modern business metropolis, not a postcard medina. What to expect — the Hassan II Mosque, the Art-Deco downtown, the Ain Diab Corniche, the food scene, heavy traffic and the tram, a cosmopolitan café culture, dress, cash and cards.
April 2025 · 7 min read
Long layover at Mohammed V Airport (CMN)? Whether you can leave the airport, visa and re-entry checks, the airport train vs a taxi, how much time you really need, and seeing the Hassan II Mosque — with honest buffers for immigration and traffic.
June 2026 · 8 min read
Every way from Mohammed V Airport (CMN) into the city and on to Marrakech: the ONCF airport train via Casa-Voyageurs, official taxis and private door-to-door transfers — with honest journey times, the 240 km A3 drive, and which to choose.
June 2026 · 8 min read
Every honest way to cover the 240 km from central Casablanca to Marrakech: the ONCF intercity train from Casa-Voyageurs (about 2h40–3h), where the Al Boraq high-speed line actually fits, the A3 motorway drive and the bus — with real times and which to choose.
June 2026 · 9 min read
A practical rundown of getting around Morocco: the Al Boraq high-speed line (Tangier–Rabat–Casablanca), conventional ONCF trains to Fes, Meknes and Marrakech, the CTM and Supratours buses that reach where trains don't, grands and petits taxis, when a private driver makes the most sense for the south and the desert (no railway runs south of Marrakech), domestic flights, and getting from Casablanca airport into the city — with times and fares hedged to the official sources.
June 2026 · 8 min read
An honest, practical answer to money in Morocco: it's still largely a cash economy, the dirham (MAD) is a closed currency you get on arrival from ATMs or official exchange bureaux, and cards work in hotels, bigger restaurants and modern shops but rarely in the souks, taxis or rural areas. Plus how to budget in qualitative tiers, tipping, haggling and the situations to watch for — amounts kept general, with a steer to check current rates.
June 2026 · 8 min read
For reliable data, buy a cheap local prepaid SIM (Maroc Telecom, Orange or inwi) at the airport or in any city with your passport, or set up a travel eSIM before you fly. Wi-Fi is common in riads, hotels and cafés but can be patchy, so mobile data is worth having. Plus local SIM vs eSIM, the three networks, 4G and 5G status, where to buy on arrival and the Wi-Fi reality — fast-moving specifics kept general, with a steer to check current coverage and prices.
June 2026 · 10 min read
The world's largest car-free urban area is a 13th-century city still running in real time. The tanneries, the Qarawiyyin, the art of getting pleasantly lost — and when to hire a guide.
June 2026 · 9 min read
Bessara at dawn, mechoui, seven-vegetable couscous on a Friday, the street-food stalls worth queuing for — what to order, where, and how to eat well whatever your diet.
June 2026 · 9 min read
Jemaa el-Fnaa stalls, the best tagine and tangia, where locals actually eat, street snacks, and the rooftop tables worth the splurge — how to eat well in the Red City.
March 2025 · 8 min read
A Casablanca food guide built around the city's own identity: Atlantic seafood, the Marché Central where you pick your fish, port and Sqala dining, French-colonial café and brasserie culture, street food (sardine sandwiches, bocadillos, snail soup) and modern Moroccan fine dining.
June 2026 · 7 min read
Imlil, the Ourika valley, Berber villages and waterfalls are an hour from the Red City. What a good day actually looks like — and the tourist traps to drive past.
June 2026 · 7 min read
Three hours from Marrakech, the Atlantic's most likeable town — fortified ramparts, a working fishing port, kitesurf wind and a music soul. How to spend a perfect 48 hours.
June 2026 · 9 min read
The honest, current picture — solo and women travellers, the common souk set-ups, which areas to know about, health and the road. What we actually tell our own guests.
June 2026 · 8 min read
Daily spend, where the money goes and the honest ways to save without missing the point of the trip — with sample budgets in USD for shoestring, mid-range and comfortable.
