10/10 would not recommend Royal Air Maroc, but when you get a $300 USA to Casablanca flight, can you say no?! Fun fact, you can’t exchange your money or book train tickets until you get to Morocco. Once we arrived, we took a train to Marrakech, about 3 hours away. I would highly recommend upgrading your ticket to first class for a few extra dollars ($40 total). Having never been to a primarily Muslim culture, hearing the call to prayer over the city speakers, was a cool cultural experience. All the signs are in Arabic and it’s one of the few countries where you can’t get an International phone plan from AT&T or Verizon, so navigating can be fun at times!

Marrakech is one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in the world. The markets and squares are full of beautiful things to buy but don’t forget to barter- which feels weird since everything is already so affordable but it is rude to pay full price. Once you’ve made the deal, remember to shake hands, smile, and say thank you (pronounced shukraan in Arabic).

You also must eat your meals (so much tagine) outside, with many adorable rooftop restaurants- NOMAD and Cafe des Epices. The spice markets below you are also incredible and a great souvenir. There is no alcohol which saves you money!

One day we took a taxi to Le Jardin Majorelle (which is stunning and an instagram dream) to see the blue house and beautiful gardens. After that we went to see the local mosque, Koutoubia (like most of the country, dress very conservatively for the whole trip).

Our riad, Riad Dar Ten, was right in the middle of the medina and had great breakfast and traditional mint tea for us each morning. They also allowed us to store our bags while we went on an adventure to Zagora to see CAMELS!

The main attraction for us was the Sahara Desert, we went with a small tour bus to Zagora through the Atlas Mountains with a group of 15 people for two days and $100 with a pit stop at Ait Ben Haddou for a tour of where every movie you’ve ever seen was filmed and lunch.

Then we got to ride camels twice and glam under the stars which included all of our meals as well as a dance party and fire pit. Be prepared for the cold temperatures at night and to use your pashmina as a passport, the local Berber’s will help you. Every HUMP DAY is a happy one after a trip like this!