Morocco with The Women's Travel Club

Morocco is the ideal destination for women tourists: gorgeous scenery with excellent roads, safe hotels, incredible crafts, exotic and friendly tribal people, decorative arts' museums, visits to private homes, French/Moroccan cuisine, local pharmacies full of Berber cosmetics, henna dyes and aromatic perfume essences. Any trip to Morocco should try to bypass Tangiers and Casablanca.

Flights arrive in the latter but make a quick getaway because beyond this crowded city is an amazing surprise country. We recommend you drive to Rabat, view the mosque, have a seafood lunch, then wind up your first day in Fez. Set amidst olive studded hills, Fez is a walled medieval city with narrow passageways along shops, garden courtyards, ancient caravan inns, and souks full of spices and more.

Here comes the problem: Moroccan crafts are so tempting and so cheap that the average tourist spends 25% of her trip price on them. What is there: excellent quality leather including book covers of a museum quality, jewelry in silver, stones, and intricate ethnic motifs, antique fabrics, glass ware tooled with medal designs, and household objects you will recognize from the furniture halls of stores like Bloomingdales. Note: we do recommend a guide for wandering the souks and for helping you bargain.

We usually start at 35% of asking price and work up from there. PS pick up a few henna lipsticks; they come in a hideous green plastic containers but are the best hot pink lipstick around. $1 each.

Next spend time in nearby Meknes and Volubilis, the best Roman sight in the area and the grain center for the empire. Drive over the Atlas Mts. which will be snow capped in winter, and Spring ( excellent roads ), and find yourself in the Sahara Desert: camels and snow in one day. We usually overnight in the oasis of Erfoud and continue to two foreign legion style towns: Ouarzazate and Marrakech. (Erfoud: there is limited accommodation and we recommend the El Ati Hotel.)

Women will find smaller Moroccan towns friendly and safe for wandering. Make sure your trip includes the Tineghir Gorges and the deserted town of Ait Ben Adou--both out of Lawrence of Arabia. If you have time, hunt down the cooperative of Tazenakt ( spelling??) for the best deal in carpets etc. and they take credit cards. Finish at Marrakech for the most impressive desert town and ancient architecture, mosques and history.

PS: there are significant Jewish sites in Morocco as well--ask your guide to point them out if this is important to you.

For women, try the Moroccan cuisine ( most good hotels require half board), bring home clay cooking pots if you love it, and take a traditional bath, visit a Berber cosmetics store, and smell a few traditional essences ( aromatherapy if you will). Be prepared for a tad of hassling in the markets, and for heavy bargaining throughout.

The following is The Women's Travel Club Fun Packing List, designed for a two week casual leisure trip...

Clothes

• 3 pairs khaki or other washable neutral pants
• 5 white and gray short sleeved T-shirts also for use under other shirts or under pajamas
• one nice leather belt
• 3 white or gray long sleeved T-shirts
• 7 pairs underpants and 3 bras
• 7 pairs white or beige socks if going to temples or mosques in Third World, have a pair handy so you do not have to walk barefoot on the floor.
• 1 pair walking boots instead of white sneakers white sneaker announce tourist way off in the distance
• 1 pair leather flats (less casual than loafers) I like to bring one good pair such as Ferragamos
• 1 fabric purse-- with decent shoes, you can carry this even to a cocktail party
• 1 really good blazer again in case you get invited somewhere special-people who dress nicer are more likely to get bumped up on the plane.
• 1 large wool or cotton scarf ( on the beach, to cover arms in churches or as a wrap, helpful in rain over your coat)
• one coat if necessary
• 1 good silk scarf and several cheap bandannas (great for bartering)
• 1 vest to dress up outfits and for added warmth
• 2 long sleeved nicer shirts (washable silk)
• 1 pair leggings useful for unseasonably cold weather, as a buffer to cold rooms etc. If all else fails, switch the sheet and blanket and have the blanket closer to your body
• 1 pair heavy tights
• 1 pair pajamas or big T-shirt and leggings
• 1 thermal underwear shirt-short sleeved top
• 1 GAP rain jacket (sold in its own pouch)
• 1 skirt ( should go with blazer and be midi length)
• 1 fanny pack wear in belt loops to avoid losing it to someone who cuts it; waterproof packs are also available if you will be swimming and do not want to leave your fanny pack behind. Also one backpack with lock.
• one khaki hat- for heavy rain wear put a hotel shower cap underneath one wedding ring ( even if you are not married-it can be a good deterrent)
• 3 pairs colored pantyhose

If you need to dress up on your trip, change all clothes to black with one skirt of another color such as green with scarf, shoes to match. I find navy and red boring; green or other different colors (with black, mustard, cobalt blue) make your wardrobe less monotonous.

