Marrakech airport to downtown

Day 1: GIRONA - MARRAKECH

Friday, October 28, 2011

This morning the alarm sounded like every morning, there has only been a small difference, it has sounded a little earlier than normal and that is why today we had many things to prepare and many things to think about, including a transfer from Marrakech airport to the city center. Will we go on a trip?
The illusion with which we have risen has not been the usual, although it is Friday. Today is a "great" day, today is the day we leave for our coveted getaway: today we are going to Marrakech and Essaouira, our first trip to Morocco!!!
It was a long time since we had that bug before a trip and that it was not more than two months ago that we returned from spectacular Ireland where we spent 10 days touring a wonderful land that offered us stunning images.
In the morning we went to work like every Friday, but Roger has come to find me a little of our usual departure, to go to Girona airport.
It takes us a little more than 20 minutes to arrive and after leaving the car in the parking lot, we go straight to check the bag.

This time, to avoid having problems we have preferred to check a suitcase and thus go more weight free ... you know what these low cost companies have! And that this time (like many others) we have not caught any offer, but because of the proximity of the airport, this company is better for us or for schedules.
At the moment the plane is not late and everything is fine, it has even stopped raining, something that reassures us.
In the end the flight has left with little more than half an hour of delay and almost without realizing it, between review of the guide, reading ... the commander has announced that we were about to land.
I am not going to lie, Marrakech He has enamored me from the air. Marrakech is pink, yes, no kidding, it's pink !!
Already seeing it from the air, I know that I will like it, I know that I will want to return ... and that we have not yet landed. But these things sometimes feel. It has been a love at first sight. A crush.
We landed and filled in the entry form to the country (they have given it to us on the plane but we did not have the pen on hand, so we have left it unfilled), we went through passport control and then we went to get the suitcase.
We go to the exchange office and see that it is not very high, so we only change 50 euros.

Remember also that if you want to have internet in Morocco, in addition to being able to buy a SIM card at the airport, you can buy a Holafly SIM card being in Spain, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in Morocco much more comfortable, fast and easy.
In this case, with the Holafly SIM you will have several Gb to surf the Internet (depending on the option you choose), they will send it to you for free at home, you will keep your WhatsApp number and you will have assistance service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader

More information on the Holafly post, the best prepaid SIM card for travel

And finally we are in the street! The first impression is good, very good ... although we have only seen the exit of the airport. But at this moment something can be intuited from a country and if not, they tell us on our trip last year to Indonesia that we suffered a good slap on our arrival.
Leaving the airport, on the left we see the bus number 19 which is the one that will take us from Marrakech airport to downtown, the square of Djemma el Fna.
A much more comfortable option is to book this direct transfer from the airport to the hotel.

Recommended travel cards

Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

They charge us 50 dirham per person round trip (30 dirham if only one way). The girl who gives us the explanations speaks Spanish perfectly and it shows that she is very used to tourism.
We travel the city for 15 minutes and I still see it as from the plane. It is pink, but very pink. And conveys tranquility. First impressions are very good.
The bus leaves us in the square and we meet some people who offer to help us. We tell them that we don't need help and decide to try to find the way ourselves.
After several minutes trying, we decided that it is best to ask and we do so already fully integrated in Djemma el Fna square.
We want to see everything and at the same time we want to reach Riad Assalam, because we are still loaded with suitcases, so after the first emotions we decide that we have to focus on the search for the Riad.
In the end, without being able to find it for ourselves, we decided to ask for help from one of the “porters” in the Plaza des Ferblantiers until we have come walking from where the bus has left us.
Ask a couple of times and take us direct! We would have been unable to find it alone! It is encased between some alleyways with no name visible to us. It is normal for the owners of the Riad to offer the "tenants" to Ferblantiers.
After touring some streets that are impressive, in less than 2 minutes, we arrive at Riad Assalam. We give some tip dirhams and we chop the bell ...
An impressive world awaits us inside !!!
The owners show us the whole Riad Assalam and we were impressed not only with the room, but with everything in general. The terrace is impressive, the rest rooms, where we will have breakfast ... etc
We have certainly had luck with the choice.
We rest for a while in the room and go straight to wander, which is what we most do today.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Marrakech

- 50 things to see and do in Marrakech
- The 5 best tours and excursions in Marrakech
- The best desert excursion from Marrakech
- 10 essential places to visit in Marrakech
- 10 essential places to see in Morocco
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Morocco
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Marrakech

This afternoon we decided to do it without cameras ... today we want to soak up everything leaving aside the trigger.

Already when we leave it is after 7 in the afternoon, so we do not have much time to take advantage. We want to do a lot in a short time ... hahaha
And in the end we end up, of course, in the most famous square in Marrakech, Djemma el Fna square, mixing with people and especially with the environment.
We discover a whole world of food, smells, sensations ... mixed with the noise of motorcycles and the prayers of mosques.
We are delighted ... and that shows in the face. First impression: 10 for Marrakech!!
Today we have dinner at Che Chegrouni. It is a recommended restaurant in the guides and in many forums. They say he has the best couscous in Marrakech.
It is the first one we tried and we can attest that it is great !!
We go up to the terrace and although we do not have a table in the first row, to see the atmosphere of the square, in the end we can get a second row, which although it has no views, is perfect for our first contact with Moroccan cuisine.
We had chicken tagine with onion and olives, couscous with meat, a liter water and a can of cocacola for 134 dirhams.

Jmaa el Fna Square

The olives are in vice, very good, and I want to take a "tank" for home.
Not bad to start, this is keeping the budget!
After dinner we decided to go around Riad Zitoun street to lower dinner a bit and after seeing that the atmosphere is very lively, we return to Djemma el Fna square, to take a final turn before returning to Riad Assalam to rest.
Without realizing it, we see that it is after 10 pm and we decide that it is time to return ... tomorrow we want to burn the city !!! And for that we have to rest ...

Day 2
MARRAKECH