Марокко - на перекрестке цивилизаций. Morocco is at the crossroads of civilizations.

Wonderful vacation! Interesting country! If you want to get acquainted with the history and culture of an Arab country, see magnificent sea and mountain landscapes at the same time, then Morocco is for you! Flight: "Royal Air Maroc" Moscow - Casablanca - Agadir is comfortable and fast. Of course, there are no modern screens with movies and games on planes, but the cabins are comfortable, service, and food are good. Departure and arrival - minute by minute. The time between flights is only an hour and a half, but more than enough to go to another terminal and visit Duty Free. Passport control takes place in Agadir. When departing from Agadir, check-in for a flight begins just an hour and a half before departure, but registration, passport control, and boarding go smoothly and quickly. The airport in Agadir is small and quite empty: no fuss. You can take a taxi from the airport to the hotel and back in Agadir on your own (200-220Dh), which is much cheaper than a transfer from a tour operator. Important: If you do not know English at least at the school level, it is better to think about resting in another country. In Morocco, they speak English well, and even children speak French. They know the Russian language at the level of “good” and “how are you”, however, they are not required to know Russian. It will be difficult for you to explain yourself in an elementary way. Of course, you can watch the country with a Russian-speaking guide, but it will cost you at least twice as much as taking an excursion on a local tour. office (by the way, it's safe). Not to mention that, failing to bargain, you will significantly overpay for purchases. Course: 1$ - 8Dh, 1EUR - 10Dh, 1Dh - 3.8 rubles. In a / p, upon arrival, quite an acceptable exchange rate. Hotel: "Ryad Mogador Al Madina Palace" 4 * - a beautiful, cozy, small and quiet hotel in the Moroccan style. Ideal for family holidays. It is very conveniently located, because when you go to the beach you find yourself in the middle of the promenade and it is convenient to walk in any direction. It has two exits: to the street to the city and to the street to the embankment (opposite the Royal Atlas Hotel), which is very convenient for walking. It is difficult to assess its appearance in the photographs on the net, because many “streets” lead from the territory with a pool to the buildings, immersed in greenery and it is difficult to reflect this in the photo. Buildings are multi-level: the first floor of one building can be at the level of the third floor of another. The rooms are spacious, clean, but take slippers, because the floor is stone, with tiles and you can catch a cold even in the heat. The room has a TV (no Russian channels), a refrigerator (mini-bar - on request), a safe (just ask the porter to show you how to set the code. Set the code from no more than 2 digits, otherwise it is buggy). The bathroom has a shower with a bathtub and a hairdryer. Cleaned every day, linen, towels are clean. Tipping – 3-5Dh per day is enough. We left $1 or 10Dh and our room on the floor was cleaned first. Not all rooms have balconies. The pool is quite large, deep and on the second level there is a children's pool. Towels, sunbeds, umbrellas - free of charge. Breakfasts with enough choice, but constant menu. We had enough for the evening. There are few visitors, all dishes are updated on time. Breakfast starts at 05.30, which is very convenient before an early excursion. The hotel is on the second line. I note that this is even better, because the constant wind from the Atlantic and the noise of the ocean waves reach here too, in the hotels of the first line it would even interfere. It is not far to go to the beach, besides, along the way you can look into cafes and shops. At the reception they give you a map of Agadir for free. One condition: drinking in the restaurant, hotel cafe and on the territory is prohibited! In the room - quiet and decent - please, but no more and not near the pool. In principle, it is impossible to carry water-fruit-food-alcohol, but in dark bags in a reasonable amount, it is better through the entrance from the embankment - it’s not a problem. Vacationers are mostly French. The staff speaks English, French. Beach: Wide, sandy. The entrance to the water closer to the port (to the right of the hotel) is more gentle, the waves are smaller there. Paid beach - a small fenced area of ​ ​ ​ ​ the beach with sun loungers, umbrellas and service. $10 per seat. Or you can sunbathe on your own towel for free. Just above the beach there is a promenade with restaurants, shops, first line hotels. In the evening, especially on weekends, there are a lot of people walking around here: young people, families with children, foreigners. Meals: Do not take in Morocco dinners at the hotel and, moreover, "all inclusive"! You will lose a lot if you do not try the local cuisine, and it is very tasty, varied and affordable. The meat here is excellent, especially in tagines. Lots of cafes and restaurants. You can dine both in the city, in local cafes, and in restaurants on the waterfront. During the day, there is usually a price like our "business lunch" from 45 to 90 Dh / person. (salad, main course, drinks or dessert - all with a choice of dishes). But not every restaurant serves alcohol. Average bill per person – 80-120Dh. On the embankment there is a restaurant with a Russian-language menu "Blue Nil" ("Blue Nile"). But we really liked the small restaurant "Costabella-BarbekuHous" (it is located 100m away from the "Blue Nile"): excellent prices from all that we saw, the portions are huge (especially salads, after our third visit they became even larger), fresh seafood, menu - in pictures. In addition, to the right of this restaurant there is a currency exchange with the most favorable rate, it makes sense to walk. Tip - about 10% of the bill, but more / less - at your discretion. We have not seen in any restaurant that the tip was included in the bill. For exoticism, you can visit the dining room (you can’t call it otherwise) in the port. You can get there by taxi or on foot - go around the new district of Agadir along the embankment and, not reaching the barrier at the entrance to the port for about 100 meters, turn right, behind the fence. Go right and see rows of long tables with plates and stalls. Here you can try the freshest seafood for the cheapest price: lobsters, tiger prawns, fish, squid and mixes of all this. Go to the kiosk and order if you have time: usually a person has time to run up and tell everything. At first, the atmosphere is embarrassing, it looks like a canteen of the Soviet times, but everything is fried, the dishes are clean, the same foreigners come in - it's worth a try. Local population: Very loyal to foreigners and their appearance, although this should not be abused. Friendly, happy to talk. Offering