A Week in Morocco with Children (Part 1)

Last winter was hard and by Easter we (like everyone else in the UK) were feeling fed up and in need of some vitamin D so we looked into going to Morocco for a holiday - we browsed the web looking at gorgeous hotels and photos that where soaked in sunshine but the flight prices were mentally high so we decided that we'd go this year instead and we'd book our flights early (for once)... and we did. We booked our flights way back in October and so it was that we found ourselves about three weeks ago with four cheap seats but of course (as we can never be that organised) nowhere to stay. But after a few evening of intense internet research... we had a two hotels booked and a lovely Pinterest board of Moroccan inspiration - can you guess which bit I was responsible for!?

Here is a run down of what we did - feel free to entirely steal our itinerary, it worked really well and I think it was pretty good value for some winter sunshine.

Day one -
Packing and travelling... we arrived in Morocco at 7.30pm, we'd eaten a picnic supper in the air so when we got off the plane we then headed straight to our hotel in Essaouira a two and a half hour drive away. We booked the transfer with the hotel so a driver picked us up at the airport. With two sleepy children this was brilliant and definitely worth it, and oh-my did it feel quite civilised. I've never been collected by a someone holding up a name card before.
Once we arrived at the hotel we lifted the sleeping children into bed, put the monitor on and went to the hotel bar for a glass of wine.



Day two -
I love arriving at new places in the dark; you have an impression of how things look but you are always surprised in the morning light... and Le Jardin des Douars was a very good surprise. We had a great breakfast with a lovely view and then we set to exploring the gardens... Coco was desperate to get outside from the moment she spotted a shepherd with a flock of sheep just outside the garden walls.



Once Coco had tried out the heated pool we set off into Essaouira for some lunch and a look around. The town is about 20 minutes from the hotel and they do runs up and down pretty much whenever you want them too (although there is a charge for the service).
We then spent a good few hours gently exploring Essaouira, we travelled without a buggy but did take our back-pack carrier for Henry so we took it easy going at the children's pace and letting them look at what interested them... the sea, the boats and harbour, some acrobats performing for people on the terrace of a cafe.

Coco was also kept quite busy on a cat count. I think she got to 36 that day (although frankly her cat spotting skills left a lot to be desired, I spotted waaaay more than she did)!



Day three & four -
We opted for relaxation for a couple of days, by the pool, delicious lunches on the terrace and happy children busying themselves with swimming and exploring. There was another family with two children who we befriended and Coco really enjoyed having some other children to play with.

On the second evening we had a hilarious time playing charades with them by the fire in the hotel. Children + high drama; very funny. Hugh tried out the onsite Haman too for which we had a complimentery half hour when we booked the hotel.

Part Two - Marrakech and our day in the mountains.

This is not a sponsored post - we just had a brilliant time. We booked this first part of our holiday through Smith & Family and we flew with EasyJet.