Morocco Travel Blog | Palais Amani Riad - Fes

Palais Amani is the beautiful boutique hotel we stayed at known as the riad. It is actually well known among the locals because it used to be a residence of a prestigious and wealthy family. It's located by the souks, easy enough to find by car, but definitely tricky when you're coming from the souks.

• When: Fes is up North and gets pretty chill towards the night, so I recommend coming here late Spring - Early Fall

• Cost: about $200 a night

• Who: very friendly staff - contact available at Palai Amani

• Duration: 3 nights and 2 days was plenty for us

• Tips: breakfast is usually included and very tasty, their mint tea is great. Let them know if you want dinner prepped (they'll usually ask) because kitchens close at 9-10 pm and so do a lot of restaurants in Fes

• My personal experience: The riad is gorgeous and the staff are very friendly. We stayed in the Blue Room and loved it, they probably had one of the best showers in Morocco. We had enough time to experience the luxury hamam which was really nice ($66 per person). They do try to provide everything for you so that you don't have to go through other services. So whenever you ask "where is [insert the impossible]" they'll almost always respond with "oh we have that here!" So take advantage of it, but be cautious of some the higher rates they charge. Definitely book the panoramic tour of Fes with a driver with them. The usual rate is for a full day, but ask for half a day that's plenty to see the best about Fes including what's left of the Tomb, Jewish gate, King's palaces and a textile factory.

Luxury Hammam is a special spa service known as a "Turkish bath" which consists of a body scrub and wash. You won't be able to find this kind of spa service for such a good deal except overseas so take advantage!

• When: most places can do it from 10 am till evening hours

• Cost: since this was luxury and offered by our riad it was about $66 a person for the traditional hammam experience

• Who: our riad arranged locals to come and do the Hammam on us in their downstairs Hammam sauna/steam room (which was extremely nice and hot)

• Duration: since it was luxury and just us two (simultaneously) it took them about almost two hours

• Tips: don't take a shower before hand because you don't want your body to be dry and definitely do it on a day where you plan to just relax

• My personal experience: it was our first time and I was stunned. I've always heard so much about it and couldn't wait to try it. First they took us into a room stirpped me down to your underwear (they do it for you - relax it's in an appropriate manner for both you and your husband) then they soak your hands and feet in a warm bucket of water. They lather on some type of clay mud soap on you and they put a hair mask on us and took us into the steam room. The steam room had a Moroccan fountain running with hot water and after 10-15 minutes of time. Meanwhile, they would wash us down as we lay there on hot stoned benches and then scrub us down again and continue the process for over an hour. After they're done scrubbing you (you were basically squeaky clean), they took us to showers (individually) and helped us cleanse our bodies (you do your own private parts). These ladies even shampoo'ed and conditioned my hair for me and then tied it in a braid. Afterwards they pamper you and dry you. You're given robes so you can chill in another room with your partner and some delicious mint tea. We loved it and probably slept for the rest of the day. It was amazing and very much well needed.

Morocco Travel Blog | University of Al-Karaouine - Fes

University of Al-Karaouine is the oldest university in the world and located right in the heart of the Medina. It also serves as a mosque so feel free to head your way there to pray.

• When: Muslim prayer times

• Cost: there is a small high suggested donation/sadaqah expected

• Who: Muslims only - Also someone there will notice you're foreign and will run to help you and direct you where to pray and where to do wudu

• Duration: to pray in jamaat go right when the athan happens or you can pray on your own

• Tips: girls cover your head as soon as you start approaching the mosque. Also, do wudu in the fountain (if you're male it's the beautiful one outside and for females its inside, but still pretty)

• My personal experience: we had a sweet elderly man run up to us and greet us. He directed me to where females go and slowly as I asked them all saying wudu and the gestures they all pointed to downstairs to a fountain. I was confused because in America fountains are for decor right, no one actually washes their face in them. Not in Morocco, after I did wudu I caught my husband doing wudu as well, but the men get to use the beautiful one that's outdoor. These fountains are gorgeous and really make you feel clean and refreshed. After I prayed, a couple of ladies were watching me and one of them started making conversation with me in Arabic. I was used to at it this point, but we both tried our best to convey messages in my half ass Arabic and French, and her understanding my hand gestures. It worked for the basics and then we laughed when it got complicated as nothing could be conveyed, but that's the fun part just two people talking with a huge language barrier and all you have are the humanity basics.

Morocco Travel Blog | Textile Factory - Fes

Uploaded by Mariam Shibly on 2018-02-07.

Textile Factory is the place to visit for one of the main industries in Morocco and mostly what they're known for. It's an interesting and very delicate process you should definitely checkout.

• When: not sure of the hours, but early morning to afternoon they're definitely working

• Cost: included as part of the panoramic tour ($44 for half day); it's hard to get to these factories without a tour guide, which your riad host can assist you with finding one

• Who: Art D'Argile

• Duration: casual half hour tour

• Tips: just to be safe don't wear white in case you want to try making some of the pottery and bring some money (and lots of it) if you want to buy the most authentic Moroccan work - this is definitely the place for it

• My personal experience: The man we met was the manager of the factory, which exists for over 30 years and is very proud of it. They got my husband to try out some of the pottery making, which was pretty cool and walked us through the delicate process afterwards. We thought we'd be able to keep the little plate he made, but it's a process that takes days so unfortunately they kept it. The workers are very sweet and be prepared for a sales pitch at the end ;)

Morocco Travel Blog | Ackour Waterfalls - Chefchouen

Uploaded by Mariam Shibly on 2018-02-07.

If you're visiting Chefchouen, you must make a trip to the Rif Mountains or else you're missing out on half the beauty. It's about a half hour drive from the blue city and very easy to find drivers especially through your hotel or riad.

• When: Spring or Summer is the best time to visit so you can take a dive into these waterfalls!

• Cost: the drive there and back will usually cost you around 400 dirhams and a guide which you will definitelly need, costs 400 dirhams as well. So about $80 total for the both of us

• Who: we went with our riad host, Ismail and his reliable driver

• Duration: usually takes about 4 hours, but our guide told us we were the first ones to make the whole trip in 2.5 hours (because we didn't take our sweet time with lunch at the top)

• Tips: learn the city's secret and wear blue to avoid insects, old gym shoes and a spandex hiking outfit - incline is high, be ready to slip left and right

• My personal experience: I was really psyched about this since we heard a lot of interesting things about Rif Mountains, how beautiful they are and how crazy the hasish plantation owners are. We definitely experienced the beauty of the Rif Mountains throughout our drive and hike into the waterfalls, but definitely no hostility from the locals - maybe because our guide knew them pretty well. This was probably one of the toughest and steepest hikes I've ever done. I've never had to river hop so often, but it was so much fun! Each river was so beautiful and exciting to cross with the vast stepping stones to choose from. I slipped a couple times so make sure you bring gym shoes with good grip! I've also never climbed sand before so that was interesting and quite hilarious. It's a great workout and every part of the way is just gorgeous and filled with surprises. You hike up a couple levels and suddenly you find yourself in a cornfield (yeah so random but this is what I mean!). We got to the waterfall pretty fast and we went early in the morning so we on the way there we had it all to ourselves and I'm glad. The waterfall is stunning! I wish it was warm enough for us to take a dip, but it was still beautiful to experience. Enjoy the hike, it's worth all that effort!