to buy something, they don’t press hard, they don’t grab the hand: it’s enough to politely refuse two or three times, with a smile, and that’s it. You can shrug, showing that there is no money - they leave immediately. On the streets, at the hotels there is a tourist police if there are problems. Russians do not come to Morocco very often, so they are interested in us and communicate with pleasure. And not only for the sake of shopping (although this is the main reason for a start), but they are really interested in us. Excursions: Having decided to visit Marrakech or see the Sahara, do not ignore the mountains: High Atlas and Anti-Atlas. Magnificent views! It is difficult to describe the admiration of this, I can only say - it is worth seeing! Excursions are much cheaper to take in local tours. offices. They are punctual, have good transport and guides who speak two or three languages. But, alas, there are few Russian-speaking guides, because there are few tourists from Russia. However, we had a very good trip in the company of other foreign tourists. We liked the tour. “Vallee de desert tours” office: located to the right of the entrance to the zoo (if you exit the second exit of the hotel, go to the right without crossing the road, then after 200 meters there will be a zoo and a tour office), the guide’s name is Nasan, he speaks a little Russian, in the office is from 9.00 to 20.00. The average price of a one-day excursion is 300Dh / person. He can also book an individual tour for only two people or to certain places, but it will cost more. Shopping: In Morocco, there is probably everything: clothes and shoes from national styles to foreign brands, a lot of leather, wood, stone, ceramics, a huge selection of various souvenirs, interesting antiques. But do not rush to buy anything in the early days. To get started, go to the Uniprix store. To do this, leaving the hotel, where the reception is, you need to turn left, go down the street and on the right you will see something like a large wasteland-square. Cross it and a little to the right you will see a sign for a store. This is something like a city department store + groceries and liquor. The prices there are fixed and there is no need to overpay on the market. In addition, there you can buy something from the products in the room, if necessary. For starters, it is better to go to the market by taxi (Petit Taxi), 20-25Dh from the hotel. There are two markets: the first, the so-called Berber - a 5-storey store, but the halls are small, they sell from souvenirs to carpets, you can and should bargain, since prices there are much higher than in other places. Beautiful, but buying there is more expensive than even on excursions. The second market is two adjacent markets: a fruit market and “everything your heart desires” (clothes, shoes, spices, souvenirs, wood, etc. ). Specify the days of their work, because they have a reduced opening time on weekends and do not work on Monday. This market has 11 exits, so remember where you entered. Interesting, big market, you can buy almost everything. Be sure to try the fruits: fresh, tasty. Back from the second market, you can walk to the hotel on foot, if you like walking, about 2.5 - 3 km. , past the territory of the royal palace. I will not describe numerous shops near hotels and on excursions - you will see and compare everything yourself. The quality of the goods - somewhere excellent, somewhere worse - you need to look, choose. I will note one leather clothing and accessories store, which is located 20 meters from the second exit from the hotel, on the left: a sufficient assortment, excellent leather and excellent tailoring quality (the lines are perfectly even). What is very convenient, they not only sell, but can sew a jacket, coat, cap according to individual measurements at the factory in just 4-5 days. Reasonably priced for this quality leather. . We have used it and are very pleased. Shops of European clothes and shoes are located at the end of the promenade, closer to the port, in the new district of Agadir. If you buy wood products, then immediately upon arrival, wipe them with vegetable oil: due to the difference in climate, the tree dries up and the product can stick out, and it absorbs oil perfectly. Argan oil and its products are a matter of taste. This is a kind of brand for Morocco and they are actively promoting it. On the way to the Uniprix market, on the right side of the street you can see an antiques shop. Big enough, very interesting things, prices are different, you need to look and bargain, but the discount here will be small. Also, at various sellers of "antiquities" you can find curious and original items from the treasures. metals. There are a lot of silver products and jewelry in stores, for every taste and price. How to bargain: Bargaining is a must and don't be shy about it! In the Arab countries, it is believed that only those who do not feel sorry for their money do not trade, which means that they have made them dishonestly. Think about it! In the course of trading, you can agree on a price 40-45% cheaper than the initial one. They are not traded only at the fruit market and in grocery stores. Rule of thumb: never ask the price of a product if you're not going to buy it! They don’t understand “ask for a price for comparison” here: you won’t be able to leave without a purchase if you ask the price. Pick up, look, ask for a different color, shape - please, but they asked the price - that's it, this is the beginning of bargaining. And lay out the money in different places - this will later help in bargaining. After asking the price, make a frustrated expression on your face, put the product back and get ready to leave. You will be asked to name yours. Feel free to call twice as cheap. The seller will disagree very much, then you smile politely and slowly walk towards the exit. Usually, with each step you take, the price will decrease and reach an acceptable level at the door. Come back and repeat all over again. Sellers quickly reduce the price by 40%. If the seller does not want to reduce, but you want to buy a thing, take out a wallet with exactly the amount that you are ready to pay, no more, and show that this is your last money, etc. . The sight of real money seriously changes the situation: it is cheaper to sell to you, but now it is better than waiting for another buyer. But be careful: if the thing is not very expensive, then they can put it in a bag and give it away without money, asking the hotel and saying that you will bring the money tomorrow. In order to avoid unpleasant situations, explain that you won’t bring such an amount anyway and you won’t take the goods like that, so let him give back for what you have now. It works very well. We will be glad if our story helps you to have a pleasant vacation in Morocco. If you need clarification on some issues, write to fxalex@nm. ru with pleasure we will answer.