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Part 1 – A Bloggers Guide To Marrakech (here)

Part 2 – Marrakech Excursions & Activities – What To Do?

We stayed in Marrakech for 6 days in total and within that time we wanted to squeeze in as much as we could to get to know the city, its culture and Northwest of Africa.

Our Riad (and so do many others) offer a wide range of excursions to take you in, around and outside the city. From travelling to see the most beautiful sights, experiencing your first camel ride, seeing Morocco from the air to traveling by camel across the sand dunes, there’s so much to choose from. 

So to make the most of our stay we chose 3 completely different excursions. One that would allow us to explore the infamous Atlas Mountains, see stunning landscapes, experience the history and have lunch in a Berber village. Another that would be a deep contract to Marrakech but a relaxing one at that and last but not least an excursion that would be fun, different and relaxing on our last day.  

Our driver picked us up early in the morning; we spent a couple hours driving through the Atlas Mountains, stopping to take in the unbelievable contrasting photos of the landscapes and exploring our surroundings before heading to a local café for a coffee with a view.

We then headed through the quiet Berber villages to our first Kasbah (Kasbah Telouet) which looked incredibly deserted sitting amongst the sand-peppered valley. However upon entering the main door the interior couldn’t be any more of a comparison to its exterior. Although the Kasbah has significant damage from being abandoned nothing could district from the hand painted ceilings, mosaic tile floors, stunning iron twisted window bars and oversized carved wooden doors.

After spending time in Kasbah Telouet we travelled through the terracotta rock valleys pooled with tiny rich green oasis before reaching another small village for lunch.

After consuming all things Moroccan (yes fresh bread, tagine and olives) we walked over the sand dunes to Kasbah Air Benhaddou. A breath taking giant fortification formed from 6 earth clay Kasbah’s perched on the once gold Sahara trade route. Known for being used to film movies and TV shows such as Gladiator and Game of Thrones the landscape was breath taking when reaching the top!

An hour or so later we headed back through the Atlas Mountains, again stopping to take photos and watching the sunset as we made our way back to Marrakech. It was incredible.

A completed contrast to the bustling streets of Marrakech, Essaouira is a port fishing city on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast.

A quiet and blissful old town with contemporary inspiration from Greece reflected in its white and blue architecture.  Similar to Marrakech, Essaouira has a large souk that runs through the town however the locals are a lot more relaxed and you’ll find that so are the travellers.

With an expanse of a crisp-clean sandy beach, a small bustling fishing port, a large souk and long promenade to explore it was like being somewhere else! A perfect day to unwind, walk and relax by the beach.

As I mentioned before on our last day we chose to do an activity but wanted something a little less adrenaline filled (although the quad bikes did look amazing!), so we chose horse riding! We went for the 3 hour excursion with a lunch break in between. We rode our horses (alongside 2 guides) through the deserted palm groves of Palmeraie, cantering through streams, varied terrain and taking in the small oasis of plant life. We stopped off at the local restaurant for a Moroccan pastry and mint tea before heading back out to experience horse riding in the rain! It only rains a handful of days a year in Marrakech (or so we were told) and we happened to catch our last 30 minutes of horse riding in it but nevertheless it was an experience!