I feel like Marrakech is somewhere you can come back to time and time again – and I don’t say that often about places! The last time I was here was in 2022 with my Mum and it was very different because of COVID, so I was super excited to come back. Over the last few years, I’ve been saving a list of ‘must-dos’ and ‘must-sees’, so it was about time to check them out…
Day 1
We stayed at Be Live Collection Marrakech Adults Only, which is an adults-only hotel about 15-20 minutes outside of the city. Although staying in a riad is a great experience and perfect for a long weekend, I
really enjoyed staying in a bigger hotel with a pool away from the chaos of the medina. There were regular free shuttles into the centre, or a taxi was about £10, so it was super easy.
We landed in the evening, which meant we just arrived in time to check in and get settled, ready to properly start our holiday tomorrow!
Day 2
On our first full day, we headed over to Le Jardin Secret, followed by a delicious lunch at La Famille – a
vegetarian restaurant with a small menu that changes daily. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting lost in the souks and just admiring all the shops, smells and sounds. Although there aren’t any cars, make sure you watch out for the scooters that zip through the narrow streets! I’d also really recommend downloading offline maps (Maps.me or Google Maps) to navigate around without using loads of data. You’ll also need cash in Marrakech – for buying things and for taxis but restaurants all take card.
After a busy few hours, we headed to El Fenn rooftop for cocktails which is a MUST! It’s on the pricier side but the drinks are delicious and the whole place is a vibe. We ended the day with dinner at Safran. Now, you don’t come here especially for the food (although it was pretty tasty), it’s a really fun evening where you’ll be entertained by lots of performers, and it ends up being one big party. Book the 9pm slot for a livelier experience.
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Day 3
The next day, we had an early start to get to Madrasa Ben Youssef for opening. I’d recommend going to some of the big sites for opening or just before, as it’s a much quieter experience before all the big groups of tourists arrive. Next up was the viral coffee spot Bacha Coffee. This place is beautiful – there’s a courtyard and museum to visit, as well as the coffee shop but we waited an hour and a half for a table and, in my opinion, it’s not worth it if you have to wait this long…
In the afternoon, we ventured out of the city to the Agafay Desert and spent the rest of the day at Be Agafay. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect and was a little sceptical about the desert trips but, honestly, this was such a fun experience. I do think it’s important to choose your camp carefully, though! We enjoyed a welcome drink, two-course lunch and lounged around the pool. We were planning on doing some quad biking or another activity but were actually very happy just chilling in the end.
Day 4
The next day was probably my favourite day of the whole trip. We added on a traditional cooking class to our First Choice holiday with First Choice Experiences, and were picked up in the morning from our hotel and taken to a beautiful property in the Moroccan countryside. The cooking class was run by a family and their children were running around and helping with the cooking, which was so cute! We were welcomed by the owner with Moroccan mint tea and the most insane homemade biscuits before we got started on the cooking. We made chicken, preserved lemon and olive tagine, a Moroccan salad/dip and traditional bread. The setting was so lovely outdoors and there were only four of us, which made the experience more intimate and enjoyable. While our tagines were cooking, we hung out by the pool before sitting down together to enjoy our cooking and wow, it was good (if I do say so myself…) There are definitely different levels of cooking classes in Marrakech but trust me when I say THIS is the one you need to book!
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Day 5
Our flight wasn’t until the evening on our final day, but we just chilled and took it easy to soak up the last of the sun. Marrakech can feel a bit of an overwhelming trip to plan and can be a love-hate
destination, but when planned right it’s one of the most incredible and fun places to visit. It should be on anyone’s travel bucket list!
If @gracegrangetravel’s trip sounds like a bit of you, have a look at our Morocco holidays and you can find all her picks on our Insiders Hub.
Keep an eye out for the ‘Insider pick’ tag when you’re browsing our best deals and in your holiday search results, too.
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Author: @gracegrangetravel
Last updated: 28/05/2025
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