How do I plan a Morocco trip from the UK?

Honestly, Morocco is one of the simplest big trips you can plan from the UK — it feels exotic but logistically it's barely harder than a European city break. Direct flights from London (Gatwick, Stansted, Heathrow, Luton) get you to Marrakech in around three and a half hours, there's roughly only an hour's time difference, and as a British passport holder you walk straight in visa-free for up to 90 days. So I tell UK clients not to overthink the mechanics and instead spend their planning energy on the route.

The flights are the bit that makes Morocco so doable from Britain. easyJet, Ryanair, British Airways and Royal Air Maroc all run direct services, mostly into Marrakech (RAK), with some routes to Casablanca, Fes, Agadir and Tangier too. Because the budget carriers are in the mix, fares can be very reasonable, especially midweek and outside school holidays. I usually book clients into Marrakech and, if the itinerary allows, home out of Fes or Casablanca so they loop through the country rather than doubling back.

For the trip itself, the UK's biggest advantage is that the short flight makes shorter trips worthwhile. A long weekend in Marrakech genuinely works — three or four nights of riads, souks and a day in the Atlas. With a week you add an overnight in the Sahara, which is the experience people remember forever. Ten days lets you bring in Fes and the imperial cities at a civilised pace. I almost always arrange a private driver for the inter-city and desert legs; the roads and the distances are the one thing that catches Brits out, since the map makes everything look closer than it drives.

Two practical UK-specific notes. First, you don't need any jabs for a standard trip, but it's worth a quick look at the NHS Fit for Travel page before you go, and travel insurance is a must since the EHIC/GHIC doesn't cover Morocco. Second, you can't get dirhams easily before you fly — it's a closed currency — so plan to draw cash from an ATM on arrival and carry some small notes for tips, the medina and the desert camp. Beyond that, it's about as low-friction as long-haul-feeling travel gets from the UK.