Cosmetics

A small amount of everything you use within 4 days of the trip; everything else leave home. Start putting it on the bathroom counter so you know ahead of time how much there is. And you embarrass yourself if there is a mountain.

• one cheap washcloth non American hotels do not usually supply them (pack in a zip lock bag)
• one small bar soap ( if traveling in Third World)
• one tube of shampoo - camping shops carry a clothes wash and shampoo combo; hotel shampoo is actually also good for washing underwear)
• antiseptic handywipes ( please note antiseptic) or Purell
• one Vaseline intensive care with sunblock
• sanitary napkins and panty liners (do not use Tampax when in Third World Countries)

Medicine

This is a very personal category and you will need to discuss with your physician.. Below are those items of a more generic nature:

• one package of sterile bandages and antiseptic cream
• one hot water immersion coil ( 220 if necessary) and cup plus tea or other
• acidophilis pills
• Immodium (liquid not pills)
• one six pack raisins
• Vitamin C and one a day vitamins
• a small selection of over the counter medicine such as cold or sore throat medicine
• Melatonin or other sleeping pill for extreme jet lag
• A message written in the local language which alerts others to special needs such as food allergies or personal medical information
• photocopy of any prescriptions in the generic and of eyeglass prescription

Other

• one rubber door stop for great security
• one box of plain cookies and one box peanut butter crackers
• wordy magazines such as The New Yorker which you can leave behind
• one parachute material bag to carry home things you cannot live without
• one hefty bag ( for heavy rain, wet laundry or to sit on)
• photocopies of passport picture page and visa pages if a visa was required for the trip, airline tickets, insurance card, itinerary with addresses)
• one packet of canceled American stamps ( for children's gifts)
• pictures of the children in your lives the best way to meet women in other countries
• one inflatable world globe beach ball inflate it to show others where you live
• one cheap plastic compass to keep you in the right direction; and it is fun to look at on exotic plane itineraries
• one knife and cork screw or a Swiss knife Leatherman is a bestseller; tools to fix anything in one implement
• one plastic water bottle
• plastic security strap should your luggage be beyond help and one extra lock
• alarm clock and battery
• camera battery and camera, film
• zip lock bags for receipts, money, important papers and different currencies
• eyeglasses
• one inflatable pillow and blinders
• ear plugs
• guidebooks and or photocopies of guidebooks
• hairdryer and converter ( available in Radio Shack)
• adapter ( for the shape of the plug not the voltage; converters are for voltage)
• a personal diary a great way to get to yourself again or to busy yourself when eating alone
• pre-addressed envelopes for developing your photos
• chip clips for hanging your laundry

Money

• Travelers checks in dollars
• Two credit cards Visa is more acceptable outside of the Americas ;only carry one with you at a time Keep the numbers separate.
• Three personal checks you will be amazed as who is willing to accept a personal check instead of credit cards. Remember lots of people have brothers in law in New Jersey who don't pay taxes in Switzerland.
• $400 in cash adjust to where you are going and the first available banking hours. Note ATM machines are the best rate of currency. You should have $25 in single dollars for some tips and for bargaining.
• Bring a few bargaining chips for Third World countries: cheap lipsticks, plastic sunglasses, T shirts with your city name, anything electronic, barrettes and hair accessories, old jewelry worth under $50.

Final Reminders: put your name and office address inside each suitcase, double check the bar code put on your luggage by the airline and treat yourself to laundry to avoid over packing. Never travel with jewelry or anything you would hate to lose. Feeling relaxed on a trip not impressing 'the natives' is the point! If you cannot carry your suitcase one city block, you are in trouble.

Copyright: The Women's Travel Club 1999

We loved Morocco so much that The Women's Travel Club will visit again and at a bargain price: $1595 plus airline taxes for nine days throughout Morocco and the Sahara inclusive of airfare from New York, private bus, guide, two meals daily and top hotels February 24-March 4, 2000. Trip includes: Fez, Meknes, Erfoud,the desert towns of Ouarzazate and Marrakech. 800-480-4448 or email us at womantrip@aol.com. Membership of the Club is $35 per year. Credit cards accepted. Roomshares guaranteed. Keep in touch with us as we plan a trip to Tunisia in 2000...

You can visit The Women's Travel Club at http://womenstravelclub.com