How do I plan a Morocco trip from London?

Of all the cities I help travellers fly from, London is the one where I have to do the least convincing, because the logistics are so kind. Morocco sits almost due south of the UK with effectively no time difference (Morocco is usually an hour behind London, sometimes level), so you step off the plane with zero jet lag and a full day ahead of you. Direct flights from Gatwick, Luton and Stansted land in Marrakech in around three and a half hours — barely longer than a flight to Greece — and there are direct services into Fes, Agadir and seasonally Casablanca, which means you can pick your entry point to suit your route rather than always funnelling through one airport.

Because the flight is so short and there is no jet lag, London is the rare origin where a genuine long weekend in Marrakech actually works: fly Thursday evening or Friday morning, have three full days in the medina, the gardens and a day-trip to the Atlas, and be home for Monday. That said, the trip I most often steer Londoners toward is seven to ten days, because the short hop gives you no excuse not to reach the Sahara. Fly into Marrakech, spend a couple of nights in the city, then take the classic route over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to the dunes and back, or continue to Fes and fly home from there to avoid retracing your steps.

On budget, Londoners benefit twice over: the flights are cheap if you book the budget carriers a few weeks ahead and travel light, and once you land, your pounds stretch a long way against the dirham. I tell people the on-the-ground feel is that everything — riads, tagines, taxis, guides — costs a fraction of an equivalent UK trip, so the temptation is to spend up on the experiences that matter, like a good desert camp. The one cost to watch is the budget-airline baggage trap; the headline fare looks tiny until you add a case, so factor that in honestly.

My honest planning advice from London: book the flights first, because the cheap seats on the direct routes do move, then decide your shape — a city break, a Marrakech-plus-desert loop, or an open-jaw into Marrakech and out of Fes. Lock your riads next, especially in spring and autumn when they sell out, and leave the day tours and desert trip to arrange around them. Check that the direct route you want is still flying in your travel month, since schedules shift seasonally, and pack for big temperature swings between desert days and cold desert nights.