When we booked this trip we bought our tickets into Casablanca. As the trip started to firm up we had settled on starting it in Marrakech. That meant either moving our arrival flight to Marrakech or finding a way to get to Marrakech from Casablanca.
Unfortunately we never saw the same pricing on Air France to Marrakech that we got to Casablanca so we needed to fly into Casablanca and then do ground transport to Marrakech.
Morocco has a surprisingly robust train network, and even has Africa’s only high speed train along the Atlantic coast between Casablanca and Tangier. So our first thought was to connect from the Casablanca airport to the train and then take the train to Marrakech. This meant taking a taxi from the Casablanca airport to the main train station, charmingly named Casa Voyageurs, followed by a three hour train ride. Timing was such that this would have meant a 21:00-ish arrival at our riad after a long trip from Chicago. This seemed unappealing.
Turns out our riad was able to arrange a pickup at the Casablanca airport. The driver would meet us outside customs and then take us directly to the riad. Cost for this was about $250 but it meant a much earlier arrival at the riad and a much less hectic transition from the airport. So we chose this option.
Our flight was delayed about 35 minutes and finally we left Paris at about 13:05 after a pit stop at the Air France lounge for showers and some coffee.
A quick three hours later we landed in Casablanca.
As we left the customs hall our driver Adil was waiting outside for us with our name on a sign. Isn’t that the best greeting when you arrive in a new place?
Adil took us to his waiting Mercedes E-Class sedan, we threw the luggage in the back and we were off! The drive to Marrakech from the Casablanca airport is about 2 1/2 hours, Adil did it in two. The really surprising thing about the area near Casablanca is just how green it is!
We ran into a little rain shower on the way but thar yielded a beautiful rainbow.
We arrived in the old city just after sundown.
Because our riad is in the medina the car had to stop a few alleys away and the porter from the riad met us to lead us to the riad and to wheel our bags.
We wound through some narrow alleys on the way and in about five minutes we were at the door to Riad L’Hotel.
Checkin was a civilized affair with some Moroccan mint tea and cookies. We sat in the courtyard by the pool while the strains of Billie Holiday played in the background.
Looking around we realized just how beautiful the courtyard really is.
Even the lobby was stunning.
After checkin, we were taken up to our room, the Casablanca Suite. It is just how you would imagine a Moroccan riad to be in your dreams. Gorgeous. We’ll share pictures from our room later in the trip.
We are here for the next three nights and can’t wait to explore the medina and the design neighborhoods of Marrakech. Tomorrow we set out to explore the medina!
