Marrakech (مراكش), also known as Marrakesh, is a city in Morocco.

Get in

By plane

Marrakech-Menara Airport (IATA: RAK), Tel: +212 44 44.79.10, +212 44 .44.78.65, +212 44. 44.85.06 http://www.onda.ma/. Marrakech has an international airport with direct scheduled flights coming in from London and Paris and many charter flights arriving from all over Europe. If you are flying from the US, Canada, Asia or elsewhere, you'll have to change planes in Casablanca.

Plenty of low cost companies now fly to Marrakech. Some companies fly to Casablanca, where a plane change for the 45 minute flight to Marrakech can be made.

From the UK, Easyjet http://www.easyjet.com flies to Marrakech from Manchester and Gatwick Airport (and also from Madrid). Ryanair has direct flights from London Luton, Bristol and Edinburgh to Marrakech. They also fly from from Frankfurt-Hahn (Germany), Alicante (Spain), Girona (Spain) and Reus (Spain) to Marrakech. Thomson Airways travels from London Gatwick and Manchester. British Airways http://www.ba.com and TUIfly no longer fly to Marrakech, Atlas Bluehttp://www.atlas-blue.com, an offshoot of Royal Air Maroc flies in from several European cities and often has very low cost fares.

From inside the country, you can take Royal Air Morocco http://www.royalairmaroc.com, with flights from Agadir, Casablanca (daily), Fez (daily), Ouarzazate, Al Hoceima, and Tangier.

Money exchange and ATMs in the airport

The Arrivals hall at Terminal 2 has a money changing outlet and three ATMs. One is located opposite to the information counter and two are facing the check-in counter 40. Terminal 1 has two money changing outlets in the Arrivals hall and one in Departures. If you find the money changing outlet closed when you arrive, it's worth taking the short walk across the car park to the other terminal. On ATMs, check for the Maestro, Cirrus or Plus logos to be sure that the machine accepts foreign credit cards. Beware as some of the ATMs work only in French. If your card is taken at the ATM, tell airport security and they can help you get it back.

With cash in hand, you're ready to go!

Get in

The airport is located about 6km (4 miles) from the city. The best option, if you don't have too much luggage, is to take a bus (line 19), Otherways it's easier to take a taxi which takes only 15 minuts to get to the center of the Medina (The old city).

On foot

If you don't have too much luggage then it's perfectly possible to walk from the airport to the Medina. There is a footpath alongside the road all the way and the minaret of the Koutoubia mosque provides an excellent landmark to head towards. If you have enough time you can break the trip with a visit to the Menara gardens, which are between the airport and the city.

By bus

The No 19 Airport express bus is DH 20 for a single trip or DH 30 for round trip (if the return trip is within 2 weeks of initial purchase). It serves all the major hotels and is a great way to go from the airport to the hotels. You can easily find its departure stop, to the left of the road immediately outside of the Arrivals Hall at terminal 2, after the taxis. The bus leaves the airport every 30 minutes between 6:30am and 9:00pm. The bus has no particular stops but can stop anywhere on the route. The driver has a small map to hand out and you can tell the driver your hotel you're heading to.

By taxi

The airport is located about 6km (4 miles) from the city, which is about a 10-15 minute taxi ride. If you decide to leave from the airport by petit taxi, make sure to have the driver use his meter or, better yet, agree on the price beforehand. As you exit the airport terminal, there is a sign which actually gives you an idea of how much the taxi ride should cost. However, whether you can convince or bargain with the driver to use these prices is another matter as it depends on the number of taxis and potential passengers around. Essentially, you should pay no more than 100 DH from the airport to the center of the city for a petit taxi. The petit taxi's are hatchbacks and generally they take a lower price than the larger grand taxi's.

If you are traveling from the airport to somewhere further afield (such as Essaouira), your hotel or guest house may be able to arrange a grand taxi to pick you up at the airport and charge a fixed price for the journey. Grands taxis are generally more expensive than petits taxis, but more comfortable especially when you have luggage. It also avoids hassle, as it's not always easy to haggle with a taxi driver after staggering off a long plane ride half-asleep.

Several international rental car companies are based at the airport as well.

By train

The train station is in the recently developed Guéliz district at Avenue Hassan II, Tel: +212 44 77 68. For train times and schedules, check out the Moroccan Railway website http://www.oncf.ma.

Trains from Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier connect with most domestic rail destinations in the country, with Marrakech as the southernmost stop. Trains run regularly between Marrakech and Casablanca (including the International Airport). They arrive around every two hours and regularly from other destinations like Rabat. Every day there are 16 direct trains to Fez via Casablanca Voyageurs station and another two direct connections to Tangier.

Tangier: For those wishing to travel by train from Tangier it's about a 10 hour journey. You can travel either by day train or night train. During the daytime, you will need to change trains for a connection halfway through the journey creating a welcome break for about 30 minutes. The night trains which leaves for Marrakech from Tangier travels straight through to Marrakech without the need for a connection. The night trains do have sleeper cars on board, though you will need to pay extra for these if you want a bed (around DH 350).

There is currently no train line further south than Marrakech in Morocco; if you want to head south, to the desert, Atlas Mountains, Agadir or Essaouira on the coast, you'll have to get a bus, rental car or grand taxi.