March 2025 · 7 min read
When to visit Casablanca, month by month: the city's mild Atlantic climate, warm summers with morning sea-cloud, mild wet winters, and why spring and autumn are the most reliable. Typical temperatures, what to pack and how to plan.
April 2025 · 7 min read
While the interior bakes, the Atlantic keeps Casablanca comfortably warm — humid and hazy, but milder than Marrakech or Fès. The Aïn Diab Corniche at its liveliest, the Hassan II Mosque in summer light, and honest notes on a working city that isn't a beach resort.
March 2025 · 7 min read
A neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide to where to stay in Casablanca: the Art-Deco downtown centre, the Corniche at Ain Diab, Gauthier and Maarif, and near Casa-Port station — which area suits which kind of trip.
April 2025 · 7 min read
An honest trip-length guide. Casablanca is Morocco's modern gateway city, not a multi-day sightseeing destination — half a day to a day suits most visitors. The Hassan II Mosque, the Art-Deco downtown and the Corniche, plus when two days (and a Rabat day trip) make sense.
June 2026 · 8 min read
Ranked day trips from Casablanca with honest distances and times: Rabat's monuments under an hour away by train, the Portuguese cistern at El Jadida, the oyster lagoon at Oualidia, art-filled Azemmour — and why Marrakech is better as an overnight than a day.
June 2026 · 9 min read
Morocco is co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal, and Casablanca is a host city with a major new stadium under construction. Honest, forward-planning guidance — what's confirmed, what isn't yet, how early to book, where to stay, what to do around the matches and getting around — with everything World-Cup-specific hedged until officially announced.
June 2026 · 8 min read
An honest walkthrough of entering Morocco: who can visit visa-free and for how long (the 90-day norm), what the AEVM electronic authorisation is and who it affects, passport validity, what to have ready, what immigration is like at Casablanca (CMN), and how to extend — every rule hedged, with a clear steer to confirm with official sources before you travel.
June 2026 · 8 min read
The honest picture: Casablanca is a normal, busy big city, and the real risks are petty theft and persistent touts, not violent crime. Which areas are easy, how to handle taxis and scams, solo and women travellers, after-dark habits, the traffic — and the Moroccan emergency numbers worth saving.
June 2026 · 7 min read
What a riad actually is, which neighbourhoods suit which travellers, and what to look for before you book — so you get the courtyard, the calm and the location right.
June 2026 · 9 min read
Rugs, leather, lanterns, ceramics and argan — where to find the real thing in the medina, how to bargain without stress, and how to get it all home.
June 2026 · 11 min read
The classic one-week loop, day by day — Marrakech, the High Atlas, Aït Ben Haddou, the Dades, the Merzouga dunes and Fes — with honest drive times and what to skip.
June 2026 · 6 min read
Why it's poured from a height, what 'Berber whisky' means, how it's brewed and the etiquette of accepting a glass — the small ceremony at the heart of Moroccan hospitality.
June 2026 · 8 min read
From the blue lanes of Chefchaouen to the dunes of Merzouga and the kasbahs of the south — where to shoot, when the light is right, and the etiquette of the lens.
June 2026 · 8 min read
The beloved 1942 film was shot entirely in Hollywood, never in Morocco — so the romantic, foggy Casablanca on screen is pure studio magic. But the real Rick's Café exists (opened 2004), and the real city has its own rewards: the Hassan II Mosque, an Art-Deco downtown and the Corniche. The film vs the place.
June 2026 · 9 min read
Where to go, how to pace it, the riads that work for families, camel rides and food kids will actually eat — the practical things we tell parents before they come.
June 2026 · 7 min read
Why it's painted blue, what to actually do there, day trip versus overnight, the best photo spots and how to get to the Rif's most photogenic town.
Tell us your dates and what caught your eye in these guides. A real person in Casablanca replies with an itinerary and a fixed written quote within 24 hours. Ask on WhatsApp
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