A travel guide to Marrakesh, Morocco. Short program.

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To be or not to be?

For this trip to Morocco, there was a huge question mark until the very end whether it would happen or not for various reasons. I had purchased the plane tickets at the beginning of the summer. In reality, our tickets were completely free, since I use a Wizz credit card with DSK Bank and through the cashback that I receive back in my account on the Wizz website, I had accumulated enough so that instead of 140 BGN per person (how much the round-trip ticket cost) from Sofia to Marrakesh) or a total of 560 BGN for everyone, with me paying ZERO.

And just when I had firmly decided that we weren’t going—and had cancelled all the reservations for accommodation and tours—a new, even more definitive decision was made just two days later: we *were* going after all! 🙂 The trip was set to begin on Tuesday, yet it wasn’t until Sunday evening that we decided to start packing! Naturally, this meant re-booking everything; interestingly, both the tours and some of the accommodations actually offered better prices for last-minute bookings than they had earlier.

In Morocco we were planning a total of 4 nights and 3 full days. I spent a lot of time thinking about what to do there, as I wanted to see a sandy desert the most. 5 years ago we were in Jordan in the Wadi Rum desert and the children had a wonderful time there! You can read the travelogue about Jordan Here.

In Morocco However, it turned out that the sandy deserts of Merzouga or Erg Chigaga are 500–550 km away from Marrakech—a drive of about 10 hours. In reality, we would have had to spend one day traveling there, one day in the desert itself, and one day returning; we would have been completely exhausted from the journey and wouldn't have managed to see anything else of Morocco. So, I began to seriously consider other options—until, by chance, I saw photos of buggies on sand dunes by the ocean. A quick online search revealed that this was... the Tifnit sand dunes near the city of AgadirI checked the satellite map on Google hundreds of times to make sure the dunes were what I was looking for, and finally, I decided—that’s where I’m going! 🙂

Itinerary for the trip to MOROCCO (December 9–13, 2025):

DAY 1 – Flight from Sofia to Marrakech with Wizz Air. Arrival at 7 p.m. and check-in at a hotel in the Medina. (Hotel recommendation Here) In the evening, a visit to the open-air market Jemaa el-Fnaa + dinner at one of the surrounding restaurants

DAY 2 – Breakfast at the hotel. Bus journey to Agadir. Transfer to Anza and check-in. Sunset and a walk in the area.

DAY 3 – Organized buggy tour + sandsurfing. Lunch at a fast-food spot. Surfing. Dinner at a nice restaurant.

DAY 4 – Bus trip to Marrakech. Organized tour with buggies, camels, dinner and fire show in the Agafay Desert.

DAY 5 - Flight from Marrakech to Sofia with Wizz Air. Arrival in Sofia around 5 p.m.

The flight from Sofia to Marrakech departed from Terminal 1. As it was the only non-Schengen flight of the day, there weren't many people, and we cleared all security checks quickly. I had been worried because one of our passports was set to expire in 5 months—and I know that many countries require a validity period of at least 6 months—but we encountered no issues regarding this, either on the way there or on the way back. The flight lasted 4 hours. The plane was 90% full, yet we managed to sit together in the same row—me and the children—without having to pay extra for seat selection.

–> Browse and book unique accommodations in Morocco at a discount. Look Here!

A “GENTLE” DIVING 🙂

We went through the airport security checks very quickly because we were among the first ones. The airport had a modern look. From хотел Atlas I had arranged for a driver to pick us up from the airport and take us to the hotel. He was waiting for us outside, and our initial impressions of Marrakesh were very positive—until we reached a pedestrian street packed with stalls and crowds. The driver said, “This is as far as I can go. From here, you’ll need to walk 200 meters through the crowd, make a turn, and you’ll reach the hotel.” You can’t imagine the look of horror in the children’s eyes! 🙂 This was necessary because the Medina has almost no streets accessible to cars—only mopeds and various types of three-wheeled vehicles.

Like it or not, we got off and were instantly immersed in the local atmosphere—sights, scents, and enticements to buy all sorts of useless little things—all while carrying our luggage on our backs. It was a good thing we were traveling with only small carry-on bags—just a single backpack each.

No one was expecting us at the hotel, so we had to wait for someone to arrive to check us in. I had booked a quadruple room consisting of two large bedrooms, and there was a bonus: a sink inside the room. The bathroom facilities were shared, and there was nowhere to leave our luggage. Nevertheless, I chose this specific hotel for our stay because of its proximity to the Grand Bazaar and its location right in the heart of the Medina. Despite its central position, it was surprisingly quiet at night.

–> Browse and book a budget hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco, at a discount. Look Here!

THE GRAND BAZAR

We dropped off our luggage and immediately went out for a walk. The Grand Bazar, located on the square Jemaa el-Fnaa It cannot be described in words or captured in photographs—it must be experienced. The air was thick with the smoke of incense, and touts constantly urged us to try the street food served at their makeshift stalls. Here and there, impromptu circles of people had formed—some dancing, others playing music and singing, and some participating in games with prizes. This bazaar comes alive every evening at sunset and continues late into the night. By the next morning, however, not a trace of it remained—even the street food stalls were gone. Only a few people with small monkeys wandered back and forth across the empty square, offering to take photos with the animals.

ARE YOU HUNGRY?

The children didn't like the oriental atmosphere of the Grand Bazaar, so we quickly found a restaurant for dinner. We stopped at Restaurant Le Grand Bazar Marrakesh And we hit the jackpot. I absolutely recommend this restaurant! It is located on the second floor, right next to the Bazaar. The atmosphere was very cozy, quiet, and peaceful, while the food—served in relatively small portions—was incredibly delicious! The service was provided by waiters in suits—on par with a fine-dining French restaurant. Naturally, the prices were higher than the local standard, ranging between 80 and 200 dirhams.

After dinner, we left the kids at the hotel and went out once more, just my husband and I, to soak up the evening atmosphere of the Grand Bazaar. We also went to the Central Mosque of Marrakech, where it was full of carriages drawn by a pair of horses.

The next morning, we had an abundant breakfast on the hotel rooftop, consisting of coffee, tea, and fresh-squeezed orange juice, along with bread rolls, Moroccan pancakes (M’semen), cake, marmalade, butter, and an omelet.

SHOPPING AROUND THE MEDINA

After that, our goal was to get to the Central Bus Station. Marrakech as we passed through the Medina, which was just waking up—and the merchants weren’t yet in that “Hey, I need you” frame of mind. The Medina of Marrakesh is the largest Medina in Morocco. With its endless mazes of narrow streets and often cheeky merchants, walking there can become a bit of an unpleasant experience, so I recommend using navigation (Maps.me), so that it doesn’t happen that you think you are heading west, while in fact you are heading east.

We spent quite a while in a shop filled with all sorts of local spices, fragrances, soaps, and other items, where we bought solid perfumes and a few small bottles of natural argan oil. Right in front of the shop, there was a press for argan nuts, where a woman was extracting argan oil. Inside the shop, the saleswoman very politely encouraged us to purchase various products, offering us samples to try—for instance, she demonstrated the effect of black cumin seeds: when rubbed onto a cotton cloth and inhaled deeply through the nostril, they help with migraines and headaches, while eucalyptus, she explained, helps with sinus issues.