Morocco is close enough to Europe to feel accessible and different enough to feel like a genuine departure — Marrakech's medina, souks, and riads anchor most first trips, with the Atlas Mountains and a Sahara Desert excursion (camel trek and overnight camp included) usually built in as a multi-day extension.
Fes's even older medina, the blue-washed streets of Chefchaouen, and Essaouira and Taghazout's Atlantic coast surf towns round out a country where the historic cities themselves are as much of a draw as any single sight inside them. Best visited in spring or autumn — summer in Marrakech and the desert runs genuinely hot.