Travel tips: Some advice for the train journey would be to stock up on some bread, eggs, and cheese in advance and remember to bring plenty to offer to share with locals in your carriage; this is received well and will result in a return offer and lots of conversation. Additionally, there is a snack trolley which does the rounds on the train about once per hour serving coffee, cappucino, tea, sandwiches, and chocolate snacks. Be aware you will pay tourist prices, though in the end the difference is not much.

By bus

There are many long distance bus companies operating within Morocco which serve Marrakech and other cities.

The recommended bus companies for tourists are CTM, Pullman du sud and Supratours. Other companies do exist, though these three companies are usually your safest options.

Most ALSA (local destination bus company) and private bus lines arrive at the long distance bus station near Bab Doukkala, a 20 minute walk (DH 15 - 20 by petit taxi) from Djemaa El-Fna. Supratours and Eurolines buses operate from here. It's the place to take the buses from the small companies, that go directly to small destinations.

The long distance bus station, CTM and private bus companies travel to destinations such as Agadir, Safi, Casablanca, El Jadida, Essaouira, Fez, Meknes, Ouarzazate, Rabat, and Taroudant. Taxi touts will often gather in the bus station to convince you that a bus to your destination is 'full' and to steer you into a grand taxi, and will attempt to sell you goods as your taxi is prepared. This can be difficult if there is nobody manning the ticket desks, and the best option is to walk out of the station to the coaches - a ticket can usually be purchased from a conductor on board.

CTM operates a brand new bus station "Gare Voyageurs" one block south from the Supratour station next to the train station. It's better to take the buses there, because you can buy the tickets in advance. Besides, the CTM's offices there are better and there's no people trying to push you to their bus company. The office and station on Zerktouni street does not exist anymore.

Get around

Once in the medina, everything can be seen on foot, though you'll be doing a lot of walking. For exploring more of the city, buses and petits taxis are plentiful.

By bus

Almost all buses stop at Djemaa El-Fna and Place Youssef Ben Tachfine and fares range from DH 2 - 5 depending on the distance. Important municipal bus lines are:

• No 1 - Towards Gueliz
• Nos 3 and 8 - Stops at the central train station, and bus station (Gare Routiere Voyageurs Marrakech)
• No 10 - Stops at the long distance bus station
• No 11 - Will drop you off at the gardens of Menara
• No 19 - Airport express to Djemaa el Fna

There is an open-topped City Sightseeing bus that will take you around the outskirts of the city, with commentary provided via headphones (supplied with your ticket) in any of 8 different languages. The best place to catch it is from the coach stops by Square de Foucauld. Tickets cost DH 130 each and are valid for 24 hours from the time of issue, no matter how many times you get on or off. However, check the timetable carefully, as the buses can stop running earlier than you might think.

By caleche

An alternative and romantic way to travel is by caleche - pronounced kalesh - a small horse-drawn carriage. They can be hired at Square de Foucauld (the small park at the bottom of Djemaa El-Fna). It's wise to agree on a price before setting off. As a guide price, you should pay around DH 80 per hour, per carriage.

By taxi

If getting around by taxi, just keep in mind that taxi drivers will make up many excuses to rip you off, like: - They don't have change. - You have to pay extra for the bags. - The amount is per person. - It was very far when actually he was driving around wasting your time. - DH 20 is a good price for a 10 min ride.

Do not fall on that and always ask to use the meter, otherwise you are just contributing to a culture of ripping off people where the honest local people have a hard time being so.

Get out

• Amizmiz - With one of the largest Berber souks in the High Atlas Mountains every Tuesday, Amizmiz is well-worth a trip. This is especially true for those travelers wishing to experience the less urban, less touristy mountain towns of the High Atlas.

• Asni - A lovely rural village in the Atlas mountains.

• Oukaimeden - Ski lift at 3268 m. The snow falls in the mountains just south of Marrakech every winter. And it stays. Wealthy people from all over southern Morocco have since long learned to enjoy skiing in their own country. This has given the ski resort, Oukaïmeden, a distinct Moroccan touch, too. You don't need to bring your ski equipment all the way from home, all you need can be rented. You should only pay around DH 250 for a full day here (including a lift pass). Oukaïmeden and the areas around are some of the greatest in Morocco, with four seasons, and ever changing nature. In summer, few people enter this area — it is probably too well known for winter sports. But staying here a day or two is a real treat.

• Ourika Valley, in the Atlas Mountains. Tours involve stopping several times en route to the valley to look in tourist shops, a Berber house, and a collective run for women who make products out of Argan oil - all very interesting! Tours wil also include a walk to visit the various different waterfalls. The journey can become difficult, so wear good walking and/or climbing shoes - suitable footwear is imperative. Think of clambering up rocks at the side of the river, and eventually criss-crossing over wet rocks to travel up the mountain.

• Setti Fatma. A village at the end of the proper motor road up the Ourika Valley. The residential part is situated above the road and is not visited too much. The attractions are the lovely valley scenery and a walk to seven waterfalls - or for most day visitors one waterfall from which others can be seen.

• Jbilets Geological Site

   

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